JustJeff
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Monday, February 4, 2013 6:05:23 PM
We have the thread about skydiver stories.. here is a kind of funny story that I witnessed on a kid ride..Burnout was running a motorcycle kid ride..

Lady wants to know if she can hold "leetle hiemie",cause he is so leetle....Of course she dont get it that the platform don't turn,just the motorcycles on their tires..She stands behind "leetle Hiemie" as Burnout pushes the start button,lights a smoke and sits down with his back to the ride....

The race is on...she is running to keep up with the child and is fading quickly,as burnout doesnt have a clue what hes done...I was about to do something when the boss ran up,smacked him in the head after shutting down the ride,then sent him packing..

one of the funniest things I had witnessed..jeff
Scott
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Monday, February 4, 2013 6:32:48 PM
This one isn't really funny but it's worth repeating. When I was about 15 I was running the Sky Fighter. We had a group of retarded women (older) come out to ride some rides. I personally thought it was a bad idea but I wasn't the man... so they brought these women over to the sky fighter... and when I say Older I mean they were 40-60's. Some couldn't really walk without help. So they put them on my ride. I spoke to the women where were in charge... I said I really don't want to run this ride with them on it... I don't think it would be safe. She insisted that they were fine. So I turned it on and started to raise the tubs when this poor old black lady started screaming bloody murder. I killed the power to the ride ... then she stands up and jumped into the center of the ride! The ride was coming to a stop but it was still turning and she got caugh on one of the mud sills and every sweep that came around bashed her back and head. I grabbed on the tubs and tried to stop it... This poor woman was soooooooooo up set... screaming, Crying, shaking all over. God I felt like a idiot for letting her ride. After that My personal policy was... if they don't want to ride the ride doesn't start! I don't care what their parent says. I never had another accident operating a ride.
JustJeff
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Monday, February 4, 2013 6:48:05 PM
Originally Posted by: Scott 

This one isn't really funny but it's worth repeating. When I was about 15 I was running the Sky Fighter. We had a group of retarded women (older) come out to ride some rides. I personally thought it was a bad idea but I wasn't the man... so they brought these women over to the sky fighter... and when I say Older I mean they were 40-60's. Some couldn't really walk without help. So they put them on my ride. I spoke to the women where were in charge... I said I really don't want to run this ride with them on it... I don't think it would be safe. She insisted that they were fine. So I turned it on and started to raise the tubs when this poor old black lady started screaming bloody murder. I killed the power to the ride ... then she stands up and jumped into the center of the ride! The ride was coming to a stop but it was still turning and she got caugh on one of the mud sills and every sweep that came around bashed her back and head. I grabbed on the tubs and tried to stop it... This poor woman was soooooooooo up set... screaming, Crying, shaking all over. God I felt like a idiot for letting her ride. After that My personal policy was... if they don't want to ride the ride doesn't start! I don't care what their parent says. I never had another accident operating a ride.



I had a scary incident runnung a roloplane..I know to balance it ,but we were running full loads for awhile so I just kept loading 4 in the bottom 4 in the top...all of a sudden I got 4 big ones up top and go to let the bottem people out when I realized nobody was in line..I already had both doors open and they are getting out,I tried to get a couple to stay on,said I would give them a free ride but they didnt want no more...all of a sudden the ride starts moving--i must not have had the brake set all the way and with about a thousand pounds up top and nothing in the bottom it wanted to let gravity have its way... I tried to hold it,but knew I was gonna lose that one so i pushed the few people back that were still trying to get out of the fenced in area,and let her go...doors open,swinging like a pendulum for a few seconds till i could stop it..I shut it down after that and took a walk...scared the crap out of me....jeff
JustJeff
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Monday, February 4, 2013 6:54:29 PM
Another fun time was giving a break to the hurricane dude on a windy day and it was already loaded and ready(i thought) except he had it so out of balance it was crazy..I didnt realize it till about the 3rd or 4th pop,and man o man i thought it was gonna walk off the blocking..Needless to say they got a short ride,but I did make it up to em after we stopped and i got it straightened out..
thunderbolt85
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 7:24:55 AM
We had a Super Slide on our show that really had one to many humps or something (i was new to the show at the time). But what happened was this heavy lady was coming down with her child and when she hit the last hump she went airborne and hit hard. She was ok except a little bruised up, but later on they took the last hump out of the slide.

I was working the Wave Swinger with Nova Exposition one time in NC at a still date and we had just finished loading and the ride op was raising the swings (just starting to turn) and this kid in his teens decided he would be smart and jump off. He jumped off about 15 or 20 ft I guess onto the parking lot, didn't get hurt but he sure got the message from me and the ride op.

I was always nervous about running kiddie rides cause you never know what those kids are going to do, if they get scared or want off. I always kept my eye on the ride at all times when running kiddie rides.
JustJeff
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013 8:26:50 AM
Your last sentences are so true thunderbolt--I told this story b4,so I will just give the real short version---As a customer at our county fair a few years back my daughter was getting off of the kid ride..still on the platform area..Out of the blue I hear someone yell-"No Justin"--
but it was too late.some punk had ran up and pushed the start button and the ride started with kids all over.

