Ride Ops

[Santa07]

Have you ever had a really nice ride op? A really mean one?

I've met ride ops that are really bubbly and speak a lot to the public and stuff. They really make a difference to ride experiences.

I also met a ride op who was pretty bad today running superman. He got angry at me because I had a small piece of tissue in my pocket, about the size of my fingernail, and it apparently counted as a loose item. He was incredibly slow at sending people to the batch doors and loading, and he even decided that it would be nice to split up groups just so the whole train was full. He split my brother and I up, but a nice guy in a group of three decided to sit a few rows back from his friends so we could ride together.

Fortunately, there aren't too many people like this, and most ride ops are friendly. Have you ever met really good/bad ride ops? What made them this way?

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

See - there's no excuse for a surly ride operator.

There are plenty of causes - bad situation at home, other things on their mind, poor management and support...

but there's no reason any cast member should bring that 'on stage'. I used to keep a 'memory bank' of 'happy thoughts' to think about right before I went on stage - they never failed to put a smile on my face before I entered the park, and kept me in a good mood for my shift, regardless of what else was going on.

I think all the parks on the GC have let standards in this area slip, and I think responsibility for it lies squarely on the shoulders of management - either for creating or fostering a poor environment which makes the cast members surly, or for allowing surly cast members on stage without dealing with the issues.

I have had some great cast members - both on the GC and elsewhere - so this isn't meant to be a 'park bash'... and it's very sad to hear of this experience Santa.

[Tim Dasco]

I have had one at the Perth Royal Show who was rude. I was going on the Hurricane and I was with my friend who is a girl (Not my girl friend) and I went to sit in the cart and she was coming in behind me. He yelled at me a said, 'HOW DARE U! She has to go first.' IF you want nice ones. All you need to do is go to AW.

[liz.wis]

I've found one of the guys - I think it was either Shockwave or The Claw at Dreamworld fairly good.   He put a bit more effort into pre-ride announcements - this would have been 18 months ago.  One of the guys on Big Red Boat was amusing as well.

 

Not a ride op, but I thought the current guy with the main speaking part at Sea World during the seal show (and he also did the speaking part of the dolphin show) was really good - he played up the cheesiness of it all really well, rather than cringing his way through it like whoever used to do it.  

 

Wasn't fussed on the guy playing the director at HSD at Movie World last weekend - I think he also needed to go cheesier with the bad dialogue he was given.  

 

 

[Brad2912]

Haven't had any memorably bad experiences I have to say. 

You get your disinterested button pushers (usually those on Big Red Car) but then you get those that engage with your kids and put a smile on their face, which is the end goal.

most in-character I've seen are a few on Arkham Asylum who play on their 'lunatic' role. On Fright Nights I even had one scare my younger nephew saying a few people hadnt come back when the train returned earlier in the night. we were in a group of 3 with my nephew on his own, he then proceeded to check everyone's harnesses, then jumped in the seat next to my nephew and screamed the entire way

[Noxegon]

The operators at Adventure World do indeed show the rest of the world how the job should be done.

[downunder]

My Olympus had surly Eastern European seasonals for ride ops who took indifference and contempt for park visitors to new levels. They seemed to put the friendly ones in the retail outlets.

Cedar Point has some good crews.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

he then proceeded to check everyone's harnesses, then jumped in the seat next to my nephew and screamed the entire way

I would not have thought VRTP would allow this sort of thing... but I guess so long as ride procedures were followed, it would be ok... (It wouldn't be the first time Ride Ops have done this - oh the shenanigans that happened at Wonderland including a few certain somebodies (who will of course remain nameless) riding Skyrider as a lazy way up the hill when it charlied.... Nameless people who were on a helicopter joyride will also remain nameless!)

That said - I find that in keeping so "in character" to be an awesome touch, and if VRTP permits Arkham cast members to do this, (provided the ride safety system is adhered to, and the ride still has adequate operators), then i'm all for it!!!

[Bussy]

I have had one at the Perth Royal Show who was rude. I was going on the Hurricane and I was with my friend who is a girl (Not my girl friend) and I went to sit in the cart and she was coming in behind me. He yelled at me a said, 'HOW DARE U! She has to go first.' IF you want nice ones. All you need to do is go to AW.

Don't put Carnies in the same boat as permanent park ride ops. In my experience, travelling show rides (from Royal Easter Show to my local towns show) are operated by a group of people who should not be trusted with children.

I always made an effort to put a smile on the face of the guests, if that meant making myself look like a bit of an idiot with a stupid joke or doing an evil laugh over the PA, then that's what I did. I tried to pass on that attitude to the other staff I trained.

[Zanstabar]

That said - I find that in keeping so "in character" to be an awesome touch, and if VRTP permits Arkham cast members to do this, (provided the ride safety system is adhered to, and the ride still has adequate operators), then i'm all for it!!!

I have had an OP stay in character and it definitely makes the experience. After doing the average spiel of "Heads back, hold on tight, and welcome to the Asylum" they let a laugh that could only be described as the laugh from the end of Nicki Minaj's Anaconda. At that point, everyone on-board was questioning the OP's sanity.

 

Another good experience was an OP on the Wipeout. Not only did he do the normal safety spiel, but he mixed in a lot of Californian and Surfing lingo. You could tell he loved his job.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Zanstabar

[themagician]

Yeah, that guy those does the Wipeout is great. He always does commentary throughout the ride and does different character voices. He is also happy and energetic

[Wil_i_am_not]

I've had some really great experiences with the Freak Out operators! The one who was manning the line was chatting up a storm with me and he was really interactive with the rider's. He was quite nice also after I had gone on about 3 times, they let me go on for free! 

 

As for bad experience's, I've had some pretty bad experiences with some of O'Neil's staff. But I guess you can't really classify them the same as ride op's as Bussy said.

[Gazza]

Don't put Carnies in the same boat as permanent park ride ops. 

Waits for a carnie lurker to post and be all "No, we're actually called showies". 

[iwerks]

Matt from Adventure World - there's nothing that guy can't do.

I was also impressed with the team that ran the Freefall.  Getting rid of that prerecorded Jamaican guy was the best move ever.

[grrofunger]

Matt from Adventure World - there's nothing that guy can't do.

I was also impressed with the team that ran the Freefall.  Getting rid of that prerecorded Jamaican guy was the best move ever.

yep - he is brilliant.

Nearly everyone there is -  I go a lot, so it stands to reason, but a lot of them remember me and we have a few ongoing jokes

they are always happy to be there too

[downunder]

There's this girl who has been the ride op at Hair Raiser at Luna Park the last couple of times I've been there and I must say she is very fun and enthusiastic.

[Theme Park Girl]

Ken at Dreamworld is amazing, no matter what ride he is working on. So entertaining. He's great value ???