Funny Ride Ops

Operators don't need to be funny here. The mere existence of anything in Africa is hilarious.

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

It's a GCI....so no air.

I don't get why people say GCI's have no air at all. The few that I've been on have airtime. Not major air, but it's still there.

The only one I've ridden is Lightning Racer but it has some pretty nice air. It's weird though, it almost feels like first drop airtime. Not airtime hill airtime.

[Dirk_Ermen]

VF15 wrote:

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

It's a GCI....so no air.

I don't get why people say GCI's have no air at all. The few that I've been on have airtime. Not major air, but it's still there.

Floater air is still airtime.

[Metazoanhaddock]

dj-dj wrote:

Operators don't need to be funny here. The mere existence of anything in Africa is hilarious.

I lol'd so hard

[Mikey]

TTD03 Edit:

This topic is a collection of stories that our site admin Mikey has posted. His stories are a very fun read, be sure to take the time to read all of them, the comedy that ensues is worth the read

Enjoy....

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If you have been a ride operator for any period of time you know that the answer to "Does this ride go upside down?" has only three correct answers "Yes.", "Maybe.", and "Sometimes.". It doesn't matter if your at Go-Karts, the Ferris Wheel, or the carousel all rides go upside down. After the hundredth time per day being asked this question you will automatically respond with one of these answers.

1. Was working Go-Karts in the days before we had the "wands of mandatory compliance" and this kid decided he was going to try and hit some of the attendants. His mom was cheering him on as he was basically bringing bumper cars to Go-Karts. So we closed both gates to try and force him into the station. He decided to just keep j-turning and looping back and forth in the available track. Since I was transitioning between OPs and Maintenance I had been assigned to GoKarts for AM and PM maintenance since that's where you start out. Anyways earlier that morning I had overhauled a double kart with a new motor but didn't put it back in service because it was missing the governor. I tightened up the belt clutch so it wouldn't disengage, started it and went after the kid.

Security arrived just in time to see me ram the double cart at full ungoverned speed straight into the back of the single cart he was driving and jam him sideways into the flex wall on a corner so hard that it broke the set pins (thing the tires attach to) sitting four inches in concrete. There is video of this somewhere, if someone has it let me know.

2. It was opening weekend in the days before we had cell phones. These two guys snuck in these pocket size water guns into the park and kept spraying us from the queue line. They kept coming back and the girl at unload was getting super pissed because she was wet and the uniform shirt was white. So I decided some revenge was in order. They made the mistake of sitting in the front row which happens to sit next to and underneath the main operator panel. Took the 10 gallon water jug, ice and all, and poured it all over the front row then dispatched the train. Needless to say they did not come back.

3. Had a guest (Think Mr. Clean on Steroids) get angry because he waited in a three hour line to find out his daughter was not tall enough to ride by an inch or so. I told him I would give him an exit pass to any ride in the park she was tall enough to ride and a few more for his troubles. (Even though we didn't do anything wrong, guest logic does not equal operator logic.) I crossed over to go get the paper work to make this happen, he decided to pick up a 50 gallon drum we used as a trash can and hurl it across the track and the dock. Needless to say we E-Stopped and fled to the safety of the lockable computer room with a re-enforced door where we called security in the safety and comfort of the air conditioning.

I could go on... these are just the ones that came up first.

Mikey wrote:

2. It was opening weekend in the days before we had cell phones. These two guys snuck in these pocket size water guns into the park and kept spraying us from the queue line. They kept coming back and the girl at unload was getting super pissed because she was wet and the uniform shirt was white. So I decided some revenge was in order. They made the mistake of sitting in the front row which happens to sit next to and underneath the main operator panel. Took the 10 gallon water jug, ice and all, and poured it all over the front row then dispatched the train. Needless to say they did not come back.

This is great

[Paradox]

Mikey wrote:

Guest logic does not equal operator logic.

Lol so true.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Mikey wrote:

If you have been a ride operator for any period of time you know that the answer to "Does this ride go upside down?" has only three correct answers "Yes.", "Maybe.", and "Sometimes.".

The people who duck under the height stick and think it's hilarious are the worst.

