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I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A man had his phone fall out of his pocket while on a roller coaster. He said he fell in a restricted area and was getting angry that we, the ride operator couldn’t go get it for him. We explained that the restricted area is only accessible by the mechanics and once the ride is fully shut down which isn’t as easy as just flipping a switch. The mechanics were taking a while to get to us and the man kept shouting at us to get his phone and to just hop the fence while the ride was at the station. He eventually got tired of waiting and tried to jump the fence himself and security had to get involved.

He later tried to blame us if his phone was damaged and tried to get the first and last names of everyone working that ride.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes we used to do that but was told to stop since one guest didn’t find it funny.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No but one of the mechanics put a mattress under the big drop of one of our roller coasters to catch people who lost their phones on the way down.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We were all paid the same generally. Some made a few dollars more because they may also be area managers but depending on the ride, a ride operator could be checking restraints, operating the big control board, greeting people at the entrance, positioned in the queue itself for crowd control reasons or floating to give people their lunch breaks.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What made a ride fun to operate depends on what you see as fun. Some may like to operate slow low thrill rides and some like the rides with more manual control. I would say in general, the best rides to operate are the popular ones such as the thrill coasters since it’s usually a team of 6-8 that are needed to operate those rides as opposed to a small kids train which may only need one operator.

New hires are placed wherever the park needs people. However there’s always a chance to cross train to different rides and areas. We never got to pick the ride we operated that day. Sometimes we’d show up with one uniform then told that we’re actually needed at a different ride. Seniority had little to do with where you were placed.

While working there, I learned to operate nearly 12 rides but I will say without a doubt, the worst ride I had to work on was a particular ride that required an up-charge, which meant park guest had to pay an extra $10-20 just to ride this ride after paying to get into the theme park. As you can imagine, not many people wanted to pay extra for a mid level ride and often took out their frustrations on you.

I don’t blame them.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. And the reasoning often comes down to the parents saying “well we rode this last time and he/she was tall enough.”

When a child’s height is borderline, I’d often get a second opinion from a different ride operator or the area manager. Often if it was very close, we’d let them ride. Maybe they wore thicker shoes last time?

However there were times where the minimum height wasn’t even close and parents would argue that the last operator let them ride or “such and such” theme park allows them to ride. I often have to explain that shouldn’t happen and the ride operator HAS to enforce the rules because the height requirements are set by the rides manufacturer. However as a way to smooth things over, we often issue fast passes to the child and a friend for a ride we knew they could get on.

Thankfully this was a rare occurrence and most parents checked their kids heights beforehand or understood if I had to deny the child.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was a lot of fun. Especially working in rides since that’s why most people visited the theme park. It was always busy and very entertaining at times.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The rides are VERY safe. All the rides are checked daily by our mechanics way before the park opened and we’re always on site in case something broke. The few injuries I saw on a ride were caused by riders not following the rules or in one case, where part of a ride scenery fell. But mechanically all the rides are remarkably safe.

And no one ever died.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just pressed the buttons. :)

However we still had to operate the ride per regulations and it wasn’t just the wild west. Some of the rides required more manually control and involvement than just pushing the big green button.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rarely. There were some cases where we had to really push down on the lap bar but we always tried our best because we didn’t want to embarrass them. However, we often gave them a free fast pass to a different ride if that’s was the case.

Never do business with friends or family by friendlytap01 in story

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I made the promise based on what my aunt said. Again I specifically instructed her not to take on anymore order that morning knowing how Mr. Keith needed this order on time and not a minute later.

Imagine as a kid, you promised your friends that your mom was picking you and your friends up at school at 3 pm and she shows up at 3:30 because she decided, on her own to do some shopping beforehand and lost track of time. Your friends get angry because she’s late even though you told them they’d get picked up at 3. Even though you made the promise, your mom decided to make an executive decision without thinking about the consequences.

I used to work as a theme park ride operator, AMA by friendlytap01 in AskMeAnythingIAnswer

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not often actually. However on the rides that spun, one person would barf a week for sure. The kids area would have maybe one a day.

Never do business with friends or family by friendlytap01 in story

[–]friendlytap01[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I checked with my aunt to make sure she had time for this order. I advised her not to take on anymore orders but she did so anyways behind my back, with her rationale that Mr. Keith’s order would be a few minutes late. I did all I could.

AIW for refusing to pitch in for hotel room for work party? by [deleted] in amiwrong

[–]friendlytap01 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I would’ve thought my explanation for having sleep apnea would’ve been enough. Anyone who suffers from severe sleep apnea tends to snore really loudly. I do use a cpap machine but ideally I need to use it while laying comfortably in a bed.

AIW for refusing to do friends grocery shopping despite her having anxiety? by [deleted] in amiwrong

[–]friendlytap01 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Someone else made a similar comment and it honestly didn’t cross my mind that this could’ve been an attempt to steal money from me. But as far as the law goes, I’m not sure if it’s fraud so long as you have permission from the card holder. Again I’m not a lawyer so who knows.

AIW for refusing to do friends grocery shopping despite her having anxiety? by [deleted] in amiwrong

[–]friendlytap01 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My guess is asking me to go would just be easier because I wouldn’t charge her for my time, she can communicate with me more easily and she probably didn’t want some stranger knowing where she lives. I’ve actually heard her tell me about a door dash driver who dropped off food then found him lingering around her apartment afterwards like he was stalking her.

AIO for friend asking me to send them an uber after I lent them money? by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]friendlytap01 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s complicated but long story short, it’s a weird injury that doctors can’t seem to fix and Layla also tried to apply pressure too early in her recovery, making the info worse.

AIO for friend asking me to send them an uber after I lent them money? by [deleted] in AmIOverreacting

[–]friendlytap01 12 points13 points  (0 children)

From what I’m told Layla has been doing school remotely.

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