Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:19 am
So there was a bit of drama on Sonic Spinball yesterday!
I'm copying and pasting this from another forum because its so long, so apologies if it feels like it was written for a different target audience.
So. We were in Alton, just coming to the end of our day and decided we had time for one more ride, so we headed over to Sonic Spinball. The queue was about 35 minutes or so when we joined. Now, we got literally the the very front (row) of the queue, in the station. About four people in front of us...so we got front row tickets of the following events.
We noticed a small boy being led(lead?) over to the height checking device. The minimum height for the ride was 1.2m. Now admittedly it was very close, but the kid was undoubtedly under the height restriction.
Then the #### hit the fan (and we were so glad to be close to the action) basically the father came along and he was like "What? No way man" blah blah blah. And the Alton Towers attendee was trying to calm him down and stuff. The dude then said "But he's already been on it once today!" and some more general arguing ensued (as this was happening, all the trains started to build up in the station, with people still in them as the staff had to attend to the douche bag)
After a minute or two of this he said "Well I'm not f###ing moving until you let him on the ride" and reinforced his ground by folding his arms and adjusting his stance. My expression was sheer disgust at the douchebaggery on display, and I had a short natter with Mike and Phil (the two friends I was with), and had a general look at the crowd, all excited with the drama but annoyed.
The Alton Towers attendee walked into the station control room, and came out about 1 minute later, with two priority pass tickets in his hand, (which allow you to skip the queue on any ride in the park, basically) and he came over, started talking and apologising to the douche bag, and he handed him the tickets, and the douche bag literally flung them to ground in anger and unacceptance. I turned and quietly said "What a f###ing douchebag" to the others. Sickened me. Idiot. (I'd just like to say that the Alton Towers attendees handled the situation really well)
Then one of the other members of their group (there were four. Three male adults and the child) was like "But we only came on this ride because he wanted to ride it" and a minute or so later the dad said "He's already been on it three times today" and I turned around and commented how the story changed from 1 time, to implying he hadn't ridden it, to having ridden 3 times, and we chuckled.
By this point it had been about 7-8 minutes I guess, and security just showed up. I was expecting them to drag him off, but they just talked with him, and the douchebag explained (his side) of the situation to the two security guards. The two guards then walked off to the control building to discuss it.
I was like...WTF. And a sudden urge of adrenaline rushed over me, and I admit I did something I almost immediately regretted. And then I did it again, instantly. Lol.
I projected my voice loudly (so the crowd heard) but directly to the douchebag "He hasn't even looked at the crowd a single time yet." (which he hadn't I'm sure through guilt) and he didn't look, or he didn't hear. So I ...said it again. Lol. And he definitely heard this time cos' he looked at me and I thought "Oh ####, ####, #### I'm gonna get stabbed, totally shouldn't have done that"
But the damage was done, so I just had to roll with it and I just started talking to him, trying to get him to act more rationally. I said "Well I completely understand the situation dude, but the staff aren't doing it just to spite you. It is entirely for the childs safety and its rules of the ride. Just look at all the people you're holding up man." (I said something along these lines.) and he looked at the crowd, and how big it was getting, didn't really respond to me, but he...
Left! HE ####ing LEFT! I turned around and Phil and Mike were **** gobsmacked. I was like (when he went out of ear shot) "OH MY GOD I'M A ####ing GEE!" blah blah. I actually was a little offended that I didn't get a round of applause from the crowd. :p
Anyway it was amazing. I felt like a god. But he did look like a genuine gangster and I did fear for my safety, but in the end...
GOT SERVED! :D
