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Yelling at ride ops??


harmony29
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I know it probably wont ever happen, but they ahould have different prices for other heights aside from just under 48, and 48+. It would probably help with ticket sales (not that its a problem) and may help with the height check issue. Have 3 other ticket options. One is for those that dont even ride rides that is cheaper than the regular general admission, then one for 52+, and one for 54+.

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The problem with the price for admission for people who don`t ride rides is this.  They could probably ride some rides like the Eiffel Tower, Carousel, and train.  Do you give them a wristband that says no rides, and apply it across the board?  It would just add yet another thing that ride operators have to check for.

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What would keep someone from taking or tearing the “no ride” wristband off? Yeah, I know, you’re likely not going to be able to get something sharp (knife, scissors) in to the park to cut off a normal or even a thick plastic wristbandoff. But what keeps someone from going to their car and doing it. As CoasterRZ said this would be a major pain for ride operators too. Not every ride has a greeter at the entrance of the ride and KI won’t be spending more money for greeters only for some guests to pay less for admission.

Even if you switch the situation so only riders wear the wristband. I didn’t spend $180 on a platinum pass to have to stop and get a wristband every time I go to the park. How much time would it take to enter the front gate or stand in line at a booth if it was done this way? I also hate small parks that use the barcode wristbands at the entry of the ride. Yes, I understand it’s something they need to do, but it’s simply not feasible at a large park. They are usually iffy as to how well they scan and can slow dispatches and prevent filling a whole train from what I’ve seen. Plus I’m sure there are several other ways people who didn’t pay full price would try to scam the park. 

 

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I worked on Tomb Raider it's first couple of years and we saw it at all.  My favorite instance was a parent who told the greeter that their child was not riding.  The kid who was very obviously too short made it to the ride and sat down.  We noticed that there were legs in this seat that were not even long enough to bend over the seat and we saw 2 little legs sticking straight out.  We up bared and checked him only to see what we had suspected.  He was waaaaay too short.  Then we had his father standing there making a scene on the ride screaming that there were lots of other kids he saw getting on that were also too short and that we were just singling them out.  So we opened up all 77 seats and walked up and down every row with a height stick.  His kid was the only one that was too short to ride.  Finally he gave in and both him and his child walked out of the ride.

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^And it is parents like that why some parks or specific rides will not allow a too short person in line with their family.  Because of a parent's lack of being a responsible adult now means that rule abiding families have to either split up and one stays behind while the others go in line or they just don't ride.  Plus it should be a requirement that anyone shorter than 54" should be required to have a height wrist band so that ride-ops have an easier time assessing this.

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I have three young children. We get wrist bands when we go. It’s really a simple, obvious thing to do. Often times the Mr and I will just switch duties with one in Planet Snoopy the other on the bigger rides or sitting in Reds pretending to ride rides for a few minutes of precious golden silence. Common sense and a desire to keep my  children safe is key.  Why chance harming who should be the most precious things in your life. 

I have seen people scream at ride ops for it. I have seen people screaming in guest services. It’s not worth getting that bent out of shape over someone doing their job.

 I know it’s expensive and trying to make the most of a visit if you can only go once a season can be difficult, but think parents put themselves before their children to have a good time not realizing it could injure a child. 

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Regarding non-rider discounts, The Beach Waterpark has an interesting way of doing that, per their FAQ: http://www.thebeachwaterpark.com/park-info/frequently-asked-questions/

Quote
DO I STILL HAVE TO PAY IF I DON’T GET IN THE WATER?

To purchase a spectator wristband, guests initially pay full admission price at the ticket booth, and then are refunded $20 at the end of the day. Any spectator seen on any attraction, including the kiddie pool, may have their wristband removed and lose their refund.

I like that: pay full price up front, get the wristband, and then trade the wristband for a partial refund when you leave, with the caveat that the wristband is lost if you do any rides. At Kings Island, I would say that the Eiffel Tower and KI&MVRR should be exempted from such a program, but otherwise I like the idea.

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8 hours ago, goettablitz said:

I worked on Tomb Raider it's first couple of years and we saw it at all.  My favorite instance was a parent who told the greeter that their child was not riding.  The kid who was very obviously too short made it to the ride and sat down.  We noticed that there were legs in this seat that were not even long enough to bend over the seat and we saw 2 little legs sticking straight out.  We up bared and checked him only to see what we had suspected.  He was waaaaay too short.  Then we had his father standing there making a scene on the ride screaming that there were lots of other kids he saw getting on that were also too short and that we were just singling them out.  So we opened up all 77 seats and walked up and down every row with a height stick.  His kid was the only one that was too short to ride.  Finally he gave in and both him and his child walked out of the ride.

