What do you do when the Merry-Go-Round breaks down?

Over the years, theme park attractions have become extremely sophisticated pieces of equipment. Unfortunately, they still break down occassionally. In fact, breakdowns are fairly common, and are in fact often a good thing. Newer ride systems involve high-tech computers which constantly monitor the ride's operation and efficiency. A breakdown can occur when this sophisticated ride system detects a POTENTIAL problem further down the line. In the past, these potential malfunctions were only brought to light when the ride actually broke down, causing serious damage or in some cases injury. Now the systems detect possible future problems and shut down the systems BEFORE the ride can break or an injury can occur, allowing repairs to be made more quickly and allowing the ride to open again in a relatively short period of time. Sometimes, just shutting down the system is enough of a fix to "reboot" the ride and get it operating at full capacity again.

Rides also shut down for non-mechanical reasons. Because the ride systems are so sophisticated, they require that the ride be turned off if anyone needs to enter the ride area, or if there is a slowdown severe enough to throw off efficiency or distrupt the normal pattern of operation. If a guest loses an item in the ride area, for instance, the entire ride system often has to be turned off to retrieve it. That's why most rides tell you to check lost and found the next day - they can't retrieve items without stopping the ride completely and turning off the power. But what do you do when the item lost is essential, like a disabled person's cane or someone's car keys? Under those extreme circumstances, ride operators will sometimes shut the ride down without evacuating the guests, then call in maintenance to retrieve the lost item. It usually only takes five or ten minutes at most, so it is possible to do that without severely disrupting efficiency. Rides also may need to be shut down for cleanup if a guest gets sick. Or the ride system may need to be reset to get back to the normal operational pattern if a guest has difficulty getting in or out of a ride vehicle and causes subsequent vehicles to get backed up. Resetting ride systems is not as simple as flipping a switch on and off on most of today's rides, and often involves multiple steps and switches. This is a safety mechanism built into the rides to prevent accidental startups or electricution.

But what happens when a shut down is a little more long-term? Most theme parks set a time limit for repair. If the ride will only be down for a few minutes, they'll continue to allow guests to enter the queue. Once it is down longer than that, they close the queue to additional guests, but allow guests already in line to remain. After a certain amount of time, if the ride has not resumed operation, they evacuate the ride area, and direct guests to return at a later time to see if the ride has reopened.

What do you do, though, if you are ON the ride during an evacuation? Well, the truth of the matter is, there isn't really anything you CAN do but wait for someone to get you off. Although this seems simple enough, the truth is, evacuating a ride vehicle can be an extremely time consuming task. It can also be very scary for a guest to be stuck on a ride, and the employees understand this. This is especially true if you find yourself stuck in an awkward position, or perched precariously at the brink of a drop. It can seem as if no one is in a hurry to get you out of the mess you're in, but that is not the case.

When the ride comes to a stop in the middle of a cycle, a whole bunch of things happen at once, and a whole bunch of things HAVE TO happen to get you off the vehicle. First, there are usually a bunch of alarms, bells, whistles, error messages on computer screens, buttons that light up, and other things that happen on the ride's control panel. I speak from experience when I say it can be just as scary for the ride operator when a ride shuts down unexpectedly as it is for the guests on the ride! When the ride systems shut down, the operator has a whole bunch of things they have to do, pretty much all at the same time. They have to shut down the power, turn on any work lights, turn off effects that may hamper an evacuation, call the appropriate maintenance people, let their supervisors know what's going on, AND assure the guests on the ride that they know they're there. Some newer or more sophisticated ride systems actually automate this last procedure, with a spiel that repeats every so many minutes telling guests on the ride or in the ride area that a technical difficulty has occured, and asking the guests on the ride to remain seated in case the system starts up again unexpectedly. Some systems have a pre-recorded spiel that the operator is supposed to repeat regularly by pushing a button. And some systems rely on the operator to spiel to guests stuck on the ride themselves. Unless it's automated, spieling to the guests every few minutes is nearly impossible to do, as the operator has their hand's full answering phone calls from maintenance, pushing buttons, dispatching employees to evacuate the guests, and getting systems shut down so it is safe for the guests to evacuate. Although you may not actually HEAR from the ride operators, rest assured that they are working hard to get you off the ride!