The operator got hurt more than any kid...To the shows credit they fixed the problem that made it too easy for anybody to start the ride,but ever since,when my kids are on rides,I position myself close to the controls.

Point is-you have got to be alert ,always!!!but we all know that right? lol...jeff
'
Hippie Bill
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 9:40:31 AM
My first day in the business I had a job taking tickets on the giant slide at a local still spot. It was a pretty good spot, and they had a pop that day. The place was packed. Well I was just looking at wristbands and letting the kids go up the stairs as fast as they wanted to. So the kids would just go up and not worry about what was happening, or who was at the bottom. As it got busy the kids would start just piling up at the bottom of the ride. Well as one would stand up the next one would come down the slide and knock them over like a bowling pin. I didn't know how to stop it at the time. So after seeing this go on for quite a while this older lady, like a younger grandmother late 50's or so, decides that her grand kids aren't going to get knocked over again. As they were standing there and getting knocked over and getting back up she decides to come over the top of the fence and get them. She knocks the fence over but that doesn't stop her. Sure enough as soon as she gets to the flat part of the slide, boom, she gets knocked over by some kid coming down the slide. Wham, flat on her ass. She scrambles to get up to come over and start b#$%^ching at me when wham, she gets knocked over again!! It was pandemonium, like a pro wrestling free for all. Several people at once getting bowled over. No one got hurt thankfully. Someone came over and told me to keep the kids at the bottom and let them go up 2 or 3 at a time, so they would come down slower and give the kids at the bottom time to get out of the way before someone else came down and knocked them over. Like most things it all blew over, but I did end up with a pretty funny jackpot story I tell once in a while.
"Hit the last two and finish it up for the large."
JustJeff
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013 10:00:02 AM
Originally Posted by: Hippie Bill 

My first day in the business I had a job taking tickets on the giant slide at a local still spot. It was a pretty good spot, and they had a pop that day. The place was packed. Well I was just looking at wristbands and letting the kids go up the stairs as fast as they wanted to. So the kids would just go up and not worry about what was happening, or who was at the bottom. As it got busy the kids would start just piling up at the bottom of the ride. Well as one would stand up the next one would come down the slide and knock them over like a bowling pin. I didn't know how to stop it at the time. So after seeing this go on for quite a while this older lady, like a younger grandmother late 50's or so, decides that her grand kids aren't going to get knocked over again. As they were standing there and getting knocked over and getting back up she decides to come over the top of the fence and get them. She knocks the fence over but that doesn't stop her. Sure enough as soon as she gets to the flat part of the slide, boom, she gets knocked over by some kid coming down the slide. Wham, flat on her ass. She scrambles to get up to come over and start b#$%^ching at me when wham, she gets knocked over again!! It was pandemonium, like a pro wrestling free for all. Several people at once getting bowled over. No one got hurt thankfully. Someone came over and told me to keep the kids at the bottom and let them go up 2 or 3 at a time, so they would come down slower and give the kids at the bottom time to get out of the way before someone else came down and knocked them over. Like most things it all blew over, but I did end up with a pretty funny jackpot story I tell once in a while.




Pretty funny--Can picture it...We almost always had a top and bottom guy on our slide unless we were real short handed..One of my favorite jobs was being top man..Hell,i didnt even need a break on a long day except to use toilet and there are ways around that too..lol.

Decent little radio/cassette player,hang some sacks around the platform fence,a cooler full of cold drinks,and you are looking at a pleasent day..the only better day was sometimes having some female company up there..Send a kid out for food for a free slide and days like that are what I miss...Then I think about tearing down in a freezing rain and smashed fingers courtesy of greenies andbeing broke cuz I missed a draw,and it all comes back to me ..lol--jeff
thunderbolt85
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 10:50:04 AM
Originally Posted by: JustJeff 

Your last sentences are so true thunderbolt--I told this story b4,so I will just give the real short version---As a customer at our county fair a few years back my daughter was getting off of the kid ride..still on the platform area..Out of the blue I hear someone yell-"No Justin"--
but it was too late.some punk had ran up and pushed the start button and the ride started with kids all over.

The operator got hurt more than any kid...To the shows credit they fixed the problem that made it too easy for anybody to start the ride,but ever since,when my kids are on rides,I position myself close to the controls.

Point is-you have got to be alert ,always!!!but we all know that right? lol...jeff
'



I hear you on that one, I am sorry but you can't trust kids, some are just not thinking about what they are doing because they are excited, and some are down right misbehaving. I was also always very careful about the way you handle kids or buckling them up, with all the junk going on I didn't want any parent think I was doing something improper, matter of fact if possible I liked it better when the parents put their kids on the ride and buckled (if they could) I would just check behind them.

Yeah I would work in kiddie land when i was asked to, but was always more cautious with kids in all ways.

We (sadly) actually hired someone one time (not a real carnie) that traveled with us a few spots and then we found out he had touched some girl the wrong way. So some of the ride guys took him out behind the Wipe Out and beat the crap out of him.

