August 10, 201213 yr comment_139816 ^ I completely disagree. Whilst Stealth was closed the entire queue was litter picked countless times (as well as all the grassy areas), the train that was on circuit was cleaned of bugs, dirt and grease, the platform was swept of all the dirt hair and other things as well being de-gummed. The bag room was swept thoroughly as well as the counter washed.
August 10, 201213 yr comment_139826 Shouldn't these tasks of cleaning, litter picking etc be a daily task?
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139828 ^ I completely disagree. Whilst Stealth was closed the entire queue was litter picked countless times (as well as all the grassy areas), the train that was on circuit was cleaned of bugs, dirt and grease, the platform was swept of all the dirt hair and other things as well being de-gummed. The bag room was swept thoroughly as well as the counter washed. Well we agree then?! They should be doing these things and if they are now then excellent, things must have changed as they certainly never used to. I look forward to seeing Inferno's shiny station.
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139831 Like the rides staff will be cleaning the volcano part of the station... Technically, that's not even part of their job tasks really... Queueline is essentially the only aspect the rides staff are expected to clean, the rest is usually dictated to other departments to organise and sort out... I dunno what people expect really... The staff are stood there for a reason, to ensure that if/when the ride reopens they are readily available... Imagine the faff if they were on the other side of the park or in the middle of cleaning the volcano, there'd be more faff as the staff would have to pack the cleaning equipment up before being able to open it... I think the majority of guests at Thorpe also wouldn't give a damn about some dirty volcano over a ride being open in a minute after being handed back over from Engineering...
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139833 Your damned if you do damned if you don't. If you have people standing by the ride to interact with the customer and give information? People say that is a waste of staff time to have them positioned there when they could be utilised elsewhere. If you have no staff stationed outside the ride to interact with the customer? People would complain about the lack of attentive staff or lack of information being given to guests... It's a very fine line.
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139838 ^It hasn't got to be all of them or none of them though, has it? Of course 1 or 2 to explain things are necessary, I think it is when a gang of them are standing there people have a bit of a problem with it. Like the rides staff will be cleaning the volcano part of the station... I dunno what people expect really... The staff are stood there for a reason, to ensure that if/when the ride reopens they are readily available... Imagine the faff if they were on the other side of the park or in the middle of cleaning the volcano, there'd be more faff as the staff would have to pack the cleaning equipment up before being able to open it... I think the majority of guests at Thorpe also wouldn't give a damn about some dirty volcano over a ride being open in a minute after being handed back over from Engineering... It is the inside of the station that has been filth, just look up while you're in there. I'm not suggesting they whip up some scaffolding to the exterior and get the paintbrushes out. And again, of course they shouldn't go off elsewhere - I'm talking of presenting the ride they are operating anyway, it would take them no longer at all.
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139839 ^I think it might not help that with Thorpe's "uniform", a group of Thorpe workers milling about doing nothing isn't the same as at Towers or Chessie... You would hate if Sub Terra was closed as well as Air mind... Although with the Phalanx outfits it does look awesome...
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139840 I think ride by ride basis. Stealth is an exception to me as its such a large plaza and many a time I've seen guests just run at the ride and staff running after them and yeah amusing. If its Inferno then surely two of the staff at the entrance, the others doing basic tasks like cleaning the station of cobwebs etc etc. Part of the problem is the roles though, ride staff are expected to be at an attraction but they rarely have the pride that a more permanent member of staff will have. Standing around talking would be more fun then grabbing a litter picker and cleaning Dragons Furys final turn for example..
August 11, 201213 yr comment_139860 That right there screams piss awful management to me. You would never get that kind of behavior in a (well run) restaurant for example. The moment it dies down, you'll see staff out there cleaning tables, polishing cutlery, sweeping floors etc. There should be a persistent management presence around to allocate tasks properly rather than having team members do whatever they like.
September 2, 201212 yr comment_140681 Just to throw it out there, when SAW was shut for three days the staff in turn took the time to go into the ride areas and clean (inside and out) as I recall going to the drop zone to clean around the rubble. The staff do clean as well as stand around. But you've got to consider when you see five people stood outside Stealth, there's at least three other members of staff doing something else. Same with Inferno, when there's two out the front, there's two more cleaning somewhere or sometimes even helping Engineering by putting bars down on cars or something. Until you've physically been there and done it you cannot punch at the staff, they do as requested of them. Bearing in mind you can say all you like about litter picking Fury's final turn, or cleaning Stealth's lake, the ride has to be locked off / the action has to be pre-passed by higher authority to do it for safety regulations. (This is a post by SAWROB. Stealthowl just left his account logged in)
September 3, 201212 yr comment_140716 Front seat stealth gives you probably the best sensation of the rush and the wind aswell as the nerves and the butterflies in your stomach before you go on. Probably the best sensation in the park.
