Ride Etiquette and Safety – PLEASE No Line Cutting or Reserving

bc spring/summer carnival

At the time of writing this, there’s no more waiting for BC’s spring and summer carnival season to begin. But you may have to wait in line for some of Shooting Star’s awesome amusement rides.

When lining up, we urge you to PLEASE observe some rules of courtesy and safety. We have seen an alarming uptick in poor line behaviour, particularly line cutting, so we’re offering this guide in the hope that everyone can have a controversy-free day at one of our carnivals.

Remember, we’re Canadians. We’re renowned for being courteous and polite!

No Line Cutting and No Holding Places – PLEASE 

Line-holding – having one person stand in line reserving spots for several others – may seem OK to some people, but it is not. Lines for rides operate on a first-come first-serve basis, but only for the people who have stood in those lines and waited. That is the only fair way to do it.

There have been some people upset lately because they joined a queue and waited patiently only to be pushed down the line because others cut in on the pretence of joining their designated ‘waiter’. These incidents have led to heated arguments, obscene language and potential violence in front of many, including children. The cutters have been enjoying themselves elsewhere at the carnival and then expected to ride before everyone else. This is doubly unfair and the resentment felt towards these people is entirely understandable.

If you hold a place in line, our staff will ask you to exit the line. Please respect this request. We are happy to accommodate all people who wish to ride, provided they wait their turn.

Remember to treat people as you wish to be treated.

Leave the Guardrail Fences Alone – Wait in the Designated Area

At recent events, some line cutters have climbed over fences set out for lining up or even disconnected the guardrails from their holders. This is alarming and dangerous. These actions could result in injury to waiting patrons if the fence falls over.

We love to see miles and miles of smiles at our events, not injuries.

Line Cutting is Unsafe for the Rides

Line budging, as it is sometimes called, is not only about courtesy. Many rides must be balanced if they are to operate safely. Ride operators must estimate the loads based on the people they see standing in the queue. When larger people cut in where smaller people had been waiting, this throws off the balance in the ride loading process and makes things take longer.

It’s Not the Kids Who Are Causing Issues

Sadly, the problems are coming from young people and adults. We hope our patrons will set a better example for the children who are watching and who are very upset when larger adults cut in front of them.

Enjoy Like a Kid, Behave Like a Grown-up

Waiting your turn is not always an easy concept to grasp for young children. But they need to learn common courtesy by following the example of responsible adults. Line budging at a carnival amusement park teaches them that bullies can get away with poor behaviour and are entitled to disregard the rights of others.

All it takes is for the grown-ups to do the right thing. We wouldn’t want the situation to develop to the point that laws must be passed to ban line cutting. In the US state of Washington, for instance, cutting in line to get on a ferry is illegal and punishable by a stiff fine.

This is Canada. We can handle this ourselves with some good old Canadian courtesy.

All of us in the Shooting Star family absolutely love what we do and adore seeing happy people enjoying our midway games and rides and the delicious treats offered by our food vendors. Let’s all ensure the fair is fun – AND FAIR – for everyone.

Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to Shooting Star Amusements and a clickable link back to this page.