Local amusement parks

[Jrb1979]

I realize this is a Disney centric board. I keep hearing how you should support your local economy. Now is when your local amusement park really needs it. It would be sad to see any park close due to the pandemic. It would be more sad to see it fail cause people won't support them. The US has some of the best amusement parks. Kennywood, Cedar Point, Hershey Park and Dollywood are some of the best. It saddens me to see so many on here not give these parks a chance.

 

[Kittyblue]

My most local amusement park isn't even open.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

OP you write a lot about this topic. You already have multiple threads on the same topic and numerous posts about them.

May 25th: https://www.disboards.com/threads/travelling-to-amusement-parks-other-then-disney.3802621/

May 10th: https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-disney-elitist-attitude.3801521/

May 6th: https://www.disboards.com/threads/other-amusement-parks.3801206/



Maybe revive one of your other threads and stick with it rather than create the same topic multiple times over

Why in god's green earth are you telling people to go to their local theme parks when you've harped near non-stop that theme parks shouldn't be open right now anyways and telling people they shouldn't be going to them--Rhetorical question just pointing out the two way different messages you're sending.

 

[Jrb1979]

OP you write a lot about this topic. You already have multiple threads on the same topic and numerous posts about them.

May 25th: https://www.disboards.com/threads/travelling-to-amusement-parks-other-then-disney.3802621/

May 10th: https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-disney-elitist-attitude.3801521/

May 6th: https://www.disboards.com/threads/other-amusement-parks.3801206/



Maybe revive one of your other threads and stick with it rather than create the same topic multiple times over

Why in god's green earth are you telling people to go to their local theme parks when you've harped near non-stop that theme parks shouldn't be open right now anyways and telling people they shouldn't be going to them--Rhetorical question just pointing out the two way different messages you're sending.

When they do open here so would go to a park as our numbers province wide has been very good. My concern has always been opening parks where cases are skyrocketing.

If your local park is open, the best people can do is support it.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't go to amusement parks other than Disney and perhaps Universal one of these days. I don't think I'm alone in that on the DIS. I'm not as much a thrill-ride junkie as I was when I was younger (in high school, I was a Cedar Point passholder a couple of seasons) and I no longer have any desire to spend hours waiting in long lines on hot concrete in parks that resemble parking lots more than anything else. Add to that the fact that my only minor child doesn't like "scary" rides (Tower of Terror and the Incredicoaster are both just a bit too much for her), and there's just not much appeal to any but the truly unique theme parks.

Besides, amusement parks in my state cannot open yet. Neither can waterpark resorts, which is a category of business that might get me spending some of my cash in a local vacation venue. So for now, the travel dollars are going to AirBnB owners and kayak outfitters and state/national parks fees.

 

[Lizgistix]

My local parks are Busch Gardens, Disney, and Universal. Okay and Legoland and Sea World.
Maybe people weren't aware some parks are open? Worlds of Fun in Kansas City opened last weekend, I believe.
I think King's Island opened fairly recently as well.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

When they do open here so would go to a park as our numbers province wide has been very good. My concern has always been opening parks where cases are skyrocketing.

If your local park is open, the best people can do is support it.

I'm specifically talking about you creating multiple threads on the exact same topic in close proximity in time which fine if you want to but I don't see why. And you've said more than once, more than a few times, in fact you've said it a bunch, that theme parks shouldn't be open right now. No qualifying for cases skyrocketing. Your words just a few days ago was: "I am sorry but all theme parks shouldn't be open yet."

Do what you want but it comes off a certain way here with all due respect

I'm out of this thread just wanted others to know where they can look for your very recent previous discussions

 

[disneychrista]

Theme parks have no business operating right now.

Sorry you can't spend your summer the way you planned but there are more important things right now.

 

[Jennasis]

The local theme park (Carowinds) is very very low on my list of places I need to support right now. Particularly since I do not feel it is safe for me to visit it. I don't even know if it's open. I am supporting local business. Just not theme parks right now. And when we take our vacation to Orlando next month (God willing...private rental home where we will basically sequester ourselves for a week in the pool) we will not be supporting the local theme parks then either.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

My local park is Clementon Park and Splashworld. Clementon is an older park, and not brilliant on upkeep. I think it'd be foolish to go there if it were open. Which is isn't.

 

[tcufrog]

My closest amusement park is the OG 6 Flags. I've never been impressed with the cleanliness under the best of times.

