Carowinds: Guest enters Boo Blasters tracks to retrieve phone

[jcgoble3]

Also allegedly shoves a ride operator in the process. She is now banned from Carowinds for five years:

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article75276817.html

[VekomaRulz]

I'm glad they were banned for 5 years. I have noticed cell phone use on rides has really been worse than usual the last couple of years of visiting parks. Even after told by a ride operator to put away a phone most people ignore it and take out the phone a few seconds later.

[rhyano]

She deserves to be banned, glad she is! 

[CoasterOhio]

I'm glad they were banned for 5 years. I have noticed cell phone use on rides has really been worse than usual the last couple of years of visiting parks. Even after told by a ride operator to put away a phone most people ignore it and take out the phone a few seconds later.

 

True story though. and I'm a first hand account of being one of those RO's....

[BeeastFarmer]

And the Ride Operator took the high road and chose not to file battery charges. 

[upstop]

Ignorant people. Saw a patron talking on the phone while riding The Racer last year. She was in the opposite car and the kids in front of us yelled over to her to put it away. She made it through the entire ride and had the phone to her ear all the way. I reported her to the operator.

[RollerNut]

I worked this ride during Winterfest 2005, we had to do an emergency evacuation after an E-stop for a similar reason. During the evacuation everyone has to be careful of the power rail, even with the power off there could be enough residual current leftover to give you a good shock or worse.

[vortexfan]

I'm surprised it wasn't a lifetime ban.

[freaks76]

Easy enough. Put the darn phone away and ya don't lose it.

I don't get it. 99% of people don't care if ya got a video of you riding something. And how many times are you gonna watch the video?

And if its a phone call, if it's that important, why are still there?

[Voicetek]

I don't really understand cell phones in amusement parks anyway.  I mean, are you there to experience the park, or are you there to talk on the phone and post on Facebook?  I can't tell you the number of teenagers I see in line typing away on their phones.  Not that that's the bad part, what's really sad is you'll see a group of them together and instead of talking to each other, they're all looking down at their phones typing away.  I remember going to the park with my friends as a teenager.  We had more fun talking to each other and socializing.  We didn't have phones or other electronic devices to distract us.  We were able to look at each other and hold a conversation.  It's sad to see all these people walking around staring at their phones instead of taking in the surroundings.  I wonder how many years away we are from becoming the humans on 'Wall-E' riding around on their chairs with a screen floating in front of their faces. 

[Joncars05]

This looks like a great start for actual punishment for breaking park rules. I really wish parks would start banning people for cell phone use on rides. It opens them up for liability if someone gets hit in the face by a falling cell phone. To me it should be a two phase penalty. First offense you get escorted out of the park and are banned from the park that year. If you get caught a second time you are banned from the park permanently and if you are caught in the park again you will face trespassing charges.

The amount of money you lose due to a patron being banned is nothing compared to the money lost to a lawsuit from someone suffering permanent damage from a flying cell phone.

[flightoffear1996]

I just wonder how old this person was?  Its ashame that people can't bother following rules any more and then file a law suite when they are injured or worse because they didnt follow the rules.

[Gabe]

On the other hand, the recent intro of FunPix seems to encourage and promote cell phone usage in the parks.  Same with the app.  

[kingsislandfan1972]

People need to listen to the rules, this reminds me of incident of which someone who I believe was at Universal Studios and he went into the water to retrieve his hat, which to me was a stupid risk, there's a video of it somewhere on YouTube.

[Voicetek]

^This is what you're talking about.  The kid went to retrieve his hat from the Jurassic Park water ride.  This could have been VERY bad!

 

[kingsislandfan1972]

^This is what you're talking about.  The kid went to retrieve his hat from the Jurassic Park water ride.  This could have been VERY bad!

 

 

Yeah, that's the video. This could of ended badly, but I wonder where the workers at when this was happening?

[jdawg1998]

On the other hand, the recent intro of FunPix seems to encourage and promote cell phone usage in the parks.  Same with the app.  

 

Unfortunately, that's the world we live in now. Everyone has to be connected to their phones when at the parks.

 

It's been really irksome this year. I see people getting on their phones on Viking Fury just before the ride starts, texting someone. And then at the end of the ride, when it's coming to a stop, they get their phones and start texting again. I mean, really? Who are you texting that's so important that you can't just wait till you're off the ride? Or, how about this - enjoy your day at the park and not start at your phone the whole time?

[MantisMan]

Same could be said for phone usage while driving.......which caries a much greater risk.

[Diamondback96]

Smartphones are extremely useful in parks now. You can use them as a map, to find wait times, to look for food/merchandise locations, for special deals, to take photos, and to find out where your friends are if they aren't with you.

 

That said, a ride is not a place to use anything. Not even a paper map.

[Haru-Kun]

Don't forget the implementation of park-wide wi-fi last year. I don't use it as I have unlimited data, but it works great, and seems to cement in my mind the image of a very mobile-friendly park. 

 

Phone usage in the park? No problem. But when you're in the queue, be prepared to put it away. Its just common sense.

[Magenta Lizard]

I am an avid phone user at the park. I think asking "why even take one?" misses the point. Most people have them, for a variety of reasons, and it isn't anyone's business why or how one uses their phone, as long as one is following the rules. The great majority of us do.

Even as much as I love having my phone at the park, I still take the problem of phones used on rides very seriously. And follow the rules very strictly.

Until and unless parks are willing to back up their signage and ride-ops' warnings with very visible actual results, like park removals and bannings, it is a problem that will only get worse. Congrats to Carowinds for taking this seriously, and publicly.

