What do Mechanics do in the offseason?

"What do you do for a living?"

Me: "I'm a mechanical foreman at <Insert literally any park here>"

"But that's only seasonal or part-time, right?"

Me: "No, I'm full-time, year-round"

"Well what do you do in the winter?"

Me (thinking "here we go again"): "Winter is actually our busy time, every ride has to come apart, get tested, and rebuilt before it can open back up."

"Wow, I never knew that!"

I've always hated that question. People have no idea what goes on behind-the-scenes. It's like they cannot grasp the concept of a park that's only open seasonally having full-time staff. Do they think that we just show up on opening day, throw on a giant switch, and everything starts going around again? The operating season is our sort-of relaxing time of the year once everything is up and running. We simply are coming in and inspecting/repairing items as we go. During the offseason, it all has to be disassembled, tested, repaired, and reassembled within a certain time frame. The rides will see much more maintenance in a given year than most vehicles see in their lifetime.

So what actually goes into everything from start to finish?

Step 1: Planning and Ordering

For me, the wheels (both literal and figurative) start turning about the offseason as soon as the park opens for the current season. Working for a major corporation means that I can’t just walk over to our purchasing agents and say, “Hey, I need this, this, and this.” Since we’re restricted to approved vendors, our orders—especially for ride parts that must be OEM—are limited to direct manufacturers.

When it comes to hardware, the situation becomes even more complicated. Our approved vendors sometimes don’t stock those odd or highly specific items, particularly in the metric world. In those instances, we explore alternative vendors, but that means dealing with a painstaking process of Purchase Order (PO) approvals. The orders seem to get caught in a bureaucratic loop: they’re sent to corporate for approval, then inventory numbers are meticulously assigned for every single piece, and finally, they’re sent back to the park to be forwarded to the supplier. I’ve submitted orders that took months to process—and the supplier won’t even ship until final approval is granted.

Submitting hardware orders in the fall used to be routine for securing fasteners quickly. Each year, I found myself submitting orders earlier, only to see the shipments not arrive until early spring—far too late for when the rides need to be rebuilt. For me, this phase could consume nearly two weeks of painstakingly revising and resubmitting hardware orders for the upcoming year. I maintained master copies of every consumable fastener required for the rides, updating quantities to reflect our current inventory. The numbers remained fairly consistent: we ordered the minimum required to complete the jobs, plus spares. You never know when a mistake occurs—a single mis-torqued bolt can mean disassembling an entire assembly—and there’s no time to wait for replacements. Thus, I always kept an ample supply in stock. And if I knew of any special projects or uncommon repairs on the horizon, I would include those specific fasteners in the order as well.

“Special projects” is my term for repairs or replacements of components that don’t occur every year. These projects can range from rebuilding a leaking gearbox, to rehabbing a particular assembly, or even upgrading a light bar. Sometimes these projects are planned well in advance, and other times they result from issues that crop up during the season—issues we can only address properly in the offseason when time permits and parts are available. For example, a gearbox that leaks might only need occasional oil top-offs during the season, but a full repair may be too time-consuming to perform until the park is closed.

I generally prefer to have every assembly on a ride undergo a complete rehab at least once every five years, even if the manufacturer doesn’t mandate it. Not every assembly requires a full rebuild, but a thorough visual inspection—especially for assemblies not often scrutinized—goes a long way. I recall managing a coaster with around 20 gearboxes for drive tires that propelled the train. I took each gearbox off, drained and inspected it, replaced worn components, repainted, and then reinstalled it on a different motor. I even stamped the year onto the casing to keep track. This preventive approach virtually eliminated downtime caused by motor or gearbox failures since we addressed issues before they escalated.

Similarly, ordering ride parts follows a similar rationale. I had a rough estimate of how many parts like bushings, bearings, seat pads, and other wear components would need replacement each year. Some parts have known expiration dates, while others might be depleted unexpectedly due to unforeseen wear. In such cases, what was once just spare inventory quickly becomes an order for a new supply.

Step 2: The Final Operating Day

Take a deep breath—we made it through the season. I’ll admit, I enjoyed the days when the park was bustling; most of my co-workers preferred solitude and shunned guest interactions. As the season wound down, we often operated only on weekends for our Halloween event, with weekdays offering little time for major maintenance because the rides still needed to run on weekends. Yet, as the final days approached, everyone was eager for the season’s end so we could dive into the hands-on work.

The day after the park closed was pure chaos. With hardly a moment’s rest, we all jumped into action, dismantling rides at a frenetic pace. Parts and ride vehicles were shuffled across the park, destined for their winter storage spots. Priority went to rides requiring cranes for removal from the tracks. We made do with in-house equipment for accessible rides, but heavier or more awkwardly positioned rides necessitated a crane.

Many of our flat rides also had their vehicles removed for the winter. Even though the non-destructive testing (NDT) and rehab requirements varied from ride to ride, it was best to store these vehicles away from the harsh weather. We often exceeded manufacturer guidelines for rehab and testing, partly because rides aren’t built to bear the weight of snow, and excessive loads could compromise their integrity.