In order to evacuate a ride, several things need to happen. First, the ride must be shut down completely. THis means turning off ALL electrical power to prohibit the ride from accidentally starting up again while a guest is not locked in, or while a guest or employee is in the way. Second, all employees who enter the ride area have to be accounted for, so that once the ride resumes normal operation, no one is left in the ride area to be injured by the ride. Most parks use a system of locking out the electrical sources so no one accidentally turns things back on and tagging out employees so everyone knows where everyone is within the ride area. Every employee, from maintenance to ride operators, must sign out to enter the ride area. The ride will not be started again until each of those employees returns to the main console and signs back in. That way no one gets left behind.

While maintenance employees are rushing to fix the ride, operations employees are rushing to evacuate it. Since the two teams often have different home bases, you may see maintenance personnel before you see anyone from operations. Maintenance is not responsible for an evacuation in most cases, and in fact maintenance may completely ignore you as they rush to try to isolate the problem and fix it. They're not being rude. In fact, they may have a procedure that has to be followed BEFORE operations can even enter the ride area to come get you, and they are rushing to complete that as quickly as possible so you can be evacuated.

Once all moving parts on the ride have been stilled, and all electrical currents have been stopped, the operators can evacuate any guests stuck on the ride. Even that procedure usually has very strict rules to follow. This is especially true in cases where a ride vehicle has stopped at a height, or in a precarious position. The vehicle may need to be manually moved to an evacuation area, requiring that you remain strapped in. Once an evacuation is possible, operators begin releasing ride restraints one or two rows at a time, keeping guests in a very controlled and tight formation. Once everyone has been released from the vehicle, operators escort the guests to a designated area away from the ride. This may involve climbing stairs or following narrow pathways within the ride area to an emergency exit. If a guest is unable to evacuate under normal procedures (a guest who can't climb stairs for example, or someone who needs assistance getting in and out of the vehicle) the operators may need to hold everyone within that guest's vehicle or car until an alternative can be found. This is because it is extremely unsafe to have a guest sitting unrestrained in a ride vehicle, and most rides have systems that release several restraints at once. If one person in a restraint system can't be evacuated, the rest of the guests in that same restraint system have to remain buckled in their seats until the guest can be removed. Parks have emergency procedures for handling difficult situations, usually involving use of a crane or lift mechanism and emergency handlers (like paramedics) specifically trained in dealing with an evacuation procedure.

Once the ride has been evacuated, maintenance or repair can begin in earnest. Even a simple repair usually requires a full reset of the ride's systems, which can take awhile. The reset cannot take place until all guests and employees are away from the ride area.

No matter what the problem - a guest illness, lost item, or full mechanical breakdown - park employees will NOT tell you anything except that the ride is experiencing "technical difficulties." They can't tell you anything more than this. First, they often don't know what is wrong. Second, even if they do know what's going on, rumors get started because guests misunderstand. No park wants rumors of a dangerous ride. Operators also won't tell you how long it will take to get the ride back up and running again. They often don't know, and they aren't about to guess. Telling a guest that the repair will only take a few minutes then having it turn into a few hours is a certain recipe for guest dissatisfaction. Most theme parks also would prefer their guests to be out riding other rides, shopping, or dining in their restaurants rather than waiting for a ride that's shut down to open again. Take the operator's advice: If a ride is experiencing "technical difficulties," go do something else and check back later to see if it's open again.

And if you're ON that shut down ride? Take heart! They know you're there, they're watching you on video most likely, and they're coming to the rescue! It just takes awhile to ensure that all of you are safe in the process!

Guest of the Week

Ah, guests! Gotta love them. This guest of the week comes from my Father, a concierge at one of the theme park resorts.

As he was coming out to the front desk to work, he encountered a fellow employee who was laughing uncontrollably. Once he finally got her calmed down enough to speak, he asked her what was wrong.

