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Coronavirus Impacting Theme Parks


Hawaiian Coasters 325

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The Ohio County Fair guidelines released has an interesting section on amusement rides requirements.

"Any operation of amusement rides must be in compliance with all Executive Orders, Orders of the Ohio 
Department of Health, and the standards for ride operators and riders outlined for amusement rides by the Travel and Tourism Advisory Group (forthcoming)"

So any guidance for the ride operators will be coming from the same Advisory group, and IF they can make up their mind on what date fairs can take place they will need the guidelines soon.

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28 minutes ago, PatchesC said:

The Ohio County Fair guidelines released has an interesting section on amusement rides requirements.

"Any operation of amusement rides must be in compliance with all Executive Orders, Orders of the Ohio 
Department of Health, and the standards for ride operators and riders outlined for amusement rides by the Travel and Tourism Advisory Group (forthcoming)"

So any guidance for the ride operators will be coming from the same Advisory group, and IF they can make up their mind on what date fairs can take place they will need the guidelines soon.

Great find!  That is certainly a strong indication that he plans to allow amusement rides to open this summer.

The "IF they can make up their mind on what date fairs can take place" already happened -  DeWine mentioned this week that the State is allowing the local fair boards to decide when and if they want to hold their fair, but would have to comply with all social distancing and other requirements, so technically a county fair could be happening this weekend if a fair board had planned it and didn't cancel and waited until the last possible moment - not that any did that and most are later in the summer anyway, and I guess without rides for the moment.  It appears the written is in agreement with what he said.

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1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

Great find!  That is certainly a strong indication that he plans to allow amusement rides to open this summer.

The "IF they can make up their mind on what date fairs can take place" already happened -  DeWine mentioned this week that the State is allowing the local fair boards to decide when and if they want to hold their fair, but would have to comply with all social distancing and other requirements, so technically a county fair could be happening this weekend if a fair board had planned it and didn't cancel and waited until the last possible moment - not that any did that and most are later in the summer anyway, and I guess without rides for the moment.  It appears the written is in agreement with what he said.

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Acton signed new orders Friday night with a July 1 expiration date, that included amusement parks and fairs, which is what is causing confusion for everyone right now. 

EZSnQNuWoAYjvP8.jpeg

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52 minutes ago, PatchesC said:

Acton signed new orders Friday night with a July 1 expiration date, that included amusement parks and fairs, which is what is causing confusion for everyone right now. 

Hmm, so that means either they forgot to take fairs out of the revision or he misspoke about giving local fair boards the ability to determine for themselves if to hold a fair at any time of their choosing (are there any Ohio County Fairs held before July 1st) , and that may mean that we will not see KI be allowed to open until after July 1st.  I do not see him revoking or revising her order downward at this point, but crazier things have happened.

So the big question will be do they bring staff in for training once that date is given?  If they wait until July 1st to bring in staff for training, at 3 weeks to train, that doesn't leave much of a summer season.

 

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1 minute ago, disco2000 said:

Hmm, so that means either they forgot to take fairs out of the revision or he misspoke about giving local fair boards the ability to determine for themselves if to hold a fair at any time of their choosing (are there any Ohio County Fairs held before July 1st) , and that may mean that we will not see KI be allowed to open until after July 1st.  I do not see him revoking or revising her order downward at this point, but crazier things have happened.

So the big question will be do they bring staff in for training once that date is given?  If they wait until July 1st to bring in staff for training, at 3 weeks to train, that doesn't leave much of a summer season.

 

I have a feeling if they get a date this week that they're allowed to open on (could very well be July 1st), then I think they'll call employees back around the time they get the date. Note: I am a KI employee and if I get something, I will not post it here because of CF policy on sharing things. 

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16 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I have a feeling if they get a date this week that they're allowed to open on (could very well be July 1st), then I think they'll call employees back around the time they get the date. Note: I am a KI employee and if I get something, I will not post it here because of CF policy on sharing things. 