Dirk_Ermen wrote:

Floater air is still airtime.

Indeed! The crest of a Stengel Dive on Intamin Megalite is the very example! Completely 0g!

seaworld rides ops are just there for there paycheck not to have fun

^
Not always. When I was there a few years ago, Kraken was down for an hour due to a thunderstorm, and the ride ops were fooling around for a while. Granted, this wasn't during normal operations, but they were still having fun.

^that never happens when I go but they finale added some new stuff around the ride and got rid of the que line for back row

[Mikey]

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

The people who duck under the height stick and think it's hilarious are the worst.

Just remember that deep down inside every guest is a rational and sane human being who simply forgot to bring their common sense and decency with them to the park today. Since we don't sell those in the gift shop, we can only do the honorable thing and try to separate them from as much money in their wallets as we can. Sure, at the end of the day there's gonna be some guest that we just want to reach out and beat to death with the height stick, but it's always best to take the high road.

Like having your crew take a a strategic water break as to allow the stacking of units in such as way as to cause the one filled with the screaming and completely disrespectful cheerleaders to short stop into that third slot on the run out. There is something to be said about the distinct noise 10,000lbs worth of rolling steel and fiberglass makes when it suddenly decelerates from 65mph to 0 in less then 50 ft. That sound and site of cat walks and ride structure vibrating from the lateral shock load, air cleaners banging against their housings on the hand rails, and the grunts and facial expressions from the guest who were just subjected to a 3.5G stop.

[mkingy]

Mikey wrote:

Like having your crew take a a strategic water break as to allow the stacking of units in such as way as to cause the one filled with the screaming and completely disrespectful cheerleaders to short stop into that third slot on the run out. There is something to be said about the distinct noise 10,000lbs worth of rolling steel and fiberglass makes when it suddenly decelerates from 65mph to 0 in less then 50 ft. That sound and site of cat walks and ride structure vibrating from the lateral shock load, air cleaners banging against their housings on the hand rails, and the grunts and facial expressions from the guest who were just subjected to a 3.5G stop.

Haha I genuinely laughed out loiud after reading this

[Dirk_Ermen]

Mikey wrote:

There is something to be said about the distinct noise 10,000lbs worth of rolling steel and fiberglass makes when it suddenly decelerates from 65mph to 0 in less then 50 ft. That sound and site of cat walks and ride structure vibrating from the lateral shock load, air cleaners banging against their housings on the hand rails, and the grunts and facial expressions from the guest who were just subjected to a 3.5G stop.

That actually sounds pretty awesome and intense. I know a 2,7g launch is amazing. That 3,5g brake would be a whole new experience I can subscribe to you for one of those rides?

[TTD03]

Mikey wrote:

If you have been a ride operator for any period of time you know that the answer to "Does this ride go upside down?" has only three correct answers "Yes.", "Maybe.", and "Sometimes.". It doesn't matter if your at Go-Karts, the Ferris Wheel, or the carousel all rides go upside down. After the hundredth time per day being asked this question you will automatically respond with one of these answers.

1. Was working Go-Karts in the days before we had the "wands of mandatory compliance" and this kid decided he was going to try and hit some of the attendants. His mom was cheering him on as he was basically bringing bumper cars to Go-Karts. So we closed both gates to try and force him into the station. He decided to just keep j-turning and looping back and forth in the available track. Since I was transitioning between OPs and Maintenance I had been assigned to GoKarts for AM and PM maintenance since that's where you start out. Anyways earlier that morning I had overhauled a double kart with a new motor but didn't put it back in service because it was missing the governor. I tightened up the belt clutch so it wouldn't disengage, started it and went after the kid.

Security arrived just in time to see me ram the double cart at full ungoverned speed straight into the back of the single cart he was driving and jam him sideways into the flex wall on a corner so hard that it broke the set pins (thing the tires attach to) sitting four inches in concrete. There is video of this somewhere, if someone has it let me know.