Seems a guest had approached the nearly empty desk. The guest had walked the full length of the desk, past all of the other employees who were ready to assist someone, and right up to her station. The guest then stated, "You look like the person I just spoke to on the phone!" The employee attempted to explain that the front desk employees don't ANSWER the phones, and so it couldn't have been her. The guest just kept insisting, "No! You look like the person I just spoke to on the phone!" Apparently this guest has mysterious psychic powers that enable her to see the people she speaks with on the phone. Either that, or she had accidentally checked into a room in a future hotel equipped with video phones. Whatever the case, this guest who visualizes the voices she hears so well she can actually recognize them BEFORE they speak to her in person becomes our guest of the week!

I hope she is nice to me when she sees me out on the street and recognizes me from my typing!

Overheard at the Parks

Mother, to small crying child as they ran through the park ... "Hurry up, we don't have time to look at things!"

Hint of the Month

Would you run a marathon in those? How many guests do I see a day wearing flip flops, or heels (I can't get over the women in heels!), or other totally inappropriate shoes. Those same guests are often the people I have to ask to put their shoes back on several times at the end of the day. Why? Because they have blisters or the shoes aren't sufficient for keeping up with their group, or are inhibiting their ability to participate in an activity. If you have to take your shoes off to dangle your feet on a coaster, or you are prone to slipping and falling whenever it rains, you have the wrong shoes. Before you dress for your day in the park, think about this - "would I be able to keep up in a marathon in these shoes?" You will be walking on often uneven pavement (on some of the hardest concrete in the world), climbing stairs, evading strollers and other people's feet, suffering through Mother Nature's worst (sun, heat, rain), riding on complex mechanical rides with numerous moving parts, and your feet will take the brunt of this abuse. Do you really WANT your toes out there to get trampled or caught in the machinery? Do you really WANT your feet to become burned in the sun? Do you really WANT to have to bypass an activity because you don't have proper shoes? Good solid athletic shoes, in good repair, and short cotton socks or anklets will be your best friends in a theme park! Trust me, your feet will thank you for it!

Guest of the Week

Each week, I'll try to outline my favorite guest or guests of the week. Sometimes, the guests will be memorable because of how much fun they were having, or how much fun they were to work with. Sometimes, they will be memorable for less noble reasons; bad behavior for example. Sometimes, it will just be something funny they said or did. Of course, I'll never identify anyone by name (like I ever know their names anyway). I'm not mean, you know!

This week's guest was just sitting on a park bench minding her own business. She was waiting with a small child in a stroller for the rest of her family to come off of a ride. Since she was sitting along my spot on the parade route, I went over to speak with her, to make sure she knew the parade was coming so she didn't end up trapped on the wrong side of the street away from her group. Turns out, she didn't understand any English at all. The child was crying, and she tried to explain in Spanish (or Portuguese, I'm not too good at telling the difference) that the child was upset because everyone else was riding a ride. I asked if the child would like to be in the parade. She couldn't understand me. "Su nino ... in la parade?" I stupidly attempted Spanish. She smiled at my attempt but couldn't quite understand me still. Suddenly, a flurry of activity. The rest of the family had arrived, Dad with 3 other children ranging from around 6-years-old to maybe 10. The kids spoke English. "What did she say?" the mother asked her children in Spanish. I repeated my question; "Would you all like to be IN the parade?" There was so much excitement that you'd have thought I'd given them the keys to the castle! I explained that they'd be helping carry the follow rope at the end of the parade, that they'd need to walk the whole parade route, and need to be free for about 30 minutes to help us. They'd get to sit right at the beginning of the parade route. There were hugs and jumping up and down and every kid was positively twittering with anticipation. Even Mom & Dad looked about ready to burst!

I showed my group to the special follow rope viewing area, and left to return to my spot. As the parade ended, I turned to see my family, smiling ear to ear and waving frantically as they made their way down the route!

Sometimes, fun is what you make it! That's why my family from wherever, who BECAME the parade that day, is my FAMILY OF THE WEEK.

The Ravings of a Theme Park Junky

An Introduction

I've been a theme park junky my whole life. My family made many summer visits to parks and fairs all over the United States. I have fond memories of these family outings, dating back to toddlerdom. But how was I to know that all this theme park visitation was going to result in a rather unusual career choice.

