Are they really THAT cheap?

[CoasterDemon]

^I agree with the cheap part. The ONE THING that gets me most is when they go down to one side of American Eagle. I was at the park yesterday and there was OVER an hour wait for Blue side (red was closed). As a customer I don't care if they need to send people home, if they already sent them home, if they didn't anticipate crowds, yadda yadda yadda... the ride is listed on the site as the world's largest RACING coaster. It doesn't race with only one track open. Every year it gets worse. One employee told me "well, sometimes its not necessary to open both side." Seriously? I pay for use of all the attractions... I mean - what do they save, $50-$100 bucks to staff that ride for an evening? It's ridiculous. I don't care if there are only 5 people riding it... dumb...

[Corkscrew07]

And yes, again I do believe the park is that cheap. Take for instance the East River Crawler. They knew in October that ride was messed up. I think the whole thing is that they didn't want to spend major money on a new part for that ride because of X-Flight coming up, so they are delaying it until next year. And the slowness of putting on trains for coasters has been happening for years - seems ever since Deja Vu went away, this has been happening (Have they trimmed their full time help after they got rid of Deja Vu?). The more trains they run per ride, the more electricity the ride takes, and more employees it takes. The park probably feels that Raging Bull's 3rd train is not a necessity because they figure the starliner attraction X-Flight is getting more capacity than Iron Wolf did, so why does Raging Bull need it right now? This is even though Raging Bull is getting more of a line than X-Flight is getting. Also, as I said previously, they are spending in my opinion too much money on X-Flight in regards to workers, that they have to cut costs somewhere else - that being Raging Bull & American Eagle.

I am absolutely appalled by this. This is insanely disrespectful. Having worked for several different theme parks, and visited a few more, I feel no hesitation that Six Flags Great America's on-site Maintenance team the best in the business. They all value their work, and do the best they can. No one at the park is trying to screw you over, and if you legitimately believe they are you should consider your own line of work, (or whatever it is that you do) (not you personally ilovethevu, anyone) and consider changing it if you don't enjoy it. There are some excellent people working hard for you both on stage and off.

Once again, I'm not defending the train issue, it is obviously needed, I'm defending the people who are working as hard as they can.

[SFGAm Viper]

Wow. Another absolutely ridiculous post by ilovethevu. You are dead wrong in every aspect of your theories about maintenance at the park. I know lots of people who work there well and if they see this rant of yours boy will they be rolling their eyes.

[woohoodude11]

Going with the whole "priority" thing...does anyone remember they had a pretty big addition this year? Someone whispered in my ear its only the 4th of something in the world...maybe a coaster?
Oh, and nevermind the fact an older ride was torn down, the train was partially dismantled and reassembled, several rides got a new coat of paint, a couple buildings had new things done to them, and of course the park added things on the administrative side (meal pass, summer thrill pass, etc.). That translates to TONS of money dished out. Yes, the third train being down at RB is a drag...but out of the four times I've been to the park this year they've only NEEDED it once on Opening Day!
And going back to the advertisement on GD issue...does it really take away from the park like you think it does? Do you look at it and say "oh man, my day is ruined"? If it does, you're clearly a Wrigley Field purist too that went up in arms over the Toyota sign being built. Advertisements bring in massive revenue, something the park clearly NEEDS. If it brings in more employees, more rides, or better whatever...so be it! It's been said that the maintenance crew is among the best in the business and from the one guy I knew that worked maint. they're very passionate about their work. How would you feel knowing something you worked on or fixed pleases millions of people per year...pretty damn fantastic right? Patience is a virtue, and if you want to complain about slow maintenance or whatever then please I implore you, open up your wallet and fork over the funds to support a quicker turnaround.

Rant. Over.

[Ilovthevu']

And yes, again I do believe the park is that cheap. Take for instance the East River Crawler. They knew in October that ride was messed up. I think the whole thing is that they didn't want to spend major money on a new part for that ride because of X-Flight coming up, so they are delaying it until next year. And the slowness of putting on trains for coasters has been happening for years - seems ever since Deja Vu went away, this has been happening (Have they trimmed their full time help after they got rid of Deja Vu?). The more trains they run per ride, the more electricity the ride takes, and more employees it takes. The park probably feels that Raging Bull's 3rd train is not a necessity because they figure the starliner attraction X-Flight is getting more capacity than Iron Wolf did, so why does Raging Bull need it right now? This is even though Raging Bull is getting more of a line than X-Flight is getting. Also, as I said previously, they are spending in my opinion too much money on X-Flight in regards to workers, that they have to cut costs somewhere else - that being Raging Bull & American Eagle.

