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Coronavirus Impacting Theme Parks


Hawaiian Coasters 325

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2 hours ago, PatchesC said:

Holiday World's online reservation and ticket system is now live and working. June 17th first day to non passholders, tickets $29.99 each day. Park hours 10am-7pm

I'm still waiting on Holiday World to reschedule or cancel the Holiwood Nights Event I have a ticket too. I'm also waiting to see what King's Island schedule looks like for June.

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36 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

I'm still waiting on Holiday World to reschedule or cancel the Holiwood Nights Event I have a ticket too. I'm also waiting to see what King's Island schedule looks like for June.

I'm in the same boat, apparently Kentucky says outdoor attractions may open June 8th, so Kentucky Kingdom may be in place to open soon as well. (Last resort option) Being within 2.5 hours of 3 amusement parks has it advantages right now lol

Does anyone feel like this has been a long TV series your just waiting for the finale to televise?

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Also, this:

Lagoon is open... sorta...

 

It will be interesting to see how KI handles Single Riders as I am one most of the time. Also, KIC takeovers of rides may be a thing of the past for a while... I'm cool with that as long as I get to ride The Bat (and Orion) soon! Though I'll probably have to wait longer than most since I have lung issues (also the wait will give me a chance to see how the park will operate under these conditions), I know it'll be worth it in the end! :D

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6 hours ago, PatchesC said:

Holiday World's online reservation and ticket system is now live and working. June 17th first day to non passholders, tickets $29.99 each day. Park hours 10am-7pm

However, their Waterpark will not open at Holiday World until at least July 4 according to webpage.

 

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I read a couple of weeks ago the Corps of Engineers expects another record or near record year for lake levels.  There was certainly less beach last year but still plenty.  We spent about 3 Sundays there and it was never crowded down by the beach gate and rental shack with plenty of space to distance, hope it is the same this year.

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Disney, Universal, and Sea World begin presenting their reopen plans to the Orange County Taskforce today.  Universal presents today.  Disney and Sea World to come soon.  Reopen dates must be part of the plans.  Should be an interesting day!!

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16 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Not surprised. That's a "mass gathering" or "large event" which we all know won't happen in Ohio for a while. Amusement parks aren't included in those since they can take precautions. 

Well amusement parks in Ohio are still considered "mass gathering" until DeWine makes an announcement otherwise...stay tuned...

"Update" from your buddy:P

https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/theme-parks-begin-to-announce-reopening-plans

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He has called fairs and amusement parks and sporting events and concerts as mass gatherings several times....it can fall under the travel and tourism task force and still be considered a mass gathering.

Regardless, amusement parks and fairs currently fall under the same category under the official orders issued by the Governor until he amends them.

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4 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

He has called fairs and amusement parks and sporting events and concerts as mass gatherings several times....it can fall under the travel and tourism task force and still be considered a mass gathering.

Yes, he has called sporting events, fairs, and concerts mass gatherings before which they are, but I don't remember him saying amusement parks directly were mass gatherings. Can you provide a source and/or quote of him saying that amusement parks are mass gatherings? 

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22 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Yes, he has called sporting events, fairs, and concerts mass gatherings before which they are, but I don't remember him saying amusement parks directly were mass gatherings. Can you provide a source and/or quote of him saying that amusement parks are mass gatherings? 

I could find it either, closest was "mass gatherings" was clarified back in March I guess, no mention of amusement parks.

https://www.foley.com/en/insights/publications/2020/03/ohio-order-prohibits-mass-gatherings-operations

 

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Edited by PatchesC
Wrong pic
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3 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Yes, he has called sporting events, fairs, and concerts mass gatherings before which they are, but I don't remember him saying amusement parks directly were mass gatherings. Can you provide a source and/or quote of him saying that amusement parks are mass gatherings? 

You are getting too caught up on "definitions".  If you take it literally, one could argue mass gatherings simply means just church services....  

It's the letter of the law not the intent analogy at this point.  You will understand what that means once you are in the business world.  As an example, DeWine also said school kids were getting a 3 week spring break - the intent was they were going to be off for 3 weeks, not an actual 3 week spring break.

It is more an interpretation issue based on actually watching the press conferences and how it is reported in the press and more importantly, officially released information in the State of Ohio press releases.

Many tourism and travel destinations are also mass gatherings.  Until DeWine makes an announcement providing a date when amusement parks can open and "exempting" them from the closure list, they still fall under a category not allowed to open yet, mainly because they are a place with mass gatherings, or a lot of people in one place - that is the intent of the Order.  If they are not considered mass gatherings, then why are they not open yet - it is all about intent of the Order...

In fact, as you will see below, the official press release has a category for Entertainment/Recreation and there is not a tourism and travel category. 

