disco2000

They have to deal with two different states and their respective state re-open plan.

DeWine said in two days will be an announcement for museums, zoos, etc. He said for most of the attractions, it will be good news. So one could take away from that that some may not be given a date to re-open?

Ohio Governor Office Press Conference Update: Schools are to start in person in the fall, barring any unforeseen circumstance. All medical procedures, including those with overnight stay, are now allowed to begin. Talked about the stuff happening around the Country that the Mod's suggested not be discussed on KIC. That has been the bulk of the press conference. Still waiting for theme parks - will edit and update if he says anything, or will create a new post if too many posts show up after this one. Edit: DeWine said in two days will be an announcement for museums, zoos, etc. He said for most of the attractions, it will be good news. So one could take away from that that some may not be given a date to re-open?

I think that part of the problem is that KI is seen as a season pass park when compared to other parks it competes against and as such I think a lot of the atmosphere is not noticeably appreciated by the guests that attend, yet at the same time it not being there subconsciously negatively impacts guests opinion of the park. I think back to the early Paramount days and the Star Trek and other characters walking around and you wouldn't see them get the same attention as characters at other parks. Not many guests would stop or even form a line to get their picture with them. Did that influence management decision at the time to scale back the amount of characters roaming Kings Island? Did it have a trickle down effect into the other atmosphere/experience type settings like what you mentioned is missing? Take a look at the current Lunch with the Peanuts Gang at KI versus Carowinds - at the end they do like 3 songs for a meet and greet with the characters and at Carowinds the line is long and sometimes not everyone gets their picture because the three songs are over, yet at KI the characters are for the most part ignored and just stand there most of the time (sometimes they get a crowd for meet and greet but not as consistent as other parks). Or the relative lack of lines within the park when the characters are out. I also recognize the difference in intellectual property rights that dictates what characters are at what parks...but that is a whole different discussion. But the characters seem to get more love at other CF parks than at KI. Other than enthusiasts, most of the folks I talk to see Back Lot, Crypt, Drop Tower, Invertigo, Bat, etc. as basically the same ride as when Paramount had the park, it is just a new name (can you believe that!). In other words, the theming was lost/not appreciated by them. Does that mentality drive decisions at KI? I loved the whole Top Gun experience and felt a let down when it became Flight Deck and wonder what they would do to the theming of that ride with a the upcoming sequel if it were still Top Gun...(and I realize the IP costs associated with keeping it the Top Gun name and why it was changed) Think about the Banshee gift shop being eliminated - the merchandise offerings helped with the overall atmosphere of the park even if it didn't make any money. Now a first time guests walks through and is like what is this... So one has to wonder does the fact that KI being a season pass park impact what attention they put into the little things? Does/did KI suffer from the "we are a season pass park and people will attend regardless" mentality. Even if exit surveys say people don't care about theming, etc., the lack of it does leave an impression as well, whether the guest realizes it or not...so I think it is good we are seeing some progress towards those little things in recent years.

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?

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.

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.

They are self-insured. More company policy and iROC reasons. Regarding restraints, they could make that contactless and that is a possibility for many of the rides. The reality is because of the lawsuit crazy society we live in is part of the reasons for these restraint checks. It is posted and should be the rider's responsibility to know the rules and guidelines of the ride and obey them. I know the lapbar came down the required amount and that my seatbelt is secure and having a speed check by an employee doesn't make me feel any safer. Yet I witness on almost every trip a rider that thought the seatbelt was optional on one of the rides I am in line with, thus slowing the process down. I don't know this for a fact for every ride and I am sure there are exceptions, but I know most of the newer roller coasters cannot dispatch if the lap bar/restraint is not secured, so the employee speed check is more for checklist and liability reasons and redundancy than anything else. Now I do realize that none of the seatbelts have this feature, so they are checking that, but you could have guests prove that too. I get into my vehicle and strap my seatbelt on and never has anyone done a pull on it to insure that I secured it properly, yet statistically, one is more likely to be injured or die in an automobile accident than an amusement park ride accident...I always wear mine, but I have been told a dash light comes on if you don't LOL.

Reporting asking question about amusement parks and major league baseball. Governor said he has talked to Reds and Indians and MLB. He said he is waiting for them to come back with a date and then decide what to do based on their plan. Amusement parks, zoos, etc. he said he will try to address it next week.

Still waiting to see what he says...so far he has pulled fairs out of the entertainment/attractions category like he did for bowling alleys. But they were a different business sector per task forces set up under the entertainment/attractions category. Stay tuned.

Governor Office Press Conference Updates: Regarding fairs, the working group (task force) came up with a protocol to allow the local county fair board to work with their county health department to develop a plan for the 4-h junior competitions to occur, except for livestock - so photography, etc. can happen. Whether a County Fair happens is now up to the local level. All social distancing and other requirements still apply for a fair and any that already exist that overlap like food are still in effect. He hopes that if a county fair doesn't occur, he hopes they can still figure out a way for the local 4-h to continue.