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151276 Taken by Thorpe themselves... Just checking the track really, nothing actually special as it's typical of maintenance of track based objects, checking visually for cracks and the like... That zipwire is used for access to the top, will forever be there...
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151279 That zipwire is used for access to the top, will forever be there... I believe the reason why that zipwire will remain there is because it's alot cheaper for someone to climb up it and give Stealth a push if it gets stuck at the top again, cheaper than hiring a crane out to give it a little push at least!
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151281 That zipwire is used for access to the top, will forever be there... Is it still there today? I believe the reason why that zipwire will remain there is because it's alot cheaper for someone to climb up it and give Stealth a push if it gets stuck at the top again, cheaper than hiring a crane out to give it a little push at least! Impossible - do you realise en empty train is about 10 or 20 tonnes in weight? You'd need a damn strong bloke to push it! Also, this is a ManiaHub video from when it got stuck in 2009 - and I was there to witness it when they finally got it to roll back down:
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151284 Coaster trains aren't THAT difficult to push actually, I've pushed the Vampire trains a few times (empty AND full) and due to the design it's all about getting that little bit of extra starting momentum to get it going... When Stealth gets stuck, it only needs a wee push in either direction to go down... And the latest pics on FB show it's still there...
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151287 Is it still there today? Impossible - do you realise en empty train is about 10 or 20 tonnes in weight? You'd need a damn strong bloke to push it! Also, this is a ManiaHub video from when it got stuck in 2009 - and I was there to witness it when they finally got it to roll back down: Yes and I am friends with one of the members who was part of the team that was on that day when it got stuck, he told me that that rope was put in place as it's much cheaper than hiring a crane, and like Benin said, it doesn't take that much to push it!
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151288 The rope was there that day, it just wasnt used for what ever reason.
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151289 The rope was there that day, it just wasnt used for what ever reason. Wasn't that one of the days were none of the people trained to go up there weren't in?
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151290 No idea tbh! I know it was replaced soon after it got stuck so maybe they couldnt use that one for what ever reason. I guess with an empty train theres no real rush so a crane like that whilst more expensive is probably easier!
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151305 Wasn't that one of the days were none of the people trained to go up there weren't in? It was on a Sunday on a bank holiday! And I wouldn't fancy pushing a train (if I could). I think a Vampire train is a little lighter and less advanced in build quality and weight and compared to a Stealth one. I remember pulling into the car park that morning, seeing a train sitting on the top hat was one of the first things I spotted. It was around 12-1pm they finally got it down, around 10:30am I was talking to a chap about it who told me it happened during the morning tests. When I asked him if he knew who put it up there he looked a bit uncomfortable and then said "Err, yeah, I did actually!" That was hilarious him admitting that, certainly didn't expect that! It was probably all those added car effects weighing the train down!
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151317 It even made it onto the Sun's website http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4815822/Workers-carry-out-safety-checks-on-UKs-highest-rollercoaster.html
February 27, 201312 yr comment_151318 Sorta PR that the park should be doing tbh, not an overally stupid topic, gets the park mentioned and is rather interesting...
February 28, 201312 yr comment_151333 Yes and I am friends with one of the members who was part of the team that was on that day when it got stuck, he told me that that rope was put in place as it's much cheaper than hiring a crane, and like Benin said, it doesn't take that much to push it! Thorpe do make me laugh with classic cases like this. They have that huge Genie cherrypicker that's stored by Saw, now I don't know what height that reaches but I assume it can reach basics like Nemesis' corkscrews, Colossus' loop, and the Teacups roof, to name but a few. But it certainly doesn't go up 205ft to Stealth's tophat, and I doubt it reaches the very top of Detonator either. Thorpe are all for these high rides, but they never always have the equipment to reach them, and it often comes at a price! Laughable.
February 28, 201312 yr comment_151335 ^ ok, but why would they buy a new expensive crane when they can just use the rope that's already there? What they have works, so why change it?
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