 

[bcla]

I went to our local park yesterday and today. However, due to restrictions they're not having any rides at what's now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. They're calling it the "Marine World Experience" going back to the original animal park it was when it moved to Vallejo, California.

Not sure what California's (formerly Paramount's and Marriott's) Great America is doing. Also around Northern California, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk opened up for food but not rides. I don't believe they ever closed off access to the beach, which is probably required to be maintained. They say they've opened their arcade, mini golf, carney games, and bowling alley.

https://beachboardwalk.com/coronavirus

 

[DGsAtBLT]

The one local to me is too small to even fall under the category of amusement park IMO, but at this point I will not be taking my family to any place with large crowds this summer or for the near future. We are consciously trying to support local restaurants (with take out) and stores rather than large chains when we can (I love feeling like I’m doing good by ordering take out LOL). It’ll be sad if other places shut down but I don’t feel it’s a good choice for us to go at this time.

The closest amusement parks to us require a border crossing, either into the US or Ontario, and sorry but I’d rather save my money for Disney, whenever we can finally go. Ive become more a Disney person than a general theme park person.

 

[mumto3girls]

Kennywood/Sandcastles and to some extent, Idlewild, are my local parks. They are wonderful places, full of nostalgia for me and my kids. None are open now. They were supposed to open later this month, but recently announced they are postponing that and have not yet announced a new date. I most likely will not go to any of them this year even if they open which is looking less likely. Our case counts are rising and I am guessing if we don’t get that under control, they won’t open this year. Although Kennywood and Idlewild have special events on weekends in the fall, they are only open daily until around Labor Day. I think Idlewild suspends daily operations even earlier—maybe mid-August—when they start to lose the college kids. My college student now starts classes August 10 instead of August 24th which I think is common this year, making them lose their workers even earlier. I am wondering if the cost of reopening is worth the couple of weeks of revenue? That may depend on how much they’ve already spent anticipating opening this month.

 

[G719]

I realize this is a Disney centric board. I keep hearing how you should support your local economy. Now is when your local amusement park really needs it. It would be sad to see any park close due to the pandemic. It would be more sad to see it fail cause people won't support them. The US has some of the best amusement parks. Kennywood, Cedar Point, Hershey Park and Dollywood are some of the best. It saddens me to see so many on here not give these parks a chance.

Kennywood has delayed their opening. They haven't given a new date for reopening. Kennywood is our closest park.

My kids are itching to go to cedar point. We usually go for halloweekends. I did buy us all gold passes since they are good for 2020 and 2021. We are thinking of going in August. I'm just not sure yet.

 

[bavaria]

When they do open here so would go to a park as our numbers province wide has been very good.

You keep saying that, but in the interest of transparency, Ontario has the second worst outcome of 13 provinces and territories. Without Ontario and Quebec, the figures in Canada would be some of the lowest around the globe.

https://covid-19-status.ca/on.html
Isolating Ontario and Quebec would put them at number ten most deaths per million as compared to countries. (Canada overall is number twenty most deaths per million)

Data can be manipulated to make outcomes look better, or worse. In this case, isolating the data shows that parts of Canada did not do as well as is being presented here.

As to the topic of theme parks, Europa Park opened end of May with no significant negative impacts.

 

[bcla]

The "health check" was a new one at our local Six Flags park. They took away the metal detectors because they force people to crowd into tightly packed areas. What they do now is make everyone come through a gateway where there's some sort of ambient temperature check. I guess it's some sort of sensor checking for heat signatures and where it will set an alarm if it senses a fever.

We had our reservation printed. Yesterday they had several employees with phones/scanners checking groups in before the temperature check. Today they told us to just go through the temperature check first, followed by some security scanner (looked kind of like a type of store security tag gate). We didn't have to open our bags or use an X-ray machine like they traditionally did. Then it was the employees asking for reservations before we finally went to the entrance.

They were also selling masks at the entrance before anyone comes in. It was $5.99 for reusable masks, $7.99 for character masks, and $1 for standard medical style procedure masks. Seemed pretty reasonable. I've seen single disposable masks at convenience stores for $2.

The other deal was that their shuttle buses from/to the parking lot are now only for people with mobility problems or maybe families with stroller. That's supposed to reduce people cramming into the same tight space.

 

[FGT770]

Our local park is Dollywood and we are season pass holders. Dollywood has extended 2020 season passes into June of 2021. They opened the park on June 15th. We went on Thursday. I felt a little uneasy about going but we went with our 4 kids and for the most part had an enjoyable time. That said I don’t believe we will go back until things significantly calm down.