I am also a KI employee and I get the indication that as soon as a possible date is given it is go time for training I am not too concerned of the order because of some comments that have been made and the inconsistency concerning it so far also. 

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Kings Island will need a few weeks to do the hiring and training process. When I worked at the park a few years ago the re-hire percentage was less than 50%  from one year to the next. Combined with some of the employees that they hired earlier in the year might have found other employment by now and they will need to hire a lot of people quickly. 

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23 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Boy it sure is quiet in here today. I was thinking we'd be having a big discussion on Dr Action's order that was extended keeping KI closed until July at least. 

There is not much to discuss, KI will be closed for the foreseeable future.

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44 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Boy it sure is quiet in here today. I was thinking we'd be having a big discussion on Dr Action's order that was extended keeping KI closed until July at least. 

Ya know I’m not sure it will be closed til July due to the fact that this order was signed Friday to include fairs, but fairs had also been told they would be managed by individuals fair boards and yesterday there was guidance released for that. Really the order is confusing and contradictory to what is being said by Dewine and Husted. 

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1 hour ago, coaster sally said:

There is not much to discuss, KI will be closed for the foreseeable future.

The only other interesting thing in the fair guidelines released by DeWine that may or may not be applicable to amusement parks is the building capacity and concessions mandatory requirements.

Building capacity mentions max group size in queue, seating areas, ect. is set by the state, but can use barriers if not possible.

Self service beverage at concessions will be permitted, but buffet and sampling will not be allowed. (Big one since I can't even get my own coffee in Indiana lol)

 

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1 minute ago, PatchesC said:

The only other interesting thing in the fair guidelines released by DeWine that may or may not be applicable to amusement parks is the building capacity and concessions mandatory requirements.

Building capacity mentions max group size in queue, seating areas, ect. is set by the state, but can use barriers if not possible.

Self service beverage at concessions will be permitted, but buffet and sampling will not be allowed. (Big one since I can't even get my own coffee in Indiana lol)

 

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Remember these are for fairs not amusement parks. Two different things. Information specific to amusement parks are supposedly coming this week if the governor holds to what he said. 

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Families demand refunds after Six Flags announces reopening changes
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/after-six-flags-announces-safety-changes-families-demand-refunds/63-20da165f-5811-4da6-b1cf-4ab22f48c06a

“Six Flags values our Members and Season Pass holders and we realize that that the temporary shut-down of our parks has made it difficult for them to truly enjoy their Membership and Season Pass perks. We are working very hard to offer additional benefits and perks to make sure our Members and Season Pass holders are able to fully realize the value of these programs,"

difficult?  So they were able to use their memberships and passes, but it was just difficult?  :lol:

Do better SIX.  Hopefully CF doesn’t say anything as stupid as this.  
 

 

 

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4 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Boy it sure is quiet in here today. I was thinking we'd be having a big discussion on Dr Action's order that was extended keeping KI closed until July at least. 

Cedar Fair said they would need at least 4 weeks of prep time once they were told they could open anyways. Sounds like they haven’t been told anything yet so July was inevitable. 

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8 minutes ago, bengalsguy23 said:

Cedar Fair said they would need at least 4 weeks of prep time once they were told they could open anyways. Sounds like they haven’t been told anything yet so July was inevitable. 

The latest I heard was at least 2-3 weeks. I think it'll depend on the park and how far they are on preparation. 

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2 hours ago, CoasterFan3180 said:

Stricker’s Grove has cancelled their 2020 season.

http://strickersgrove.com

Well there goes another Aug event then. GOCC was suppposed to have a 2 day event in Aug at Kings Island and Stricker's Grove.  Sad since I have never been to Stricker's Grove and that is the kinda park least likely to recover from all this stuff going on.

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2 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

... that is the kinda park least likely to recover from all this stuff going on.

I'd be pretty surprised if they never reopened again, honestly. I think they'll be okay, just not this season.

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I work for a travelling amusement company here in Ohio. We do church festivals, county fairs, private events ect. 

 

We have been trying to get state inspections scheduled for our rides so we can be certified and ready to go when the time comes. 

