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As opposed to our complaints in the other thread http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43676&start=0

 

Let's discuss things that we like that parks do and hope that other parks will adopt.

 

1. Re-rides without having to exit and walk around - when no one else is in line I like it when parks allow the riders to take an empty seat. I know Darien Lake allows the practice and it makes for an enjoyable day when empty. Making people exit and walk around assists no one, why should a ride ever dispatch with an empty seat if someone is willing to ride.

 

2. Check your own restraints - I love how the rides at Disney have straps on them. Allowing the operators to quickly dispatch trains by asking people to raise their arms and pull on their straps to ensure they are locked in. This saves tons of time and makes for fast dispatchs on rock n roller coaster, everest and test track.

 

3. Q-Bot's this has been discussed at length in other threads, but I can't state enough how great they are. They make even the busiest days enjoyable.

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Dollywood last summer was amazing! The ride ops were fantastic and very hospitable. In fact, i recall the ride ops on Tennessee Tornado (all of which had to have been 50+ yrs) RUNNING to check the OTSR's. I didn't see any trains stacked all day and every employee i came in contact with all day really seemed to care about their job.

Knoebels crew was also fantastic for many of the same reasons.

Disneyland and DCA employees blew me away as well. Space Mountain dispatched trains in less than 10-15 seconds!

Quick side note (I know this is supposed to be a positive thread) - I don't really see how Holiday World wins year after year for friendliest staff. It's not like they were awful or anything, but I didn't see anything memorable that would make me vote for them.

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Some I have experienced:

 

-In past years at Cedar Point they have always made you go around again for a re-ride instead of just staying there, at least from what I have experienced. During my visit last week on Millennium Force during ERT, they had the handicapped entrance open for you to go right back into the station, instead of having to walk all the way around.

 

-This one also occurred last week during my Cedar Point visit. Top Thrill Dragster had been closed all day long due to mechanical reasons. There were a few test runs before 10:00 am, but that's it. A half hour before the park closed, they opened it and left the entrance opened a half hour after the park closed. I got two quick rides on it and was very happy. I never though I'd still be walking around Cedar Point at 8:30 when park closing was at 7:00.

 

-Tuesday, May 13th, Magnum had three trains running all day, but it was a walk-on the whole day.

 

-Last one for my Cedar Point visit last week, I promise. All of the ride-ops were more enthusiastic and friendly than I had ever seen them. They were singing, joking with people (in a fun way, not joking as in not doing their job), and all around getting people excited to ride. This was especially good considering Monday was cloudy, gloomy, and rainy.

 

-Last July on a weekday at Geauga Lake, it was so empty that many times I was the only rider on some coasters, including Dominator. Yet Dominator had three trains running all day long.

 

-Last summer at Hersheypark, the dispatch times on all three GCIs (both Racers and Wildcat) were great. They were flying.

 

That's all I can think of now.

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Cedar Point has always been sterling with operations during my visits. No closed rides, quick dispatches.

 

Vortex at KI eats lines.

 

Top Gun:TJC (Carowinds) was great with their operations during my visits.

 

OH....best operations has to be at Movie World Australia:

Scooby Doo Coaster - Yeah, it's a Wild Mouse...and they have about 20 cars on the track.

-4 in loading station

-4 in exit station

-4 at bottom of elevator

-4 at top of elevator

-4 on overall ride?

 

And they keep the line moving constantly. This made walk ons later in the day possible. Ugh, I miss you, Scooby!!!

-JZ

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I've always loved the way attendants on Cedar Point coaster platforms have a headset and give off stats of the ride among other things. I had never seen anything like that before going to Cedar Point, and since then I've always loved it.

 

The way Disney cast members go beyond their duties (and sometimes rides) to stay in character. Once a CM from haunted mansion followed my mom out of the ride and almost past the queue line with his face inches from hers. Creeped the hell out of her.

 

The way tons of Disney employees wish you a happy birthday if you wear the button. If you wore that button at any other park, I doubt many employees would stop what they were doing just to say Happy Birthday.

 

There's more I just can't think of right now. It's always easy to remember the bad times, but almost impossible to remember the good ones.

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HMMMM....

 

SFGAdv did good on my visit, excpet for some peeps at some flats. But other than that they were good.

 

I think Disney Staff in orlando are nice. And at Everest they dispatch those trains really quick, at an impressive speed

 

BGA and SWO staff are ok

Sometimes I get mad at my employees who do not do well. But sometimes I don't do good too. I guess it depends on the day and situation.