The park has never looked better. Very clean and the decor throughout the park for the Flower and Garden festival is impressive. I truly believe they are doing everything they can to keep attendees as safe as possible. They do temperature checks before you ever get on the tram in the parking lot. The admission process is touchless. They are operating at a max of 50% capacity. You have to reserve your daily admission through their website in advance and produce your confirmed reservation at the gate along with your passes or pre purchased tickets.

From the tram ride to the roller coaster cars everything is distanced every other row. Hand sanitizer is squirted on your hands by the team member before you get on any ride. Numerous temporary outdoor hand washing stations have been installed throughout the park. Self serve hand sanitizing stations are readily seen all over the park. All indoor show venues are closed. Lines at eating areas and attractions are clearly marked for six foot social distancing.

The crowd was pretty much devoid of elderly patrons which is a good thing. Many senior groups come to Dollywood for the shows but the entertainment offerings are scaled down currently. Masks are required of all guests over the age of 3. I would venture to say that 50% of patrons were wearing their masks properly over the nose. Many children under the age of 5 or 6 were not wearing them at all. At no time during the day did I feel a sense of being crowded. The biggest issue for my wife and I are the kids climbing all over the railings and bars while waiting in line and then possibly touching their mouth. All day you’re thinking ‘ I hope this is clean’. You kind of get in the mindset of just hoping to get through this and get home. While riding the rides are fun and the park is beautiful it’s hard to totally relax.

To me wearing the mask, while important as it is, would be a deal breaker in attempting to battle 100+ degree heat indexes at Disney in Orlando. Kids are not going to keep them on. If going I would attempt to invest in the most breathable mask I could find because to me it’s just not worth it to spend high dollars to wear a mask at a theme park in the heat for hours. It erodes the value of the experience tremendously. That and the inability to totally enjoy yourself are the reasons we will wait until a different time for our next theme park visit.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

When they do open here so would go to a park as our numbers province wide has been very good. My concern has always been opening parks where cases are skyrocketing.

If your local park is open, the best people can do is support it.

But the places they’re opening are the same places that have spikes, so what are people supposed to do? Go because it supports the business or don’t go because cases are spiking.

In my state, amusement parks haven’t been given permission to open, so there is nothing to support right now. The one closest to me opened as an animals only park, and I’m assuming they got temporarily reclassifies as a zoo for that. But it is not a place I’d choose to spend my money, so will find other ways to support my local economy. The other amusement park “near” me is one I haven’t been to in over 20 years so wouldn’t be going to that either way.

But no, I won’t risk my health or comfort level to go an amusement park in hopes of keeping it open. When I decide to go, it will be to a park that I find value in.

I feel like you and I have gone round and round on this in multiple threads, but you continue to confuse me on what you want. You told me this morning when discussing beaches that ALL indoor dining and amusement parks should have remained closed across the US. Now you’re upset not enough of us are going to the very same places you don’t think should be open? Is what you really want is us to risk our lives to go now in order to keep them afloat until you can?

 

[Jrb1979]

But the places they’re opening are the same places that have spikes, so what are people supposed to do? Go because it supports the business or don’t go because cases are spiking.

In my state, amusement parks haven’t been given permission to open, so there is nothing to support right now. The one closest to me opened as an animals only park, and I’m assuming they got temporarily reclassifies as a zoo for that. But it is not a place I’d choose to spend my money, so will find other ways to support my local economy. The other amusement park “near” me is one I haven’t been to in over 20 years so wouldn’t be going to that either way.

But no, I won’t risk my health or comfort level to go an amusement park in hopes of keeping it open. When I decide to go, it will be to a park that I find value in.

I feel like you and I have gone round and round on this in multiple threads, but you continue to confuse me on what you want. You told me this morning when discussing beaches that ALL indoor dining and amusement parks should have remained closed across the US. Now you’re upset not enough of us are going to the very same places you don’t think should be open? Is what you really want is us to risk our lives to go now in order to keep them afloat until you can?

No if you don't feel comfortable in going then don't go. I am not comfortable in going to parks in any of the states that have high case numbers. If the parks open here I would be ok with going. If I could cross the border I would feel the same for N.Y. parks.

What I was getting at is those that are comfortable in traveling to Disney why not also support your local park too. People want to support their local economy and your local park is part of that.