What do ride ops do to pass the time

[Mr. Coastermania]

When rides have somedown time due to repairs or it rains what do ride ops do to pass the time?I know it's ok to take a breather but what happens when your stuck waiting along time before you get back to work?

[chaddie]

Someone has to stand at the entrance to the ride and politely tell people that the ride is down. Someone else has to keep the people that were already in line calm. I'd imagine it is one of the worst times, not a relaxing one.

[bkroz]

When a friend and I went to Disneyland, we made really good friends with the team working Indiana Jones Adventure, Disneyland's most popular (and most prone-to-breakdowns) ride. For those who don't know, it's located right in between the mega-popular Fantasmic and the park's exit, so everyone bum-rushes it after Fantasmic just to get a ride on it before they leave. As you can imagine, it's pandemonium. Factor into that that, on one particular night that we stood with the operators, the ride (as usual) broke down just as Fantastic let out.

What followed was all of the operators (plus my friend and I) literally making a human wall to keep people out after a number of folks literally tried to run past them & into the queue! What ride did they think was waiting for them!?

I know Disneyland is slightly different from Kings Island, but just from that experience I can tell you that it requires a lot of patience. You get a lot (and I mean a lot) of people asking "What's wrong with it?" "When will it open?" "How long is it going to be closed?" As many of you know, there are no answers to those questions. People would try to coerce the cast members into telling them, almost like they were trying to bribe them: "Hey buddy... Uhhh... You know, I've got some cash here and... Look, my kid just wants to know when Indiana Jones will be open."

So yes, I would assume that being a ride operator doesn't afford you a break. Not during operation, or during closure...

[Cody]

*Did not have to stand at the entrance of the ride to tell people that the ride was down because of rain instead he was giving the thumbs up too send 36 riders into the rain*

[CoastersRZ]

Yes, I have witnessed some very slow days at Coney. Usually, I talk with the fellow ride op that I am working with. The worst is at Coney when there is lightning in the area, and we have to remain at our ride, even though there is no one in line. That can get a bit dicy when it actually start to rain, as there isn`t much cover at most of Coney`s rides. As stated above, the numbe one question is when will the ride reopen.

[buckeyemaniac]

Yes, I have witnessed some very slow days at Coney. Usually, I talk with the fellow ride op that I am working with. The worst is at Coney when there is lightning in the area, and we have to remain at our ride, even though there is no one in line. That can get a bit dicy when it actually start to rain, as there isn`t much cover at most of Coney`s rides. As stated above, the numbe one question is when will the ride reopen.

Unless we have to evacuate the ride, then downtimes are very relaxing. There is time to do cleaning that you don't have time to do otherwise, or just talk to your coworkers.