I think I remember this story... I probably know you from back then as well.

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I understand what y'all mean about things needing checked, and being more of a pain. Color coded wristbands arent difficult to check. Eiffel Tower, pools, and the railroad should still be allowed. Thing is, imho, there isnt that much to do aside from ride rides. If I didnt ride, and my family did, I wouldnt see justifying paying full admission price. And why should my daughter that cant ride all the rides cause shes not 54", be the same price as those that can?

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30 minutes ago, Sebastien6221 said:

I understand what y'all mean about things needing checked, and being more of a pain. Color coded wristbands arent difficult to check. Eiffel Tower, pools, and the railroad should still be allowed. Thing is, imho, there isnt that much to do aside from ride rides. If I didnt ride, and my family did, I wouldnt see justifying paying full admission price. And why should my daughter that cant ride all the rides cause shes not 54", be the same price as those that can?

Because that is the business model that the park uses.

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33 minutes ago, Sebastien6221 said:

I understand what y'all mean about things needing checked, and being more of a pain. Color coded wristbands arent difficult to check. Eiffel Tower, pools, and the railroad should still be allowed. Thing is, imho, there isnt that much to do aside from ride rides. If I didnt ride, and my family did, I wouldnt see justifying paying full admission price. And why should my daughter that cant ride all the rides cause shes not 54", be the same price as those that can?

Because Planet Snoopy has 6 rides that you have to be under 54" to ride - once she reaches 54", she can no longer ride those, but then can ride the 4 rides that you must be over 54" to ride...

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No because there is only a hand full of rides with those requirements. You can fully enjoy the park at 48” without an issue. What are they missing? Diamondback, Invertigo, FOF, Firehawk? WindSeeker Delirium Banshee. All the aggressive thrill rides. 

 

KI is a family park. With a few thrilling rides for the adults/older children. I don’t see a big issue with heights and pricing. 

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On 6/11/2018 at 12:51 PM, IndyGuy4KI said:

I think it rude for a parent to not get the wristband. That is the first place I go with mine. Then we are good the rest of the day. Not that hard and I am not holding up a line. Common curticy.

This is exactly what I do; get my kid measured first thing, then there's no issue as to what he rides. He's borderline 54" as of right now and we are heading to Cedar Point this Wednesday. I told him not to walk in with the expectation that he will be measured at 54". If he his, then great. If not, there are still a ton of rides to do and 5 new  coasters he can ride. 

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We also start the day with a wristband. It lets us, our kids, and the ride ops know what they can ride. I always feel sorry for the kids who get off a ride crying (seen this several times at Woodstock Express) because their parents either tried to "sneak" them on, or were just completely oblivious to the height rule...or perhaps an upset kid and parent are actually correct. Perhaps they actually had been allowed to ride it before...

Last fall was the first time my youngest was 54"...and right at the 54" mark. Since they can give wristbands at the ride itself, we got him measured at Diamondback. Last fall, he rode Diamondback on back-to-back trips....on his third time to the park after being 54", we do the exact same thing. He gets a wristband at the ride's entrance, and we proceed to get on the ride. We ride it once, then get back in line for a re-ride. They must have had a recent height-check issue just in that 5-10 minute period because the person at the ride gate, asked for his height and started to measure him, but saw his wristband and said "go ahead". After we got on the ride, the ride operator made him get off and get measured, while acknowledging that he had the wristband. He took a few seconds to do this because this stick seemed to be less favorable to my son's height than the stick out front. Feet together, stand up straight, back to the pole. I thought he wasn't going to let him ride. I had warned my son prior to going each subsequent trip that he might measure a little differently each time (either they have a measuring stick which is slightly different, or the height station is different than the ride entrance, or the ride greeter won't give a wristband for exactly 54", etc.) And I know ride operators have discretion to check and refuse rides regardless of wristband color worn...but that would have been pretty hard news to a 9-yr-old who legitimately rode what was becoming one of his favorite rides just 5 minutes earlier. The ride operator did look at me, which I took the opportunity to state that we received the wristband from the ride entrance, and this would be our second ride of the day. No reason to yell or make a big deal about it. I understand being upset or feeling like you (or your kid) is being treated "unfairly". However, it just usually makes those types of situations worse. The ride operator did deem him exactly 54" and we rode again. Still a toss-up between this and Banshee as his favorite rides.  :-)

