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| Priceless facial expressions are just one of many funny things people do on Roller Coasters! |
On a serious note, I will mention people of certain nationalities. The incidents depicted here are extreme cases and DO NOT reflect the typical behavior of those people. Most PRC and Indian guests I met and interacted with are nice and patient people. One of my theme park buddies is a Chinese National. I do not wish for any of you readers to spread bad things about people of those nationalities, or to misconstrue this blog post as a way of making fun of those people.
1. Single Rider Mayhem, Revenge of the Mummy
Out of the 6 incidents, 3 of them are on Revenge of the Mummy at USS. Maybe there is something about this ride that makes it particularly funny. Alright, this incident, or rather, a series of near identical incidents happened on the Single Rider Queue. FYI, Single Rider Queue is a special queue for guests willing to split up or travelling solo to experience a shorter queue.
It was a Saturday afternoon, I was at the platform about to board Revenge of the Mummy when a group of 6 to 8 Indian Nationals approached the ride from the single rider queue. The staff thought they knew what single rider was so started to assign them to different rows. I suspect they climbed over to the single rider line as they thought it was a shortcut. It was then that a scuffle broke out, with full blown accents:
- Indian National: "We are a group of 6. We need to sit together"
- Staff: "Sir, you are in the single rider queue. This queue is shorter so to be fair you all have to sit separately."
- Indian National: "No, we are a group of 6, we are together!"
- Staff: "Yes, but you are in the Single Rider Queue. If you want to ride together you need to go through the main queue."
- Indian National: "No, you don't understand. We are a family. We have to ride together!"
- Staff: "Sir, if you want to ride together you need to go out and enter from the main queue. The single rider queue is for people who want to ride alone."
- (Indian National started to look very wronged)
- Indian National: "We already queued so long, then you tell us to queue again."
- Staff: "Sir, the single rider queue is already very short. Those people there (point to the main queue) have queued 45 minutes for the ride"
Unfortunately, the ride started at this moment, so I could not witness the entire incident. And if you think Indian Nationals are the only ones who try their luck on single riders, please be assured that I have also witnessed Singaporean and Australian families do the same thing.
2) Oversized Person Straddling 2 Seats, Project X
Okay, I frequently see plus size people occupying 2 seats on the bus or MRT, but have you seen that on a roller coaster before? This totally weird moment occurred at Project X in Legoland Malaysia. A big sized guy could not fit into 1 seat, so he had to sit with three-quarters of his body on the left seat and the remaining quarter on the right seat. You can see that the restraints on both sides are closed to different levels.
However, what made this even funnier is that he seems really proud of it! Like you can see his big smile, shaking his butt a little... though still not a swag as Amos Yee.
3) Singaporean Auntie scream like baby girl, Puss in Boots' Giant Journey
Alright, if this were to happen on a big ride like Battlestar Galactica then there is nothing funny about it. However, Puss in Boots???!!! My dad did not even believe it was a roller coaster AFTER he got off the ride.
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| Puss in Boots is a "Roller Coaster for Young Children", so it was really hilarious to see an adult being so terrified of this ride. |
From what I could see, this lady just walked in. There were many small kids entering so I guess she did not expect what type of ride it was. I entered via single rider so I was a couple of trains ahead, but the moment her train started there was a clear shriek permeating through the entire ride building. Like my train was already at the bottom but I could still hear her screaming loud and clear. It pretty much did not stop until the ride was finished.
I heard people scream on this ride before, but most people scream for fun. However, I can hear genuine fear in her scream. I waited at the unload area just to see who it was and I indeed saw a Singaporean Auntie, and she was repeatedly telling her group mates how scary the ride was.
Moral of the story: Don't judge the Beanstalk by Its Cover!
Moral of the story: Don't judge the Beanstalk by Its Cover!
4) The "I am Tall Enough" debate, Revenge of the Mummy
In the US, kids who miss the height requirement of roller coasters often resort to wearing double layer socks or thick sole shoes to get on the ride. However, this family from PRC has a simplier and more convenient idea - arguing with the staff! The child was about 120cm tall and missed the height requirement just slightly, so the team member was trying to explain that it is a high speed roller coaster and for safety reasons a person need to meet the height requirement to ride.
Such arguments are quite common, but this incident is exceptional in 2 ways:
- The team member on duty could not speak Chinese and the PRC family was not fluent in English, so you can see the 2 sides misinterpreting each other. It got so bad that a Chinese speaking team member was sent there to negotiate with them.
- They started arguing when I walked past the entrance of the ride to go to the lockers, when I returned to enter the ride they were arguing, and the best part: After I came out of the ride the argument was still ON!
On a serious note, the height restrictions is there to protect you. Actually, Singapore is already very lenient in just imposing a minimum height limit. Some countries in Europe, and even some parks in China for that matter enforces minimum age and maximum height limit as well. And I am no stranger to roller coasters that imposes weight restrictions.
5) USSlympics Captains' Brochure, Enchanted Airways
I'm sure you all know Captain's Ball, a simple team sport that is popular with young and old alike. How about playing Captain's Brochure, but on a roller coaster. Okay, people catching items that are dropped by other guests on roller coasters is quite common, but this particular ride was a full fledged game where we successfully made 3 passes.
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| Anyone wants to play Enchanted Captain's Ball? |
On a Sunday afternoon when one guest on row 2 dropped the USS Brochure at the spiral section of the ride. Another guest on row 4 managed to catch it, but for some reason he lost grip and the brochure fell back another 2-3 rows before someone else caught it. The final pass resulted in brochure landing on row 7. The person not only stretched out her hand, but even twisted her body to catch the brochure. Unfortunately, our team lost the game as the brochure did not manage to reach the Captain (me!) who was seated on the last row!
Damn, this can be a new sport!
6) Revenge of the Children, Revenge of the Mummy
You know the old Chinese mentality: You need to take all the rides at a theme park so that it is 划算 (worth the money). Some Chinese families take this to the extreme and force their 8-10 year old kids onto Revenge of the Mummy.
In this particular incident, a 7-8 year old, barely 125cm tall girl was crying and forced onto the ride by her parents. I was the single rider on the same row and I highlighted to the staff. However, her parents convinced the staff that she was okay and the ride proceeded. I was actually really concerned and constantly turned my head over throughout the ride to check if she was okay.
When the ride ended, though, this previously petrified, little girl ended up with a smile, and even asked her parents of they could ride again. Her mum, apparently, did not fare very well. Clearly disoriented and suffering from whiplash, she moaned that "我觉得我不行，一次就够了。" (I think I cannot take it. Once is enough).
I cannot imagine what happens if this were to occur on Battlestar Galactica!
From playing Captain's Brochure to the drama on the Single Rider Queue, these funny and weird moments on roller coasters are every bit as exciting as the rides themselves. If you have any funny experiences, please do share in the comments. If this is not funny enough for you, fret not, I will be speaking to some ex-USS team members soon and they will have even more funny stories to share. To make sure you do not miss out on any more funny stories, like the Second Drop Facebook Page.
