Bring A Video Camera -and- Film On Ride Videos At SFGAm

[tp41190]

I have asked this question many times on different theme park sites but my answers have been very general...."always ask, don't sneak" and all that stuff. But I would rather have a detailed answer on a specific site like this one, because it all about SFGAm!

So do you know the camera policy at SFGAm? When I first got my camera I didn't even bother bringing it because I was afraid of leaving it in the station and someone stealing it. But I was planning on bringing it opening weekend and filming on rides and all that good stuff.

But for 1 do you have luck putting a camera in your pocket while ridding?
And 2, do they let you film on rides with a video camera?

I was planning on bringing a roll of duct tape so I could be like "it will be duct taped to my hand so there is no chance of it coming off my hand!

The only other parks I had luck at filming in were Mt Olympus were I could bring my camera on everything. And I was wishing SFGAm on a dead day would be the same way.

--Thanks

[Director_Guy]

always ask, don't sneak



They don't allow cameras, trust me.

Really. They don't like it here either. Sorry.



Disneyland and Magic Mountain usually are okay with that sort of thing... on most rides. Odd how one Six Flags park would allow it and another wouldn't. But eh, that's life.

[tp41190]

that's what I was afraid of

Is it just roller coasters or everything in the park?! Because if they let cameras on the train or at least Whizzer, then ill be happy! But I wont get my hopes up...

[shockwave guy mark]

They tell me not to, sometimes they dont care, but I will do it anyways, however I only snuck it onto one ride, a few times I asked, it helps if you say its for a project for school, and you are held reliable for the camera, not the park.

http://youtube.com/ddrmaniacmark

[tp41190]

^what rides have you had luck with? I really want POVs of V2, DeJaVu, and American Eagle. I wont sneak a camera on a ride anyways because I'm to much of a pussy . And if you get caught they can ban you.

Also when asking....Do you think it would be better to say its for a website update, or a school project?

[CoasterCrazy1657]

i'm not gonna bring the camera openeing day in fear of it bein stolen...and i have a camera phone

[tp41190]

Because I dont want to wear a fanny pack do they allow back packs on rides?

[Trailblazer Tony]

^Definitely not. Your best bet for carrying a camera on the ride is cargo pants/shorts in the big pocket and make sure you secure it. The park won't allow you to film POVs on the coasters...heck, if this site won't allow them to be posted, you think the park will let you do it?! And i wouldn't advice just sneaking it either, the park is cracking down on people who do that, no matter how experienced you think you are. However, there are some flat rides that allow it, you should use the search tool on this site, there was another topic started awhile ago about which rides you could and couldn't.

I hate to be the bad guy, but POVs at our parks without asking is like illegally downloading music, every time you do it, you are taking a risk that could come with consequences you won't like.

[zjohn1988]

HA! I would've LOVED to see someone get an onride of bull's ENTIRE ride while I was working in 2005. Most people that snuck by, ended up getting slammed into a nice block brake before getting their camera taken away and possibly get tossed from the park.

Camera's are allowed only on the Columbia Carousel, Sky Trek Tower, and Scenic Railway..Raceway isnt supposed to allow it, but some ops let it slide by.

Backpacks aren't allowed as it can make the restraint not as secure as it should be. If it is one of the bags like the nike ones with the strings, those are usually okay to have. Most of the time, you will be required to flip it around so the bag goes through the front of the harness on V2, IW, and DJV.

You are also liable if the camera falls and hits another guest...that is the main reason why cameras are not allowed.

[demon boy]

Okay, heres the details.

Absolutely no POV's on rollercoasters. Its a safety and liability issue. Also, no cameras on thrill rides whatsoever.

However, you can take cameras on small rides like columbia.

The best thing to do is ask if they let cameras. Sometimes, yes, if you play the "school" card, they allow it but dont get your hopes up.

Please, dont try to sneak. Thats the worst thing to do. YOu'll be screwed up the ass.

[viper1988]

Ok wow guys I’m actually really surprised at a lot of these answers from people I actually know personally!

Six Flags Great America and Six Flags as a company has a company wide no loose articles on the rides policy. This means essentially that you may not ride any ride if you have any type of loose item that is not secured or anything in you hands.

Six Flags Great America has many loose item bins located in stations and lockers to store all your items. As stated before loose items present a giant safety hazard for guests as well as team members. So the company has taken it upon it’s self to beef up its policies on loose items.

It might sound harsh at first but if a guest is seen with loose item out during the ride cycle the ride will be stopped at the next available point on the ride be it the lift or the break run and the guest will be escorted by security out of the park and ejected without refund! If the guest is a season pass holder the season pass will be terminated and the guest will be asked to never return to a Six Flags Park again! I have also heard that in some cases that the park is so serious about its policies that if a guest is escorted out of the park and tries to sneak back in or return on another date the parks lawyers will press charges for trespassing!

Basically from one roller coaster enthusiast to another you do not want to risk it. Six Flags does not allow it, and I know for a fact that you don’t want to get kicked out! It’s not worth it don’t risk it, honestly don’t even ask, just don’t do it! You know the rules set the good examples for other guest and just have a good time that’s what the park is there for!

Another tip: Contact the parks official website at
http://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica

If you need to find the park policies they are located here
http://www.sixflags.com/greatAmerica/info/policies.aspx

So just remember just play it safe there are rules in place to keep everybody safe and having fun so please adhere to them! I know it’s not as fun as filming the ride and filming your friends going upside down at 60 mph but for everyone’s safety don’t do it. If you really want to see your self that bad or just want proof that you were on the ride just buy the on ride photo!

