Batman

[twixmix0303]

What is her proof? On message boards, the only proof is pictures. Whether you believe the person or not is another story. I'm taking no sides here, but still going with my above post.

It's a freaking crane!! Who the f-double hockey sticks cares?!

Sometimes I feel like people on the boards obsess over the dumbest things, like "oh my god, there was some landscaping going on over by Iron Wolf, let's bring in the press and speculate for 2007!!" People, get a life. It is a crane. There is one over by my house now. Yes, maintenance work goes on year-round. Construction goes on year-round. For those of you that are obsessed with the defunct rides in the employee lot, trying to guess and post here and then get a peek from the train or Iron Wolf, here's a solution. GO THERE FOR YOURSELF! Anyone can drive past. No need to obsess over it here. They are trains. Who care's what happens to them over winter? For all I care, as long as they're running nicely in the spring, I'm happy. Better yet, get a job there. Then I'm sure you'll know everything about why there is a crane there.

[FRD714]

Theres was a crane by my house a few weeks ago. I thought they were finally taking my advice and putting in coaster, but it was just a pool.

[twixmix0303]

haha . I wish I had a coaster in my backyard. A wild mouse would be sufficient...

[FRD714]

My backyard is 10 ft by 40 ft....not much at all.

[screamindemon57]

this really got off topic big time

[FRD714]

^ Ok, ill put it back on topic. There was a crane and nobody knows what is there for. Its not for btr (at least we think) because btr has its own shed for the coaster so the trains do not have to be removed. What is it there for? We may never know ( im sure we will though).

[SFGAm Shock Wave]

^ Time to straighten some stuff out here. Just because BTR's trains MAY not need to be removed doesn't mean that the crane was not for BTR. It could have been, and based on its placement, likely was for lift hill maintenence.

That would make sense since the lift hill is the rumored cause of this downtime.

[zjohn1988]

My backyard is 10 ft by 40 ft....not much at all.

Jester's Wild Ride might fit..

[FRD714]

^ Time to straighten some stuff out here. Just because BTR's trains MAY not need to be removed doesn't mean that the crane was not for BTR. It could have been, and based on its placement, likely was for lift hill maintenence.

That would make sense since the lift hill is the rumored cause of this downtime.

I forgot about the lift hill. Its a possibilty, but who knows. Well eventually find out.

[twixmix0303]

The park is not going to announce why there was a crane outside Batman. I still can't figure out why you think "we'll eventually find out."

[FRD714]

I might be driving past sfgam in the next couple of weeks. Maybe I can see what there doing, but it might be too far away.

[Coaster Alex0805]

Something is wrong with a motor on the lift hill

I asked Matence and Deja Vu

is broke and needs a part from over seas

[FRD714]

^ Thanks for the update.

[twixmix0303]

Something is wrong with a motor on the lift hill

I asked Matence and Deja Vu

is broke and needs a part from over seas

Unless you work for the park, that is a load of BS. The only time you would run into maintenance is if a ride was down, in which case you would be moved back into the line where maintenance isn't working. Besides, even if you did run into them, maintenance wouldn't tell you that a ride "is broke."

By the way, you spelled maintenance wrong. Glad to see Hooked on Phonics worked for you.

[FRD714]

^ How could you not believe him? Its got to be true. They have been having a problem with the lift hill and they need a part.

[twixmix0303]

First off, that post had nothing to do with Batman. It specifcally stated, "Deja Vu is broke and needs a part from over seas." Secondly, I'm telling you that maintenance would NEVER talk to guests while the park is in regular operation like that. Whether or not the rest of that post is true, the part about speaking with maintenance is a load of B.S.

[FRD714]

Wait....I thought it said he asked maint. at dejavu and they said batman needs a part. Ok, now im confused.

[twixmix0303]

If he asked maintenance at Deja Vu about Batman, how could that be true? Batman has just recently closed down for the year (this past weekend) while Deja Vu has been closed for weeks. If Coaster Alex0805 asked maintenance while at Deja Vu, the conversation must have taken place several weeks ago. How could a conversation about a ride closing this past weekend take place several weeks ago? I rest my case.

Also, how are you so confused about reading a post? Here, maybe this helps:

"I asked [maintenance] and Deja Vu is broke and needs a part from over seas."

Basically, Coaster Alex0805 is saying he asked mainteance about Deja Vu. Deja Vu is broken and needs a part from overseas. Whether or not this is true, I don't know, but one thing is for sure. You are being fed a plateful of B.S. by Coaster Alex0805 about actually speaking with maintenance.

[FRD714]

^ His post was spaced like two lines so when I read it the first time, I read it wrong. I didnt know dejavu has been closed (doesnt surprise me).

[Coaster Alex0805]

OK on Halloween I was on the last train for Viper and matience was there getting ready to shut it down, and I said what is wrong with Batman and they told me word for word that The motor on the lift hill is broken. Then i heard other people say they dont like King Chaos so I asked what do you guys think of KC? they repiled it is ok. Then I said I wish I could have gone on Deja Vu and they said Deja Vu is down because it is broken and we are waiting for a part from overseas.

[twixmix0303]

Okay, I now see how you could have had a conversation with maintenance. You probably should have been more detailed in your original post so that people believe you. Saying something like "I talked with maintenance and we're getting a new floorless next year!" isn't too convincing. Details are what count. Sorry if this sounds like I'm singling you out, this is really for anyone that likes to divulge news without details.

