Day Fourteen: The Ladybugs (A new ride??? For me? Really!?!)

And today was a day just like any other. My goal for today was to secure that I would get my working papers back, and I was determined to have my mission complete. After I was told where I was going, and everyone else had their positions, I asked Sandy if I could have my papers back. It went something like this.

Me: “Um, I was wondering if I could have my working papers back.”

Sandy: “Why?” *snobbish*

Me: “Because I got a new job and can’t start there until I have them.”

Sandy: “Your gonna work today though?” *nervously*

Me: “Yea! I’m not here to say ‘See ya!’” (although I wish I was)

Sandy: Okay. Yea, you can have them back.

Me: Thanks.

My day was pretty good, I was on a new ride, and I began to realize that you can’t work there unless they have your papers. So this could possible be my last day. And it was a wonderful last day, let me tell you, the best day of work I’ve had all summer. And for all of you who thought I could never have a good day at work, I have just proven you wrong. First off, I was on a new ride that didn’t completely suck. Second, the music in the kiddie park was being dumb, so no music. Perfect! And third, this little girl I met.

Her name was Ali, she was four, five or six years old, had bleach blonde hair, blue eyes and a light purple tank top on. Her younger sister, Sarah, looked exactly like her. Out of all the kids I’ve encountered in my time at Fantasy Island, Ali was the best. She was so full of energy and seemed to see everything in a positive way. She was all excited to ride the ladybugs, and the smile NEVER left her face. She climbed in and sat down, even handed me the seatbelt, and prepared for her ride. She laughed and screamed in excitement, as her younger sister, sitting beside her, smiled and laughed in awe. Ali and her sister rode a few times in a row, and Ali even kept riding when her sister was done.

Her Dad told her that she could ride once more then they would ride something else. She seemed sad, but asked if they could come back, and perked right back up when her Father agreed. She did, in fact, return about a half an hour later. I saw her and said, “Hey! I know you!” She giggled and her smile widened as she ran through the gate. She climbed up, grabbed the seatbelt and claimed with a smile in her face: “I can do it myself! Watch!” The seatbelts are hard to put in for little kids, so I grabbed the end and pulled it in with her. I told her she did a great job and asked her for a high five. She gave me one--so cute!

She got out all by herself (also saying she could) and I knelt down and asked for a high five again.

“Give me a hard one!” I told her excitedly. She wound up and gave it all she had. I faked that it hurt, holding my hand and saying: “Ouch! You hurt my hand! You’re so strong!” She giggled even more. As she was exiting, her dad said “Do this one” as he put his hand out to the side. The high five game. Smiling, she turned to me and said:

“High five. To the side. To the other side. Down low. TOO SLOW!”

“Oh, no! You got me! Your really quick!” I said in fake defeat. She was the cutest girl, and always so happy. She really lifted my spirits all the way to the top today. I was in such a good mood, the best I’ve been in months. It amazed me how one little girl could bring me out of my stupor that I’ve been in for months within like ten minutes total. There was no being upset for the rest of the day. I was always in a good mood, and happy to see all the little kiddos who wanted to ride. It was the best day of work I’ve ever had, and it fit perfectly that this day could potentially be my last. I felt like doing a back flip. Kind of like this:

I heard the other day that Sandy--the main supervisor for Rides and Games--quit. That’s right. Surprising, yes? She has been there for awhile from what it sounded like, and she quit (and apparently took her set of keys to various things in the park with her). Although I really don’t work there anymore, I was EXTREMELY curious as to what happened. No one knows though, so I’m left wondering what could possibly make her quit. Well, it happened, I don’t work there anymore.

I must say, I learned a lot from Fantasy Island:

One: You can text….don’t get caught.

Two: You can sit down….just don’t get caught.

Three: Nothing is sanitary.

Four: Cut the teacups ride short (less likely to have kids throw up. Etc.)

Five: You get a discount on food….not by much though.

Six: They don’t even punish you for being late.

Seven: Your ride CAN’T become invisible…no matter how hard you try.

And Finally, Eight: NEVER work at an amusement park. Just don’t.

Day Thirteen: The Magical Ring (Oh, I’m leaping with joy…)

Yes, yet another day at “Phantom Island Prison for idiotic people who applied and got hired without realizing what they were getting their selves into.” You can call it that….or Fantasy Island (more commonly known as). There was nothing new about this day. I have noticed that my days at this park seem to be the same. I get a ride I hate, I operate it anyway, kids ride, kids misbehave, kids scream. Nothing new. Except there was a pleasant surprise today. Sara came over after I ran my test run and started pulling something out of a thin, long, bag that was on the ground next to the fence. It was a large umbrella! Yes! I get to stand in the shade now! I can’t believe that they were nice enough to provide the rides that had no shade to stand under an umbrella. How nice. That brightened my day, but let it be known that it doesn’t mean I hate the job a little less…because it soooooo doesn’t.

Anyways, I really don’t have much to say about this day, nothing exciting or out of the ordinary happened--except for the umbrella, of course. My day was boring and long, and very uneventful.

My day in a nutshell: silence.

Day (): Being the guest and not the worker.

Every month I work, I get four free admission passes to get into the park. So I thought it would be fun if I took my younger cousins to the park today. So the six of us (me, my sister, two cousins and my cousin’s friend) got into the park with no problems and for free. I led them towards the back side of the park where all the bigger kid rides are. We raced on the big slide--which I must say, didn’t really look like it needed a painting like the other rides. Then, being bold, I decided that I would try the new ride at the park, the Mega Disco. The Disco is a ride that moves back and forth on a half pipe shaped track and spins around as it goes. I hate spin rides a lot, and won’t dare to go on them, but I was hoping that if I went on, my cousin would.

