Hey guys! Sorry to bring up a dead topic but I was just reading around and found this really interesting. Last summer I actually worked on a roller coaster called “The Racer” which is located at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio.
It was truly one of the best summers of my life. Not only was it fun operating the rides but you meet a thousand new people everyday and although it may get annoying spieling the rules over and over you do meet some awesome guests that just absolutly make your day. You also grow a strong bound with your work crew considering you do work with them every waking hour during the summer (atleast thats how it feels), they have become some of the greatest friends ever.
Heres some photos:
This is our ride (white), like the name says…it races. It’s very large covering a ton of ground but isn’t the tallest or fastest going about 88 feet up and reaching speeds of up to 61mph. In the roller coaster world this ride is one of the most historic, if it wasn’t for the racer it’s possible roller coasters wouldn’t exist today.
This is me “clearing a train”…you see this at EVERY amusement park in the world. Once all the operators see that all restraints are locked, the control operator is looking, and all guests and employees are in their designated “green zones” then you simply put your thumb up and say “clear.” This alerts the control operator that the train is ready to be dispatched, the control operator will then say “all clear” and then it will be on it’s way. Simple right? Doing it over and over can get really boring, you must make the best of it.
In the picture above you can see that I’m also talking on a microphone, we call it spieling. Its a HUGE part of what we do and if you’re good at it can make the boring factor go down 99%. You use to not only to state safety rules but to have some fun…we ask guests how their ride was, tell them to enjoy it, and we also like to play games. It’s a excellent way to interact with guests.
Now in terms of how to operate the ride it gets more complex. At all Cedar Fair parks (Cedar Point, Kings Island, Knotts Berry Farm, lots more…) Your are trained at specific levels. These levels range from 1-3 with 1 being the heighest, like most jobs you must prove yourself to be efficient in one level to move to another. Everyone starts on level 3.
Level 3
Level 3 is simple, but theres usually a ton to do especially if you’re alone on the floor. In this position you have multiple tasks…you must look for kids that might be too short and measure them, check lap bars and seatbelts on your side, make sure all guests are behind the ride gates, let special needs guests in and save them seats, and you must be able to read park documents. While doing all this you must move the train out as fast and as safe as possible.
Level 2
Level 2 is alot like level 3 except all you do is check lap bars and press a simple green “dual button.” This button is linked to the dispatch button on the control panel, if both buttons are pressed simultaneously then the train will go but if only one button is pressed while the other isn’t then the train will stay at a halt. It’s just a safety feature to prevent accidental start-up.
This picture was taken at The Beast roller coaster but The Racer has the same set-up. In this position you must also give a “high clear” instead of a simple low clear you use in the level 3 spot. The only difference is you lift your thumb above your head to let the control operator know that you’re pressing in the dual button.
Level 1 a
Level 1 is in my opinion the best spot to work, and in order to get trained there you must show you know exactly what you’re doing. In this spot you have full control over the operation of the ride such as opening/closing the gates, opening/closing the lap bars, starting and stopping the lift chain, bringing the train in from the specific blocks in the brake shed, ride capacity, starting a dispatch and E-Stopping if needed (but as said earlier it’s a hassle if it’s not needed and pressed). The computer practically does everything in terms of the block system, meaning we can’t brake the ride ourselves-instead the computer does it for us.
We also have a computer screen that tells us exactly what the ride is doing and where the trains are. If theres a problem, a error message pops on the screen and tells us exactly what the problem is and where. The driver then must determine exactly what to do for the situation which can get so complicated I won’t explain here, it involves tons of code numbers and names that you have to call in. This is what makes the spot so difficult.
You can see here the control panel and the computer screen I was talking about.
Level 1 b
This isn’t really a spot, it’s more of an operation. In order to do this an associate has to be at least 18, why? I don’t know really. But we do this every time the ride is powered back on either in the morning or after a long delay. Basically what this test is testing is the automatic block system and making sure no train bypass into sections they shouldn’t. There has to be at least one block between each train so they don’t bump into another…so how do we test this? Simply put we try and crash the trains, if they crash it fails, if they don’t then it passes.
To my conclusion…working at a Amusement park is simply amazing, a perfect teenage job. Sure it only pays $7.40 an hour, but gaining the experience is well worth it and besides they give you PLENTY of hours (Every weekend in October I worked 9:15am to 1:am on Saturday, and 9:15 to 10:00pm on Sundays.)Yes, the job is demanding and it definitely puts your body through endurance standing in the heat for hours on end but the friends and people you’ll meet is simply awesome. For anyone debating a amusement park job, go for it.
Also, if you’re thinking about Kings Island…the work environment is terrific. ALL the supervisors and higher ups have been nothing but helpful and nice, they down
right make Kings Island a truly one of a kind place.
If you have anymore questions just ask!
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