April 15-16, 2017: One Weekend, Two Perspectives

[VortexBFForever]

When the sun set on the 2016 season, my assumption of how I would start the 2017 season came nowhere near what really happened. In December, my parents encouraged me to apply for a job at Kings Island, which surprised me because I thought they wouldn't let me take a job that required a fifty-minute drive one way. But since I now had my driver license, my need to make/save money for college, and my parents' approval, I took the first of many steps on December 12, 2016, when I applied for a Ride Operator position at Kings Island. Wednesday, January 18, 2017 started out as normal day, then when I got home from Zumba that night...I found a voicemail and an email from the Rides Department asking to set up an interview!! I responded to the email and set up an interview for the following Wednesday. January 25 could not come soon enough, but when it did, I marveled at the quiet and empty Kings Island as I headed to the Operations building for my interview. The interview was fun and it went extremely well, ending with both me and the other applicant each being offered a position! I hoped that working WindSeeker/Vortex would be one of the choices, and surely enough it was. I walked out of the Operations building with a new job at my favorite ride! The other applicant there with me chose to work Drop Tower/The Bat.

After finishing my senior year of swimming and also turning 18 years old, the month of March arrived, bringing Processing (March 5), Orientation (March 18), and Rides General Knowledge (March 25) along with it. I got to see Delirium and Sling Shot testing.

I was unable to attend my on-ride training on April 9, but I only had to wait six more days before I could get trained. This is where my Opening Weekend adventure begins...

At 9:26 p.m. on Sunday, April 9, I received a notice saying that my crew's schedule for the first two weekends of the season had been published, so I confirmed the notice and looked at the schedule. I noticed my crew had a lot of unassigned shifts, including one opening shift on April 15. I had no school from April 14-17 in observance of Easter and my family had nothing special planned that day, so I would be able to work. After much talk with my parents making sure they were okay with it, I picked up the shift on the evening of Monday, April 10, and with it came much anticipation.

Finally, the day came. I was now headed to my very first day of work.

April 15

Part 1: Associate Standpoint of Opening Day 2017

Knowing that Preview Night traffic had backed up immensely on Interstate 71 (and anticipating that Opening Day would be the same), I used my alternate, traffic-free route (State Route 48 to Mason-Morrow Rd/Columbia Rd to Kings Mills Rd) to get to the park, passing by a nearly full left turn lane into a long line for the parking gates on Kings Island Drive as I headed to the associate lot. When I walked into the park, the very first song I heard was How To Train Your Dragon's "Romantic Flight," one of my all-time favorite movie soundtracks! It sounded so amazing in the wide entry plaza and it, like the other instrumental songs, complements International Street extremely well!

I met my crew and my supervisors, and I showed them the picture I had drawn on April 11 for Vortex's 30th anniversary. When they saw it, they said it looked really cool and that it should be shown in the window of Vortex's drive box. Even the area supervisors loved it! Here's what it looks like:

In just a matter of moments, a drawing I had made just for fun had become another new thing to see in Vortex's station! What an honor for that little picture.

As we headed back to Vortex, it started pouring!! The rain let up for a moment when we arrived, but started pouring when we all stood under the roof of the station, where Train #2 was parked with the other two trains on the lift and brake run. The trains were cycled a few times as my supervisor began my location training. The rain persisted, which delayed opening by not too much time. When the rain let up again, this time for the rest of the day, we began cycling again, during which I practiced checking restraints. The supervisors started asking who wanted to test ride, as they needed three of us (one on each train) to ride. Of course, I volunteered, and hopped aboard Train #1 in the front left seat -- the SAME seat that took me on my 100th, 200th, and 300th rides!! Since it had just rained, I felt a wonderful mist at the bottom of the first drop! The ride went quite smoothly and without any problems, and yes, I greatly enjoyed taking my 318th Vortex ride as the first human rider of Opening Day of Vortex's 30th anniversary season. How sweet is that?!

