Read and React #2

It doesn’t matter what park you work at, you will always see this quote “Safe begins with me”, which is totally true because the safety of our guests will always start with us. Working at Disney for almost a month made me realize how important and necessary is to know all the safety rules, especially when you are working at attractions. I work at Soarin’ in Epcot and since day one I had to learn and know every single safety information about the ride.

Working in tower is one of the positions that require a lot of safety knowledge because you have to know all the information for when a ride breaks down or a seat belt is not working properly. While the guests are in the air you have to keep your full attention on the screen to watch for any four “P”, which means: panic, pee, passing out and puking.

We also have a few requirements for our ride, for example, the height; the children have to be over 40inches to ride Soarin’, and some parents don’t understand that this requirement is for the safety of their children. If something happens at the ride while we are still operating and we have to press the emergency button, their children will literally fly out of their seat if they are less than 40 inches. Another requirement is that if a child doesn’t measure up to the height indicator on their seat they must put the seat belt through the loop.

In the article “Storms of Summer” by Barbara A. Higgins, the author explains what procedures we should do to keep our guests safe in case of an emergency. In the article, the author talks about a hurricane that happened in 2004, but the procedures are not different for us in attractions. For example, Higgins explains the plan “• keep guests safe; • keep employees safe; • have a thoughtful plan for tie-down, ride out, and recovery;” which is exactly what I have learned in the case of any emergency, especially if is a fire.

In conclusion, doesn’t matter where you work you will always have to be aware of procedures for not only your safety but also for the safety of your guests and co-workers.