While browsing TVTropes tonight, I came across this rather odd mention on the Percussive Maintenance page, under the "Real Life" section:

 

Carowinds, a theme park on the North Carolina/South Carolina border, has a roller coaster called the Carolina Cyclone with a few restraint bars that have a habit of getting stuck. The correct method of unsticking them, as ride attendants are instructed during training, is to kick them.

 

Does anyone here know whether or not that is actually true? It seems rather odd for a standard procedure.

  I highly doubt it

"Push down, pull up."

Well when I worked Vortex we had to do that a few times.

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I have never seen or heard of this but I worked at Hurler/Drop Zone/Goldrusher/Scooby-Doo/Carousel/Jets/Biplanes.

Goldrusher sometimes had to be pushed by hand out of the station in the morning.

I rode Carolina Cyclone this afternoon and the woman firectly in front of me could not get out after her ride (the attendants didn't notice), so she had to ride again.  The shoulder harness just wouldn't go back up.  Maybe it is true after all...

I mean... It's an Arrow, so the manual override is a foot pedal (Cyclone might even be old enough that the pedal is the ONLY restraint unlock mechanism, I don't remember from my last visit). I don't think pressing the pedal would exactly count as kicking, but to the casual observer sitting in the train, it might look like it.

Cyclone has an automatic unlock, Goldrusher doesn't. Goldrusher only has a foot pedal. I wasn't aware Arrow had them on other types.

Cyclone has an automatic unlock, Goldrusher doesn't. Goldrusher only has a foot pedal. I wasn't aware Arrow had them on other types.

I know that Arrow loopers, suspended coasters, and at least some Mine Trains have the foot pedal (usually as an override, but sometimes as the primary restraint release mechanism, such as Corkscrew at Cedar Point). I'd assume the hypers do too because the trains are very similar to the later mine train trains (a la Adventure Express) but I can't remember whether that is the case or not.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride has restraints both locked and unlocked with the foot pedal it seemed.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride and Corkscrew have manual restraints

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I'd assume the hypers do too because the trains are very similar to the later mine train trains (a la Adventure Express) but I can't remember whether that is the case or not.

 

Yes, Magnum has foot pedals to manually unlock restraints, I've yet to see an Arrow without them.

I wasn't aware of this system. When I went to Carowinds this year, there was no one in the park and it was 100° F, so I didn't notice the restraint system, all I know about it is how its my least favorite Coaster