Anyways, whether I believe you or not, I really don't know and really don't care. I'm not going to think about it, because, it's the off-season, and frankly, I don't care what a crane is doing over by Batman. There are probably trucks sitting around all over the park right now, getting as much done as possible before it starts to snow.

[Shockwavegirl]

Argh. Okay, here goes and then I'll go back to lurking as I definitely know more than I can say, and I do need to watch what I know...


Actually, I think that if you reviewed SFGAm training records, every cast member who is a ride operator must be certified for kiddie rides before getting certified for the attendant position (or single op) position on their home units.

Ummm...may have changed since Premier Parks took over...but not true when I worked there. I didn't first get certifed at kiddies, I was certified at Rapids my home unit my first year. I didn't get trained for kiddies unitl July, because of short staffing in BBYA, and overstaffing at Rapids. So know that is not why we were getting certified elsewhere. We were told specifically that it was because it was too cold to run the coaster.

Nothing personal, but if you worked at Shockwave you should know that this simply isn't true. Most coasters do not have all of the wheels touching the track at the same time, and this is especially apparent in the horribly constructed Arrow rides. Their uplift wheels are usually about half an inch below the track and not touching. The B&M rides (and recent Intamin rides) are constructed with spring-loaded wheel assemblies that keep the wheels in constant contact.

No it's not a tight fit, but relatively close. But when the steel track constricts, it's a DANGEROUSLY loose fit.

The metal in the rides get larger and smaller no matter what the temperature is. If a ride can't be run because of a certain temperature, it's because of the fact that it runs the risk of valleying because the friction in the wheels is much higher at colder temperatures.

Well that is another reason, but the contstricted steel is a factor as well.

As others have nicely pointed out, the trains are not removed in at least two of the rides at the park. I know of a third too, actually.

I have said in response to that, that I never worked Batman, and Superman obviously wasn't there yet, as I worked Shockwave. Whereas I do not know for a fact that they are removed from their tracks, Shockwave was ALWAYS, and my theory was based on the knowledge I had. If they are correct about Batman (like I said I wouldn't know) I stand corrected.

No, you were not 'misinformed' by full-time management. You followed what I understand are the procedures for getting certified somewhere else. First you do some sort of general training, then you do kiddie rides and then you go to your home unit. I overheard one of the train operators complaining about how he had worked there for over 10 years on the train, and hated the kiddie rides, and just wanted to be certified for the train, but then a supervisor told him he had to get certified at the kiddie rides first.

Been there already, but I will restate. I was not required to get certified at kiddies. I was the ONLY op at Rapids that year to be certified at kiddies. Kiddies were NOT a requirement of a ride operator.

You may have been told that the roller coaster couldn't yet be run, but I really doubt that it had anything to do with the cold. I was once coming home from work and could clearly see a few of the rides operating in what had to have been a training day (the gates were shut) and it was most definitely below 30 degrees out.

Was it below 30 with a wind chill? Because wind chill factors were not a consideration. And it also may have been that it hadn't hit above 30 degrees YET when we were set to train, long term cold may have been the factor. All I know is I was told we couldn't train for Shockwave because it was too cold. I was sent to get recertified at Rapids. Other re-hires were sent to recertify at their old rides. And new hires got sent to Shuttle.

Sorry if I came off rudely, I just find it interesting how some people on message boards tend to claim to be the end-alls of knowledge. Certain parks purposely don't completely inform ride operators that they know are part of message boards like this one and are very careful with them. Why? Because sadly, coaster enthusiasts tend to be the people who believe that they can break the rules, ride with their harnesses up or whatever and so on. Not saying you would have broke the rules, but it is a serious concern. And so people that are marked as coaster enthusiasts (which again, nothing personal usual are quite obvious) are sheltered by full time management.

I worked at the park 8 years ago. LONG before I found out about this site or any others like it. I didn't even have the internet then. I don't claim to be the end-all of knowledge on the board. I only state as fact, the things I was told to be true. As far as the crane by Batman, the word probably in the post should have tipped you off that it was speculation.

[Binks Drake]

You two need to stop argueing now...

[Shockwavegirl]

Sorry..I have a hard time letting go when I KNOW I'm right. I don't like the fact that a person who only knows someone who knows someone who works at the park telling me I am wrong when I worked there myself. And if I am wrong, my supervisor lied to us about the coaster not being able to run under 30 degrees.

Unless further provocked I am done now. If he wants to keep thinking that he is right, with no ride experience whatsoever, it's his perogotive. As for myself, I am confident that what I know is true based on my training as a ride op. I have experience backing my claim. thecoasterguy has none.

But I am going to ask my friend that still works there, who's home unit is Batman, if she knows what the crane is for.

[FRD714]

OK on Halloween I was on the last train for Viper and matience was there getting ready to shut it down, and I said what is wrong with Batman and they told me word for word that The motor on the lift hill is broken. Then i heard other people say they dont like King Chaos so I asked what do you guys think of KC? they repiled it is ok. Then I said I wish I could have gone on Deja Vu and they said Deja Vu is down because it is broken and we are waiting for a part from overseas.

Ok, now I get what your saying.