I am absolutely appalled by this. This is insanely disrespectful. Having worked for several different theme parks, and visited a few more, I feel no hesitation that Six Flags Great America's on-site Maintenance team the best in the business. They all value their work, and do the best they can. No one at the park is trying to screw you over, and if you legitimately believe they are you should consider your own line of work, (or whatever it is that you do) (not you personally ilovethevu, anyone) and consider changing it if you don't enjoy it. There are some excellent people working hard for you both on stage and off.

Once again, I'm not defending the train issue, it is obviously needed, I'm defending the people who are working as hard as they can.

You are acting like I said that the maintenance people are terrible. That's not what I said at all. What I said is that maybe at the time when they got rid of Deja Vu because of it being a maintenance problem, they got rid of mechanics because they no longer had that ride. I even remember Shapiro saying something like they don't have as many full time employees as they used to - which would include mechanics. The other side of things is that the head ups at the park control when they want Raging Bull to have a 3rd train, when they want Superman to have a 2nd. They have to have deadlines. It's not the mechanics saying we don't want American Eagle every day to only run one side.

^You got the wrong person if you think I was complaining about the Giant Drop Falling Skies. I have no problem with that. I think it fits with the ride nicely compared to something like Demon, and the gum. That marketing makes sense.

[GrtAmkid]

Amen woohoodude11. Maintenance guys in every industry thank you. There are only so many of us around, and we are often the scapegoats for everything that goes wrong. Something breaks without signs of failure, and it is always our fault. The question I've heard most often is "weren't you doing your preventative maintenance?". Sometimes S#@t happens.

[woohoodude11]

^You got the wrong person if you think I was complaining about the Giant Drop Falling Skies. I have no problem with that. I think it fits with the ride nicely compared to something like Demon, and the gum. That marketing makes sense.

I didn't accuse you of that particular issue. It was brought up earlier in the discussion and I wanted to confront it. I honestly don't give a damn if the ground gets painted with ads, every train gets an ad...even if I gotta wear an advertisement shirt to get in the park! If it's going to improve something...anything...its worth it!! I said it once I'll say it again, Six Flags dumped a TON of money into our park this year so whatever they need to do to recoup some of that, go right ahead. Even that means in lieu of a new attraction next year they paint a couple rides and rehab some trains.

You know, and another thing...If running two trains on Bull is considered "cheap" you're terribly wrong. Running three trains on bull means quicker lines. The quicker they get you out of line and off the ride, the sooner you'll be back on the midway. When you're on the midway, you're more likely to make more money from food games souvenirs etc. All the more reason for them to crank out that third train!!

[CoasterNick3157]

Which by the way Bull was still using 2 train op yesterday

[CoasterDemon]

Eagle had only Blue side running Wednesday with over an hour wait.

And only blue side yesterday. After 20 minutes in line, it broke down and we left. Would have been a great *service* opportunity to direct us to the red side... if it was open.

[monsterfan99]

You know, and another thing...If running two trains on Bull is considered "cheap" you're terribly wrong. Running three trains on bull means quicker lines. The quicker they get you out of line and off the ride, the sooner you'll be back on the midway. When you're on the midway, you're more likely to make more money from food games souvenirs etc. All the more reason for them to crank out that third train!!

On the other hand, long lines mean more Flash Pass sales. And if they can save money on hiring less maintenance workers, all the better for the bottom line.

[Galvan]

^^ What park actually does that? (answer NONE)

Do you have some sort of axe to grind with the park or something CoasterDemon? Lets not forget that these people are working 3rd shift (usually) to get these rides up and running and ready to go.

YES, Raging Bull running 2 trains sucks, but has anyone seen Kings Island lately?

be grateful that our hyper coaster is even running compared to the terrible season KI has had already.

[Luxornv]

I mean - what do they save, $50-$100 bucks to staff that ride for an evening? It's ridiculous. I don't care if there are only 5 people riding it... dumb...

I think you're close. I thought there are 3 people per side on Eagle. Assuming they make minimum wage and it's a 6 hour shift, then that's $153 the park will save per day they do this. There's also the wear and tear on the track which I'm not sure can be quantified. This is something done at every business with a lot of uneducated, part time, and expendable employees. Happened to me all the time when I worked at a movie theatre. If crowds weren't as big as they were expecting, people get cut. I'd say if they can keep a line to about an hour, they're doing okay.

[DejaVu2001]

^ An hour is not acceptable for one side operation. I'd say 30, absolute max. That said, I would guess on the weekdays, its an issue of just not having enough employees that are out of school.