It all started in college. I came home for the summer after my freshman year, badly needing a job to earn pizza and movie money for the next semester. I could have worked at a local fast food restaurant, as did so many of my peers. I could have worked at the mall, or even at the plethera of stand alone shops that littered our downtown area. But I had a better idea. Living just outside of Chicago in South-Eastern Wisconsin, I thought working at the local Six Flags park might be a fun alternative. I applied for a summer position working in ticket sales, and a career was born!

That summer led me to realize that there are a whole lot of unusual and interesting people out there in the world! I worked for Six Flags for three summers, moving from Group Sales the first year to a thrill ride attraction the next, and finally to the kid's playground area my final summer. Over that time, I amassed quite a collection of humorous stories about the park's guests and my fellow employees. The names have been changed (or added) to protect the innocent (or because I never knew them in the first place) but the stories are true - believe it or not!

Summer of the Nuns

Take for example, Raymond (not his real name), who worked with me at the Group Sales window that first summer. Raymond loved nuns. No, really! He loved nuns. We had several area Catholic schools who visited the park for their end-of-year field trip. Raymond could see the nuns coming from the parking lot a mile away. A shout would go up - "The nun is mine!" and he would happily signal the group down to his window. Not that any of the rest of us minded particularly. This was a day and age before debit cards and ticket vouchers. Nuns (and school groups in general) tended to collect the kid's money on the bus on the way to the park. Nuns in particular were notorious for rolling up with a shoebox full of crumpled dollar bills, nickles, dimes, and quarters. $300 or $400 transactions had to be counted out by hand, one penny at a time. It was not unusal to hear the loud "cha-ching" down at Raymond's station as he dumped the shoebox upside-down at his window to count out the change!

The only thing Raymond liked more than nuns was volleyball! The park had several athletic leagues designed to give the employees a chance to burn off some steam after work. Group Sales decided to enter into the volleyball tournament as a team. We practiced after work nearly every day. Raymond's favorite part of the game was the rule that required teams to rotate through the various positions every time they got the serve. Raymond would holler "Rotate!" at the top of his lungs, and we'd all dutifully move to the next position - but not before doing a rather odd little twist/hula dance that Raymond had created! When asked to submit our team name for the tournament, we couldn't resist calling ourselves the "Rotators!"

Raymond wasn't the zaniest person working at the Group Sales window that summer (although I think he was probably the nicest!). There was also Rob. Rob was the "lead," or front line person in charge. He was responsible for helping us get out of messes we got ourselves into, by assisting guests who were unhappy and straightening out banking problems. He was also responsible for training new employees. On my first day, Rob happily announced that we would go to lunch together! There were cringes up and down the line and I began to wonder what I was getting myself into. Rob was a terrific person, but it turns out he had a tendancy to spit when he got excited. Lunch with Rob meant sitting downwind of a terrible rain storm! And what did they serve in the employee cafeteria that first day? Undercooked barbeque chicken, of course! I came back from lunch that first day peppered in little spots of BBQ sauce.

Rob also had a unique way of dealing with bank overages and underages. Although the park wanted us to work with a great deal of speed to keep the lines moving, they also were very strict about accuracy. Since everything was hand-counted (no computers to keep track of change due back for example) we sometimes missed that mark. Rob kept about $10 in change in his pockets. If he was short, he pulled out enough change to make up the difference. If he was over, he dumped a bit back in his pocket "bank." Because of the weight of the change in his pocket, Rob's pants were nearly always drooping off of his waist. He also had a hard time sneaking up on anyone with all that jingling going on! He wasn't selfish with his pocket bank either. Any employee who requested his help in reconciling a bank error received the benefit. I'm sure had our park auditors known he was doing that, he would have been spitting his food at someone in a non-revenue generating part of the park!

One Summer in Orbit

When I returned to Six Flags the next summer, I decided that working with money was not something I was particularly fond of. I asked to be placed at a ride instead. So, I ended up working at the "Orbit Group" of rides. The Orbit was a rotating wheel that spun you until you were held against your seat back by centrifugal force. It then tilted up so that you were, in effect, flying upside down at the top. The Orbit group was flanked by a couple of kid's rides - The Red Baron flying airplanes, and a car ride - and by the "Lost Parents" center.