Now he did it on purpose, but you have to be real careful when dealing with other people's children.
JustJeff
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013 12:05:48 PM
Originally Posted by: thunderbolt85 

I hear you on that one, I am sorry but you can't trust kids, some are just not thinking about what they are doing because they are excited, and some are down right misbehaving. I was also always very careful about the way you handle kids or buckling them up, with all the junk going on I didn't want any parent think I was doing something improper, matter of fact if possible I liked it better when the parents put their kids on the ride and buckled (if they could) I would just check behind them.

Yeah I would work in kiddie land when i was asked to, but was always more cautious with kids in all ways.

We (sadly) actually hired someone one time (not a real carnie) that traveled with us a few spots and then we found out he had touched some girl the wrong way. So some of the ride guys took him out behind the Wipe Out and beat the crap out of him.

Now he did it on purpose, but you have to be real careful when dealing with other people's children.



That is great the way those guys took care of the situation real old school!!I agree about buckling up the younguns..I would ask the parent too on like a hampton or a ride like that where they could get on or off easy,then would double check it..Seemed like the parents appreciated it and realised why and I would get a lot of looks that read that they understood our situation.On a merry-go-round i would always try to get a parent to ride whether they offered a ticket or not..I think it foolish that some shows demand tickets for parents.I know its not my money,but as an operator I always felt better with a grown-up or two on each ride.Heck I would jump on and ride next to some little ones that were borderline.keeping an eye on that child and everything else can be very taxing..I always felt that kiddieland operator were underpaid .the big rides may gross more,but that stress factor should be compensated at least imo....jeff


thunderbolt85
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 3:23:06 PM
I do remember one situation which I don't really know if it applies to this line or not, but here goes.

I was running the Scrambler and this family came up, it was an older daughter, brother, and then a younger daughter and mother. They didn't look like they had much and they only had a few tickets left for the older sister and brother to ride so I let them on. But that younger sister started crying (not pitching a fit like some kids would do, she wasn't acting spoiled)but upset she couldn't ride with them. I couldn't stand it, it was a slow time anyway and so I let her on for free. Boy she sure did smile and have a good time.

Now, I know they might have had the money to buy more tickets, and they may have been "playing" me but it didn't seem like it and she got off the ride very happy and "thankful". I have just never forgot that situation.

Our show was good about that parent thing as well, we would allow the parents to ride with small children without tickets, its just the right thing to do in certain situations.
JustJeff
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013 6:37:37 PM
Originally Posted by: thunderbolt85 

I do remember one situation which I don't really know if it applies to this line or not, but here goes.

I was running the Scrambler and this family came up, it was an older daughter, brother, and then a younger daughter and mother. They didn't look like they had much and they only had a few tickets left for the older sister and brother to ride so I let them on. But that younger sister started crying (not pitching a fit like some kids would do, she wasn't acting spoiled)but upset she couldn't ride with them. I couldn't stand it, it was a slow time anyway and so I let her on for free. Boy she sure did smile and have a good time.

Now, I know they might have had the money to buy more tickets, and they may have been "playing" me but it didn't seem like it and she got off the ride very happy and "thankful". I have just never forgot that situation.

Our show was good about that parent thing as well, we would allow the parents to ride with small children without tickets, its just the right thing to do in certain situations.




They may have"played" you,but I doubt it.~even if they did,so what!who was harmed.?.I would rather err on the side of doing the right thing any day than worry about the little stuff..If I had to pay for all the free rides I gave away .I would be broke today lol..Besides I saw many ride boys rehash tickets and worse(something I never did),but a few free rides,or a ride to a kid for fetching me something,---guilty as charged.....jeff
Bowler Roller
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 11:36:52 PM
I was always paranoid that someone would start the Hamptons while I was loading kids. Luckily, it never happened.
Every crowd has a silver lining - PT Barnum
thunderbolt85
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 7:24:36 AM
Originally Posted by: JustJeff 

They may have"played" you,but I doubt it.~even if they did,so what!who was harmed.?.I would rather err on the side of doing the right thing any day than worry about the little stuff..If I had to pay for all the free rides I gave away .I would be broke today lol..Besides I saw many ride boys rehash tickets and worse(something I never did),but a few free rides,or a ride to a kid for fetching me something,---guilty as charged.....jeff




Yeah I agree, didn't do it often, but did give a few free rides and I never rehashed any tickets or anything like that.

Yeah I was nervous around our hamptons too, it never happened to me but did hear a story about a child getting off to soon and was run over by a hampton car.
geewizz66
Saturday, February 9, 2013 3:07:48 PM
Originally Posted by: JustJeff 

Another fun time was giving a break to the hurricane dude on a windy day and it was already loaded and ready(i thought) except he had it so out of balance it was crazy..I didnt realize it till about the 3rd or 4th pop,and man o man i thought it was gonna walk off the blocking..Needless to say they got a short ride,but I did make it up to em after we stopped and i got it straightened out..



I had a Saturn 6. My ride super and I walked up (at night) to the ride operator to talk to him about something and then all of a sudden the ride operator says "I think it's starting to rain" - the super and I hauled ass back about 20 feet and the next time the sweeps came down and around the ride operator was covered in puke.........! Not a pretty sight, but that ride was known for that!


Geewizz66