Jump to content

What is the best ride to operate?


PKI Punk
 Share

Recommended Posts

I like working the roller coasters, but I think that's obvious from my name. tongue.gif It's actually a little easier than you might think - you're mostly there in case something goes wrong.

Most of the people here are from the Action Zone area of the park (with SOB, Delirium, Face/Off, just to name a few). We all like it there because we have a close-knit community if you will, we all get along well and do stuff together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah Beast is fun to work at. Back when I worked there ( I don't know about now) we would have power hour eevry night where we would get the guest very excited and it was GREAT times. I do miss it alot. But I will say I like operating Delirium better. Its not so much the ride that makes things fun, its the crew and the area you are in thats makes whatever ride you call the best to operate, the best to operate! Coasters do get slightly boring to operate after a few hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gotta say the best to operate is Beast. The guests get excited about the ride, and especially the night rides. I've never gotten more excitment out of guests at any other ride!

Oh, come on! You worked the FoF crew! There can't be anything more thrilling than launching people 0-60 with the touch of a button! biggrin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gotta say the best to operate is Beast. The guests get excited about the ride, and especially the night rides. I've never gotten more excitment out of guests at any other ride!

Oh, come on! You worked the FoF crew! There can't be anything more thrilling than launching people 0-60 with the touch of a button! biggrin.gif

Yeah, it was fun and all, but the guests would never get into it nearly as much as they do at Beast. When Beast comes back and the ride op goes "Welcome back Beast riders, how was your ride!" People would clap at the least. I've tried doing that at FoF, and it was silent. I think people are so disoriented to figure out what just happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slightly off topic as it deals with Coney instead of PKI, but the best ride to operate at Coney would probably be the Ferris Wheel, which is also one of the harder ride to run. The ride is hard to run simply because it is extremely sensitive to weight, and careful attention must be paid to keep it balanced, or it will start to go backwards, smoke or blow a fuse. However, once the ride is in motion you are able to sit down for a couple minutes. Another plus about the Ferris wheel is that there are always two operators at that ride, and the time really flies there because the show are next door, and on busy days when we are straight loading, it can take up to ten minutes to get a new set of riders on.

I would imagine any of the rides at PKI that are inside in the AC are good rides to operate, especially when the summer sun heats up the heat index to near 100 or above,

Edited by CoasterRZ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tom, you always look like you're haveing a good time when I see you up at PKI rolleyes.gif .

Hey, every ride has its downpoints. But if you concentrate on what is good about the ride, then you will really have fun. I have mastered this concept.

If I didnt have fun, I wouldnt come back. Easy as that. Or I switch crews.

Oh, and then you havent seen me working Biplanes or Handcars in HB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

derbeast, you got me thinking. Is the train considered a flat ride? Or is it a transportation ride? I guess it is kind of both, depending if you get off at BB or stay on for the round trip. I would imagine that operating the train would be relatively easy, since you don`t have any buttons to push (other than for the loud speaker systems),

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, when I worked at PKI I was trained/worked on...

Eiffel Tower

King Cobra

Adventure Express

Viking Fury

Racer

Vortex

Flight of Fear

Action Theatre

Beast

Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal

Train

King's Mill Log Flume

Beastie

Scooby's Ghoster Coaster

Phantom Theatre

White Water Canyon

Hand Carts

Boo Boo's Baggage Claim

etc, etc, etc.

I was a permanent crew member of FOF in 98 and Beast in 99. But I was fortunate enough to get transferred around as needed. The best times I had were while working Kings Mill Log Flume and White Water Canyon.

IMO the best job at PKI, is tower 3 on WWC. It allows you to vent your frustrations ;-) But the downside to WWC is walking the turntable in the sun.

Shaggy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Train is considered to be, IMHO, a transportation ride. the majority of people who take the train are people who are getting off at BB.

Yes, train is a good ride to work on if you want a relaxing atmosphere. The only time it really gets stressful is during the peak BB operating season. But overall, the ride is fun to work, especially if you are back conductor or front conductor. It is the only ride in the entire park that you get to ride while working.

O and Shaggy, thanks for reminding me about Tower 3. I was sent there a couple times, and its a blast:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are PKI employees still allowed/encouraged to take an occasional test ride when an empty seat is available on the coaster? I remember reading that at one time. True, riding the train would be a plus of being a conductor. Much like working the slide at Coney enables you to ride it to go down. At Coney we were not allowed ride the rides in uniform (except when going down the slide, because that is the only way to get down when there is a line, and when a bumper boat stalled in the middle of the boxed off area of lake.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Train is a RIDE, not a transportation ride. You'd be surprised how many people ride round trip and don't get off at the waterpark. Some people ride it to relax after riding Beast and TRTR, or parents who can't handle the more intense rides at the park. So yes train is a ride laugh.gif

Edited by derbeast
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, most of the times I ride the train it is a round trip to relax. I haven`t been to Water Works in a couple seasons so I have had no need to utilizes the train to get back to WW. Especially since they built the entrance for pass holders from the parking lot. That has been one of the smartest things they did to the water park before this current renovation and transformation into BB. It was a major pain to walk all the way through HB and Nick and past the picnic groves with all the towels, sunscreen and change of clothes that are necessary with a trip to WW/BB. I will be returning to the water park this season for sure with the additions they are making. BB will be awesome, and I as many other probably are, will be getting a sneak peak on Friday.

This past season, during Fear Fest, they had themed the train the best it had been since they removed the old animatronic figurines. All the halloween stuff they added made for a very entertaining ride and unique photo ops of the engine. Most people got off at the picnic groves to continue with the Halloween festivities under one of the shelters. I wouldn`t necessarily call the train a flat ride though. To me a flat ride is more like a spinning whirl-n-hurl type ride, although I do consider Drop Zone a ride. I guess I consider it more of a transportation ride since it has two stations.

My most memorable train ride is when I rode it when a severe thunderstorm was passing overhead. Boy was there a lot of really close lightning. Everyone on the train was scrunched as close to the center of the car as they could get because the rain was raining sideways. By the time we returned to the Riv ertown station it looked like we had just riden White Water Canyon two times in a row. Boy, did I get way off topic. Sorry. Out of the two kiddie areas, what is the best ride to operate?

Edited by CoasterRZ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Technically the Train, just like a monorail, or the elevators on the Eifel Tower... are transportation rides. They all move people mostly along a flat path or verticle line. Train has two places to get on and off at, as with the elevators. Which by definition is made to transport people from one destination to another. Just because you don't get off and instead come back to the begining doesn't make a difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...