SOB/Gun Steve-O

I remember when I went to the Metallica concert in 2003 up at the horseshoe. I was in the upper deck to the left of the stage, but when they shot up the flames during "Fuel," oh, man! We could feel them - very clearly - even up there! So it would not take much to feel the explosion, I think. If you don't know, the horseshoe is Ohio Stadium, where the Buckeye football team plays. It is shaped like a horseshoe.

What's wrong with Bogarts? I can't see them doing this. It would be way to easy for stuff to get out of hand, especially when you're dealing with rock bands and teenagers here. Not to mention that these bands tend to bring people that most folks at the park (employees and customers alike) probably don't want to see. Xtended Play clearly didn't work, what makes you think that this would?

Ha! I finally got to you, Ariel!! Muah-ha-ha-ha!! Anyway... For high schools, most go back within the next week. Cincy Public goes back the 24th. But a large part of the ride ops at PKI are in college. The two biggest colleges in Ohio (Ohio State and University of Cincy) don't start until Sept. 22. Ohio U starts right around Labor Day, I think. Miami U (where a LOT of PKI people go to) has already started, I think. It is ride ops policy to give priority to coasters and other huge rides (like Drop Zone, Tomb Raider, Delirium). The little flat rides and kiddie land are the main areas affected.

It tends to get rougher when it hasn't rained in a while. I know they were doing something to it most of the day on Monday - not sure what, though. And like Pat said, there are up-stop wheels, as well as wheels on the side to prevent the train form coming off the track.

Heck, I'll give you the secrets: Sit near the front of the train. You will notice that each car has 3 rows in it. Sit in the second one. That way, you're not on one of the wheels. Try to ride it after it rains. If you can't try to ride it in the morning (I know that this is when line is usually longest, but you gotta do what you gotta do), or when you can see that the ride has been closed for a while, or when the train is near-empty. Pull up on the lap bar a little when going up the larger hills to resist the g's that will push it down. Cross your legs at your ankles to put more room between you and the bar.

From what I have seen, the park generally changes the AT movie every two years. Spongebob has had its two years, I wouldn't be suprised if they changed that. (Usual employee disclaimer applies)

Any day except Saturday. They're all pretty much the same. Just watch out for special events on the website.

SOB had queues open? Thats kind of odd for a Friday - even at peek time when you guys were there.

I think he's talking about Doc John audits. I think anyway. In a nutshell: A couple times a year the park brings in this guy known only as "Doc John" to us regular employee folk to perform a saftey audit of all the ride crews. At the end of the audit, there is a big supervisor meeting in which the results of the audit are announced, along with a ranking of all the crews and a list of all the problems observed in the audit. I have never heard of Doc Frank. Note: I changed the title of the topic so it makes sence.

Concerts are always fishy. Sometimes the people just won't come until concert time, sometimes they will stay all day. It almost always gives the north end of the park larger crowds at night (SOB, Face/Off, Drop Zone, people ride Congo Falls to get a free look in, you get the idea). It depends on who is playing and what kind of a fan base they have. I hate to give out a non-answering answer like that, but there is just not much consistency with them. I have never heard of people parking on I-71 and the park telling people not to come for a concert at Timberwolf (though it honestly wouldn't suprise me that much). That honor is now reserved for weekend bring-a-friend free days - and as far as I know, they're done with those for this year.

Really? I honestly did not know that. The only time I can recall them putting a big sign out in front of the gate or toll booths was the first year SOB was open. Then again, I don't pay much attention to what's going on at the front gate, or during the end of May/August period where staffing is incredibly difficult. Is it in one of those boxes they put those movie posters in or something?

I believe that the "early admission" to BB is only to grab sunspots. Not too sure though. And very very few people go to the ERTs. I think most people don't even know they exist. They don't go in Action Zone, anyway. I'd say its no more than 200 people on an average Thursday morning - including the employees. To actually answer dude's question, any time during the week is good. Just look out for special events (concerts, bring-a-friend-free days, Xtended play) that draw lots of crowds. Middle of the week is usually pretty good. You usually won't run into much trouble on Sunday, either. Don't go on a Saturday if you can help it. One more piece of advice, start out in the Rivertown/HB area, and go counter-clockwise. AZ gets crowded really quickly, the crowds there start thinning out around 2:00 generally.

I'm just curious, how do they plan to enforce this rule? Have everyone clock out at the exit? I don't think I would care much if they did it at PKI, because I very rarely go to the park for fun - on an off day or after a shift.

I don't mean to bash my sups here. They're good guys. There are just some things I don't understand, thats all.

OK, I went a little too far on that. They care about capacity. But they are not emphasizing it nearly as much as they did last year, at least. I think that they are MUCH more concerned about "guest relations." A lot of you new folks don't understand this. Last year (for me at least), guest relating was something that was reserved for downtime, and it seemed that this was a rather universal feeling. As for your other point, that is a question that I have yet to have answered. It is not "fellow employees" that are telling me to shut up, they are people higher up in the hierarchy than I am. I have no idea why they find it unprofessional. I asked my sups about it, and one of them said "It just is." Maybe they are afraid that I will inadvertadly insult somebody - that's the only thing I can think of.