The Coffee House

[Gary A.]

I hate amusement parks. I don't like squeezing onto roller coasters in the like, and I honestly get overstimulated by all of the sensory crap around me (music blaring, food smells, sounds of people yelling, crowds of people near me, etc). But, our students had a great time. The park was relatively empty as we were late for school group season and early for the summer crowds, and my students were able to walk onto most of the rides. In fact, a few were able to ride Superman (considered one of the handful of best roller coasters in the world) twice in a 25 minutes, which is unheard of I guess.

The only snag was a ride breakdown that our students got caught in. We were short two students at our final check-in before heading home, and they were MIA for almost 45 minutes. Neither of them were answering their phones. It ended up that their phones were in a ride locker and they were stuck at the end of the ride for over an hour because the seat restraints wouldn't release and they had to call ride mechanics in. Of course, we didn't know that at the time.

Needless to say, I'm dragging this morning.

That must have been scary with the MIA's. Have they discussed revamping protocol to prevent this in the future?

The protocols that really need revamping is having the kids tell the amusement park employees to call the chaperons and let them know of the problem. Conversely, the employees need to also be instructed to ask the kids who to inform of the problem. Reliance needs to start at home.

 

[JonA_CT]

I hate amusement parks. I don't like squeezing onto roller coasters in the like, and I honestly get overstimulated by all of the sensory crap around me (music blaring, food smells, sounds of people yelling, crowds of people near me, etc). But, our students had a great time. The park was relatively empty as we were late for school group season and early for the summer crowds, and my students were able to walk onto most of the rides. In fact, a few were able to ride Superman (considered one of the handful of best roller coasters in the world) twice in a 25 minutes, which is unheard of I guess.

The only snag was a ride breakdown that our students got caught in. We were short two students at our final check-in before heading home, and they were MIA for almost 45 minutes. Neither of them were answering their phones. It ended up that their phones were in a ride locker and they were stuck at the end of the ride for over an hour because the seat restraints wouldn't release and they had to call ride mechanics in. Of course, we didn't know that at the time.

Needless to say, I'm dragging this morning.

That must have been scary with the MIA's. Have they discussed revamping protocol to prevent this in the future?

The protocols that really need revamping is having the kids tell the amusement park employees to call the chaperons and let them know of the problem. Conversely, the employees need to also be instructed to ask the kids who to inform of the problem. Reliance needs to start at home.

Indeed. We checked in with security after 20 minutes and a quick lap. The part that I'll be discussing with guest relations or whoever I can get in touch with later is the fact that security didn't mention that there was a ride malfunctioning. They must have known (or if they didn't...it is a stupid for them NOT to know), and it would have been super simple with a radio to see if our kids were on the ride or not.

I definitely had a pit in my stomach the entire time. It's a big place. The kids who were missing are good kids...but you never know what's going on in a fourteen year-old's head. It would have been easy for them to sneak away/out and we wouldn't have been able to prevent it. Conversely...they are getting old enough that adults need to be able to trust them. It's a tough place to be, honestly.

 

[snowbear138 69]

I hate amusement parks. I don't like squeezing onto roller coasters in the like, and I honestly get overstimulated by all of the sensory crap around me (music blaring, food smells, sounds of people yelling, crowds of people near me, etc). But, our students had a great time. The park was relatively empty as we were late for school group season and early for the summer crowds, and my students were able to walk onto most of the rides. In fact, a few were able to ride Superman (considered one of the handful of best roller coasters in the world) twice in a 25 minutes, which is unheard of I guess.

The only snag was a ride breakdown that our students got caught in. We were short two students at our final check-in before heading home, and they were MIA for almost 45 minutes. Neither of them were answering their phones. It ended up that their phones were in a ride locker and they were stuck at the end of the ride for over an hour because the seat restraints wouldn't release and they had to call ride mechanics in. Of course, we didn't know that at the time.

Needless to say, I'm dragging this morning.

The local amusement park is the reason the work Fire Department has a world-class high-angle rescue team. One of those coasters gets stuck every year, it seems, and it's never when the cars are a the bottom of the hills.

 

[smoke665]

the work Fire Department has a world-class high-angle rescue team

No roller coasters but a few steep bluffs on the mountains around us. We've had to make a few recovery/rescues Over the years. We have the equipment and a few members trained at rappelling and recovery. In my younger days I did it,

 

[SquarePeg]

I hate amusement parks. I don't like squeezing onto roller coasters in the like, and I honestly get overstimulated by all of the sensory crap around me (music blaring, food smells, sounds of people yelling, crowds of people near me, etc). But, our students had a great time. The park was relatively empty as we were late for school group season and early for the summer crowds, and my students were able to walk onto most of the rides. In fact, a few were able to ride Superman (considered one of the handful of best roller coasters in the world) twice in a 25 minutes, which is unheard of I guess.