Once we opened, things really got kicking. My first ever position on Vortex was one of the two "unload" positions where I checked the restraints on the first three cars (though on the first time I got carried away and checked the whole train. ) and manned the exit gate, as well as open/close the appropriate storage bins in the front half of the station. I also helped guests who needed alternate access, as I would be the first person they would see. At some point while working Unload, someone else from KIC came up to me and asked if I was from KIC, to which I of course said yes. I didn't recognize him, though, as I had never met him, but it was great to see someone else who knew about KIC!

Once it was time to rotate, I finished my training at Vortex and officially signed off as a Level 3 Vortex associate before heading to WindSeeker to train there. At WindSeeker, I shadowed another crew member in the Op-3 (separator) position. After a few cycles, I began assigning seats, as well as checking the lap bars and holding down the button when the driver said "Ready." The first cycle I ever cleared on WindSeeker flew to the soundtrack of Dimitri Tiomkin's "The High and the Mighty." Before I knew it, the hour was up and it was time for me to go on break. After finishing at WindSeeker, I embarked on an extremely brisk walk (as I had only 30 minutes) with one of my supervisors and another crew member who was also the only other newbie (yes, everyone else on my crew who were there this day were all returners!). I had two slices of pizza, chicken tenders with honey mustard, and a cup of lemonade for my very first lunch break at Kings Island. And yes, the sauce on the pizza was rather sweet. I kept thinking about The Interpreter's posts on here regarding such pizza and the sauce tasting "sickeningly sweet." It was still good though!

After we finished eating, the three of us speedily walked back to Vortex. I was originally supposed to go back to WindSeeker but the wind had picked up and it had closed by the time we got back. So I went back to the same position I worked during the first hour after opening until the next rotation, when I became the separator. This was the part of the day that I was most nervous about. Yes, I am well aware that this job involves interacting directly with guests; I just had never faced thousands of them in so little time before! I actually started to feel the slightest bit light-headed out of nervousness, but after saying a quick prayer I sucked it up and started doing what a separator does. Eventually, I got comfortable enough that I would ask the guests in the front of the line how their day was going, what have they done yet today, what their favorite ride is, etc. I talked with guests who had ridden Vortex when it first opened in 1987, and also with guests who were riding it for the first time. A few guests commented on how fast the line was moving, and they were impressed that they had waited only fifteen minutes and they were already almost to the front of the line. All the guests I asked said they were having a good day, which was great to hear. It made the hour more fun to engage with the guests, and I'm sure it added to their already good day! The only setback was that the lemonade I had at lunch was now working against me. I was so thirsty and my throat was dry, but that did not stop me from doing my job!

My last position of the day was back on Unload, though this time I was responsible for checking the back four cars of the train and for the storage bins on the back half of the platform. I had no exit gate to open or close, which bought me a few seconds of spare time to entertain my thoughts about my job, including one moment when I was thinking "Am I actually working on Vortex?!" after I had cleared another train and it was rolling out of the station. But I couldn't reflect on my personal thoughts for long, as just a moment later the next train would arrive and the next riders would board. This job is so fast-paced that if you get distracted even for a moment, you may fall behind or miss something important. I'm in for a crazy summer!

One of the things that helped speed up the loading process was to offer to put riders' loose articles in the bins for them. As a train came in I would scan the people in front of the line and if any were holding backpacks and/or a bundle of souvenir bottles, I would offer to put them in the bin when they got on, which they appreciated. The trains rarely stacked, which helped the line go faster and of course help the hourly capacity! My crew and I were really rolling, pun intended.

Finally, it came time for me to end my shift as I passed off my position to an associate who had just arrived for her shift. I was having so much fun (albeit I was a little tired) that I felt a little sad when I had to clock out. But that's a good thing, because it means I love my job (even though now it is so overwhelming) and I am eager to return for my next shift (which won't be until after my school musical is over)!

I walked (though not as briskly as earlier ) out of the park and to HR where I changed into my guest clothes, since I was planning to enjoy a few rides as a guest before I left for the day.

Part 2 (Guest Standpoint) Coming Soon!