So I got in line, positive that this would make me nauseous, but ready to try it anyway. The ride is a big disc shape with seats lined around the outside which you sit on like you were on a motorcycle. Then, a backing comes up and locked you in place. Trust me, these seats aren’t that comfortable because your chest is being pressed against the pad on the front. But anyway, I rode, I didn’t get nauseous--I think because of the fact that it wasn’t staying in one place and spinning.

We went on the Full Tilt as well. Its similar to the Crazy Bus except bigger. This wasn’t so bad, except the harnesses weren’t super tight, and as a result you moved around as the ride was running. But other than that, it was a good ride. Now comes a complaint. We all were thirsty so me, my cousins and Madison all got Pepsi. After taking a few sips, I realized that there was something wrong with it, it tasted weird. It was flat. Nice, they sold us overpriced flat soda. I decided to go back and tell them that these sodas were flat. The worker tested some from the machine, agreed with us and found the source of the problem--the carbonation machine had turned itself off. She gave us all new sodas and apologized for the inconvenience.

Then there was the Crazy Mouse. It had broken down, and two of my supervisors plus maintenance was working on getting it up and running. We waited for about twenty minutes and they started to do test runs. But then once of my supervisors (whose name escapes me) said it would be another half hour wait for it to be ready to ride. So we walked next door to the Ferris Wheel. We got on and I noticed the Crazy Mouse was up and running and giving people ride. Nice. That made us all mad. That wasn’t even close to being a half hour! It was really annoying that they weren’t even close on predicting how much time the Crazy Mouse would be out of order, we were at the front and since they said it would be a while, we left.


We went to the water park, and let me tell you, it was a zoo. It was jam packed full of people, and that wasn’t even the worst thing. The worst thing by far, was the bathrooms/changing rooms. You walked in and first of all there was lots of people, second of all, it smelled like something crawled in there and died months ago. It smelled terrible. I would rather stand next to a fresh pile of horse crap than be in there. To make things worse, it was 110 degrees, making the smell 200 times worse than it already was. Plus, the floors were all wet and gross. Ew. There was no possible way that I was changing in there. Out of all the repairs that need to happen at this park, the bathroom in the water park should be at the top of the list. But I doubt that will happen.

So I personally didn’t change into my swimsuit, although everyone else did. I though about how gross the water is, and how countless numbers of kids probably peed in there that the chlorine couldn’t kill. I think I made the right choice in not changing. I sat under one of those faded and old giant umbrella and watched people play in the wave pool. A little while later, my Uncle showed up. We were talking and he said something along the lines of this:

“There are some things in life that I don’t want to see, and I saw about a dozen of them walking in.”

Although mean, it was very true. Its true that the majority of American is overweight, but that doesn’t seem to stop people from wearing no shirts and bikinis. He even mentioned he saw an elderly lady wearing a bikini *flinches* Yikes! Could you imagine your grandmother in one? Yea, I didn’t think so. Case closed. Everyone was done with the water park within a half and hour or so, meaning I wasn’t just sitting there for long. They all got dressed, we got some soft serve ice cream, and back into the main part of the park we went. The Crazy Mouse, the Mega Disco, the Silver Comet, the Tilt-A-Whirl, etc. We rode more rides, and were out of there by 7-7:30. I must say, by the end of the day, I was pooped. I don’t know how people stay there for the full nine hours, its exhausting.

So now that I have a perspective of being the guest, I have to say that I rate the park 2/5 stars. (FAIL) There are a lot of rides that need to be fixed up and looking nicer, and the facilities are quite gross, plus none of the employees were all that happy. Not even a smile, except for one of two of them. It is a very kid friendly park, but the rides need repair and the food prices are so high that its hardly even worth buying. I do not recommend wasting your money here if your kids are a little older. This park is mainly for real little kids. If you have a kid between the little kid rides and the big kid rides, take them to Darien Lake. Although the price is higher to get in, there is more variation between rides, and they may better enjoy it. Note: This review is strictly taken from a guest’s point of view and is based nothing off the fact that I work there. This is how I honestly perceived the park as a guest.

Final grade: D

Day Twelve: The Boats/ The Tea Cups. (It’s about time they mixed it up!)

Alright, another day at work, ugh. Well, I got to work early today, not terribly early, but I had time to get my shirt and everything, plus a few minutes of just standing around. That was the first time since my first day. I was less than happy when I heard I would be on the boats. Other than the teacups, it was my least favorite ride. I left wardrobe, walked like five feet before I realized I forgot to punch in. That could have been tragic! I went back, clocked in, and left for the boats.

When I got there, there was already a mother and child waiting closely by the gate. I excused myself, and did my test run. There seemed to be a decent amount of people riding and in the park today, not and overwhelming number, but it wasn’t dead…until around one-ish. The park seemed to be starting to clear out. I would only give like one or two kids a ride every once in a while. I noticed a few of my co-workers were sitting, so I hopped up on the wooden fence that surrounded the boats. I watched for any sign of Eric or Sara--knowing I would get in trouble for sitting--but Eric was only in the kiddie park for a few minutes earlier, and Sara was helping with the trains ( I just had to stand when I heard the train coming). There seemed to be something wrong with both the trains that went around the park. They were working on them, Sara and one of the maintenance guys.

On top of the trains, after giving a ride, I noticed how quiet it was. I was confused about the silence, but then I realized what the cause of it was: the music that is usually blaring in the kiddie park had stopped. It was strange how quiet it was--I could actually hear kids yelling in excitement, and people talking, and co-workers talking. Strange indeed, though I wasn’t complaining, I liked having some quiet. I talked to Destiny a lot today, it was kind of nice having a friend in my department to talk to. We talked about various things throughout the day, and I even talked to Jill a bit. I was coming to know a few people that I would talk to. It was way better than being the noob that knew nothing and nobody. So, I was enjoying the quiet, and sitting on the fence and the lack of people.

