PKIVortex Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 Stuck on a ride? Don't panic By Steve Bennish Staff Writer When an amusement park ride shuts down and you find yourself stranded in midair, don't panic. You should wait calmly for park workers to fix the problem. "Remain calm, help is on the way," Mike Fillhardt, a Paramount's Kings Island spokesman, said Monday. "From a Kings Island stand point, we'll get a representative out as soon as possible to tell you what we will do. We'll get you off in a safe manner." That's the advice from officials at the park, which has had problems with its rides in recent weeks. A power outage temporarily shut down some rides Sunday evening. Power was out for about five seconds for many of the rides, said Maureen Kaiser, a park spokeswoman, causing the park to empty the rides as electrical systems were reset and tested. Firefighters and rescue crews from Mason and Deerfield Twp. responded, but no one was injured, Mason Battalion Chief Ken Crank said. On July 9, 27 riders were injured when the Son of Beast roller coaster malfunctioned. Investigators have narrowed the problem to three possible causes  wood strength, maintenance or design  but no final determination has been made. Fillhardt added that restraints on the larger rides are made so that a park guest can't get out until assisted. Having a ride shut down is a very rare occurrence, he said. When electricity goes out, the procedure is for Kings Island to check the safety of all its rides. The longest any roller coaster has been shut down is 30 minutes, Fillhardt said. Other tips for park visitors from Kings Island: • Apply an adequate amount of sunscreen. • Pack moist towelettes to wash off hands and faces throughout the day. • Before you set out for the day, designate a place for family members to meet should they become separated. Link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 hehehe... Fillhardt... It's about time that KY boy got a voice in the mass media! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screamingnight Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 They just had to bring up the SOB incedent didnt they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Our adventure on the powerless Eiffel Tower Elevator on Sunday August 13th , 2006 at around 7pm ish. My six year old daughter and I decided to take a beautiful evening stroll around the top of the Kings Island Eiffel Tower. When we entered the Elevator I arranged for us to be standing next to the elevator’s internal operator named Chris. Chris held the elevator door open for a few seconds as some more eager guest were rushing to come aboard. I asked Chris what the capacity of the elevator was, and his reply was 36. I don’t know why I did put I quickly scanned the elevator and came up with 30 people (young and old) including the ones rushing in, and wondered how they could fit anymore people in. Now this is where the adventure begins: As we started up, I asked Chris a couple questions relating to the Eiffel Tower and he politely and knowledgably answered. As we approached the top, suddenly and at the same time we felt a jolt and the lights went out. Chris then said softly and to this effect “Oh no not againâ€Â. Then he started to turn the keys in the control panel, with no effect. A few adult passengers made nervous sounds and commits, as the younger passengers started to look up at their parent’s for reassurance and some asked what was going on. .Chris then picked-up the phone and started to tell the person on the other end that “ it’s doing it again†and that we were stopped. Then a few more nervous remarks from some of the passengers, then in a firm voice someone said “Adults Be Calmâ€Â. The elevator went silent as everyone seemed to reflect on the situation. Chris then hung-up the phone and turned the key again, the lights and vent fan came back on. Then he pushed the buttons to make it go and it did not move. So Chris once again turned the key and everything shut off again, he then said loudly “That was me, That was meâ€Â. At that time I was noticing that the elevator was starting to get noticeably warmer from the passengers and the evening sun shinning straight in. Chris turned the key back on and pushed the button for down, nothing and as he started to say something else the elevator started to move down at a pace of about 6 inches per second. Chris said “The good news is that were going down, the bad news is we’ll be going all the way down at the current speedâ€Â, and as soon as those words left his mouth we picked-up a lot more speed, but to me not the normal speed. When we were getting close to the bottom, everyone started to position themselves towards the exit door. When Chris noticed what everyone was doing he said “The door may or may not open and if it doesn’t then we would be going all the way back up then all the way back down†. Well when we got to the bottom, and as hard as Chris tried the doors did not open. So then the same process as above. we started real slow then sped up. Same process back down again, this time the doors opened. From what I could see, know one went back up that night !! The reason why I thought this post was relevant to the above article was because, the passenger who said “Adults Be Calmâ€Â, and when Chris started telling the passengers what to expect it really helped calm some people down and made most people start thinking of their actions. Can’t wait till next time we go to Kings Island , so we can get that stroll around the Eiffel Tower and maybe a picture or two!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kwindshawne Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 There is an elevator at my work that does things like that sometimes. At first, i panicked a little, but now when I;m usually in there by myself, i just stay calm and wait for the door to open and whatever floor I end up on, I just hoof it from there. Sounds like Chris handled it very well in keeping people calm. Don't know what's happening with the electricity there lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopThrill Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 That power outage happen last Sunday, for some reason the cause for it going out is still a sceret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI_Diana Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 It freaks people out, to hear that when they first work on the tower, but once it happens to you, you're a pro. I used to supervise that ride, and I used to be really afraid of things like that, but then it got to be when they did happen, I had the experience of knowing what to expect. Kudos to Chris! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 "It's Happening Again" is not the thing to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Attack! Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Well it may not be a good thing to say but it does give the guest some reassurance that this is a more normal occurance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 ^Wow, yeah, lets tell the guests that the power goes out normally and that htey normally evacuate rides and that this is a regular occurance, that'll win em over. Why not just assure them that you've been trained to deal with situations like this before and that the situation is being taken care of? You just worry about when the power goes out at the whack a moles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Well it may not be a good thing to say but it does give the guest some reassurance that this is a more normal occurance I'm not certain if I'm more afraid of telling the guests that this is a normal occurance or that fact that it is a normal occurance! Does not ..... uhhhhhh...... instill confidence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOB_TOM Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 At the same time, two things are happening: 1) The guests dont know that the power went out parkwide. It instilled a confidence of an isolated incident. 2) "Its doing it again," implies that the operator has experience on dealing with the problem, therfor reassuring guests in the manner of "Oh, hes taken care of this before. We are safe." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bombay Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 At the same time, two things are happening: 1) The guests dont know that the power went out parkwide. It instilled a confidence of an isolated incident. 2) "Its doing it again," implies that the operator has experience on dealing with the problem, therfor reassuring guests in the manner of "Oh, hes taken care of this before. We are safe." When a ride that normally goes up and down without a glitch suddenly stops and most of the guests, if not all, have never experienced this they are not going to be calmed down by some guy going "its doing it again". How does say hes prepared to deal with it? He DIDNT say "its doing it again, oh well, I know how to deal with it and fix it safely and quickly" he DID say "its doing it again" leave lots of questions unanswered and un-attended. Judging from Avatar's report I'd say Chris handled it very well but maybe that wasnt the best thing to say. SOB_TOM what have you been smoking? Besides cigarettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Actually as a guest of Kings Island, it came across to me both ways. 1st It’s happened to him before, so he’ll know what to do. That's why I think he said it the way he did. 2nd As someone who has worked in the service industry all my adult life, I asked myself why did he just say that? Noticed towards the bottom of my post I said “When Chris started to tell passengersâ€Â. He did handle the situation I believe the best he knew how, but sometimes in those kinds of events experience goes a long way. I personally was not worried, as I have been reading these boards for a long time, I kind of knew what to expect and that Kings Island has had these power problems in the recent past and things worked out OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Attack! Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Ha funny thing is I believe that Wac a Moll's electricty was fried all of yesterday so it really didn't have any power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI_Diana Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 "It's Happening Again" is not the thing to say. No its not, but it may be natural instinct. Ive heard an operator say and act much worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsktgrvy Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 2) "Its doing it again," implies that the operator has experience on dealing with the problem, therfor reassuring guests in the manner of "Oh, hes taken care of this before. We are safe." I respectfully disagree. If I were in the elevator and heard the operator say this I would have wondered about the condition of the elevator, the controls, and the electronics. I think if he knew what the problem was, a simple "I expect power may be out for a short period but will be on very soon" - then explain what to expect once it starts back up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 When a ride that normally goes up and down without a glitch suddenly stops and most of the guests, if not all, have never experienced this they are not going to be calmed down by some guy going "its doing it again". How does say hes prepared to deal with it? He DIDNT say "its doing it again, oh well, I know how to deal with it and fix it safely and quickly" he DID say "its doing it again" leave lots of questions unanswered and un-attended. Judging from Avatar's report I'd say Chris handled it very well but maybe that wasnt the best thing to say. SOB_TOM what have you been smoking? Besides cigarettes. Absolutely Combat! Granted - it may have just been bad judgement on Chris's part but "It's doing it again" was not the correct thing to say in front of guests. Think of it this way - The day of the SOB incident. How would it have sounded if the train pulled into the station with people bleeding and one of the ride ops was heard to say "It's doing it again." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 "It's Happening Again" is not the thing to say. No its not, but it may be natural instinct. Ive heard an operator say and act much worse. Having heard worse is really not an excuse for this incident. Improper is Improper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Since the discussion has focused on how Chris handled and more so on his choice of words. I would also like to expand upon Chris’s performance as well. First of all neither I nor any other passenger make any remarks or complain, during or immediately after exiting the elevator. I don’t feel like Chris did a bad job (or I would not used his name in my post), nor do I feel he did a great job. But I sincerely feel he did his job. Let’s keep in mind when the power went off and we were suddenly in moment stranded, Chris’s job switched from being just an attraction operator under normal condition to the care taker of the safety and the well being of the 30 passengers on board a attraction that was not working properly, as well as to his own well being (as he was in the same situation as the people he was responsible for). He also now became the liaison to Kings Island and the outside world, plus hafting to remember his training on how to get the attraction to work in a safe and proper manner. So under the pressure of the circumstances, I fell Chris did his job. In the future if Chris finds himself in a similar situation (hopefully not), and out of experience he probably will do a wonderful job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI_Diana Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 "It's Happening Again" is not the thing to say. No its not, but it may be natural instinct. Ive heard an operator say and act much worse. Having heard worse is really not an excuse for this incident. Improper is Improper. Lets see how you react in heat of the moment with an experience you are unsure of or unfamiliar with. I think he did fine, and to be honest with you, either way its not an easy situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StXsteven Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I think he did the best that he could at the moment.. the elevator is a scary place to be with 30 people.. especially if they were high up. if I was on that elevator and Chris said those things 'd be perfectly calm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooter4Ever Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I got stuck on Dudley Doright's Ripsaw Falls at IOA. Actually ended up being pretty cool. We had to walk down through the "mountain" and saw lots of behind the scene stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StXsteven Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I got stuck on Dudley Doright's Ripsaw Falls at IOA. Actually ended up being pretty cool. We had to walk down through the "mountain" and saw lots of behind the scene stuff. lucky ducky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 Lets see how you react in heat of the moment with an experience you are unsure of or unfamiliar with. I think he did fine, and to be honest with you, either way its not an easy situation. It should be pretty basic to not say in front of guests that "It's happening Again" when it is something bad that is happening. The elevators stopping on the tower is NOT A Good Thing! This really is not that difficult of a concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I don't know. Remember what board you are on. Some of these peeps are the same ones who think people who are injured on a coaster and perhaps can't even work for either a while or ever also should not pursue an action against the park. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 I don't know. Remember what board you are on. Some of these peeps are the same ones who think people who are injured on a coaster and perhaps can't even work for either a while or ever also should not pursue an action against the park. . . LOL Interpreter, that is youth. I'm not certain that I was ever so young and naive' but it's nice to know that some are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quickwind Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Actually associates are trained not to tell guests what is wrong, by saying it's doing it again he lets the supervisor or whoever he was talking to know what's wrong while not allowing the guests to know what specifically was wrong. Thus, he did his job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Baloney. The LAST thing someone on the elevator wants to hear is "It's doing it again." It makes the park look like a place where maintenance is so poor that rides constantly break down. No way is "It's doing it again" what the park wants associates to say in such a fashion that the guests can hear it. If by some strange quirk, it IS what Cedar Fair wants ride ops in that situation to say, it would seem to me many guests would be so upset that in the future they will seek other, less unreliable, amusements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StXsteven Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Baloney. The LAST thing someone on the elevator wants to hear is "It's doing it again." It makes the park look like a place where maintenance is so poor that rides constantly break down. No way is "It's doing it again" what the park wants associates to say in such a fashion that the guests can hear it. If by some strange quirk, it IS what Cedar Fair wants ride ops in that situation to say, it would seem to me many guests would be so upset that in the future they will seek other, less unreliable, amusements. "It's doing it again" to me.. a visitor.. feel safe, knowing this has happened before, and nothing bad will happen(most likely). To me that is much much comfort. Does it make KI sound bad? Not in my opinion.. think about how many rides there are, all that power in a small spot.. obviously power is going to go out now and again. If I was told "Everyone stay calm, we will do our best to get you out of here" would be completely frightening and I think I would be more scared then not knowing what was going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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