The bigger problem is many states unemployment programs were developed in COBOL, an Eisenhower-era computer language. Probably not many on this site haven't even heard of the program. It is so old there are more COBOL programmers in retirement than there are in IT departments LOL. States have put out an all-call to anyone knowing that language to help them. The programs simply couldn't keep up with the demand. I know many in the service industry that were fortunate enough to get processed through unemployment and were actually receiving more in unemployment than they do working. But many people in all business sectors were also seeing this benefit of making more in retirement than when employed. And of course, many more are still waiting for their first unemployment check. Even though the Orders are clear when an employee shouldn't work, as you pointed out, the fact of the matter is if they think it is allergies, a lot will continue to work even though per the Order they shouldn't. Currently, there are no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave, but many employers have began to temporarily offer sick time for self-quarantine purposes. Many employees are not aware their employer now offers that benefit, or they are afraid of retaliation and being let go if they use that time. Unfortunately, many in the service industry still fall in the category of being off work for two months, never received their unemployment, and work for an employer not providing sick leave. Now that they are back working, they may be more likely to work even when showing symptoms. Greater Cincinnati has it's first reported case of an employee working sick at the Big Ash Brewing restaurant and has shut down temporarily due to this employee testing positive. I expect these stories will become just as common as the viral videos of people not following social distancing. As @King Ding Dong alludes to, what happens to a KI when the employee checking your restraints and has the "welcome back riders, how was your ride" spiel mic tests positive - will KI have to shut down for two weeks? Just that ride/rides in that employee's rotation? What about a guest that tests positive within 14 days of attending KI - will they self-disclose to KI so that the park can try to track down everyone that may have come in contact with that person? Will that person need to remember what time they rode rides so that the employees on shift at that time can be tested/self-quarantine? Wait until the first case at an amusement park and then keeping a diary of your day and what time you were where may become the norm?...

And even if people are showing symptoms, they still show up...in this case it was two employees that showed symptoms yet still decided to work for eight days and then tested positive and exposed 140 clients. Health questionnaire was useless. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/05/26/us/coronavirus-hair-salon-customer-trnd/index.html

^lets hope they can control crowds and socal distancing better than their fellow water park in Texas! https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-line-houston-area-waterpark-172847936.html

I was knocking the article - it is one of the most recent articles available and almost more was wrong than right - there was no info in that article more accurate than anything else already posted here lol I come across a lot of articles but after I read them I don't post here because they have bad information and/or are wrong. Just because someone wrote an article doesn't make it accurate. Posting bad info and misleading thread titles doesn't help ones reputation score and credibility around here lol

That article isn't even an hour old and it has at least several errors. Beach was being sold and hadn't planned on opening before covid happened as I don't believe they had a buyer. DisneyWorld has a re-open date of July 11th. Six flags isn't considering temperature checks, they ARE doing temperature checks. Article says "Legoland is ready to reopen even earlier, preparing to receive visitors by May 1." Are we not already past May 1 and they are not open. Legoland is under Universal heading...I thought Merlin owned Legoland. Kinda hard to put any credibility into that article... I bet @Gordon Bombay and @Joshua and @Snowball among others loves seeing articles like this!

July 1 opening was speculation by "expert" Dennis Speigel...nobody within Cedar Fair has gone on record with a date. https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/expert-kings-island-may-open-on-july-1st

I thought they would have SPOT lol

I would think the most restrictive guidelines would dictate Carowinds opening - so whichever state has the most restrictions probably controls it. Or they completely block half the park off and evac on Fury before it crosses state line

One could argue that a museum or zoo could open first because it would be a lot easier to control crowds with a reservation system and a defined path for visitors to follow to see the exhibits and attractions. An amusement park like KI would be a little harder to implement - most will want to go to Orion, and developing a defined path of rides to ride in a particular order would be difficult to manage. What if you don't want to ride some of the rides on the defined path LOL. The Cincinnati Zoo specifically requested The Enquirer to ask DeWine when zoos can reopen but his office did not make anyone available to comment for their story. He is a big media guy and believes in Freedom of the Press, so that coupled with his response on "Meet the Press" should indicate he is not close to making a decision. A DeWine spokesman said zoos are also considered large venue gatherings, akin to baseball games. DeWine has said such gatherings – where it can be hard to prevent people from congregating – will be among the last to resume. I suspect it will be some time before we hear anything from the Governor's office. I am thinking around Father's Day so he can evaluate if we see a spike in cases that may pop up from venues that have re-opened and got people going in and out of these places and get past the "magic number" of 14 days (as in most states required a self-quarantine of 14 days). I think if he is pressured for a response he will say they are not opening this year, so maybe giving him time to evaluate the science of the re-openings may afford him the opportunity to announce a day they can open. Now whether they decide to open or not at that date is another story. Much past July 4th, CF may decide it isn't worth the cost and effort.

And if they are not able to open, I am sure rides are like other pieces of machinery (cars, HVAC, etc.) and that it is good to run them periodically so that sensors and valves and hoses and other components do not rot away. It really is surprising how quickly components can go bad after just a year of neglect or not being used. I have an older tablet that I hadn't used in about 6 months and it won't turn on even plugged in or take a charge now - light stays red after days of being plugged in. Find anyone with an older vehicle that was running fine and they let it sit a year - if it even starts, dash lights usually start coming on just from simple neglect of letting them sit a year unused.

Butler County Fair the lastest fair to cancel in Ohio. https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/butler-county/butler-county-fair-cancelled-over-health-concerns

Plans to the not so secret new parking toll booth

Hopefully it will be better than the test run at Carowinds last year...it was only at one place and you could only order a whole pizza, even though it said you could get meal plan items? And in true CF fashion, you couldn't order a drink or a drink refill on the app. They still cannot figure out how to allow that to happen LOL. Gotta love going to a kiosk or online ordering and scanning your meal plan, yet still have to see a person at the register to get your drink refill. I can assure you that will still be the process. And you could only make one order at a time.

Well some districts are considering Saturdays... https://kfiam640.iheart.com/content/2020-05-13-schools-considering-saturday-classes-to-make-up-for-lost-time/