P.S. I don't know if this is too much information about what I'm doing at work; if it is, I'll modify this accordingly as soon as possible. I have already checked that I have not gone into too much detail. I triple-checked the Associate Handbook and what I read from it was that basically as long as I post as myself and not on behalf of Cedar Fair (and not disclose any confidential information), I should be good. I have not seen anything in said handbook against associates posting about their job (general details, anyway).

4/24 Edit: I found out earlier today from my supervisor (who read this, by the way!) that everything I said here is perfectly okay to say. Good to know for sure I'm not going over the line!

[Daisy1380#]

Congratulations on getting a job on your favorite roller coaster at Kings Island!

Sounds like you had an exciting adventure as well!

Thanks for the awesome trip report (as you always do with your trip reports).

I hope that this season is good as any other!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TombRaiderFTW]

This is TOO cool--I'm excited for you just reading this post! Congrats again on getting to work your favorite ride! Good luck this summer!

Definitely looking forward to part 2!

[Elizabeth19]

I'm so happy for you, that you're working at your favorite ride! Hopefully my first season as a worker, I get positioned at my favorite ride. Obviously The Beast! Diamondback would be cool to work at too

[King Ding Dong]

A recent post here claimed some KIC members could be reals jerks to park employees, you will have to let us know what your experience is.  

[Creed Bratton]

Great entry! Thanks for sharing! 

 

Be careful to not share too much but definitely share what's appropriate

[VortexBFForever]

April 15

Part 2: Guest Standpoint of Opening Day 2017

After I changed, I sat in the changing room at HR for a few good moments, checking up on KIC and texting my plans to my parents in the meantime. I was planning to ride a few rides and then leave the park at 6 as it was pretty crowded. Plus, I wanted to save some time for a visit on Sunday!

As I now had my camera with me, I began taking pictures, as I always do on every trip!

My first ride of the year as a guest was Zephyr. Despite the crowds, it only had a cycle wait. Zephyr had to suffice for WindSeeker, which had closed during my earlier shift. I greatly enjoyed it (when do I not? )!

After Zephyr, I went to X-Base to check out Firehawk and Flight of Fear, but the lines for both were too long, so I immediately backtracked to Coney Mall. I wanted to get all-season FunPix before I rode Vortex again, so I headed toward Banshee, catching a Red Racer ride on the way.

I rode in my favorite row, 5-2, on my first coaster ride of the year as a guest. Man, it felt so great to race alongside Blue over those hills again!!

However, I forgot my original plans and started heading back up the midway toward Vortex. It wasn't until I reached the Juke Box Diner that I realized that I had gotten literally nothing done in the last ten to fifteen minutes (other than that Racer ride). Since I was now closer to Diamondback than to Banshee, I started heading there instead. (This would be [another] one of my gripes against Vortex being FunPix only -- you can't buy it there anymore!! To get it, you would now have to walk all the way to Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, or Banshee to buy it! And they can be quite the walk from the back of the park!).

On my way to Diamondback, I came face-to-face with Vortex's classic view for the first time since October 30, 2016. Whether I fully believed it or not at that time, I was BACK! Back at one of my favorite places!! Back at my favorite ride! Back at...my workplace!

I passed Mystic Timbers, which looked to be a two-hour long wait at this time. I didn't care if I rode it then or on Easter, since the line would be shorter on Easter anyway. Diamondback's line looked to be an hour so I bypassed it (as it was 5:30 and I wanted to leave at 6). I also happened to notice a prize wheel offering nothing but front-of-the-line passes; each wedge showed a different ride for which you would win a pass (including Vortex, hence why I handled dozens of front-of-the-line passes there when I was separator!), while one wedge was winner's choice. After I finally got my FunPix at Diamondback's outpost, I decided to give the wheel a spin in order to determine my next ride. Lo and behold, the wheel landed on...Mystic Timbers! I got to ride it on Opening Day after all!

Instead of waiting two hours, I waited only fifteen minutes to board the third row. I'm impressed, as many people are, by the generous theming. The park did a great job! And the ride was cool too. My favorite part is the hills right before the tunnel and before the shed - basically the second half of the ride. The first moments spent in the shed underwhelmed me a little (I was thinking it would be more like Mystery Mine where there is near constant suspense), but the big surprise at the end (as we rolled out) made it worth it. I think the shed is pretty neat!