Around six, Destiny was on the ride next to me and we were talking. She mention that we might get to go home because there was really no one in the park. Then Sara came walking over and asked me if I wanted to go home. Just talking to Destiny, she yelled over that I just told her I wanted to go home. Thanks Destiny. Of course I wanted to go home! But, if I were to go, I would have to pick up another day to get all my hours. This is something to avoid. So I told Sara that if she didn’t need me, I would go, but if she did need me, I would stay. She asked me if I knew how to work the teacups.

So, I didn’t leave, but was moved to another ride--I know, I know, your probably thinking, “What!? Are you crazy!?” Of course I wanted to leave, but I needed my hours.-- If I was moved to a new ride half way through every work day, this job wouldn’t be nearly as bad! There was about three hours left until the park closed, so I figured, with a new ride, I could handle it. Unfortunately, the teacups are my least favorite ride because they spin, and spinning results in dizziness, vomiting, fainting, nauseous feeling, etc. I don’t want to have to deal with that. Truth be told, I only gave a few rides. There were two little twin girl who rode a few times, and a few random rides, other than that, nothing.

But of course, the teacups never go without incident. Two girls and a boy were riding in one cup together, and they were spinning relatively fast. Suddenly, the boy started crying, and fell over and then proceeded to scream. I hit the stop button then jumped on the platform and stopped the cup from spinning. He was okay, I think it was just too much spinning for him. Other than that, nothing happened. The rides were temporarily shut down when Sara saw lightning. She just told me to turn it off. I had to explain to a few people who came up that the ride was temporarily closed. I wish it was closed for the remaining half hour that was left for the night, but no. About five minutes later, Sara told me it was okay to re-open. I only had like one or two rides after that and I was done. I must say, today wasn’t as bad. I was sitting a lot of course because there was no one there, and I moved to another ride. If work was like this more often, I don’t think I would mind working there for more than one day. But I know better than to ask for more days.

Funny Note: There was this guy and his little boy walking around. I look over to the Magic ring, and Jill is standing aside laughing while the guy was running the ride for his kid. I couldn’t help but laughing, he was standing there with his foot on the petal, laughing and clapping and telling his kid to drive the car. It’s the funniest thing I’ve seen a parent do at the park. Sara came over and talked to him though, I think he got in trouble. But it was still so funny!

My day in a nutshell: My day didn’t really consist of a lot of talking. I didn’t even tell kids to take their hands out of the water that much. And I didn’t really say anything repeatedly at the teacups either. It was a quiet day. Thank goodness!

Day Eleven: The Crazy Bus (Can’t I just have a new ride!?!?)

Yes, once again I was put on the that damn bus. I wasn’t going to complain though, I was in no mood for it. I was just ready to start the day so it could be over. My friend had finally snapped over my depressing and moody behavior for the last few weeks and told me off. So I could care less if I was on the bus, and I didn’t try to cheer up for the customers either. So I was there, somber looking, and probably scared some children away (yes!). Though scaring children away wasn’t my goal. I guess my depressing mood was obvious because one woman in particular was watching me as she sat on the bus with her younger kids. I slammed one of the doors of the bus a bit harder than necessary and she said something about me having a temper. I rolled my eyes and walked away. If what has been happening to me the last month or so was happening to her, I don’t think she would be all cheery and perky either. So deal.

I went on my first break--which was only an hour after I started working--and tried to sort things out with my friend. I ate, sat there for a while thinking things over, then went back to work, still as upset as I was when I started. People came, people went, and I could care less if they noticed my somber mood. I did have to laugh a bit when this one girl, probably thirteen or fourteen, came over to ride. She was very enthusiastic about riding, as if the crazy bus was the best ride in the park. It was quite entertaining. So she and like two littler kids rode (and rode again because of the absence of a line.) After, she ran off to her friends begging them to ride with her. It was quite funny. But not even that could completely cheer me up. I had a lot of older kids ride the bus today, quite strange indeed. I had two guys that were around my age ride (they were quite excited), and a group of girls my age. One even told me that it was the best ride ever and personally thanked me by name. Then went on to make sure that I didn’t think she was a stalker for knowing my name, and that she had read it off my nametag. This, I couldn’t help laughing at.

After my second break, I walked back to the bus, and just as I was rounding the corner of Bopper’s, I saw Lindsay telling everyone to put their arms up so she could release the retrain bars. She was very enthusiastic about it and put her arms up to demonstrate. I felt bad. She was running my ride better than I was. I was just being all miserable with a rain cloud over my head and I forgot that I’m supposed to be making the guests’ day enjoyable. I tried to perk up, being all friendly and talkative to the kids and parents. It only lasted about forty-five minutes before my rain cloud overtook me again. At least I tried. At around seven thirty, the park was so deserted that it seemed like it should close an hour early. But, of course, they wouldn’t be that nice. So for the last hour, I stood there, gave a few rides, and laughed at this guy that was walking by. He looked over at me as he passed and I smiled, then, as he kept walking he kept looking back at me like ever 5 seconds. It was pretty comical. Finally he was out of sight. Very strange indeed.

I gave my last ride and it ended at 8:29. Finally! Last ride! I had kids asking if they could ride again, and I was filled with relief when I told them we were closed. Another day gone, leaving me with one less work day.

My day in a nutshell: “Hands up, everyone!”

Day Ten: The Boats (This won't be so ba--never mind.)