2. It was opening weekend in the days before we had cell phones. These two guys snuck in these pocket size water guns into the park and kept spraying us from the queue line. They kept coming back and the girl at unload was getting super pissed because she was wet and the uniform shirt was white. So I decided some revenge was in order. They made the mistake of sitting in the front row which happens to sit next to and underneath the main operator panel. Took the 10 gallon water jug, ice and all, and poured it all over the front row then dispatched the train. Needless to say they did not come back.

3. Had a guest (Think Mr. Clean on Steroids) get angry because he waited in a three hour line to find out his daughter was not tall enough to ride by an inch or so. I told him I would give him an exit pass to any ride in the park she was tall enough to ride and a few more for his troubles. (Even though we didn't do anything wrong, guest logic does not equal operator logic.) I crossed over to go get the paper work to make this happen, he decided to pick up a 50 gallon drum we used as a trash can and hurl it across the track and the dock. Needless to say we E-Stopped and fled to the safety of the lockable computer room with a re-enforced door where we called security in the safety and comfort of the air conditioning.

I could go on... these are just the ones that came up first.

Mikey, your posts like this never fail to make me

mikey tell more lol there awesome

[Coasterkidmwm]

Mikey wrote:

Coasterkidmwm wrote:

The people who duck under the height stick and think it's hilarious are the worst.

Just remember that deep down inside every guest is a rational and sane human being who simply forgot to bring their common sense and decency with them to the park today. Since we don't sell those in the gift shop, we can only do the honorable thing and try to separate them from as much money in their wallets as we can. Sure, at the end of the day there's gonna be some guest that we just want to reach out and beat to death with the height stick, but it's always best to take the high road.

Did you ever get to ball-slam people?

[TTD03]

^ I've always wanted to do that.

Mikey wrote:

If you have been a ride operator for any period of time you know that the answer to "Does this ride go upside down?" has only three correct answers "Yes.", "Maybe.", and "Sometimes.".

My own logics should be as follows.

Yes for "Yes, as you can see."
Maybe for "Maybe, if you feel so."
Sometimes for "Sometimes, because you will feel something in your body."
No for "No, but this will keep you amused."

BTW it's really hard to drum the mechanism of a 4d coaster into General People or GP in our term. The way the seats rotate or the track twists is complicated!

Just say its magic.

[Mikey]

I could go on forever, but for now I am going to tell you why log flumes have a special place in my heart:

So at log flume we played a game called sinkers and floaters. At the top of low lift and high lift was an attendant of which both were responsible for all trough forward of their positions and insuring that no boats were taking on to much water. If they did take on to much water they were to call the next forward station with the # so we could take it out of rotation by putting it into the unused side of the loading dock using the diverter gate.

Depending on the season (leaves clogging drains etc) and how many guests of extraordinary size rode in a particular boat determined how many times a boat would get pulled out of rotation to be drained. Normally we would leave them on the air lift in the station to drain if we had enough space, otherwise if we were running max units we would manually dispatch them into the mix overriding the ADT (automatic dispatch timer, that thing with the metal gate that pops up with the wheels on it) to let them ride behind a loaded boat to be stopped on the lifts as spacing required to allow the one way drain values on the back to do their job. The later it was in the season, the harder it was to keep the boats afloat because they get banged up so much and start taking on water.

We would use the ring back phone to silently communicate when we thought a boat was going to be a sinker, or when we thought we would see the record splash for the day, or when that hot chick took her shirt off half way through the ride. The normal splash wave would come off the corner leading into the station and splash up onto the dock when loaded with four people. It would also slightly knock the boats forward on the air lifts in the station. Maintenance had a few test boats that were weighted with concrete under the floor to maximum load. They were used to calibrate the run out each season because it was constantly sinking due to its age, to test rollers and anti-roll backs, and for the general amusement of the guys in the fiber glass shop.

No one ever told us these boats existed, nor did they tell us that one summer day they were left in rotation and unmarked. That morning I did the safety check and I noticed that one of the boats when coming off the lift made a noticeable thunk followed by a much larger splash profile. I didn't think anything of it but I pulled it out of the rotation so I could look at it later before decided to flag it or later. So the day goes by and I totally forget about the issues with it. I am finally forced to put it in rotation when someone through up in a boat.