I have to say, the refurbished sign looks amazing. When I first saw it while walking back to work, all I could say was "Wow!"

My test train (Train #1) with the "Vortex 1987" decoration.

My drawing in the drive box!

I went back to Vortex not just to visit my crew again before I left, but also to take my first ride of the year on it as a guest. Props to those who took the time to refurbish the sign (and add new signs too) and paint the entire station building! Everything looks fabulous!! I took my 319th fun Vortex ride in 2-1, since I didn't care to wait for the front when I wanted to go home soon.

So I started and ended my day on Vortex. Pretty appropriate if you ask me.

Knowing Easter Sunday would not have crowds like this, I took no hesitation in leaving the park. That decision would prove very wise the next day...

As you can tell, I let my pictures do most of the talking. This is rather typical of my trip reports (as a picture is worth a thousand words) so if you're not photo savvy, then I apologize.

Thanks for waiting patiently for my trip report to continue, as now that I have finally finished school I actually have time to finish this!! Yay!!

+Vortex: 2

Total: 319

+Zephyr: 1

Total: 22

+Red Racer: 1

Total: 19

+Mystic Timbers: 1

Notes:

-Like I said, Vortex's repainted (and re-signed) station looks fabulous!

-If you're in the back of the park and you want FunPix, enjoy the walk to Banshee, Mysty or Diamondback...

-The front-of-the-line-pass prize wheel is a genius idea.

-Mystic Timbers crew was really working! And of course mine (Vortex) did a great job too.

-That music on International Street had better stay around for a long time! I feel like breaking out into a graceful dance whenever I hear it.

[jcgoble3]

On 5/23/2017 at 10:42 PM, VortexBFForever said:

The front-of-the-line-pass prize wheel is a genius idea.

Yeah, because they obviously read the forums and thus know my addiction to those stupid things.

jcgoble3, owner of a $20 KI game card waiting to be used on the wheels...

[VortexBFForever]

April 16 (Easter Sunday)

There were boxes of Air Heads for the guests to take if they wanted. I decided not to take some because I am not an Air Heads fan, though in hindsight I probably should have made the most of the opportunity and taken one. Oh well!

I decided to take a ride on the Grand Carousel for my mom, who usually rode only this ride when we would go together. Now that I can drive myself to the park, she's just fine staying home as she is not much of an amusement park person. I thought of her as I enjoyed my first ride of the season on the Carousel, to the tune of its wonderful band organ. I took a few videos before the ride and sent them to my mom so she could hear how great the music sounds.

With Scrambler nearby, how could I resist a spin on my favorite family ride? I waited one cycle (as the lines were really short!) before taking my long-overdue Scrambler ride. It was fun as always and just like I've always remembered!

I decided to take advantage of Monster's short line, even when I was just two people short of making it onto the next cycle when I got in line, so I had to wait for the following cycle. When I got on and my side of the hub waited for the people on the other side to board, I used simple physics and gravity to get my car to spin by shifting my weight from side to side. In fact, several other riders in the nearby cars were asking "Hey, how do you do that?" to whom I would tell how I got my car to spin. And the actual ride was fun as always, especially for my first spin of the season on Monster!

During the ride I spotted @jcgoble3 waiting outside the exit, so I met up with him after the ride. I had seen the rain clouds start to make their way in, so I wanted to head straight to Vortex and get my rides in should the rain arrive.

He and I rode together in 7-1. Fortunately, he had a better time on Vortex than he remembered from experience, which is a good thing! I'm glad he decided to try it again and come out of his Vortex retirement.

WindSeeker was running a test cycle so we hopped in line with hopes for a flight. We were assigned Seats 31 and 32. Unfortunately, the weather reared its ugly head as we were literally all ready to start the ride when all of a sudden we all had to get off! I guess I have to wait a little longer to take my first 'Seeker flight of the season...