I was late (once again) to work today. Everyone was pretty much gone already, except Sandy and a supervisor or two. She told me that I would be on the boats. I grabbed my shirt, then had trouble punching in (of course). The thing didn’t seem to be working, and it wasn’t just me because a life guard named Brian was having trouble as well. Brian and I stood there for like five minutes before we finally were able to punch in. Laughing, I headed towards the boats. Destiny was there waiting for me to take over. I told her that I hadn’t been on the boats before so I didn’t know how to work them and she gladly said she would show me how. As she was telling me about the operation of the ride, a few kids came to ride. She measured the one girl and she was too tall. Her parents were kind of mad. Her mom went on about the sign that said she was short enough to ride. Destiny told them that she was too tall. Angered, the mom told her kid to take her shoes off. The girl did, and she was still too tall. Her parents were pissed. They dropped an F-bomb and said that the place was stupid and that we should change our signs. Angered, they walked away. We only do what out boss tells us to do, we have nothing to do with the signs for the rides or the height sticks. We are told how the ride works and who can and can’t ride it, and we obey what is said. But the parent’s were still pissed off. Destiny and I went into a conversation about how rough a time some parents give us. Its like, your kid is too tall for the kiddie rides, so take them to the big kid side of the park and deal! After a few stories from Destiny about some rather angry parents, she wished me goodbye and left.

She came back a few minutes later with Katie, who was going around with the books (there is a book for each ride, which the person running the ride has to fill out the date, weather, that they have been trained on the ride and then their signature. This process happens everyday, and to all workers.) So they came over, Destiny telling Katie of the incident with the parents. After we all agreed that people should just chill, they left. I thought this ride wouldn’t be so bad, it was a new ride that was in a different area of the kiddie park, with a different view of everything. Plus, the petting zoo was right next door--most people would think it smelled bad, but it didn’t bother me--and the donkey’s pen was up against the fence. What a cute little donkey. But anyway, after a while though, I saw the bad of this ride as well, the kids always wanted to put their hands into the nasty water that the boats were in. I was constantly yelling for them to take their hands out of the water. I remember, one girl just wouldn’t listen. I stopped the ride like two or three times telling her to stop. The last time I stopped it, I told her and her sister that if she didn’t keep her hands in the boat, they’d have to get off. Her sister grabbed both of her sister’s arms and held them inside the boat. The girl squealed and thrashed, but he sister was successful in keeping the girls hands out of the water, but this was after the girl had stuck her entire hand in the water then proceeded to stick her whole fist in her mouth. EEEEEWWWWW!! So gross. Getting annoyed at this ride, and having enough of being there, I began to get restless and my feet hurt and I was so done with little kids. I was letting yet another group of kids on when I recognized one of their parents. My elementary school art teacher, Mrs. Nachreiner was standing there. It was a simple talk that went something along the lines of…

Her: “Arizona.”

Me: “Mrs. Nachreiner.”

Of course we went on to ask how I was and she introduced me to her son and niece (who were both ADORABLE!) We talked for a minute or two until…

Her: “Am I allowed to be up here?”

Me: “No, not really. Ha-ha”

*walks off platform, and I start ride*

Although I would have gladly broken the rules so I could continue to talk to her, (she was one of my favorite teacher in elementary school) but I risked Eric seeing me, and he had no problem telling me what I wasn’t allowed to do. So her kids rode, we talked a bit after, telling me her husband remembered me from Art Club like six years ago. It was nice to see them, and that visit brightened my day considerably. I hope to see them again soon. The happiness wore off, of course. I mean, I can’t be happy for very long, for some reason, the world won’t let me be. So I went on, getting kids on and off, texting when no one could see--there was a major issue going on with my best friend, Sara, at the barn, and I just HAD to know. So I risked getting caught. I don’t care. The barn issue was way more important than Eric yelling at me and taking my phone or whatever it is he would have done. Anxious to get home and call Sara to get all the details about the incident, time seemed to stop. UGH. Finally, after a few more hours of yelling at kids to get there stupid hands out of the water, it was time to go. I left quickly (as usual), unbuttoning my shirt as I walked, took it off, threw it in the hamper, checked the new schedule and punched out. Phew. I hate those stupid boats.

My day in a nutshell: “Don’t put your hands in the water!”

Day Nine: The Tea Cups (Oh no! Oh, please no!)

Yes, it happened. Despite my hoping that it wouldn’t, it has happened. I got the tea cups. Despite how much I hate the tea cups, I went over to learn how they work. Sara was there with two other workers, and she explained the height stick and how the ride operated, then they were gone. I can remember my first ride very clearly. The ride was almost full--except for one tea cup. I ran the ride, and about half way through, one of the girls leaned forward into the cup, positioned so she wasn’t sitting up. I yelled for her to sit up, but she didn’t move. I was confused. But that’s when the parents started murmuring in worry.

“I think she’s out.” One said. Oh great! I quickly hit the stop button and the girl’s father came running it. The girl had passed out. But once she was off the ride, she was fine. Of course that would happen to me. I didn’t want this ride for many reasons, and kids getting over dizzy was one of them. The second ride was just as memorable. Four of the tea cups were full this time, two with littler kids. I always worried when littler kids rode because I think they are more prone to throwing up than older kids. But the ride started and the little boy was laughing with joy, a big smile on his face.

I kept watching him smile, but slowly, the smile began to fade from his chubby face. It was what happened next that scared me. The boy had his arms half way raised, and his eyes began to roll back into his head a little, and then he started to shake. The parents along side the gate began to yell at each other that something was wrong. I knew something wasn’t right, so once again, I stopped the ride. The mother came running in and grabbed him, and once again, once he was off, he was fine. Few! These kids are gonna kill me! That was pretty much all the serious incidents of the day. Today was a crappy day to come to the park, after a little while, it began to rain, then rain harder. I got soaked.

