Stupid Guest Tricks

Well, the season is in full swing at the theme park I work at, and I have seen lots of stupid guest tricks to share with you:

I'm the lead of a water ride (kind of like a mini coordinator, I am in charge of just the one ride and the crew. I write the rotations, keep track of all the paperwork, schedule, etc.) Anywho, the SGTs I've encountered so far:

-Guests asking if they are going to get wet while looking at the soaking wet seat! (my response: It's a water ride!)

-Guest attempting to dry off the seat before sitting down. Particularly fun because we have a very limited amount of time in which to send boats before we back up which can then lead to a shut down.

-Guests who rock the boat or put their hands in the water after we have expressly told them not to. We have called security on more than one. It's always fun to hear what they have to say. One group, when asked why they did it, said they were just trying to have fun. (Okay, so the ride you waited for isn't fun enough already?) Anoter group of teenagers were warned multiple times by three different crew members. While standing there with security, they said, "No offense lady, but we only heard the one person say it." To which I said, "So you admit you heard the warning?"

-There were the guests today who went into the basement of our ride while a rather nasty storm was moving in. It didn't help that we were in the middle of a down time due to a power outage and I was trying to get my ride evac'd. The thing is, there are signs all over that clearly say employees only, no guests beyond this point. When I informed them they could not be there, the father said, "I know that, but we came here so we wouldn't die." I told him that if there was a tornado, we would bring them down there, until then, they needed to stay in a guest area. Of couse their kid is freaking out because there is a coffin in the basement.

Speaking of evacs...

I love the guests who pitch royal fits when the ride goes down. 99.9% of the guests are wonderful, but there is always one who is ready to scream at everyone in sight. Because we intentionally ruin their day by making the ride go down.

Today BTRR went down around 3 pm-ish. SG were coming up to my cart complaining that the attraction was down and if I had anything to do with it? :mad: Lets see, the killer glear off the turkey leg must had a powerful glow? I told them if the ride shuts down, something or someone caused it. I don't have a remote control for that ride. :twisted:

turkeyham wrote:Today BTRR went down around 3 pm-ish. SG were coming up to my cart complaining that the attraction was down and if I had anything to do with it? :mad: Lets see, the killer glear off the turkey leg must had a powerful glow? I told them if the ride shuts down, something or someone caused it. I don't have a remote control for that ride. :twisted:

you should tell them that the ride shuts down if you can't sell everything off your cart!!!

hehehehhee

GRUMPY PIRATE wrote:you should tell them that the ride shuts down if you can't sell everything off your cart!!!

hehehehhee

That could cause problems later though, such as they remember that and see the cart with stock and the ride running. However, if you tell them you have a minimum amount to sell each hour or so or the ride shuts down then they just think that the ride is running because you are making enough sales. :p:

I forgot a couple of ones that almost belong on the parents thread:

-Yesterday I sent a boat from load to dispatch. The little girl started freaking out and attempted to climb out of the boat. I had my dispatch hold htat channel and informed the mom that if the little girl couldn't sit down she couldn't ride. The girl was obviously distraught and the mom could not control her, but she still acted all pissy when we asked her to get off. I'm sorry, but I am not going to risk your child climbing out of the boat and getting hurt. By that same token, I hate the parents who throw fits when we won't let their screaming/crying child ride. We are expressly forbidden from allowing a hysterical guest to ride, and iif the child says no, we cannot let them ride. I hate when the parents try to pull the, "I'm the parent" card. Sorry. Not happening. I see this topic come up on occasion on another message board and they always say they know best. It may be that your child will end up loving the ride, but for their safety, that is not a risk that we are allowed to take.

-In a similar vein, I was sitting up on the lift when I noticed a little boy standing up in the boat. I tried yelling down that he needed to sit, but either they didn't hear me or didn't care. The little boy was still standing when he got to the lift (I guess he was planning on standing for the drop?) and I had to stop the lift and tell the dad that he had to be seated at all times. His response? "Oh, I got him." No! The kid must be sitting, this is for his safety. IT is a bumpy ride and he could fall. This is the exact reason why kids under a certain height must ride in front of a parent- so that they can help the child stay seated. ugh, what is wrong with people?

turkeyham wrote:Today BTRR went down around 3 pm-ish. SG were coming up to my cart complaining that the attraction was down and if I had anything to do with it? :mad: Lets see, the killer glear off the turkey leg must had a powerful glow? I told them if the ride shuts down, something or someone caused it. I don't have a remote control for that ride. :twisted:

BTRR went down last Wednesday (WDW not DLR) due to bad weather. We were already inside thanks to our fast passes and the line was moving quickly because we'd already had one rain shower come through and lots of people had left.

As we're standing there, you should've heard the SG complaints about why can't they leave the ride open, can't we sign waivers so we can ride, why can't we go back up the ramp and exit that way instead of going through the exit at the bottom...oy, it made me want to throw a shoe at some of them.

Can someone please explain why the Imagineers can't simply come up with a control device that prevents thunderstorms? :p:

I hate the waiver question! The answer is no! Aside from the fact that I am saving you from your own stupidity, running the ride requires myself and my crew to be out in harm's way. We keep somebody up on the lift whenever the ride is in operation. I am not making them go there in a thunderstorm.

I had a similar conversation with an SG at Dumbo in WDW. We were down due to lightning and they had aleady sent the second operator to another ride, so I was by myself greeting. A father wanted his five year old son to ride. I tried to be cute and use themed responses, "I'm sorry sir, Dumbo is just a baby and he is afraid of lightning. But I'm sure we can convince him to fly once the storm is over." The father again stated his son wanted to ride, and I repeated the response. Finally, the father said, 'I'm willing to risk it,' to which I replied, "Well, I'm not."

I also love when they ask when the rides will be open. Do I look like God to you? I always tell them to take that up with Mother Nature or God.

EeyoresButterfly wrote: I also love when they ask when the rides will be open. Do I look like God to you? I always tell them to take that up with Mother Nature or God.

Ha! Love it

LadySiren wrote:Can someone please explain why the Imagineers can't simply come up with a control device that prevents thunderstorms? :p:

Because we are human?
I mean last time I checked...

EeyoresButterfly wrote:I also love when they ask when the rides will be open. Do I look like God to you? I always tell them to take that up with Mother Nature or God.

I finally found a way to answer the, "When will you reopen?" question:

"We'll reopen about twenty minutes after the lightning clears the area."

"But when will the lightning clear the area?"

"Oh, about twenty minutes before we reopen."

"But when will.... Oh."

"Yup, 'Oh' it is."

Had one SG go three full cycles before his wife drug him away saying, "Come on, moron!"