But, for the love of all that is holy and for the sake of everyone else in the park, please don't take the darned things on a roller coaster.
Look, if you want to take your phone on It's a Small World — either to record the one-trillionth on-ride video of the attraction, or just to play slyly some music through your earbuds in order to avoid having to listen to that song again — go ahead. Take selfies with every character in the park, if you want. (Just, please, no sticks.) Be that person who Instagrams everything you order to eat or drink.
But, please, no phones on roller coasters, or any other high speed, volatile thrill rides. Here's your latest horror story:
I was at SFGAm today, and my friend and I were on Goliath back row. Directly In front of us were two young women. During the ride, a phone flew out of some lady's pocket (or hand) during the airtime hill, and it hit the head of the girl in front of me. During the rest of the ride, she was bleeding very badly, and my friend and I had to cover our faces. On top of that, when we arrived at the station, there was panic among many guests, and they had to shut down the ride for a good while. The poor girl had to be heavily bandaged on her head, and strolled out on a wheelchair.
Okay, it's a Reddit post, so veracity's a coin flip. But I would need no more than one phone call to a publicity rep from any park with a major roller coaster to verify a similar event. That's why I stand up to applaud theme parks that do this:
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— USJ.???®? (@USJ_Love_331) May 28, 2017
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And this:
Ongoing metal detector test at Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. pic.twitter.com/HIQFvtdius
— Orlando Informer (@OrlandoInformer) April 18, 2015
Because I would rather endure the hassle of storing my stuff in a locker and going without my phone for an hour in line, or even sit on a lift of a stalled roller coaster for 20 minutes, than take an iPhone to my face at 50 mph.
So even if a park doesn't make you go through metal detectors at a coaster's queue, stow the phone anyway. And that means leaving it at the station, in a locker, or at the very least inside a closed pocket where it can't fly out during the ride. That goes for anything you're carrying with you in the park, too.
Inconvenience? I'll tell you what's inconvenient — missing the rest of your day in the park because you're heading to the first aid center or hospital. Or if that doesn't move you, how about having to go back to the store to replace your phone?
Stow the phones, enjoy your ride, then get back online and tell us how awesome it was... after you're done. Have a great summer, Theme Park Insiders!
How to Stay Safe on Vacation:
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Sent from my iPhone.
Sent from my iPhone."
I completely agree..
Sent from one of my four iPhones
Loose articles on a roller coaster or other high intensity thrill ride pose a serious risk, and I definitely think parks need to be better about monitoring them. While metal detectors may be a bit extreme (after all, I've never lost anything by simply using a buttoned pocket) and I disagree with upcharge lockers at rides (it should be free while you ride), I would like to see a policy that if you're caught with your phone out on a ride it is an automatic ejection and ban for the rest of the season. If you want to film on rides, get permission from the park and use proper equipment, as otherwise you are just putting hundreds of others at risk.
However, even at parks where lockers are free, I think guests should be allowed to keep wallets or something containing an ID in their pocket. Not sure if they're still doing it, but at Rip Ride Rocket, USF was forcing guests to turn out their pockets and remove everything. When I challenge the request on the basis that I wouldn't even have an ID on my person, it fell on deaf ears. That's unacceptable IMHO, as a guest should be able to identify themselves if for some reason their ID gets trapped in a locker.
This is more effective on some rides than others. At Ocean Park, the cubbies at one coaster are on the exit side of the platform, so you have to step through to deposit your articles before seating yourself, thereby slowing the process. But at the chair swing ride, the cubbies are inside the fence, so you pass them going both in and out, and only one batch of riders has access.
Still...I think loosing your phone and other items is punishment enough, as well as being held liable for your stuff injuring other park guests.
It's called "personal responsibility", in case you need a keyword to look up this novel concept.
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At least Disney banned selfie sticks, something that really was a serious danger on a ride.