Despite the pouring rain, kids still wanted to ride the tea cups. One girl got her younger sister so dizzy that she could obviously not see, and almost tripped out of the cup. I had to carry her to the gate because I was afraid she’d hurt herself. I actually found this pretty funny. Despite how dizzy she felt, and probably a little nauseous, she was still giggling. I was talking in a British accent again today, just to keep things entertaining as I stood in the pouring rain as no one rode. I had a grandmother and her granddaughter come over to ride the cups. I didn’t realize at first, but the grandmother had an accent as well. Kind of surprised I had actually met someone with an accent, I continued to use my accent as planned. I don’t think she noticed. She probably thought it normal and ignored it, but it was still fun to have a conversation with her.

At one point, as one girl was riding, Sara came by. The girl’s mother said something, which got Sara to say “Oh, we’re closing at 3:30.” I was so happy! Hallelujah! I asked her what time it was, and it was 3:20 already. Yes! Only ten more minutes of standing in the rain. I was so relieved (and wet). The girl’s mother wasn’t happy though. Sara apologized and went off. She continued to complain to me about how she spent a hundred dollars to get in and have only been there for two hours. I politely told her to talk to someone at the front gate when they were leaving. I was sure they weren’t the only ones who were angry by the action. As I was leaving, there were, indeed, many people complaining. The people at the front gate were giving out a number to everyone who asked that apparently would get them a rainy day pass. People were angry, but as Sara had said when she was shutting my ride off, the guests can go around, and stay dry, and change their clothes, and sit inside. We couldn’t. We have to stand out there regardless of the weather. And since it wasn’t supposed to clear up at all, they thought it was best to close the park.

My day in a nutshell isn’t really anything since I barely said anything to anyone. I was a bit grumpy (from being wet and cold), so my day in a nutshell was standing in the cold rain. Great.

Day Eight: The Crazy Bus ( The rather depressing return)

Despite the feeling that a pitch black rain cloud was flying over my head and following me everywhere I went, all because of issues at the stable I go to, I went to work--very upset and so not in the mood for it. I was told I was on the crazy bus--as you can see from the title--and the first though I had was: “I got the damn bus again.” I was not happy like I usually am when I get a ride I already know how to run. I am sick of the bus--same thing, same controls, same section of the park. Boring! On my way over, I heard the intro to one of my favorite songs--Cowgirls Don’t Cry by Brooks & Dunn--come on the radio near the docking area. I walked by as slowly as I could so I could hear as much of it as I could. Just hearing it at work lightened the rain cloud over my head ever so slightly. I got over to the ride, put the key in the ignition, turned the alarm off and did my test run.

The day was just like any other, kids rode, kids got off, parents complained, and parents were nice. I knew the day would be the same as the previous ones on the bus, so to relieve my boredom, I thought it would be funny to talk in a British accent all day. British accents are my specialty when it comes to accents, I can do it very convincingly. I had it all planned out. If anyone were to ask where I was from, I would tell them I was born in London, then my family moved to the states when I was young, so I don’t remember it much. All day, people would say “What?” when they couldn’t understand me every time. I thought it quite comical when people couldn’t understand me, and even more so that a British accent in general isn’t that hard to understand. After my second break around seven pm, I gave up the British bit and talked normally.

There was one woman in particular that just flat out pissed me off. And usually, people could get me a little mad, but this woman really bugged me. Her three kids ran onto the ride and were on the platform by the time I could turn to see what all the noise was about. They got into one of the seats, I put the bar down and locked the door. Just as I was going to go through to make sure every bar was down and all the doors were locked, the one girl decided she didn’t want to ride anymore. She stood up on the seat, and continually told me she didn’t want to ride. I was headed back to release the retrain bars when she started climbing over the seat. I yelled at her to stop but she kept going. When she was done, I sternly told her not to climb over the seats. She smiled. She began to get off the ride when the other girl decided she didn’t want to ride either. I sternly told her not to climb over anything. I was walking over to release the bar when the girls’ mom or grandma (I really don’t know) yelled at me for yelling at the girl for not listening to me. She was like “Don’t you talk to her like that! Don’t you talk to her like that!” I secretly went and rolled my eyes and went back to work. If kids disobey the rules of the ride, I am going to make sure they know. Jeez lady, chill out. It wasn’t like I was screaming at them! She just really got to me, but I tried to not let it. Other than a few mishaps, my day wasn’t bad. As for my black cloud, I decided to be optimistic about the barn situation and forced the cloud off to the next victim.

My day in a nutshell: “Do NOT climb over the gates!”

Day Seven: The Magic Ring (the unfortunate reawakening)

I hate that stupid ride. It’s disgusting, dirty, stupid, and downright boring. I don’t understand why kids want to ride it so badly! Firstly, when I got to work it was pouring buckets--Marty seems to be a very greedy man if he kept the park open when it was raining so badly. For the first hour or so, no one was even there! It was terrible! Not to mention the thunder and lightning. But, some people started showing up even though it was raining. My feet were soaked by five minutes of work. Eventually, after my first break, (which was like 3 hours in) I came outside and the sun was shining. No way of going home early now.

The sun came out, the sky was blue with beautiful white poofy clouds. I was a little worried about the sun, but when no one was riding I would go into the shadows of the ride to avoid sunburn. Then the wind picked up, and it felt marvelous! I kept checking the time--I always have to know the time--and I would try to do it inconspicuously. The day was normal, I talked to parents when their kids were riding, I stood there, in still soaking wet shoes, running the ride and what not. There was no one riding my ride, so I was just standing there, leaning actually, on a ride. Then one of the supervisors--I learned his name was Eric--talked to the one girl on a ride near me. I noticed she pointed in my direction. Eric came walking over, came through the gate and stopped right next to me. What he said next shocked me. “You can go home.” I had him repeat it three times before I got it. I was so happy at first, and gladly took the offer. I went to wardrobe, called my dad, turned and signed my shirt in, clocked out and waited for my ride. As I waited I thought about how the girl pointed to me, then Eric came over and told me I could go home. It was oddly suspicious. Had I gotten caught with my phone and this was my punishment? I wasn’t texting! I was checking the time! I saw the train was shut down as well, but I couldn’t be positive they were sending people home. After wondering if leaving was a punishment, I got over and just enjoyed the rest of my evening.