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^starting an interaction in a calm and understanding attitude usually gets you farther than starting out adversarial and yelling. Flies and honey and all that. But even if one gets an answer they don't like, it's best to take it up later at guest services than to get in the face of a near-child (usually) who is just trying to do their job as they understand it. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Saw a kid with a wristband on FOF get pulled to be measured on Monday. 3 of the 4 ride ops kept saying "she has a wrist band" but the guy that was measuring her was not giving in right away. It was an interesting situation to watch because the girl had obviously been measured and passed for the wrist band, but this particular ride op was taking his job very seriously. Also, maybe a ride op can chime in here, but is it to the top or bottom of the tape on the sticks? She was very obviously over the bottom of the tape, and was just above the top of the tape, but the ride op kept rechecking it over and over. 

 

What was a little obnoxious about that situation was when everyone in line started chanting "let her ride". 

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28 minutes ago, lifetimecoaster said:

Saw a kid with a wristband on FOF get pulled to be measured on Monday. 3 of the 4 ride ops kept saying "she has a wrist band" but the guy that was measuring her was not giving in right away. It was an interesting situation to watch because the girl had obviously been measured and passed for the wrist band, but this particular ride op was taking his job very seriously. Also, maybe a ride op can chime in here, but is it to the top or bottom of the tape on the sticks? She was very obviously over the bottom of the tape, and was just above the top of the tape, but the ride op kept rechecking it over and over. 

 

What was a little obnoxious about that situation was when everyone in line started chanting "let her ride". 

It's a common scam for a parent to have the taller kid measured, work the wrist band off them and put it on the smaller kid, then have the taller one remeasured.  If the ride op had suspicions then they were doing the right thing.

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3 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

It's a common scam for a parent to have the taller kid measured, work the wrist band off them and put it on the smaller kid, then have the taller one remeasured.  If the ride op had suspicions then they were doing the right thing.

People are nuts. I haven't had any issue at this point explaining to my 5 year old daughter who saw my pictures from Monday of Vortex and said "I want to ride that NOW!!" that she has to be at least 48 inches tall before I can take her on it. She gets it, and tells me when she's bigger she is going to ride with me. My 3 year old son says he just wants to look at it. I don't get the whole putting kids at risk just so they can ride something. The harnesses on some of these rides aren't small enough to keep someone that little safe. 

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It happens all the time, even at Coney.

At Coney, we also have another issue.  Some rides require a supervising companion to ride.  With the exception of Carousel and pedal boats, all riders must have a wristband.  We often get disgruntled parents who did not purchase a wristband and are now mad that they have to purchase a wristband in order to supervise their kid who is too short to ride by themselves.  

We also have the issue of said parents purchasing one wristband and transferring it between them. Or getting a free baby wristband for their small kids, and not putting it on the babies so they can ride for free.  I was called out to the Mission to Mars ride at Coney over just a thing.  The operator was enforcing park policy that all riders, including those who are 1, wear a wristband.  The parents didn`t want to put the wristband on their kid.  I explained that it is park policy for all riders to have a wristband.  They were not happy, but they were bent on doing things there way, and no matter what I said would not appease them.

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5 hours ago, lifetimecoaster said:

Saw a kid with a wristband on FOF get pulled to be measured on Monday. 3 of the 4 ride ops kept saying "she has a wrist band" but the guy that was measuring her was not giving in right away. It was an interesting situation to watch because the girl had obviously been measured and passed for the wrist band, but this particular ride op was taking his job very seriously. Also, maybe a ride op can chime in here, but is it to the top or bottom of the tape on the sticks? She was very obviously over the bottom of the tape, and was just above the top of the tape, but the ride op kept rechecking it over and over. 

 

What was a little obnoxious about that situation was when everyone in line started chanting "let her ride". 

That chant is one of the things that prompted me to start this thread, I was appalled at the behavior if adults who should be setting examples for kids.

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1 hour ago, KIfan73 said:

To past ride operators/those that have done it for a long time:  Is this type of behavior becoming more common, or has it always been this way?

It's always been a problem.  I remember my parents had me step on my tippy toes at Universal Studios when I was 6 to ride something.

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