The rides were sheltered in designated areas during winter—whether in dedicated shops, under picnic pavilions, or even beneath the bumper car structure. Once off the tracks, we went full teardown mode. Most ride parts were salvaged for reuse, while torqued hardware that had been permanently used was relegated to the scrap bin. Larger components such as pins, axles, wheel carriers, frames, and restraints underwent thorough testing before reassembly. Organization was key—every season, I’d lose track of a part here or there. Whether it was a one-off piece for a particular car or a single item from a set, missing parts led to delays. To combat this, I was meticulous about keeping items together in bins, counting and tagging them to ensure nothing was overlooked. For particularly small but essential items like special washers or cover plates, I even zip-tied them together to prevent separation.

Typically, we aimed to have everything disassembled by the time everyone left for Christmas break. This head start meant that when the new year arrived, all that was left was a thorough cleaning before sending items out for non-destructive testing.

Step 3: Cleaning, NDT, and Repairs

I lump these three processes together because they seamlessly blend into one another during the offseason. One of the most surprising revelations for outsiders is how much cleaning is involved. Every single component must be freed of grease, dirt, and rust. This cleaning can involve anything from hand scrubbing and parts washing to pressure washing, stripping paint, sandblasting—almost any method necessary to get the parts spotless.

Critical pins, for instance, are subject to annual NDT because they are considered “single point failures.” Manufacturers clearly outline which parts require testing and the methods to ensure safe reuse. We even had custom crates and bins for shipping pins to the NDT company, ensuring they arrived as clean as possible. The cleaner the parts, the easier it is to detect any flaws; otherwise, the NDT company might charge extra for cleaning if the parts don’t meet their standards.

For larger components like frames and chassis, we hosted an NDT company onsite. We would pressure wash these parts and strip away any paint from welds to guarantee a thorough inspection. In a future article, I plan to delve deeper into the specifics of Magnetic Particle Testing (MT), but for now, know that every weld—along with other manufacturer-specified areas—undergoes strict scrutiny. Any detected flaws are meticulously recorded and necessitate repair procedures from certified welders. Some parks opt to train in-house technicians for NDT, but many prefer third-party companies to mitigate liability.

A third-party welding company was also engaged to repair any welds that didn’t pass muster. Although we had certified welders on site, we relied on these external experts to minimize liability. After repairs were completed per manufacturer specifications, the welds were retested. Believe it or not, there were years when repairs failed on the first try and had to be redone. The rule of thumb in the industry is that if a weld has been performed three times in the same area, the component should be replaced altogether due to altered material properties from excessive heat.

As the person overseeing my zone, the offseason was particularly trying. Much of the work wasn’t directly in my hands; rather, I was responsible for coordinating the myriad tasks, from tracking NDT and welding progress to ensuring every procedure met manufacturer standards. Many days were spent shuttling frames to the NDT technician or simply waiting for the next phase of the process.

The ride tracks also received thorough inspections. A third-party NDT company would scale the structures for a detailed visual inspection, along with physical Magnetic Particle Testing for a percentage of the track. They even verified that a designated percentage of bolts were tightened to the correct torque—a small detail that makes a big difference in overall safety.

Step 4: Rebuild

Once all the NDT and welding work was complete—and provided that all parts and hardware had arrived—we could finally begin reassembling the rides. The process typically started with painting the frames and any components that had been stripped down for testing. Once the paint dried, the complex reassembly process began.

Every ride is unique, with its own set of assembly challenges. We even had a couple of coaster trains on the property that were nearly identical, yet each required precise adherence to mounting procedures, hardware specifications, and proper torque settings. Any deviation meant that parts had to be taken apart and corrected.

As coaster cars and vehicles were reassembled, they were staged at the rides in preparation for final integration. When the weather finally broke, we raced against time to complete everything. This period was extremely stressful; many of us mechanics worked severe overtime—from dawn until dusk (and often beyond)—just to get the rides operational in time for the season’s start.

Testing was a critical part of the rebuild phase. Each ride, or coaster train, was required to complete at least 50 cycles before being approved to open to the public. While 50 cycles might seem low to some, in practice we often ran many more cycles to iron out any kinks. Operator training sessions, sometimes spanning one or two full days, also contributed to the cycle count. The objective was always to identify and rectify any issues long before guests were allowed on the rides.

Rides are designed to run, but when they remain idle through the harsh winter months, subtle issues can begin to emerge. Running continuous cycles during the rebuild phase not only helped identify these problems, but it also allowed me to “babysit” a couple of rides while operators logged cycles—an invaluable opportunity to observe performance without being confined to the control panel.

Before a ride could open to the public, we were also required to undergo state inspections and third-party insurance assessments. While these protocols vary from state to state, our strict local standards demanded that inspectors see the rides in full operation, and any flagged issues had to be resolved immediately before a permit was issued.

This in-depth process—planning and ordering, the final operating day, cleaning, testing, repairs, and finally rebuilding—is a testament to the dedication and precision required to keep an amusement park running year after year. Every ride that safely whisks guests through its loops and drops is supported by countless hours of behind-the-scenes labor, meticulous planning, and the expertise of a full-time crew committed to upholding the highest safety standards in the amusement industry.