My day in a nutshell: “Why is the fricken park still open?!”

Day Six:The Crazy Bus (new and refreshed...not really)

So, once again I was assigned the Crazy Bus. I arrived to work late,--trying to leave the house a little late, then kept forgetting things and really ended up being late.--got my shirt, swiped my card got the keys to the crazy bus, and I was off. I’m not positive what happened but after a little while, my stomach started to hurt, then my head, and I couldn’t stand up, and I couldn’t concentrate on my work. I planned on saying something to one of my supervisors when they came by, but nothing. I continued on--more like dragged on--with my work, trying to be perky, but failing miserably.

When letting some kids on, Heather--one of my supervisors--asked if I was okay. I responded with telling her no and that I felt sick. She asked if I wanted to go home, and I took the offer. I felt terrible. I don’t know if it was from lack of a large breakfast or screaming children, or watching that bus go around, and around, and around. I went home, head hurting and stomach being all achy, and took a shower. The shower helped I suppose. But then I made some ramen noodles. I don’t understand the feeling. I didn’t feel full,--ramen noodles usually fill me right up-- so I must not have been hungry, but I didn’t throw it back up. I have no idea. I just felt really blah, but with all the issues I’ve been having the past week, blah is my normal state. I had a breakdown when my Dad got home about work.

To most people, working at an amusement park seems like easy money. I mean, you stand there and push a button all day. How easy is that! The main problem I think I’m having with it is this: First, the first job I had was a paper route which consisted of delivering papers every Friday. I always knew what day I would be working and for how long--usually a few hours including rolling, bagging and delivering. Second, my second job was a job I happened upon a the horse stable I ride at. I worked every Saturday from7am-11am. Again, I knew when and where and for how long. Although I eventually ended up working at the barn for 9 hours a day, I worked up to it, I was always moving around, and was with my friends. It was work and play all rolled into one. Then comes my first real job, and I’m overwhelmed. The hours are long, I stand in one spot, I have scheduled breaks, (something that didn’t apply at the barn), and had to stand in the same spot running the same ride, and watching the same other rides near me. It’s and overwhelming job for someone who is first starting out. Not to mention that any days I work I can’t do anything with friends. This job takes up the entire day. Movies with friends? Nope! Going to the barn? Nope! Going to see family? Nope! Can’t do any of it! That’s one of the main things that bothers me. All my friends have jobs that are four or five hours in the afternoon so they have the whole morning and afternoon to do what they wants. Me? Nope! What I was hoping for when I was applying for jobs was something that was maybe three days a week for three or four hours a day. I think if this job was like that, I wouldn’t be complaining so much.

Day Five: The Crazy Bus (A new ride!!)

I was so happy when Jill and Katie led me to the crazy bus. We took the back way into the big kid side of the park, across the foot bridge and came out behind Boppers. The big kid side of the park! Finally, I was in a completely new environment! I was shocked to realize that a lot of the big kid side of the park was rearranged. New rides were present, old rides gone, and everything in a new place. As I walked I looked around, trying to figure out what rides went where and what rides got the boot. I walked over to the bus and Lindsay--I think that’s what her name is--was waiting to train me. The bus consisted of three different buttons to push, no foot petal, and a key to unlock each of the doors.

The bus was supposed to go around three or four times forwards and then I was supposed to push the “backwards” button at a certain point so the bus stopped at the top. Then it was supposed to go backwards three or four times. One thing that bugged me about the ride was the release bars. There was a foot petal at the back of the bus for me to push to release all the retrain bars. Thing is, before I hit it I was supposed to yell “arms up!” to warn everyone. The bars would then come flying up. I think they came up way to fast for a kiddie ride, and hurt if you got hit with them. Then people were also baffled when they couldn’t figure out how to open the doors and didn’t know I had the key. Other than that, the ride was fine. The day went really fast for me. I rarely was just standing there bored. I always had kids riding, which was a great time passer! Before I knew it, it was already almost three o’clock. I had my breaks and went back to work. Only towards the last half hour, forty minutes was I standing for a period of time. This day, out of all the days I worked so far, had been the fastest and most enjoyable. This is the kind of day where I end up thinking “this job isn’t so bad.” Then I remember all the other days and think “Yes, yes it is!.”

Day Four: The Carousel (okay, this could be fun)

I was overjoyed to know that I was on a new ride, let alone the carousel. I was sick of being in the same spot over and over. So I made it to the carousel--where people were already waiting--and stood and waited for someone to come train me. I had to turn many people away telling them that I wasn’t trained on the ride yet. I noticed that no one was coming so I called over one of the supervisors--whose name I do not know--and he taught me how it all worked. I was so happy that the ride was another one of those rides that you pushed the petal down to make it go. Great. I gave a few rides, but not many. The forecast for the day was cold with overcast skies and maybe even rain. It was a little chilly and the sun only shone for about 15-20 minutes the entire day, and because of this, not many people came.

Katie and Sierra said that I would probably give only thirty rides today--and they were right. A few people came up a at time, which pleased me. There was even a time where I stood there for an hour without giving a single ride. I figured this was spectacular, until and hour of two before the park closed. There were like maybe less than 100 people I the park, but we couldn’t kick them out. I wanted the park to close so bad, but of course they wouldn’t. it was only until the end, when it was drizzling, cold, and getting dark, when time seemed like it would never pass. Finally, it was 8:30, and I would be free! I didn’t know how to turn the ride off, but he told me I could go. Freezing, I punched out, turned my shirt in and left. Freedom!

