Working at a park

Ant27 · #1 07-07-2008, 11:15 PM

How much fun is it actually working at a theme park? I'm not interested in working at a park, but I want to hear how the good/bad experiences affected (effected? haha) your outlook on parks all together.
Sorry if this was already posted.

Carowinds 73-03 · #2 07-08-2008, 12:11 AM

Ihave pretty much work at theme park my entire career and i love. I really don't see myself working anywhere else.

i worked at carowinds for a long time before going to Disney World & Universal in 2006.

If anything i'd say it maked me like the park that much more. heck what days i do get off i do spend parts of that day at the park playing with friends.

I plan to be at Disney for a really long time now. I have found my home.

WildeFyre · #3 07-08-2008, 12:29 AM

I met a lot of my best friends working at Canada's Wonderland. We still get together and go on different trips together (like a yearly Cedar Point Halloweekend Cabin weekend). I even met my current girlfriend of over three years working at the park.

The worst part of any park is the 'politics.' I've seen so many decisions made based on who a manager likes or who can fill the position right away instead of who deserves the job. I also found first hand that complaining about a manager to HR never works and only makes it worse for you.

Looty · #4 07-08-2008, 12:58 AM

^I agree 100%!
I met a lot of people as a ride operator and have made a lot of friends that I still keep in contact with today. The worst part was definitely the politics. I would say that If you are willing to just do what you are told and not always voice your opinion about topics...then go ahead. I saw a lot of things that really pissed me off (other employees making mistakes that could potentially kill guests and not get in trouble, but I seemed to get in trouble when I was a few minutes late because of a blizzard...or seeing a really bad employee getting to work a "large" attraction time after time when you are stuck working the worst ride in the park). I was crapped on a lot too. I'm the type of person that doesn't sit too well with being crapped on and taken advantage of so I had my hard times.
I actually moved to a different department and I absolutely love what I am doing now. You just have to find what is right for you I guess.

**Jimmy B** · #5 07-08-2008, 01:29 AM

Moving this to the Employee section of the forums.

I have spent a summer working at a park, here is my stance:

PROS

-- Unlimited/unrestricted access to your park.

-- Free daily parking and admission to the parks in your chain.

-- Meeting with your co-staff and working with them. You can make quite a few really quality friendships.

-- Employee ride nights! Hours or even days allocated for employees to actually enjoy the park they help operate.

-- Getting my paycheck every Friday night (needless to list).

-- (If you're in the rides department) This is the best part of the job by far -- impacting the majority of the guests' visit/day. Interacting with guests curious or even fascinated with your operation of the ride, lighting up the children's faces and moods. I always take pride in guests giving me compliments or thank-you's after I give them their ride and keeps me going emotionally.

-- I love it that sometimes you have the power to really scare and frighten the guests as they nervously look up when boarding anticipating what they are looking ahead to. I would try to downplay the height to heighten their anticipation. I like to make innocent replies to the riders that doesn't sound so comforting to them ("It's not that high, you're only going to be 255 feet in the air").

CONS

-- Customer excuses/complaints when they disagree with the park policies or with the ride operator. This can at times be the most irritating downside of representing a park.

-- Long, grueling hours and work. But depending on how you look at it, this might be an advantage if you cherish a real physical workout on the job. On a typical summer Saturday shift of 15 hours (9 AM to Midnight), I have walked about an equivalent to 41 miles in a single day. You will be extremely tired/exhausted at the end of your night. If you work in the Texas parks, you're going to be looking at working under conditions of 95-105 degrees (105-110 heat index) every day.

Canobie Coaster · #6 07-08-2008, 11:15 PM

I haven't gotten my first job yet, but I probably would love working at a park. However, the closest one to me is Canobie and that's an hour away. For some reason I don't think an hour commute each day is the best choice for a first time job.

Carowinds 73-03 · #7 07-09-2008, 12:17 AM

I would say no. Maybe one day though. I think every coaster enthusiast should atleast work one season at a theme/amusement park just to get a general idea of how things work.

Plus the perks are amazing depending on the park & chain.

steel · #8 07-09-2008, 11:17 AM

^^^See, at Adventureland, I got none of those pros and all of those cons. The paycheck? Not much to speak of when you're only getting $6.00 an hour. Plus everyone over 50 there treated me like an idiot, the breaks were way too short, the food was disgusting, and the training was frighteningly minimal.

I am much happier at Barnes & Noble.

Carowinds 73-03 · #9 07-09-2008, 12:35 PM

I'd sday the ony problem i had working at Carowinds was they only had one break area and working at Afterburn thats a long walk with only a 45 min lunch.

I tossed the idea around for years about adding a 2nd employee break area behind Afterburn for everyone working in County Fair & Nick Central.

It never happened.

steel · #10 07-09-2008, 04:41 PM

Oh yes, it's the same with Adventureland. You get a thirty-minute break, unless you work in Outlaw Gulch, in which case it's forty minutes. Thing is, Main Street is just as far away from the break room, so if you're at North Sky, Splash Over, Galleon, Carrousel, Der Flinger, or Inverter, you barely get any break at all (not that there is anything to do on break).

Cid · #11 07-14-2008, 12:32 PM

Dang just one break area? I can't even count how many Cedar Point has. There's at least 7 or 8. 2 of which serve hot food like burgers and grilled chicken.

tntornadox · #12 07-14-2008, 12:46 PM

At Dollywood, most of the major attractions have their own break area. Of course, there is the main Host Lounge down in Rivertown Junction that serves hot meals, or you can just purchase food from one of the park's food vendors at a discount.

Any job is only as good as you make it, sure, your employer and their atitutde toward their employees makes a big difference, but if you enjoy your job, you will be happy anywhere...

Carowinds 73-03 · #13 07-14-2008, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cid

Dang just one break area? I can't even count how many Cedar Point has. There's at least 7 or 8. 2 of which serve hot food like burgers and grilled chicken.

Yep. It's pretty sad but with a park the size of Carowinds i can see why but about half the park employees have to suffer from one break area. They could atleast put another one near TG for all the employees in the CF & NC areas.

Disney has a break area like every 20 ft it seems. Universal has 3 that i counted. It could be more. I only used 3 of them.

MixedDrink · #14 07-16-2008, 01:03 AM

I really want to be a ride-op.
CW is 30 minutes away on a good day, but the real problem is gas prices.
Maybe if I have an electric car or some kind of public transit from Barrie to Vaughn were available, I could work there.
Problem is, 55% chance says I'm moving next year.
I can only hope. :P

Carowinds 73-03 · #15 07-16-2008, 06:53 AM

Carowinds pays for milage depending on how far you have to drive to and from work. Since CW is the same company i would think they might do the same. Next time your at the park just head back to the employment areas and ask someone.

Of course this was all under Paramount so not really 100% sure if Cedar Fair also does this. My last year at Carowinds was 2006 just before CF took over.

You can always call the employment offices as well.