While jcgoble3 went to the Festhaus to meet @Beastie1980, I got more Vortex rides in, in case it would meet the same fate as 'Seeker. On the lift hill ascent, I kept my glance southward. There was indeed a lot of rain and even a periodic flash of lightning down south, but Vortex still remained open in the face of the distant storm. I looked toward Diamondback and saw that it too had closed. So much for getting to 100...

As the line was non-existent, I visited my crew and binge-rode my way to 330, making for eleven total Vortex rides on this day alone. This was the first time since 2013 that I had ridden Vortex at least ten times on one day! Meanwhile, the sun and the clouds fought before the sun made its last appearance at around 6:45. The stark contrast between the bright sun and the dark clouds made for some striking photo opportunities, as seen in the previous few photos!

At one point I found a dime with the mint year 1987, and not long after I found a penny with the mint year 2017! Interestingly enough I found them on the same train, which was Train #3 if I remember correctly. Even our own currency is wishing Vortex a Happy 30th Anniversary!

I saw a few fellow guests get their own trains, so I thought "I should have my own train for my 330th ride!" And surely enough, I got Train #3 to myself for my 330th ride. My fellow associate who was spieling saw it was me and said, "Hey, Carolyn!" as I got ready for my ride. Having a train to myself once again was great as always. I get to talk to myself out loud while going up the lift hill without having to worry about anyone else hearing me!

Upon returning to the station I was greeted with "Welcome back, Carolyn; how was your ride?" to which I replied, "It was very nice!" And of course I couldn't help but snap a few "empty train selfies!" before and after my ride (not during ).

Now that I had reached 330, I decided I was done for the day on Vortex. As I exited, my supervisor told me that a group of people showed up looking for me after I had clocked out and left on the previous day (Opening Day). Apparently the KIC group meeting up on Opening Day visited me AFTER I had left! Sorry I didn't specify the time I would be there...but I know someday I will be working Vortex when a good-sized KIC group comes to visit! That would be a great day.

It was around 6:50 when jcgoble3 and I met back up in front of Vortex. Since Beastie1980 wasn't feeling too good, she left early. Hopefully sometime soon we can meet up again, @Beastie1980!

jcgoble3 and I then went to X-Base, with the original intention of riding Firehawk. However, knowing that Flight of Fear was no exception in the world of Easter Sunday's short lines, and that I did not ride it at all in 2016 due to the lines, I opted for it instead. After waiting a station wait (which took a little longer than usual because it was one-train operation), we rode in Row 2 of the last train of the night on Flight of Fear!

I noticed that the pre-recorded spiels (that play when a train arrives) were absent in this instance, so I imitated them in my mind. My first Flight of Fear ride in nearly two seasons was WAY overdue! I hope to ride it more since I will be at the park much more often this season for work as well as play. I loved twirling through the darkness at 54 mph; it was crazy as always! What a fun and cool way to end an Easter Sunday at Kings Island!

By the time we were back in the daylight, the park had closed...and the rain had come. Perfect timing since the rides were already closed for the day and they didn't have to close early! I made the decision to not bring an umbrella, so I got pretty wet as I left the park.

While many guests stayed mostly dry under the cover of the Front Gate, a few were doing cartwheels and handstands out in the rain. Since I love to do cartwheels myself, I joined them and did a few myself as I began to make my way back to the associate lot where my car was. Another small but fun moment of the day!

And my only guest-only visit so far this season came to a close. What a fun, somewhat unconventional, wet Easter this was!

+Grand Carousel: 1

Total: 31

+Scrambler: 1

Total: 20

+Monster: 1

Total: 13

+Vortex: 11

YTD: 13

Total: 330

+Flight of Fear: 1

Total: 12

[jcgoble3]

Great report!

You forgot to mention that the real reason we didn't get to ride WindSeeker was because of a father arguing with a ride op because she told him that his kid wasn't tall enough to ride. That was enough of a delay that they couldn't get the dispatch off in time. Had that argument not happened, I think they would have been able to dispatch the ride before the phone rang to tell them to shut down. So I blame that father, not the weather, for not getting to ride.