Day Three: Kiddie Train (once again)

I was somewhat relieved and somewhat angered when I was told I would be on the kiddie train today--relieved because I already knew how to work the ride, and angered because I wasn’t in a new environment. I can only take so much of looking at the same thing for eight hours. So I went to the train, turned it on, and was ready to go. And today was a day just like any other. Kids running around, not listening to me, and parents who don’t care if their children don’t listen. Swell. The day was pretty much the same as the first day except, for one, I knew what to expect, I knew exactly how much food was at Basgetti’s and right where the bathroom was. There were only a few things that got me. One of them was becoming overwhelmingly tired around three or four o’clock. I was so tired and just hoping that my relief would come. One thing that made my obnoxious child filled day better was by relief herself. Katie, was someone who was fun to be around. She asked me if I had any ibuprofen, and as a result of my saying no, she wondered if laying across the train tracks would lessen her pain. We went into a conversation on how the train would probably push her along the track (it doesn’t go that fast), and how she would then have pain in her side, which would only result in exchanging where the pain was.

It was one of the most interesting conversations I had, and that made my day a lot better for a short time. I was surprised when a blind girl was led onto the train. I didn’t stare, but I was fascinated--I had never actually met someone who was blind. To my surprise, she was a funny girl. As the train went around she began singing “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” This was one of those little things that brightened my day. Despite that, I did have problems of course. One guy walked right through the gate, strapped his kid in and began to walk away. As he was about to leave, he then asks me if his kid was fine to ride by herself, I remarked that I didn’t get a chance to measure her before he strapped her in. Turns out, she wasn’t big enough. Then, after the kid and his parents rode, I then saw the father lay his kid on a bench near the planes and change the kid’s diaper. And he did this right in the middle of the park! There are changing tables in the bathrooms you know! It was unbelievable. I tried to concentrate on my work, but I was so shocked that he would change his kid on a bench in public. Over all, the day was just as torturous as all the rest. After work, I felt like the tasmainian devil if the life were sucked out of him!

Once again, my day in a nutshell “Please sit down when the train is moving!”

Day Two: The Magic Ring. (What the heck is that?!?!)

I was not happy to go back to work the following week. I hated standing in the same spot all day with my foot on a petal. At my job at a horse barn, yes, I would be on my feet all day, but I would be running around getting chores done, not standing in one spot. I hated this job already and I had only worked one day. When I got to the park, lined up in front of the gates was ten school busses filled with kids. Marvelous. I wasn’t late to my second day, but wasn’t early, all due to Chelsea picking me up a little late. But I got there, signed my shirt out, and went to see what ride I would be tortured with this time. Sandy told me I would be on the Magic Ring, but I wasn’t sure where, or what, that was. I waited for her to finish talking so I could ask here about it, but before I got to ask her, she yelled at me to get over to the ride. Politely, I told her I didn’t know what it was, and rudely, and quite frankly, unhelpfully, she told me to just keep walking. It’s so nice to know that employers are so helpful to their new employees.

Thankfully, Heather showed me where it was, and told me someone would be over to train me in a few minutes. This simple act of help made me feel a little better. I stood near the ride, telling a few people that came over that the ride wasn’t running yet. Sara came over and showed me how the ride was operated, the rules of who could and couldn’t ride, and at what height you couldn’t ride the motorcycle, etc. Off I went. The day started off crazy because of all the kids from day care. I was so overwhelmed at one point because there would be a mob of kids exiting and a mob of new kids running through the gate before I could stop them. I would yell for them to wait for me to let them on, but running in they went. Even their parents/guardians were unhelpful. I would yell to wait, and they would urge their kids onward. Nice. I scrambled around to make sure they were all buckled in appropriately and everyone was seated before I pushed the button for the horn and then started the ride. Of course, my day didn’t go without incident. One kid got on the motorcycle, and his friend wanted to ride to so he joyfully said “Yea, just get on the back!” Nothing wrong with that except that the motorcycle only seats one. I politely told the boys that only one person could ride the motorcycle at a time. They told me it was fine and they could ride with two. I argued with them for a minute or two and kept telling them that I couldn’t start the ride until one of them got off. The kid went to another car, only to realize he was to big to fit. He was under the height limit, but was a little to chubby to fit in any of the cars, so I told him to wait and ride the next ride when he could sit in a bigger car. First problem, solved.

Of course that didn’t solve the problem of the kids running onto the ride before I could even notice they were there. It wasn’t just the kids I had a problem with, it was the sun as well. The weather man told me it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy all day, guess who was wrong. I tried to stay out of the sun as much as I could, but the power box for the ride had no shade near it. I gave up trying to stay covered up and let myself get some sun. After 3 hours though, I got nervous, and tried to keep my arms and neck covered. It was warm out, but I didn’t want to risk skin damage and a uncomfortable sunburn. I tried to stay in the shadows of the ride when there was no one riding (which was often after one in the afternoon when the park cleared.) I thought about asking for sunscreen from someone, but that would have been strange to ask.

*while kid is riding ride*

Me: Um, do you have any sunscreen I can borrow?

Parent: *stares* Um, let me check….

Me: …thanks….