These group of four show up, and there is not a single one that is under 250lbs. They all get comfy when I notice the sound of rushing air and the boat starting to drop below the dock. I open the air valve and let it go. The boat kinda sits in the current for a bit with out moving before its pushed very slowly down stream into the ADT. Boat hits the ADT gate and just keeps going with out a care in the world even though it's in the up position. Anyways the boat is getting further away now but I know that it isn't floating but is infact driving down the trough on the running wheels.

I tend to the next boat when I hear in the distance that annoying wet rubber belt slipping on fiberglass boat bottom noise. Yep, it didn't make it up onto the belt all the way. Dock phone to Low lift confirms its not on the belt but that the front wheels are on the belt. No problem I say let the boat behind it bump and it will go up. Sure enough the boat goes up after two boats bump into it. They clear low lift which has a 8ft drop into a corner on the other side.

In my head I was telling myself that this is going to be interesting problem because the angle to high lift is 3 degrees steeper then low lift. Sure enough boat can't make it onto the belt with out the two boats behind it. Only this time the belt is slipping with the boat fully on the lift. It slowly makes it to the top and over the crest. Now at this point everyone working the ride is watching because this is going to end up being a guaranteed sinker.

Boat clears the top of the lift, flys down the hill, slips into the water and the biggest splash I have ever seen on a log flume. I would guess 25ft high by 40ft wide. The boat reaches the end of the run out but is still going at a pretty good clip. At the end of the run out is a deep trough pan where the two rails the boat rides in are submerged to have the boats splash plate be 3-4 inches under the water level. (The rails gradually enter the water from the base of the drop to the end of the run out so that the boat slows over time versus ejecting the riders.) However it is expected that they will float over this box so there are no rails just a gradual incline back to the corner and into the station. For the first time in 20 years we managed to send the first boat to touch the bottom of the box. When it did so the front of the boat was fully submerged by at least 5-6 inches of water.

When it cleared the box, and I should say it only did so because it was traveling at a good speed, it sent a wave of water 2 feet tall around the splash wall and up onto the dock in the station. All the boats we unloaded and left on the air lifts were lifted off them and push up onto the dock. We ended up having to unload the boat just short of the unload air lift because between the weight of the concrete we didn't know about, the guest of extra ordinary size, and the new installed swimming pool in the setting compartment it was not possible for the water to push the boat back up onto the air lift.

After we unloaded the guests from the diamond just after the diverter gate, we found the boat filled with 18 inches of water. The water inside the boat, was equal to the water outside the boat, so the one way drain valves could not function. Before we could shutdown the pumps the ride shut itself down because we managed to pump all the water out of the bottom reservoir and out into the grass around the ride via a 16 inch inch gashes in the bottom and sides of the trough in the corner after low lift. Further inspection found bent rollers, both belts needed to be re-aligned and the bindings replaced because they had been stretched out under friction from heat and the carry load. The chassis of the concrete boat was bowed and eventually written off.

The fiberglass shop was ecstatic to have some mid-season over time, but were immediately disappointed that they were being charged for the 8 days it took to repair. (Weekly bonus pay was calculated based on department performance.) In the end I learned some valuable career lessons: Departments with safety responsibilities should be drug tested regularly. The only log flume boat in the world to ever have half a ton of concrete in the bottom of it was destroyed carrying it's first paying passengers. It takes 13 minutes and $23 in electricity for two circulating pumps to drain 105,000 gallons of water out of the reservoir, but 5 days and $25,000 to refill it with a 2 inch wash down hose from the city supply. The game of sinkers and floats will never be the same.

In the next episode I will tell you why it's a bad idea to have a power outage on a boomerang with relay logic controls.

[Goku1910]

I made a spiel at Demon when I worked for Great America.

"3 trains, one track; one red, one yellow, and one black, be prepared for the demon attack."

After park closing we made a joke that couldn't be said with guests..... "In Soviet Russia, Demon ride you."

[Coasterkidmwm]

I love when fatasses trip the safety devices and you have to break up families because they're all too fat to ride without telling them.

At least you didn't do a front flip with the boat and kill them.