KIngpin

Both can be and are true. Safety is obviously a top concern, but the rights of the ride are also a factor.

Amusement parks own the exclusive rights to their on ride video, and you are required to get permission from the park in order to record of take pictures during a video. It is indeed illegal. This is directly from KI's FAQ portion of their website "Guests taking pictures or video while riding may be asked to leave the park with no refund given and a misdemeanor under O.R.C. 1711.551." I would stick to sharing the experience with your friend via official videos posted on youtube and such.

I worked in Guest Services from 2015-2018. I think my favorite memory was when a young woman and her mom came in to the office looking for some information on KI's accessibility policy for guests with disabilities. I was going through the process with them, and one of the questions we ask when doing our assessments is "is there anything else I need to know to keep you safe today". The teenage girl mumbled something, so I asked if she could say that again because I missed it. Her mom said "Oh nothing, she was at the campgrounds with her friends yesterday, and they were being mean to her and she is having a bad day today because of that." So I went and filled out the paperwork needed for her to safely ride, and when I came back, I also printed out 15 dollars worth of in park credit called "Beagle Bucks" to give to the girl to help make her day a little better. I handed the sheet to the mom and went over the information, and then handed them the beagle bucks and explained what they were and said "I hope this can help make your day here the best day ever". The mom welled up and could not get words out. She simply reached her arms out as an embrace, so we all had a mini "group hug" as she kept saying "thank you so much" over and over. It was such a small gesture. 15 dollars to buy a stuffed animal or a couple of blue ice cream cones, but it changed their whole attitude and day. I loved days like that in the office. There were so many times were you would get wore down by tough situations, but then you helped someone solve a problem, and you could feel their gratitude, and it you remember why you love the job and the park. (more stories to come!)

Rides employees are a different breed. They do so much more than just operate their rides. They serve as security in the event of a ride emergency, cleaning crew if their is a “spill” on ride, guest service when they have to tell people they cannot ride for whatever reason, working with guests with physical limitation to make sure they can safely ride, they search rides for lost and found items....the list goes on and on.

That depends on the department really. The park opens at 10, and when I was in GS, we would show up at 8 to start our morning routines, but by that time security has already checked in to help scan in associates, and rides are already running their first tests of the morning. I would guess that rides/security generally are their 3 hours minimum before park open. and GS is their 2 hours prior. The cool part about getting there early is getting to walk around the park for certain tasks. Its empty, its quiet, and it was always a really cool way to center yourself for the day. You go out in to the park, look around, take a deep breath and take a minute to appreciate how cool your job is. In my memory, the fountains came on at 9, which is when the parking lot opens up. So really anytime a guest is allowed to be on park property the fountains were on, barring any sort of maintenance or anything like that.

I agree. The park "closes" at midnight or 1 am, but between ride ops, guest service, lost and found, security, etc, the park is busy far beyond the close to guests.

It was something to the effect of "Panda Express does their own hiring, so any complaints about their processes should be taken to their companies customer service team". Which is true. It was so hard not to have my jaw drop and/or laugh.

When the park closes, each segment of the park is closed as guests file out. Security does an initial sweep for guests, then closes off the area while ride ops finish their nightly tasks. There is also overnight security and the KI police which patrols basically 24/7 while the park is operational. I think the biggest asset though are the cameras around the park. The KI communications team is top notch, and often consist of former police dispatchers, security professionals, etc. They monitor the parks activities before the park opens, and until after the last associate leaves the park, which can be very late. Not to mention trespassing laws etc. If someone really wanted to hide out all night, it could probably done on occasion, but most people would get caught.

I would say that maybe 1-5 out of 100 are "unrealistic". I learned that even those people who are ranting about something that seems irrelevant are only doing so because they feel like they didn't get the help they needed at some point through out the day. As someone else said earlier, even a complaint that seems minor has some value as its something that can make a customer who is on the fence about coming back be more likely to do so if they feel listened to. And most of the time that is what most people wanted, an ally on the inside. Now, that being said, there were guests who came in simply just to try to "get something". The most absurd thing I ever heard, and I kid you not, was a guy who complained that there "were not enough Asians working at Panda Express". It felt like I had to gather my thoughts for an hour in my mind before I knew how to respond. So there are those times where the complaints are absurd, but 99 out of 100 guests, even when upset, are valid.

I personally have not kicked anyone out, but I have seen it happen. The most common reason is that someone is tries to come in to the park without paying (lots of ways people try; I won't go in to them though. I don't want others getting ideas). People have also been removed for the usual things you would expect. Shoplifting, not listening to employee requests, etc, etc. I will say that KI security/KI police do not get near enough credit. KI acts as its own functioning city essentially, and to have a city of at times 50,000 people and they are able to keep control the way they do is impressive. They do a great job handling the public and dealing with them in a fair way that still keeps the park safe.

Ask away! (Please note, I'll be sure to include fun stories and odd happenings from the job, but won't talk bad about guests or the park! I loved the job. Also keep in mind that while I'm no longer employed, there may be some things I can't answer that are fun little park "secrets", but I will do my best to get some cool info out!)