It would be incredibly awkward, so I just stayed covered up as much as I could. Fortunately for me, the only thing that got burned was my calves. My face got a little red, but not noticeably--I was thankful for that! So, no matter what the weather man says, wear sunscreen to work. Lesson learned. One of the other problems I had was with the tow truck on the ride. It had a door you had to open, and only two or three of the kids all day could get it open. Some wanted to ride the tow truck so bad, they didn’t feel like waiting for me to come open the door for them and decided to climb through the window of the tow truck. I actually caught a few kids in the act and sternly told them to stop climbing through the window and let me open the door for them. Another problem with the tow truck was the door closest to the center of the machine, (the ride rotated in a circle with all the cars attached to the center of the ride.) was simply for show and didn’t open. Kids would get frustrated that they couldn’t get it open and would either go through the window or pull on it violently. I would tell them to come around to the other side, some would listen, some would continually pull on it as if I didn’t even speak. It was annoying at the time, but now, it seems comical. Of course there was the one kid who had to ride right at the end of the night, so whilst giving the very last ride, Sara came over and told me how to shut the ride down for the night. I cut the ride a little short--desperate to go home--and helped the kid get off. I quickly went over to shut the ride down, and left. I turned my shirt in and headed up to the main office to hand in a letter to Sandy for days I would like off. I added the 25th and 26th of June because I wasn’t sure what was happening for my birthday. I regret it now because I don’t think I’ll need the 26th off, and my parents think I’m working. So, I had to call Sandy back and leave a message telling her that things changed and I didn’t need the 26th off anymore. Hopefully, she didn’t take me off the board yet. If I don’t get a call by Wednesday that I’m working Friday, then I’ll call back and see what’s happening.

Second day in a nutshell: "Don't go through the window!"

Day One, The Kiddie Train

I thought it would be fun to work at an amusement park, a fun summer job. Boy, was I wrong. I was told I was going to take orientation first, then start working, but my idea wasn’t what Sandy (the women in charge of the Games and Rides department) had planned. She showed me where to get my shirt, told me the ride I would be working at, took me to the ride, showed me how to work it, then left. So much for orientation. So, with no more than what Sandy told me, I was set out into the crowd of children to work. Sara, my supervisor, came over and had me sign some paperwork and politely asked me if I had any questions. Her wondering if I had any questions made me feel a little better about this job, more like they cared. Sara was nice and considerate towards the fact that this was my first day.

So, kids started coming up with their parents gradually. It was pretty simple--let the kids in, measure them with a pole to see if they could ride alone or if they needed a parent, get them on the train and buckled in, them off they went. Things seemed easy enough. As the day progressed, more and more kids came in line to the point where the train would be full. Again, no big deal, it's an amusement park. What was really the overwhelming part was the fact that I would work three to four hours before I would get a break. Standing in basically the same spot, pushing a button wile holding your foot on a petal gets annoying and even tiring--from standing still--after a while.

Finally, I was relieved. I got a half hour break, seems adequate, right? Well, I can only go to one shop to eat. Welcome to Basgetti’s pizza and pasta shop! My first day, I wasn’t sure about thw breaks, so I went in and bought some loganberry (for the record, not a good choice because it turns your tongue a red/purple color. I only remembered this after I bought it.) I wasn’t really hungry so I just bought the loganberry (which costs the discount price of $1.70). I sat there sipping my loganberry and listening to “Father Time's story time”. As I listened to the story, I suddenly felt sorry for the workers at Basgetti's because they had to listen to it every hour.

I sat there for a half hour, just relaxing, finally being able to sit down for the first time in over three hours. I still thought this job wasn’t so bad, and would be worth the money, but I still had 5 hours to go. So I went back to my post, less than excited to do so, but I dragged myself back anyway. Lucky for me, I got there just as my reliever had loaded everyone up. Perfect timing for me to get over there and stand on the petal and push the button. Great. It was pretty boring after the first few hours because things in the kiddie side of the park were starting to die down. I would get a few kids on the train at a time, no more gobs of kids all hyped up to go on the train.

Standing eventually got to me. I had made it to the point where I would get angry that the kids wanted to ride my stupid train. Every time I heard a kid say “I wanna ride the train!” I would turn away and scowl. I then turned back around, smile on my face, and helped the little angels onto the train. Of course, I would get the little ones who didn’t want to sit down, so I would have to tell them to sit, and if they didn’t I would have to stop the train. Lovely, my favourite.

Great, another break! Freedom! Well, I was starved by my next break, so I went to Basgetti’s and bought a piece of pizza for $2 (again, discounted). I ate it pretty quickly because I was starved by then. The only problem was I still had 20-25 minutes left of break. Now what? So, I just sat there until it was a decent time to come back from break. Back to work.

An hour or so before closing time, there would be only a kid or two at a time, thank goodness! I couldn’t deal with little kids anymore. But there were times when no one would ride, and these are what killed me because then time would seem to past so slowly.

Well, then my loganberry from earlier began to really sink in. I had to pee so bad, but I had no more breaks. So, whenever there were no kids riding, I would pace. There would be 5-10 minute intervals between riders where I would just pace--making it seem like I was just bored rather than I had to pee really badly. I finally saw Sara--the kiddie park supervisor--walking to the rides and shutting them down for the night. I couldn’t be happier. But of course, a mom and her little kid come up asking to ride. I couldn’t say we were closed yet, considering that Sara didn’t say I could leave, so I got the people on, strapped them in and quickly went to turn the ride on. The train, which is supposed to go around three times, seemed like it was going slower than it had all day. I watched as it slowly made it’s way around the first time. Then, as it came past me, the women said that around once was enough. I quickly made sure that’s what she said then took my foot off the petal, and let them out. Sara told me what to do, as for my shirt, and the new schedule, then I was free at last!

First day in a nutshell: “Please sit down when the train is moving!”

Pre First Day

Every year, people and their kids go to amusement parks to enjoy the park and ride all the rides. Rarely do the guest think about the ride attendants, and I never did either. I was scheduled to work June 6th for the first time, but my SAT’s were a six hour event, leaving me with having to call and tell them I couldn’t work. What a way to start a job. So I was rescheduled for the next Saturday. To my misfortune, it was a Horse Show prep day, and if I had to work, that means I couldn’t be at the barn to get my horse ready, meaning I couldn’t show, well I could have, but I wouldn’t have ridden my horse since the previous Monday, so, no horse show. Perfect.