As it stands at KI, I have never yet seen it go beyond a warning from a ride op over the loudspeaker. The only time security became involved that I have seen was when a fellow KIC member complained to a ride op after someone had their cell phone out recording during an entire Beast ride, and the recorder's friend started a yelling match with the person who complained about it, in the exit queue afterwards.

Security was not, as far as I can tell, called initially because of the cell phone use but the (verbal only) altercation blocking the queue. I know the person recording, and his friend, were temporarily detained in a security office where they filled out statements, but were not kicked out or banned. How do I know? I accidentally ran into a video posted on YouTube, a few days after the incident, which included his on-ride Beast video, inside the security office, and the rest of their day enjoying Soak City, including footage he took inside the slides.

That incident has made me unlikely to make any personal effort toward enforcement in the future, I am not going to risk my own personal safety by confronting someone who already shows no intention of following rules, especially when I know that next to nothing will be done. If I were a ride op, I would have a similar feeling of being allowed to twist in the wind: drawing the ire of these people by trying to enforce the rules, without the backup of any serious punishment if someone neglects to follow my instructions.

[Diamondback96]

In-queue usage isn't that bad honestly. As long as you are still conversing with your group if you're in one. You could figure out where you are going after that ride, or checking up on friends across the park.

 

That said, once you get to the station, you should put your phone in a secure pocket or in a bin (excluding FoF, Banshee, and Firehawk), or give it to someone who can put it in a secure pocket.

 

Also, leave your phone in a locker or car if you're in the waterpark. That should be common sense, but you never know.

[Creed Bratton]

Also allegedly shoves a ride operator in the process. She is now banned from Carowinds for five years:

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article75276817.html

The article states this happened around 9:20 pm. 

Is her cell phone really so important she couldn't wait 40 minutes until the park closed? 

 

Wow.....

[Voicetek]

Maybe I'm a bit "old school," but I leave my phone in the car.  I'm a graphic designer, so when I'm working my hand is constantly attached to a mouse or keyboard and my face never leaves the monitor.  I also do some freelance on the side, so even when I'm at home I'm on the computer a lot or messaging potential clients.  There are some places I like to go and remain tech-free.  Amusement parks are one of those places.  I gladly shove my phone in the glove box before I leave my car.  It's nice to put down the tech for a few hours and just enjoy the freedom of not being connected.  There is no one important enough that I need to talk to while I'm at the park for a few hours.  I'm usually there with my wife anyway, so I enjoy getting to talk to her uninterrupted. 

 

I could care less about in-park apps, wi-fi, or wait time updates.  If I want to know a wait time, I'll check out one of the new screens they installed or I'll just walk to a ride and find out for myself. Those of you who feel the need to use their phones to navigate the park and to plan your visit, that's fine.  Just be sure to safely secure your phones before getting on a ride.  I don't want to be struck in the face while riding The Beast just because you feel the need to Snap Chat your riding experience.  I, for one, don't like worrying about a phone while I'm in the park, so it's just fine to not have one at all.  Everyone has their own opinion though, and that's cool.

[sixohdieselrage]

What an idiot... Lucky she didn't get hurt!

Sent from an Indestructible Phone

[electricsun]

This is crazy. If you drop an item while riding, you have to wait until the park closes for team to safely retrieve it. Yes, it's inconvenient. But, your stuff should have been secured and the safety of other guests and employees is more important. Things can be replaced. People can't.

A man died last year after jumping two fences to see if he could find his phone after riding Raptor (http://www.cleveland.com/travel/index.ssf/2016/02/cedar_point_wont_raise_fence_i.html ).

If I'm remembering correctly, a man got hurt at a park last year or the year before for retrieving a hat. Again...a person's life is far more important than a hat or phone.

[bkroz]

Best Internet comment I've read in a long time below that article:

 

"Everyone there should be arrested since there is clearly a 'No Trespassing' sign visible on the building."

 

When you're right you're right! 

[SpectralBeacon]

On one hand, thats some bravery to just go into Boocifers house without the patented boo blaster, but on the other thats a bit extreme behavior for a phone that close to closing.

[BB1]

1. A phone is a phone, you survived how long without it? You can survive a few hours without it. Better yet, have it safely secured on your person and or in some sort of carry on luggage like a backpack.

2. Why would you even think about risking your life for a product that can be replaced? I don't know about you guys, but I am thankful to have my appendages and I want to keep them!

 

Thankfully the guest was apprehended and taken care of as needed. My pet peeve is to follow the rules when you go to an amusement park, there are reasons why and yet people still pull off stunts like this.

[Tanna]

I don't really understand cell phones in amusement parks anyway.  I mean, are you there to experience the park, or are you there to talk on the phone and post on Facebook?  I can't tell you the number of teenagers I see in line typing away on their phones.  Not that that's the bad part, what's really sad is you'll see a group of them together and instead of talking to each other, they're all looking down at their phones typing away.  I remember going to the park with my friends as a teenager.  We had more fun talking to each other and socializing.  We didn't have phones or other electronic devices to distract us.  We were able to look at each other and hold a conversation.  It's sad to see all these people walking around staring at their phones instead of taking in the surroundings.  I wonder how many years away we are from becoming the humans on 'Wall-E' riding around on their chairs with a screen floating in front of their faces.

I'm with you 1000 percent. I once saw five teen girls all standing together at the park, texting. Were they texting each other instead of talking?

My job is on computers- when I hang it up for the day, I want to see Real 3D.

How do they create the great memories that we have if they don't experience things first hand?