dare-to-fly

I really remember opening day of 2008. All the rumors had circulated that there was a new coaster going in and that swan lake had been drained. The park had done its best to keep it quiet. I still remember being led on The Beast walkback (yes...that was still happening) by Don and we were finally allowed to see for ourselves and take pictures of the construction. I also remember noticing the very amusing flower pots on top of the soon-to-be DB footings. It was also a very fun opening day.

I also really suggest finding other things to do besides the coasters from roughly 11-2. These are the longest lines for the coasters, and you'll often find yourself in a position with the rides at the back of the park where you'll have to wait for them to add trains. Go early to the coasters, and after 4 or 5 you'll be able to get right on without too many problems. In the last hour, pretty much all the coasters will be a walk-on.

Just wait until Sevier County Week when all the locals get in for $5 that entire week. We can make up some new material for this thread while receiving a million new posts for the guests say the darndest things thread. XGatorHead - That was an awesome new rumor to start, but not possible. Jerome is far too lazy to come all the way down the pole unless there's food involved. He wouldn't even come down to put on his Christmas pants. We had to go up to get him dressed. Yet after all these years, he makes more money. Sheesh. That's why we put a lump of coal in his stocking!

It's better just to leave it in the station or find a locker. It's much better than having your day go wrong when you don't have something you started with. Kat can tell you about the guy on Mystery Mine who decided that his phone and his girlfriend's phone would both be fine in his pocket, and then lost them both. Just so you know, Holiday World is just as strict with these policies. Actually, Holiday World is even more strict than most parks. That's the only park I've ever seen them tell someone that they HAD to hand over their phone (that was in a pocket at this point) because they had seen it out in the station and knew they had one. We don't do that at Dollywood, but if a hat is seen in the train, the world stops.

There have been several periods where maintenance has been very annoying about leaving the lights on. If memory serves, some of them were put on a timer at some point while I worked there in 2011, but I don't remember for sure which ones. I'm thinking it was the helix lights. I hate it when they leave the ones in the graveyard tunnel on.

It depends on what you're looking at in terms of impact. The highest impact on the industry would be The Racer, as it is given credit for re-igniting interest in wooden coasters and also starting the coaster wars. At the park level, definitely The Beast, because it became the park's signature attraction (and still is). Without looking at the percent of increase in attendance, I'd also say The Beast increased the park attendance the most over the years too.

Not to mention if it's a short delay to unlock a stuck restraint, put on another train, etc. they don't cut the line, they simply announce a small delay in the station, do what they need to do, and re-open.

What are husbands for if not to tell all of the wifie's stories wrong? Another thread about a Vortex ride-op claiming that WindSeeker was being removed should go here. I've also been told other rides are being removed...that we can still ride today. Don't you know? Vortex and Magnum are sinking!! So's Tennessee Tornado - spread that around for me. We need some amusing rumors down this way.

Totally agree. Also, what if someone is waiting in line for 2 hours, and someone just enters the line 2 minutes before the ride breaks down? Where do you judge where to stop handing out passes? I wish they would give some sort of time frame. I understand why they don't (when unforseen issues arise you have angry guest), but it would be helpful to know if it's going to take in the neighborhood of a half hour, or if it'd be closer to three. Considering that as soon as you give them a rough time, they come back ten minutes earlier, say it was three times as long as you said, and are complete jerks about the ride not being up when you said it would be. Apparently the guests expect you to have some crystal ball that tells exactly how long it will be. Especially about the whether - how long do you think it'll be. Ask mother nature, because I don't get paid to predict the weather, nor do I have the tools to do it anyway. Ahhhh!! This whole reason about not knowing is exactly the reason behind Dollywood's policy. They ask everyone in line to leave if it will be a while. That way there's no one waiting for a ride that will be down who knows how long, and no one constantly pestering about how long it will be. Not to mention, those who are there to fix the problem are not having to answer a bunch of questions, or listen to people that wonder if they know what they are doing.

Wouldn't want to be you that season!! I get annoyed enough when the kids are tall enough for the rides around the general area, but not mine.