Sorry to preach thank you!

[tp41190]

^So even if you ask the Ops you can still get in trouble? And what if you tie the camera to your wrist and duct tape it to your hand? Shouldn't that be allowed because there is no way it can come off....its not even a loose article anymore.

"having a camera tied and taped to your arm is a lot safer then having a camera in your pocket"

[viper1988]

Personally I don’t want to sound mean but if you came up to the station of a ride with a video camera duct taped to your hand I think the Ride Operators would laugh! After that they would look at you in all seriousness and tell you in order to ride you must put all loose articles in the nearest loose item bin because you are not permitted to have items in your hands during the ride cycle.

Also you will never get in trouble for asking a question. It's thier job to help you! But it’s the team member’s responsibility to ensure the safety of all the guests and team members. If there is an issue such as this one, it is your responsibility as a guest to follow the rider qualification policies located at the entrance of each ride. They are there for a reason and that is to keep everyone safe! Another one of the policies not listed on the website is “No photography on the ride.” So going off of that you need to refer back to the website and the website clearly says

RIDER RESPONSIBILITY
There is an inherent risk in participating in any amusement ride. We expect riders to exercise good judgment and act in a responsible manner. Guests must also obey all oral and written warnings and properly use all ride safety equipment provided. Guests who do not comply with ride rules may be ejected from the park without refund. Please refer to specific guidelines posted at the entrance of every ride.
So basically I’m going to say it again! Do not attempt it! I really don’t want sound mean but this is a big issue at the park. If every guest were to obey rules the first time they were told we would live in a perfect world. But since that doesn’t happen everyone has to pay the price of the disobedience of a few select groups of people who do not follow the rules. If you really need this footage for a school project or something you need to contact park officials. The park has photographers and they have this footage and if it is really needed they can try to get that to you. But just as a guest of the park you must not take on ride photography.

If you really need to see some awesome video of the park including park approved on ride photography you can certainly view it here at

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=six ... eatamerica

Thank you once again and sorry for the harsh reality of the rules!

[tp41190]

^That's ok

I was just very curious about this. Because there are so many on ride video from the past few years that I wish I could get some.

I mean, there have been many parks were Ops said it was ok for filming on rides...and there were sometimes when I had to duct tape it to my hand. I just never tried at SFGAm.

But that you for telling me in advance!

[Director_Guy]

Six Flags as a company has a company wide no loose articles on the rides policy.

I disagree because I know from experience, cha know? At Magic Mountain I've even read the signs out in front of rides and they've said nothing about cameras. Specifically Goliath and Colossus. However, I have seen signs that say no cameras at X, Scream!, Riddlers....

Maybe they should clear it up with their sign guys.

[viper1988]

Thank you for pointing that out Chris, Six Flags in the past has tried to regulate rules and corporate wide policies with many problems. New in 2007 is the “Guest Code of Conduct” for all Six Flags parks worldwide! This Code of conduct that is being put out more in the parks to make sure the guests know exactly what is expected of them as well as for the team members to help enforce corporate wide initiatives consistently.

Chris I’m not 100% sure when you last visited SFMM last but, I can’t really speak for that park anyway especially because I have never visited there myself. What I have understood from Six Flags is that as company they are trying to allow guests have a wonderful day with easy to understand straight forward rules at all of their parks.

If you view Six Flags Magic Mountains Information page you will see that it is very similar to Six Flags Great America’s.

SFMM
http://www.sixflags.com/magicMountain/i ... icies.aspx
SFGAm
http://www.sixflags.com/greatAmerica/info/policies.aspx

Just because the sign out side of the queue line doesn’t have a camera picture with a big X over it meaning NO CAMERAS doesn’t mean that you can take that to mean that they are allowed. Give it time all signs are to be updated. Transformations take time, and that is exactly what Six Flags as a company is experiencing.

[forddude1416]

The signs do clearly say no loose articles allowed on the rides (I spend too much time reading those things), the problem is if you couldn't hold onto the camera, what kind of problems could it pose.

Imagine if you dropped it on the lift chain and it got in the chain, i'd assume that it would warrant a maintenance guy to come out there and dislodge it, yay more downtime!

or even worse, your going threw the top of a loop, you loose the camera/video recorder/chisel and tablet and it would injure a guest, six flags would be liable for that and no more SFGAm because of the 30trillion dollar lawsuit.

[UWW-10]

^ obviously, ride team members/leads aren't going to pat you down looking for loose objects in pockets, but if they see it in your hand, you can pretty much guarantee they will ask you to give to a non-rider in your party, or put in in the loose article bin/shelf.

As someone stated before, YOU would be liable if you happened to go against rules, whip a camera out of your pocket, and then have it become a projectile knocking someone unconscious in a midway.

Rules are there for a reason. It's no different than the people who pop a piece of gum in their mouth right before boarding a train...all while in sight of a ride op. When confronted, they deny the situation. It's not being mean or unfair, it's about being safe for yourself, other guests, and other employees.

Bottom Line: If you can't follow the simple rules, perhaps you shouldn't be visiting.

[zjohn1988]

^So even if you ask the Ops you can still get in trouble? And what if you tie the camera to your wrist and duct tape it to your hand? Shouldn't that be allowed because there is no way it can come off....its not even a loose article anymore.

"having a camera tied and taped to your arm is a lot safer then having a camera in your pocket"

You cant be that desperate can you?

[Aero737]

This thread angers me. Stop bringing your cameras on rides.