The only snag was a ride breakdown that our students got caught in. We were short two students at our final check-in before heading home, and they were MIA for almost 45 minutes. Neither of them were answering their phones. It ended up that their phones were in a ride locker and they were stuck at the end of the ride for over an hour because the seat restraints wouldn't release and they had to call ride mechanics in. Of course, we didn't know that at the time.

Needless to say, I'm dragging this morning.

That must have been scary with the MIA's. Have they discussed revamping protocol to prevent this in the future?

The protocols that really need revamping is having the kids tell the amusement park employees to call the chaperons and let them know of the problem. Conversely, the employees need to also be instructed to ask the kids who to inform of the problem. Reliance needs to start at home.

Indeed. We checked in with security after 20 minutes and a quick lap. The part that I'll be discussing with guest relations or whoever I can get in touch with later is the fact that security didn't mention that there was a ride malfunctioning. They must have known (or if they didn't...it is a stupid for them NOT to know), and it would have been super simple with a radio to see if our kids were on the ride or not.

I definitely had a pit in my stomach the entire time. It's a big place. The kids who were missing are good kids...but you never know what's going on in a fourteen year-old's head. It would have been easy for them to sneak away/out and we wouldn't have been able to prevent it. Conversely...they are getting old enough that adults need to be able to trust them. It's a tough place to be, honestly.

Yikes. Must have been a rough wait until they were "found". Glad it wasn't anything serious. We rely so much on phones to keep in touch at places like this! Putting them in a locker or having someone's battery die means no way to contact them. We used to go to Disney and Universal a lot. Once Princess was old enough to go off on her own with friends or with my nephew, we relied heavily on the phones. We usually have a "let's meet at Spiderman at 3pm" back up plan in case phones died but that wouldn't have helped in your case. Other than having a chaperone waiting while they ride, there really isn't a plan that you could have had that would have avoided this. Security needs to rethink their set up if they knew that some kids were "missing" and didn't check to see if anyone was trapped on a ride. That should have been the first thing they looked into! Definitely follow up with Guest Relations.

 

[Gary A.]

Gary and family got stuck on "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland. Firstly, Gary doesn't like that ride. It starts out with dolls which have different faces, complexations, clothing and languages and it ends up with one language and every doll/mannequin looking the same. About an hour stuck in these row boats listening to "It's a Small World After All ..." on a loop. About the time Gary was getting up in order to leap from the row boat across three feet of water to the maintenance walkway, the boat started moving again. Gary still has nightmares of being stuck on a rowboat in Hell.

 

[JonA_CT]

So it wasn’t even that they weren’t carrying their phones...the specific ride has a no “loose articles” policy that prohibits anything in your pockets. I’m getting ready to call. It’ll be interesting to see what their response is...I doubt I’ll get much traction.

 

[davidharmier60]

Better part of 5.5 hours today. 24.39 for the week so far. Had chicken tenders and home fries at the deli. Changed light bulbs (48" tubes) until the box was 2 from empty.
The newest milk man is slow as molasses.
That's why nearly 5.5. My Sister and Dad came to town. She probably did the PO but I don't KNOW that. So PO, box at the front of the neighborhood and then home.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[smoke665]

@Gary that Small World music is what we call ear worm music. It crawls in your head and won't leave. At Disney with the kids just after the Alddin movie came out. The chorus from Prince Ali got stuck in our heads for days.

 

[Gary A.]

So it wasn’t even that they weren’t carrying their phones...the specific ride has a no “loose articles” policy that prohibits anything in your pockets. I’m getting ready to call. It’ll be interesting to see what their response is...I doubt I’ll get much traction.

If you get no action, call their PR department. They are paid to listen.

 

[Gary A.]

iPhone

Maggie went squirrel hunting today.

 

[davidharmier60]

Dirty Dog!

 

[smoke665]

Latest doctor visit looks like DW and I are over pneumonia except for a lingering occasional cough. Not sure what's causing it, but apparently it has been really bad in the area.

 

[Gary A.]

Portugal - Spain tied at 3-3. Ronaldo was amazing with a hat trick. Diego Costa for Espana was amazing as well. This was more of a battle for the Iberian Peninsula than a soccer match.

 

[limr49 2]

Yes, thanks to that insanely bendy penalty kick from Ronaldo. That was a thing of beauty. Beckham would be proud