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About natatomic
- Birthday 04/30/1986
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Stupid things happen in Florida too. When I worked at Expedition Everest, we had a guest who said their hand hit a piece of bamboo. We closed the ride down for a bit, and horticulture came in a trimmed up around the ride path. The next day, about 10% of all the bamboo was gone. Then a few days later, someone got off the ride saying there was a piece of bamboo in the track. We closed the ride, did and inspection, and yes, there was a piece of bamboo UNDER the track, but it was not in danger of hitting anyone or anything (though I do understand the fear of more bamboo falling). The next day, when I came in, we didn't open the ride for SEVEN HOURS. Why? Because they were busy doing this to the entire ride path (Kali River Rapids got the same treatment within the week):
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The Control Panel Enthusiast Thread
natatomic replied to Montu Maniac's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I'm surprised that the names of the buttons are in English! -
Child Flies Off Techno Jump in Texas
natatomic replied to printersdevil78's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Restraints don't always nail you down and prevent you from going anywhere. There are plenty of rides were I *could* wiggle out if I wanted to (I wouldn't, because I am an adult with at least SOME common sense, but I digress...). That could very well be the case here - that the little girl got scared and simply tried to wiggle out. The video did try to say that that wasn't what happened but when they said her legs were suddenly on one side of the in-between-the-legs bar, it's very possible that she got them there herself. In my (amateur) opinion, I'd say the mother is responsible for allowing the child to go without her. And the ride-op is responsible for not e-stopping (though there are a lot of ride vehicles to keep an eye on. Maybe he genuinely didn't see it happen). -
Erik & Smisty's Florida Oddventures
natatomic replied to Electerik's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Yay! I made it into the TR! Great report, Erik! -
I was at SFMM the day before (Jan. 8th), and we didn't have any major complaints (aside from the fact that it's a Six Flags, but what can you do, eh?) As far as I know, most of the rides opened on time that day, but I can't say for certain. We were going to start with X2 and Tatsu (the basic GP order, I know, I know), but then I realized I forgot my croakies*, the only store that sold them didn't open until noon, and so we decided to do the other side of the park first where there are more glasses-friendly rides. This ended up being a good thing, since my absentmindedness ended up spurring us on to do the park in a very efficient order, as NO ONE was going toward any ride other than X2 and Tatsu. At that time, only Goliath was running two trains, but we were still able to walk on to everything with no more than a one train wait (we actually walked onto the front row of Batman). Tatsu did have a full queue by the time we finally got to it, but thankfully they were running two trains that day, and our wait was only about 40 minutes (however, it could have been much less if they didn't load so slowly - even on just two trains, the second train was stacked every cycle, which left all the riders forced to stare at the gross fresh loogies and worn-away-from-spit spots on the platform below). By the second time, the line had died down and we waited only about 25 minutes. X2 was only about 30 minutes the first time, and then 45 minutes the second time we got on, when we were going for a ride in the dark. The most frustrating part of the day was when we went to get pizza - we waited 45 minutes with only 3 families ordering in front of us. Now, I may not know all the finer points of the art of pizza making, but I feel like the line could have been a tad bit faster if they had the foresight to take the order of the next party while the order of the previous party was being made. I dunno, just a thought, Six Flags. Just a thought. *I swear, I alone am keeping that company in business. I've yet to remember to bring them with me to a single park.
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Eric's Wizarding World of Harry Potter Thread
natatomic replied to live2tell75's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
It looks amazing, even if it's all a bit cramped! I went early this morning hoping to get in on some soft opening action, but sadly, it was only open to vacation package people and resort guests. Although, I heard there were technical difficulties with the ride, so maybe that's why they kept the admission limited today? No idea. But still, I at least have your photos to gaze at to tide me over until I can experience it myself. Nice job! -
^^From what I understand, the new lighting is actually the lighting used when she moves, although the Yeti is still very much not moving. There have been a handful of imagineers walking around the mountain and riding occasionally in the last few months in order to take a look at the Yeti, but no one has heard what the official plan is to fix her yet.
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Photo TR: Evacuated from Disney's Nemo Ride!
natatomic replied to timfar's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive
Um, that might be the coolest backstage I've ever seen. I'm so jealous. -
The WDW Disney College Program
natatomic replied to jackskellington101's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Yes, it would be impossible to take a class in-seat at a local college, because you really do have to have complete open availability. Having said that, I am currently taking two online classes while here on my program (Expedition Everest) and I am so far handling my workload okay. Even with my 57 hour work weeks (overtime, baby)! This is my second program (I worked Splash Mountain in 2007), and I didn't take any classes back then (online, Disney, nor other), so I had a LOT more time to go to the parks and relax. I kind of miss that, but then again, I don't like being almost 24 and still in school, so I gotta make some sacrifices for my degree somehow. Anyway, I have nothing but fantastic things to say about the program. And yes, I know some people have issues with housing, but honestly, if you just suck it up for a few months and play by the rules, you'll be fine. I did almost no networking my first program, but I was completely different person back then (I was ever the wilting flower), so I basically just tried to do my job and not get anyone angry at me. Plus, I wasn't too fond of some of my managers there (Splash Mountain was much more fun to operate, but Everest management is so much better, so it all evens out in my book), so I didn't really ever go to them too often anyway. It's a totally different story now. I love 90% of my managers and I have so much more confidence in myself (most of which, I think, stems from being toughened up from working at Disney before), so networking is definitely something I'm trying to do this time around. So far, I've been invited to audition for the Disney Cast Member orchestra coming up in May, which I'm very excited about. And when it comes time to extend my program, I'd like to request a location change, and many of my current managers are from the areas I am interested in (not that Everest isn't great - I LOVE my job, I just have a few dream attractions I'd like to work). I am also interested in either a Professional Internship with the company or possibly going over to Guest Relations so that I can eventually work as a VIP tour guide, so I'm always trying to be a role model CM so that my managers will be willing to put in a good word for me wherever I wish to go. My homeroom manager was actually a WDW Ambassador a few years back, he's an EXCELLENT reference to have. Also, one of the girls I work with wants nothing more than to work for the holiday decoration department, and one of our managers is working on getting her an interview. So yes, if Disney is a company in which you'd like to move up, definitely talk to as many people as you can. Introduce yourself to everyone with a name tag, that's my strategy. -
TPR Members Working At Parks
natatomic replied to BrownStreak's topic in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
I'm doing my second Disney College Program, and I'm currently a ride op on Expedition Everest. The Yeti says hi. Anyway, come visit me there. I love meeting fellow TPRers! -
Photo TR: Natatomic does the West Coast Trip
natatomic replied to natatomic's topic in Photo Trip Report Archive