I should LIKE to REGISTER a COMPLAINT!
Aug. 18th, 2005 11:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsWe spent the day at Wild Waves, the (now) Six-Flags owned water-themed summer park down between Seattle and the sister city to the south, Tukwila. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tabbifli has this scheduled every year, the third Wednesday in August, and we've been attending ever since she began the practice.
The weather was cold and rainy when we started out. When we arrived it hadn't gotten much better, but we were able to meet up with the rest of our crew:kaender, Alex, a few new people we'd never met before with children, one a year younger than Kouryou-chan, as well as fallenpegasus. Sadly, jenkitty didn't show, nor did a few others I'd hope to have a chance to talk with.
We did the dry rides first and learned that more than "one or two" rides were currently down for maintenance. Ever since Six Flags had taken over the park, it turns out, they have no on-site large engine mechanical engineers; they have to be flown out from Atlanta by the corporate powers that be. Quite a few of the kiddie rides have been futher dumbed-down; the Frog Hopper, which is Kouryou-chan's addiction, no longer drops with any drama whatsoever, and she was bored out of her skull. The adults went on a few roller coasters and pure "turn you upside down" rides. There were four of us on a ride that took three to a bench, so I ended up sitting opposite some teenagers, which was quite pleasant in its own right.
After a greasy lunch (hey, it's an amusement park, I don't expect better) the day warmed up a bit, the sky started to break up and sun started to peek through, so we decided to get into bathing suits and do a few water rides. The second time down the Python, though, Kouryou-chan tripped walking from the exit pool to where we had the stored the towels and fell along some "decorative rocks," scraping one leg quite badly.
The tech who looked her over was gentle and effective with kids, but as he put the bandages over her he said, "These won't stay on long. We don't have the waterproof kind."
"But... you're a water park!" I pointed out.
"Yeah, but they stopped stocking them a few years back. They're expensive, compared to these." He indicated the cheap ones he had on hand. Behind him, on the blackboard, was a long list of things they were out of, including "portable emergency oxygen." Oh, yeah, that makes me feel much better. Six Flags has put a lot of new capital into the park-- there are two new rides, after all-- but is skimping on necessary supplies needed to keep customers coming back.
So I ran out to the nearest drugstore and bought a bunch of bandaids appropriate for Kouryou-chan's scratches, and when I got back we put them on her and then headed out for more rides. She had a lot of fun on the Konga, and the new Zooma ride, which takes two, three, or four people per monstrous raft was also good for her. Eventually, though, we retired to The Olive Garden, where the Sangria was refreshing but I think they might have waved some wine at it, it was so weak. The three-meat ravioli was delicious, but I wish they'd supplied more of the roma and pesto sauce; it was better than the alfredo.
I'm really disappointed in the way the park has tried to maximize profits at the cost to the consumer experience, especially with respect to the medical supplies, and I am going to send them a letter.
tabbifli has this scheduled every year, the third Wednesday in August, and we've been attending ever since she began the practice.The weather was cold and rainy when we started out. When we arrived it hadn't gotten much better, but we were able to meet up with the rest of our crew:
kaender, Alex, a few new people we'd never met before with children, one a year younger than Kouryou-chan, as well as fallenpegasus. Sadly, jenkitty didn't show, nor did a few others I'd hope to have a chance to talk with.We did the dry rides first and learned that more than "one or two" rides were currently down for maintenance. Ever since Six Flags had taken over the park, it turns out, they have no on-site large engine mechanical engineers; they have to be flown out from Atlanta by the corporate powers that be. Quite a few of the kiddie rides have been futher dumbed-down; the Frog Hopper, which is Kouryou-chan's addiction, no longer drops with any drama whatsoever, and she was bored out of her skull. The adults went on a few roller coasters and pure "turn you upside down" rides. There were four of us on a ride that took three to a bench, so I ended up sitting opposite some teenagers, which was quite pleasant in its own right.
After a greasy lunch (hey, it's an amusement park, I don't expect better) the day warmed up a bit, the sky started to break up and sun started to peek through, so we decided to get into bathing suits and do a few water rides. The second time down the Python, though, Kouryou-chan tripped walking from the exit pool to where we had the stored the towels and fell along some "decorative rocks," scraping one leg quite badly.
The tech who looked her over was gentle and effective with kids, but as he put the bandages over her he said, "These won't stay on long. We don't have the waterproof kind."
"But... you're a water park!" I pointed out.
"Yeah, but they stopped stocking them a few years back. They're expensive, compared to these." He indicated the cheap ones he had on hand. Behind him, on the blackboard, was a long list of things they were out of, including "portable emergency oxygen." Oh, yeah, that makes me feel much better. Six Flags has put a lot of new capital into the park-- there are two new rides, after all-- but is skimping on necessary supplies needed to keep customers coming back.
So I ran out to the nearest drugstore and bought a bunch of bandaids appropriate for Kouryou-chan's scratches, and when I got back we put them on her and then headed out for more rides. She had a lot of fun on the Konga, and the new Zooma ride, which takes two, three, or four people per monstrous raft was also good for her. Eventually, though, we retired to The Olive Garden, where the Sangria was refreshing but I think they might have waved some wine at it, it was so weak. The three-meat ravioli was delicious, but I wish they'd supplied more of the roma and pesto sauce; it was better than the alfredo.
I'm really disappointed in the way the park has tried to maximize profits at the cost to the consumer experience, especially with respect to the medical supplies, and I am going to send them a letter.
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no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 07:38 pm (UTC)And a high-tech amusement park with no one local to fix it? That's unsafe. If you don't live with these things and know their quirks and can't stay on top of them....
Stick a fork in'em, I'm done with them.
no subject
Date: 2005-08-18 08:05 pm (UTC)A water park with no oxygen! That's criminal, as in grossly negligent and a guarantee of losing a lawsuit. It is reasonable to foresee that someone might drown at a water park and that oxygen is a lifesaving intervention.
As for not having AEDs at the gym, it all depends on your local EMS, fire and police agencies. You're safer having one anyway, but if they can arrive in 3-5 minutes packing an AED, it's OK. Not good, but OK.
Where did I put my E-mail?