This is a really easy question to answer. Unless you are a member of the media or park-approved shoot where the camera is mounted to the train while being supervised by the park - usually not during public operation, they are always going to say no. GoPros are considered loose articles just like a camera with a wrist strap is, therefore parks do not allow them. The list of parks that you can POV at is very, very small. As a ride host at Dollywood, I can tell you that we don't allow GoPros, and as a former ride associate at Kings Island, we definitely didn't allow them. I remember making someone take a chest-mounted camera off at The Beast. Electronics are not allowed...period. We even went as far as making people take head phones out/off and put them away. Holiday World will take it a step further. Once they see it, you WILL leave it in the station or get off the ride. They don't tolerate it at all. Half the time they won't let you have a cell phone in your pocket on the ride if they know it's there. No way would they let you have a camera outside of your pocket. Be safe and don't record POV's. All they do is cause problems or hit people in the face. "Oh, I won't drop it. I'm always careful," you say. Guess what, no one ever drops it on purpose. If you want a pov - you tube it. There are plenty of people that don't follow the rules out there as it is, and I hope they got ejected from the park.

As far as I'm concerned, it's the fact that coasters age and sometimes pick up little quarks and vibrations over the years. Usually it's absolutely nothing to worry or whine about. Those who have not ridden Goliath at SFOG for a while might want to take it for a spin to see what I mean about picking up vibrations. It's still a lot of fun, but you can tell it has broken in.

That happens way too frequently. Then there was the guest who asked Kat if they had a booster seat that he could use at Mystery Mine. That's when you just want to say, "There's the gate. Use it!"

I can post this one too. A friend of mine was at Dollywood. (I wasn't there for this as I was working.) He witnessed someone asking what the big deal was that her daughter was just "that much too short." The ride host looked at her and said, calmly, "Well ma'am, she could fall out and die." Since then it has been a standing joke in the attractions department.

The re-ride policy at Dollywood provides a perfect opportunity for someone to make up reasons for the policy. I've heard several on my crew tell guests they had to go around because we have a tin roof. The Blazing Fury version is cracks in the ceiling. Flyer, who HATES enforcing this policy!

Considering Gatekeeper at CP drawing people north, and the lack of new attractions, I think it will be more of a lull at KI, but I don't think it'll be dead either.

Nothing lasts forever, but it will be a long time in the future. Something that brings in that much profit won't be sold off lightly.

Sounds like a potentially viable option. From reading the posts, I think my problem is that I have an issue with having to protect people from themselves. This is why Kat is in charge of safety at Midnight Forest.

Oh, yeah. It's illegal to live in New Jersey. I forgot.

It's Knoebels...of course it does.

I never got to ride RWB in either set of trains, but since those have buzz bars, I'm sure that would be my preference.

If your only trip to LeSourdsville Lake was in 02, you really didn't go to LeSourdsville Lake. I remember that park being a wonderful place full of fun. It was NOT run that way in 02, but it was nice to ride the Eagle a few more times. Try to remember the rides, not those who were running them. FYI - I've also had great experiences with Kentucky Kingdom. They were really trying hard to be a better park in the last few seasons.

That's probably not much of an exaggeration either.

I just know that I'm going to be hammered for this opinion. A case like this is exactly why coasters now have super restrictive restraints that hurt and why ride ops at many parks are trained to staple riders to the seat. One idiot wants to stand up on the ride and wave to their friends and show absolutely no judgement, so now I'm sure we'll have to have seat belts on all ferris wheels, railings that block most of the view, and not allow any single riders. It makes me sick. I'm waiting for all new ferris wheel cars to be cages as seen on the rock-o-plane. Have small children ride with their parents. Past that, it wasn't the park's fault. I'm not saying I don't feel bad for the family, but it used to be that families that allowed their children to go on rides told them how to behave on them. If the child doesn't know better, ride with them or don't let them ride. Speaking of which, I don't recall seeing anything about a parent or guardian mentioned in the article. Where were they? Since when do we let an 11-year-old wander the park completely alone? Sorry, I don't see anything in this article that leads me to believe any additional restrictions on ferris wheels are neccessary. I see only poor judgement. Okay...blast away! Flyer

I'm going 7/3-7/4 I bet the 4th will be insane! The 4th isn't always as bad as you might think...especially with the threat of rain.