As with most theme park rides, we were judged by our per-hour guest counts. Every ride and attraction had an hourly goal, and there were consequences for failing to reach the goal and rewards for exceeding it. I was lucky. My shift usually coincided with Dan's. He and I were the champions at getting guests through the Orbit line! Our secret? Dan could talk on the microphone at 90mph and I could run like the wind! When we ended up together Dan would spiel and I would check the safety locks on the guest cabins. He could deliver the standard Orbit load and takeoff spiel in 3 seconds flat and I was running like a crazy woman to be done at the same time he was. My "safe" spot, where I was to stand while the Orbit was in operation, was at the exit gate. My goal each ride was to make it all the way around the ride, pulling each cabin's "lid" to ensure it was locked in place, and to make it to the exit by the time Dan got to the "...hope you enjoy your ride" part of the spiel. Slower riders were not a problem - I ran right past them and came around for a second swoop. Dan and I almost always had the highest guest counts of the day when we were together.

As the night progressed, Dan got sillier. Guest counts didn't matter so much, as we rarely had a line later in the evening. We would slowly begin to hear celebrity spielers at the Orbit! Dan could do Elvis, John Wayne, and a host of other voices. I never knew who was going to end up delivering the spiel. Sometimes it wasn't even a known celebrity. Often, he would just do the spiel in an odd accent or voice of his own creation. I always wondered what comedy club circuit Dan ended up performing in!

Lost Summer

In addition to working the Orbit, we all took turns sitting in the "Lost Parents" center. Lost Parents was a little red cottage, with coloring books, puzzles, toys and games for lost children to occupy themselves with while waiting for a parent or guardian to find them. Problem was, Six Flags had a rule that anyone under a certain age who was not accompanied by an adult was considered "lost." This meant that we often had poor, unsuspecting children who stopped to ask an employee where the bathroom was, and who suddenly found themselves held against their will in the cottage. We always felt so bad for them, since no one was actively looking for them they often were doomed to stay with us until park close, when we could escort them to wherever they were supposed to meet their groups. We were not, however, supposed to chase a child who ran out the front door of the center. When we had a child who obviously was going to be there all day, we often would mention this rule, in passing. And then, sometimes, we would get busy with paperwork and turn our backs for awhile. We'd then shrug as the child ran past our front window and out into the park! But then, there was Billy. Billy had stopped to ask where his favorite coaster was about five minutes after being dropped off at the front of the park by his parents, who were planning to pick him up after closing. Unfortunately, he'd asked a park security guard who was particularly adamant about following the rules. He was led begrudgingly to our doorstep. But Billy wasn't unhappy about this situation, or at least he didn't show it. Instead, Billy spent the day with us. He was a great comfort to the legitimately lost small children who found their way to us. He played and read and colored with the short-term visitors. We kept reiterating the "no chase" rule, but Billy would nod and continue what he was doing. Every so often, he would sigh and comment about a favorite ride, but he never "ran away." We began using our lunch breaks to take him over to ride the Orbit and other nearby attractions. That night, we walked him up to the front gate to meet his family. I don't know how much fun he actually had, or whether his reluctance to leave was a result of not wanting to break the rules or just an unspoken fear of being out in the park alone. Either way, he was a truly unforgettable kid!

Another unforgettable kid was Cindy. Bugs Bunny and his friends often did meet and greets in the area in front of Lost Parents. Most of the characters would come into Lost Parents once in awhile to help out with particularly upset children. But Bugs was the star of the show and appearing to such a small audience didn't particularly appeal to him, so he was considered a bit standoffish by our team. One day, however, I was in the park as a guest and was sitting on a park bench outside of the Lost Parents Center, watching the characters at play. A family of four was interacting with the characters. The younger child was giggling gleefully as each character posed for a picture with him, but the older daughter, "Cindy" (who was maybe 7 or 8 years old), was acting up. Cindy didn't want anything to do with anything! She was generally behaving like a child who was fed up with the whole process of doing anything other than what she wanted to do. Finally, her mother had seen enough. Angrily, she turned to Cindy and began speaking to her in sign language. Cindy was deaf! Bugs Bunny happened to notice, and instantly knelt down beside the girl and also began signing to her! Cindy's face changed from a scowl to complete delight and surprise. Of all the people she'd encountered on this trip, the one "person" who really understood her and spoke her language was Bugs Bunny! The two chatted until it was time for Bugs to go back inside. From that moment on, Bugs WAS a superstar in my eyes!

