Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster fire and lighting effects

[Spotty]

The water in the troughs drain in an emergency stop. The water fills the main lagoon / reservoir almost all the way up the retaining log walls. Will try and find a photo to show you if I can.

[rappa]

Yeah no water actually stays behind the mountain. It will all come down to the main lagoon.

If you have a look next time you're at the ride, you can see a water line around the walls of the lagoon and the timber surrounding the runout that gives an idea of the shutdown water height.

[AllegroCrab]

Yeah no water actually stays behind the mountain. It will all come down to the main lagoon.

I genuinely want to see this happen.

How long would it take to reset the ride after an emergency shutdown?

[Spotty]

Depends really on where the boats were when the ride stopped. Sometimes the ride can reset almost straight away (well... as long as it takes to evacuate / refill the water which is about 5 - 10 minutes) or sometimes it can be a right royal pain in the ass to reset... or it just simply will chuck a hissy fit and keep faulting for a few hours or worst case all day.

[rappa]

Yeah it's surprising how quickly the ride drains and fills.

[Reanimated35]

Speaking of. Got a chance to watch the rapids at Dreamworld start up today (just before midday iirc) That also fills quite fast

[mba2012]

This is some really interesting stuff. One thing I'd really like to know, how much of the rides are automated? What do you need to press to dispatch it, and do you need to manually release the harnesses? This is mainly relating to superman, but some info about the other rides would be cool to.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

The wonderland history site has some videos of snowy river rampage starting up from different points, and I myself have seen it start up many times. It's amazing to watch the first trickle come down the chute and in very short order the raging torrent that follows...

Love watching flumes and rapids rides start up...

[Santa07]

Is being a ride op hard/easy/fun/boring/interesting?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

i've never been employed as a ride op, but I have moonlighted a fair few times on quiet days in days gone by.

For me it was quite fun - but i'm sure like any job, it would get hard to put on that smile day after day after day. The spiels become boring and repetitive, and you're constantly under pressure in peak periods not only to get as many people through the ride as possible, but also to do is ABSOLUTELY safely.

No matter what role you're cast in - working for a theme park (well - at least one that upholds a little sense of magic and 'on show') is great at any level - from food to retail to rides, as well as park support services like maintenance or custodial.. it's certainly an experience i'll always remember... but it isn't for everyone. You do have to have a lot of passion for it - and depending on the management team, it can either be one big long party, or an absolute torture chamber.

I'm interested to see Spotty's response to this though...

[Spotty]

As far as working for a theme park, honestly i'm not going to go into very much detail about it. Basically, I miss the people I worked with (well some of them), but I will say the management in both companies (VRTP and Ardent) have changed a truckload from when I first worked for them in 2006 compared to now...

Basically, i've moved on to bigger and better things and I'm never looking back. I will always have the memories from the park, the good and the bad but I don't exactly hold them in the highest regard anymore sadly. I'm privy to some things as well that i'm not too happy about with the way things are done but really that's up to management how they want to run things.

Most of the rides are pretty automated with minimal buttons to operate. Superman only has 2 buttons to dispatch (Seatbelt record / harnesses are checked) and then the 2 loaders AND the supervisor both have to hit a dispatch button at the same time to dispatch. There are station stop / emergency stop buttons as well and the 2nd loader also controls the doors. They also used to control the pre-show video as well, but it's now been put on a timer. The harnesses however can not be undone by staff but only supervisors.

As far as a job as a ride operator goes... it can be pretty boring at times. But it's really what you make of it, and you can tell when visiting which staff are actually passionate about it and which are just doing it for the money (or lack thereof... minimum wage anyone?). If you go into the park each day with the mindset of doing your job safely and efficiently and wanting to make at least ONE person's day you will have a much better time. If your interacting with the guests, and showing that your having a good time at work they will as well.

Heaps of people hated working in the children's area... and I will admit work wise it was crap. The only ride I thought that was more boring was Batwing... seriously 10 hour shifts on that ride... ugh never again... especially in the summer in an all black uniform under an umbrella that did nothing to protect you from the heat. Yes you had lots of little children that would infuriate you with their driving skills (Taz Cars and Speedy's... I'm looking at you!!!) but seeing them finally get the hang of it and the smiles they created. That's what made my job their worthwhile, it was even cuter when they would give you a hi5 or even say thank you when leaving. It was often enough to just make you smile and make what your doing worthwhile.

Basically, my time at the parks was full of up's and downs and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have people their that I owe my thanks to, and some that i'd rather not see again I'd love to see some major changes happen with management and how things are done... and to bring the magic back a little bit more, but we will see what happens.

[DWP]

Thanks Spotty for your answers and your insights into the life of a ride op/theme park employee.

From the sound of things VRTP and Ardent are like most giant corporations with questionable management decisions and things that could be run better and generally unworkable budget/wage demands (cut costs, increase profits etc etc) and filled with great people to work with and the ones you can't stand to be around

Many times I've dreamt after having a particulary bad day at work, how cool it would be to work at a theme park but the reality is that just about every job has it's up's and down's and parts of the job that are unbearable to perform and the moments of joy that can happen every now and then.

Another question is do they train new ride ops before/after hours on the ins and outs of the ride or is it all done 'on the job' as it were?

[Spotty]

Generally you'd start at around 8am and read through a heap of procedures first, then go for a walk through the ride before the park opens... and then you would be buddied up with someone and be shown how to do the job... then you'd do it sort of thing. Some rides would only take a day of training (Wild West Falls, Batwing, Arkham Asylum, Justice League) and others like Superman, WBK / RoadRunner would take 2 - 3 days.

Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster was by far the most intensive training out of all the rides, and normally only more "senior" staff get trained on that ride. I know when I was trained on Scooby Doo I had two "High Zone Training" mornings which were from 7:00am - 9:15am where you would do a track walk and 2 simulated evacuations in the higher levels and two in the lower levels to make sure you know how to use the harnesses etc as it's quite a high risk role. And then there were 2x buddy days from 8am - 5:30pm.

In training you go through the evacuation procedures, fire procedures etc. It's a very quick process but honestly it's very thorough the way they do things. Honestly it's one of the things I found Village Roadshow did really well and that was the training. Scooby Doo even has a script as well for when your doing evacuations because it's so complex

[rappa]

It's probably worth noting too that 'ride ops' as most people probably think of them are not the entry level ops staff you may think.

The actual operators at the main panels that push the buttons are a level of staff about that and it would take a while to gain one of those positions on the major rides.

It was summed up best said above that all jobs have ups and downs.

I've never been a ride op but the parks are a great unique place to work. It's like any job, it is what you make of it. Loving the job and being positive means that the shit days (and there always gonna be shit days) just don't matter in the scheme of things.

[Spotty]

Yes, they are the supervisors behind the main control panel and are actually a different pay rate to the normal ride operators on the floor of the attractions. Although with some of the rides they actually don't push any buttons at all whilst the ride is in operation unless there is a fault with the ride (scooby doo and wild west falls in particular) but when there is a fault... that's when they really come into play, oh and watching the millions of cameras. Most of the supervisors of the attractions are ones that started as a entry level position and worked the way up the ladder but are occasionally external staff too, but but before they get behind the main panel they have to do cast shifts on the ride to make sure they know the in's and outs of all procedures etc.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Something I learned going through wonderland basic training many years ago was to regard the park as 'the big show' - and the 'theatrical references' they use, like 'cast member' or 'on stage' were in effect.

To realise that the person queueing to ride your ride, or play your skill game, pose for the photo you're going to take or buy the food merchandise you're selling may never have been to the park before... and they may never come back again.

Many of us can still fondly remember one of the first visits to a park. As kids, we'd run madly ahead of our parents to try and be the first in line for THAT ride, or even before that you'd crane your neck from the back seat of the car to be the first to spot bush beast probe giant drop batwing etc.

For a lot of us, the 'excitement' of arriving in the carpark of a theme park, waiting for your parents to hurry up and grab their stuff and lock the car, so you can line up in front of the gates for half an hour... is long gone... and moreso for some cast members (obviously) who, for them - is just a job and a way to pay the bills...

But when you take a step back and realise that for some people you see today whilst you're 'on stage' - this may be their first, their last, or their only time visiting your park. They're already mesmerised by the rides zooming past them and the characters waving at them from the other end of main street. And as a cast member - in any role - it's your job to make sure that each and every one of these people has the most magical experience you can possibly give them - to try and get their experience to be as close to your memory of 'that first time' as you can.

On many days working the park, it'd be pouring rain, it'd be miserable, and it'd be a really crappy day to be outside - on days like that, i'd kinda "Peter Pan it" - i'd have these 'happy thoughts' stored up inside, and as I walked on stage, i'd just think of the happiest thought I could think of - and i'd always ensure i'd walk out from behind the gate with a smile on my face and a mindset to do as much as I could to ensure everyone's day was 'best ever'...

And there are still cast members in the parks today with that mindset - but there are others that have lost the sparkle, and for them it's just a job... and unfortunately thats a sad fact of a theme park being run like a corporation (which, these days, is a necessity)

[Sam Cash]

Was at MW today. There is currently no lasers or fog in Scooby Doo and the laser from above star cafe isn't there. My friend knows the tech guys and he said one of them was testing some new lasers so hopefully they replace them

[DWP]

Thanks once again on the insights guys. Really interesting stuff.

Was wondering how a walk through of a coaster like SE would work? The indoor bits to check would be straight forward i'm guessing but what about the outdoor bits of the track? Do they only usually get checked for cracks etc during maintenance times?

[Reanimated35]

You have to run really fast to get to the top of the superman top hat.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

While i'm not suggesting this is how it's done, it wouldn't be hard for a person trained in vertical mobility with a harness and two safety lines to simply climb the top hat, clipping and unclipping as he went up.

I didn't think they did 'track walks' on steel coasters... I thought only woodies got that sort of regular attention...

[rappa]

All amusement park rides follow a strict set of guidelines from the manufacturer on regular inspection intervals for track etc.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Surely not every day though? Like - Bush Beast had a carpenter walk the entire track EVERY MORNING.

Steel would be far harder - especially when it isn't box section track - like Arkham... so it wouldn't be as regular surely...

[Spotty]

Scooby Doo had a track walk every single morning starting at 9:15am. Staff and a supervisor would do a walk of the ride with the SFX on to make sure all the audio cues etc would work and if anything wasn't working they would write it down and alert AV so it could be fixed. They would also check for any obstructions in the emergency exits and make sure all the harness points etc were in good condition and to turn on the fog machines (if they worked...)

Superman is much the same for the dark ride portion of the ride. As far as the external parts of rides like Superman and Arkham go I wouldn't be sure how often they get done. I do know Bolliger and Mabillard steel coasters have a "Maintenance Ball" that can be driven the whole way round a track to inspect it.

Photo courtesy of themeparkreview.com

Edited May 23, 2014 by Spotty

[Reanimated35]

Spotty how would they go about doing a full track walk on scooby? Assuming you mean they walk ever inch of the track, how do they get by for the sections that don't have a catwalk?

[jjuttp]

Spotty how would they go about doing a full track walk on scooby? Assuming you mean they walk ever inch of the track, how do they get by for the sections that don't have a catwalk?

They use dogs.