 

We have been told the Dept of Agriculture has furloughed all state inspectors until Aug 1 and no inspection will be available before that date. 

Can anyone confirm? How would this affect KI if they can't get the attractions inspected or certified?

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1 minute ago, specialk141 said:

I work for a travelling amusement company here in Ohio. We do church festivals, county fairs, private events ect. 

 

We have been trying to get state inspections scheduled for our rides so we can be certified and ready to go when the time comes. 

 

We have been told the Dept of Agriculture has furloughed all state inspectors until Aug 1 and no inspection will be available before that date. 

Can anyone confirm? How would this affect KI if they can't get the attractions inspected or certified?

I thought they said that they will bring them back as soon as places with rides can operate again. Maybe when amusement parks get the green light to start getting prepared (likely this week if DeWine does address amusement parks this week like he said), they'll bring back just a few to cover KI and CP. Big festivals with carnival rides have pretty much already been cancelled here. 

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Just now, specialk141 said:

I work for a travelling amusement company here in Ohio. We do church festivals, county fairs, private events ect. 

 

We have been trying to get state inspections scheduled for our rides so we can be certified and ready to go when the time comes. 

 

We have been told the Dept of Agriculture has furloughed all state inspectors until Aug 1 and no inspection will be available before that date. 

Can anyone confirm? How would this affect KI if they can't get the attractions inspected or certified?

Well that certainly throws another wrinkle into the fold!

So either the July 1 date will get extended to Aug 1 or the inspectors will be brought back earlier.  But for a July 1 opening of these types of attractions, they would have to bring back the inspectors in June.  I would lean towards inspectors coming back early unless DeWine doesn't give a date this week when these types of attractions can open.

Anything is possible, but I don't know from an PR optics standpoint and liability standpoint if KI would open if the rides are not inspected.  Some here will argue that in KI's situation it is mainly paperwork inspections, but even if inspections for a KI are more paperwork in nature, why run that chance?

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1 minute ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I thought they said that they will bring them back as soon as places with rides can operate again. Maybe when amusement parks get the green light to start getting prepared (likely this week if DeWine does address amusement parks this week like he said), they'll bring back just a few to cover KI and CP. Big festivals with carnival rides have pretty much already been cancelled here. 

Yes. I believe even though their employees may be furloughed, that doesn't mean they have to remain furloughed until the listed date, they can bring them back whenever they feel the need to. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

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If they can't open until August, I don't see them opening. August is when most kids tend to go back to school and is usually when they lose their workforce. If they can't open by July 4th or a week or two after, I don't think it'll make sense to open. Unless maybe you open to do some Halloween stuff for rides and maybe a winter event, but with little to no rides. 

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I just didn't know if places like KI and CP potentially had state licensed inspectors on their payroll or not. Not sure if that's even a thing. 

 

They could not legally operate the rides without state certification so they would not open without this. 

 

This could be the reason Stricker's closed. Maybe not worth the cost of inspection in they can't open until july and have to cancel the majority of their season.

 

Only so many weekends for private parties to be booked. 

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3 hours ago, VekomaRulz said:

It looks like Six Flags was smart to reopen the drive through safari at Great Adventure.

This is just the traffic to get to the entrance road to the park and reportedly is about 2 hours total in line to get to the ticket booths:

https://www.facebook.com/eric.laino.5/videos/10223103974577389/

This is why I think KI will open whenever they can. It might not be until October, but the park would be slammed, and they'd be making money. Could extend the Haunt season into November and move straight into Winterfest. They might even open early in 2021---who knows? Once this covid-19 is over (or maybe even if it's not over) people are going to be looking for places to go. So KI can let people go elsewhere...or they can open the park and do the best they can. Of course A LOT of this is completely hypothetical right now.

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28 minutes ago, upstop said:

I appreciate the post, but this is a typical statement to investors. Things are all good, here's what we're doing to be great...yadda yadda. Meanwhile the truth is their parks are closed, and they have no customers, and a ghost crew. Meh.

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