One of the policies of Lost Parents centered on when to call Security in to help with a missing child. Security was only called in an "emergency" which usually meant a child under the age of 5 was missing, a child had been missing for a longer period of time, or a child in the Lost Parents Center was ill and needed medical attention (which required a parent's consent). Then, security would put out a report to all units, and the parent or child would be hunted down in the park. The rules changed at night, when all security personnel were summoned to the back of the park to begin the "sweep" - moving guests to the front and out the exit gates! Children under 5 who were lost were still a priority, but older children and missing parents were not since they would be caught in the sweep and would end up at the gate eventually anyway. Policy called for sending a parent who was missing an older child back to the area where the child had last been seen to look again, and then up to the park exit to wait for Security to sweep the child to that area. One night, a frantic woman came running into Lost Parents right at sweep time. Her 6-year-old son, Johnny, was missing and she wanted us to page him. We didn't page under any circumstances, as the paging system was disruptive to other guests and difficult to understand anyway. The chances of a 6-year-old lost in the park hearing and understanding a page were next to impossible. We explained this to the woman, and let her know that security wasn't available but that they were posted at the exit and wouldn't let her child out without her. Her son had only been missing a few minutes, and was probably around the merry-go-round, which she had let him ride by himself, trying to find her at the ride's exit gate. She broke down into hysterics! We didnt understand - we HAD to find her son! Crying, she explained that her older child had been kidnapped two years before and had been found dead. Johnny was her only remaining child. We immediately dropped everything and escorted her to the merry-go-round area ourselves. There we found Johnny calmly waiting by the exit for his panicked mother to return! She gratefully hugged each one of us, after of course nearly squeezing Johnny in half!

Nothing But Net

For my third summer at the park I asked to work in the kid's playground area. This was a massive expance of bounce houses, ball crawls, net climbs, go carts, fun houses, and other assorted play areas. We rotated around from area to area within the playground. One of my favorite places to work was the net climb. This cargo net had two steep grades, the first to a "halfway" platform with escape stairs for those who were leary of the steeper climb to the top platform, some 30 feet up. Rules prohibited adults from climbing. The exception to that rule was of course the employees. WE were encouraged to climb up to rescue children who became stuck or frightened during the climb. We became climbing experts, holding races to the top in the hours before the park opened. Many of us could climb forward or backward, down or up, and could do so without holding onto the sides for support.

I always looked forward to having a child stuck on the climb! I know, that sounds cruel. But I was an expert at helping them get to the top. Even children who were stuck on the first level often wanted to continue to the very top with my help. There's something very satisfying about the proud look of achievement when a child completes a difficult task.

Unfortunately, although the climb itself was quite rewarding, there were some side effects that weren't so much fun. Our "uniform" at Six Flags' kid's area was a pair of culottes and a western style shirt and vest. The uniform was perfect - it managed to be too hot in the summer, too cold when cooler weather moved in; impossible to dry when it rained and sticky when we sweated; and it was ugly to boot! The culottes meant that on the top of the net climb, anyone down below was treated to a free "show!" I only had to look down at the smiling father's faces below to know that they were NOT smiling proudly at their children's accomplishments! After the first days of climbing the net I learned to wear shorts under the uniform. Even then, it wasn't unusual to see a father down below, smiling proudly at their child (and probably imagining that the shorts weren't there!).

Three summers of heat, crowds, and noise, along with long hours on my feet, and I figured I was done with theme parks forever (at least as an employee)! When I returned from college after my senior year, I took the more traditional mall job and left Six Flags to the guests (myself included). I assumed at the time that I had pretty much washed theme park employment out of my system. Little did I know that five years later I would end up employed at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio! But that's another story for another time!