Park Guests

Ride Operators

2- People using controlled substances/ narcotics/ drugs.

3- People who are intoxicated.

4- People carrying weapons of any kind

5- Be cautious of people who are bleeding, vomiting, spitting, or any other potential transmission of infectious materials.

6- People acting excessively violent

7- Theft

8- People who are harassing employees or other guests

9- People whose actions could cause harm or injury to themselves or to others.

2- Operators who are rude to guests tend to take unnecessary risks with safety as well, and should be reported.

3- Operators who don't seem to be operating the ride as it was meant to be.

4- Operators who appear bored or need something to play with, or singing, dancing, throwing things, etc.

5- Operators who joke around about their ride breaking down.

6- Operators who talk with guests while the ride is running.

7- Operators playing with the microphone at their ride.

8- Eating at a ride.

9- Use of narcotics/ alcohol

Here are some detailed explanations of what appears in the table above:

PARK GUEST HAZARDS

1- People in unauthorized areas can do more harm than you may realize. Parks typically make use of very high voltages of electricity.  There are areas of a park where fast moving machinery can cause serious bodily injury or death if someone were to cross into this type of area...as an example, to try to retrieve a lost hat or glasses, etc.  If you spot this type of unauthorized access, notify the nearest park employee first, and then contact security and/or management.

2,3- People using controlled substances regardless of form are a hazard to us all.   We all know about the horror stories of what things people have been known to do while standing next to an open window or a balcony after using certain drugs, so imagine the potential harm they could do to themselves and others at a place where you have large moving machinery. Alcohol and marijuana is no less of a concern.  You need to be in complete control of your self in this type of environment, especially in the event of an emergency situation, so do us all a favor and stay sober and drug free while at the park at the very least. If you spot this type of hazard, notify park management and/or police.

4- Weapons of any kind are unnecessary and very dangerous at an amusement park or carnival. If you see any weapon at an amusement facility, notify the facility management and/ or police.

5- You want to avoid things like vomit, blood, or any other bodily substance of a person that you do not know.  If you find that someone has gotten sick, which is not unusual at a place that appears to be designed for these things, please just notify the site management or a responsible employee.  They are always very quick to clean these things up.  Vomit will close any ride.  If a ride has been contaminated in such a manner, yet continues to operate, notify management immediately.  If someone spits off any aerial type ride, notify someone immediately.  You and I both know how pathetic this is, and I can personally tell you how disgusting it is to get spit on from an aerial ride.  I once had a guest escorted promptly out the main gate for doing just that.

6- Excessive violence.  Do I really need to explain this one?  No one goes to a park to see some jerk beating on his wife or girlfriend, or to hear a woman using loud foul language with their children....or anyone else for that matter.  People who walk around hitting or breaking things are a menace to us all and should be escorted out the gate at once.  Notify someone if you see this.

7- Theft.  Do your part, folks.  No one likes to be stolen from, nor does any business regardless of how big.  You don't need to confront anyone, just report it covertly to an employee.

8- If there's a guest yelling at an employee, you have to keep in mind that the employee may not be in the position to call for help for themselves at the time, so you need to feel obligated to do this for them if it is even a potentially violent or hazardous situation.  Give the security guards something to do...call them.

9- I can talk for days about this one, but I will keep it somewhat brief.  If you see something that your first instinct tells you is unsafe in any way... get help from management or security. 
Examples are, but are not limited to:
    -Throwing objects of any kind from a ride or attraction.
    -Taking parts (of any kind) off a ride.
    -Pretending to throw someone into the path of an oncoming ride.
    -Sabotage of any kind.
    -Unattended boxes or packages...things unusually suspicious
    -Reaching into or from a ride.
    -Disregarding the instructions of park employees
    -Attempting to climb out of a ride while in operation.
    -Harmful horseplay anywhere could be dangerous.

EMPLOYEE HAZARDS

1- Let's face it, most of the ride operators are fairly young, and still have enough hormones to conquer the world, so it's not hard to understand how they could get distracted easily.  However, this is no excuse. They are paid to watch out for you while you are on that ride, so make sure they are doing their job. Injuries occur when a ride operator fails to see a hazard and does not stop a ride in time to avoid a problem. I am not suggesting you go whine to guest relations every time a ride operator looks away for a second, because there is no point to making someone else's day miserable, but if you feel there is a definite safety risk, then do it.

2- Park employees are trained to be courteous to the guests along with all of the other safety and operational material they have to learn. If a ride operator is being rude to guests, this is a sure sign that he or she does not enjoy what they are doing, and you can assume that their pride level has diminished, and so will their perceptiveness to safety. You go to a park to escape from the rude world outside, so turn them in if they are being rude or belligerent with you, your kids, or other guests. The park will thank you, believe me.

3- You can use common sense while you watch a ride and figure out if a ride is being operated improperly. If you see the lights being turned on and off, or you see the ride stopping and starting, operators doing things to the equipment that makes you feel uncomfortable, or if an operator seems to be having a little too much fun at the controls of a ride, then you may wish to bring it to the attention of a ride supervisor. Immature operators will try to get a ride to do things that they were not meant to do just for fun, and will sometimes even attempt to break a ride so that they can take a break while it is repaired. Any abnormal operation of a ride is dangerous and must be reported immediately. See HERE for a scary true story of two idiot ride operators I used to work with about 10 years ago.

4- This falls back onto what I said in number 1.  If an operator can't seem to keep calm, feels the need to whistle or do stupid things into the ride microphone, or spin in circles or whatever dumb things these kids do, then they are obviously not in the correct world that they need to be in to properly watch the ride your kids are on.  Don't assume that the park you are at condones this activity.  The supervisors can't be everywhere at the same time, so you need to be an extra set of eyes for safety.

5- Operators who make comments about their ride possibly breaking down, or how they wish it would break down is downright unprofessional and ignorant. You don't pay all that money to go to a park to have some lazy kid mumbling about his ride breaking. You want to be assured that the rides you are entrusting your safety to are in the best possible condition.  If you hear this type of comment or conversation, REPORT IT before they get their wish. It does sometimes lead to accidents.

6- Please do not bother the ride operators who are currently in control of the operation of a ride, despite the nature of your question. Emergency...yes.  Directions to the bathroom...NO. Find someone who is unoccupied or wait until the ride stops.

7- See number 4.

8- Eating at a ride. Some parks may actually allow operators to eat while they take their break at the ride, but I do not know of many. Parks generally provide cafeterias for their employees. However, if an operator who is at the control panel of a ride appears to be paying more attention to their food than to the ride, safety is at risk.  Example: a kiddie ride... A child falls over the side of a little motorcycle and is hanging by the seatbelt. This must be caught the very first time the child passes the operator. See how not paying attention even on a kiddie ride could be dangerous? What if that little kid tries to get himself back up and gets his/her hand chewed up by the wheel?

9- Let's not even go there. If you see drugs or alcohol on a ride, call the local police or the park's security chief.

I have seen people go to the hospital with a section of fence
sticking through their hands.   No joke.  Can you see why?

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