40+ MINUTES IN LINE JUST TO BE TOLD "I DON'T CARE"…read more
Phones falling during rides!! A bird that appeared to to be dying, along with horrible treatment from staff.
The fair itself felt extremely unprofessional. Earlier that night, we witnessed a bird from the exhibit fly down, hit the ground, and remain motionless with its legs in the air. It appeared to be dying. When my brother picked it up, it couldn't even lift its head. The employee had his back turned to the exhibit, so I had to speak to him from behind to get his attention. When I first told him what happened, he did not seem concerned. He eventually turned around and saw my brother holding the bird near the exit, where he could clearly see that the bird was completely motionless. He then took the bird, left the exhibit unattended, and returned without the bird as if nothing had happened.
But the ride-line incident was ultimately the final straw for me.
My younger brother is 11 years old and urgently needed to use the restroom, but he didn't know where one was. Why would an 11-year-old be expected to walk through a dark crowded fairground alone to find a restroom? So my adult brother took him to find one while I stayed in line and held our place. One of my other adult brothers also had a dead phone, so they had to find him as well especially with how easy it was to get separated or lost in a crowd that large.
My brothers eventually returned together, and the employee saw them come back and rejoin me but said nothing. We continued waiting as the line moved closer to the ride. It wasn't until we got closer to the barricade leading to the ride that he stopped my brothers and told them they had to go to the back.
We explained what happened and even showed him the dead phone. I had remained in line the entire time. My brothers weren't trying to cut in front of strangers -- they were returning to the family member who had stayed in the same spot in line.
The employee then addressed the people behind me as though they would have a problem with my brothers returning. Instead, they said they had no issue with it and confirmed they had seen me remain in line the entire time. They were actually frustrated with the employee because they disagreed with how he was handling the situation.
After they spoke up, he dismissed their input and said, "I don't care." He then ordered my brothers to the back.
What made this even more frustrating was that my coworker had left the line in this same employee's view, sat at a nearby bench because his legs were hurting, returned to the line, later left to throw something away, and came back -- and was never told to go to the back.
I also told the employee that I was an Animal Control Officer with Cobb County and was there with my family trying to enjoy our time together using the free admission provided through my job. He responded in a snarky tone, "you paid," and still ordered us to leave the line. As we were walking away, he smiled.
Moments before we were told to leave the line, a group of girls who appeared to be unattended began looking around the ride area for a phone that had fallen during the ride that had just finished. There was a clear no-cellphone policy. The ride workers eventually began looking as well. This raised a serious safety concern, as someone could have been seriously injured.
If you're planning to ride the Mantis, please be aware. The employee pictured in this review is the employee who was managing the Mantis ride line -- the green-and-purple roller coaster. He was extremely rude and dismissive throughout this interaction. Phones MAY NOT be secured!!!
Fair staff directed me to the sheriff's officers to report the incident. I did, but no name or contact information was taken and I wasn't given a report number.
I'm disappointed. I would not recommend this fair to anyone even as someone who works for the community.