Sheikra, and Montu seem to have the best dispatch time. The flume as well.

Sometimes guest ask if they can ride again and my co-wokers just hesitate because they are lazy at times. And we have gotten a lot of complaints lately and just a few compliments. But I know most of the time we do a good job, people just don't report it

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Space Mountain at Disneyland gets my vote. Every time I've ridden it, the crew has always been hustling. Not once have I noticed a cast member that wasn't doing their best to keep things moving, and moving fast. That same thing can be said about pretty much any ride at Disneyland, but on Space Mountain it's just more noticeable. At least to me.

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Depending on what ride I'm working at in Pirate Shores, I'll usually allow guests to stay on the ride without having to get up and exit. We'll see a lot of this at Splash Battle and Captain Cranky's Challenge. The Ride Ops at Knight's Tournament and Dragon usually do this too on really slow days.

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I absolutely love the staff at Dollywood. Every time I go they bend over backwards to immerse you in the experience and just make sure you have a great time. The man that is usually on the top of the Mountain Sidewinder is amazing. I wish there were more people like him in other parks. All throughout my time at Dollywood I get the feeling that people there truly love their job as well.

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I have to chime in for this one because I have noticed on several occasions that when a ride is having mechanical problems for a good part of the day at Cedar Point, if they get it running late in the day, they will leave the line open well after the park closes. Sometimes 30 minutes or more. I have never seen anything close to that at any other park, and it's something that most people don't take notice of.

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At Cedar Point this past weekend, Maverick's crew was absolutely booking it. The entrance sign said to expect a 45-minute wait, yet I was pulling the restraint over my shoulders 22 minutes after entering.

 

One thing that really helped was an op standing at the station assigning seats. And before people get upset that they were assigning, let me say that they acknowledged requests as well. Third time we rode, we asked for front row, and that was no problem. So assigning indifferent riders and granting requests when applicable made for excellent wait times and a great ride. And their crew (along with the rest of the park) was incredibly enthusiastic.

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Hmm, I must have caught Dollywood on bad days (EVERY TIME I'VE BEEN THERE!) Everyone is commenting how great they are, but the last several times I've been, only 1 train was running on both TT and Thunderhead, and MM was only loading 1 car at a time. The employees were slow, strict, and always seemed worn out. Plus, they NEVER let me re-ride, even if there were only 10 people waiting to board!

 

Onto some positive notes...

 

I must comment on SFKK's operators. They are always interacting with the crowds, seem to enjoy their jobs, and get trains out of the stations FAST! Now, I know one of them should have pressed the emergency stop button, but that is a thing of the past, and they won't be back...

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^^Yes, but that wasn't the only time I've been there...

 

Plus, it took forever to put on the second train. Sure, the employees were nice and friendly, but that doesn't excuse the fact that they were incredibly slow...

 

And of course the wait is going to be only 5 minutes if there is hardly anyone else waiting, but like I said, they wouldn't let me re-ride even if the rest of the rows were completely empty!

 

Don't get me wrong, I love Dollywood, I really do! Their operations just don't impress me...at all.

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The ops at BGE's Apollo's Chariot were awesome a few weeks ago--one train on the first drop, the second train starting up the lifthill.

 

I was so shocked to see that when we were there. It was kinda freaky, they did the same thing with Nitro at SFGadv as well.

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Being in Florida, I would have to go with WDW. Everyone, from the operators of the parking lot trams ("Unattended children will be donated to 'its a small world'") to the Jungle Cruise skippers ("Could it be treasure? No, it's Disney...It's a gift shop"), and even the trash cans ("Theme Park Review? Are you doing a review on me? Do I get the thumbs up? Yay!"), seems to enjoy their jobs

 

Other notable operations:

Apollo at Euroburg as Chuck stated above. I was there that same day

SFKK during the Midwest trip (they couldn't get one of their woodies going, so they opened up Greased Lightning and the SLC for ERT)

SFMM during WCB

 

Dueling Dragons at IOA (sometimes)

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Holiday World during Coaster Events. Dispatches are quick with multiply train operations and it seems the employees are having fun with the jobs even though the normally don't work during that time (can't wait for this weekend, Holliwood Nights plus Media day Sunday).

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Viper @ SFMM. The last two times I was there, they were running 3 trains. One train on the lift, One in the station, and One in the brake run.

Oh yeah, and DLR and WDW. Their operations are great on almost everything.

IOA's were also good.

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