Just because he mentioned there is a Tourism and Travel Task Force looking at it doesn't mean that the official designations per the Order have it broken down by the categories of the task force.  There will be overlap of many task forces.  KI has restaurants, could they open up just the restaurants under the restaurant order?  Are we eating in the FestHaus today?  A task force is not a legal binding organization.

Do we AT THIS MOMENT have a date for when amusement parks and water parks can open in Ohio - NO.  Why is that?

Here are some articles that allude to that:

https://www.cleveland.com/open/2020/05/summers-sorta-back-heres-what-mike-dewine-and-jon-husted-said-are-not-reopening-yet.html - However, if you’re planning on placing a bet at a casino, riding a roller coaster or seeing a movie in theaters any time soon, you’ll have to wait for a later announcement. Several limitations are still in place as of now, with Husted citing several specific places that will remain closed at Thursday’s briefing.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2020/04/will-ohio-pools-zoos-open-this-summer-amid-coronavirus-risk-what-about-vacations-ohio-gov-mike-dewine-responds.html - “We all love amusement parks. We all love going to baseball games and doing other things,” DeWine said. "But the reality is simply not changed. The reality is we have kept the curve down so our hospitals are not overrun, but we still have the virus out there.”  

https://www.wsaz.com/content/news/Gov-DeWine-announces-reopening-dates-for-childcare-gyms-pools-and-more-570476251.html- Officials say this does not include water parks or amusement parks. Gov. DeWine says those businesses will be addressed in the near future.

https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/resources/news-releases-news-you-can-use/new-restartohio-opening-dates  -Official Media Release - This does not apply to water parks or amusement parks. Safety protocols for these venues are in development. 

https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio/list-businesses-must-remain-closed-ohio-stay-at-home-order-coronavirus/95-151847a1-1336-4cad-858e-0b31f0bb556c -All places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, including, but not limited to, locations with amusement rides, carnivals, amusement parks, water parks, aquariums, zoos, museums, arcades, fairs, children's play centers, playgrounds, funplexes, theme parks, bowling alleys, concert and music halls, and country clubs or social clubs shall be closed. 

And finally, from the most recent Official State of Ohio Press Release of Continued Business Closures, it shows that Amusement Parks are lumped into the same category as fairs that are still to remain closed...

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So as it stands right now AT THIS MOMENT, amusement parks and fairs still fall under the same category until DeWine releases a press release that excludes them from this list or amends their status, just like he did for recreation sports, sports leagues, gyms, local pools.

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10 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

Well, you should have plenty of time to practice sitting out in the midway waiting for your virtual queue time on Orion.  :lol:

Wonder if the ridership of flats is going to go up since they probably won't utilize a virtual queue since their lines are so small anyway

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Not a conspiracy theory person at all... but Georgia mostly reopened 3-4 weeks ago.  MANY were saying it was stupid; they'll be the next New York, just wait- it'll be just like Italy.  Result- daily infection and death rate have been flat since March 30.  Florida reopened... infection rate scaling down- death rates flat. 

We've been trained to hear that places reopening equals a huge spike in the virus.  

I think that parks (KI, CF, Six, etc...) need to get open.  Lobby the states to push the start of school to Labor day to give 'that much longer" and restore 4 weeks to the summer operations (which, by the way, employ a ton of people).

Politically I don't think I agree with five things Bill Maher says.  I respect what he says because he's incredibly consistent and doesn't usually flip between popular views- even if I do disagree with it.  He is spot on in the video he had on May 1.  It doesn't contain "family friendly" language so I won't post the link here- but I agree 100%.

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Just now, IceePirate said:

Wonder if the ridership of flats is going to go up since they probably won't utilize a virtual queue since their lines are so small anyway

They were so small when the coasters had hour long rat mazes.   What are those people going to do now?   I don’t see how they don’t have to use virtual queues on them as well because if they are going to space out people 6’ those queues can hold at best 2 cycles and that might be stretching it.   

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One thing they could do is bring in some carnival rides and set them up in the parking lot and pen them off.  That would increase overall ride capacity and help spread people out.  Of course that costs money and when half your customers have already paid and don’t really have to spend much when going to the park not sure what benefit that is other than maybe getting more daily ticket buyers in.

 

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Governor Press Conference update:

Bowling alleys, miniature golf, batting cages can open May 26th.

All sports can start skills training and conditioning May 26th, but no competitions, games, scrimmages, or tournaments.

Wedding receptions modified to catering and banquet centers can open June 1st and have to comply with all requirements of a restaurant such as tables greater than 6 feet and no congregating at like the bar or dance floor.  Limited to 300 people.

No other openings to be announced today.

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I think we are getting pretty close to the point of return. I think the park will remain closed likely to Winterfest depending on a vaccine. Rumor has it United States have ordered 300,000,000 doses of a possible vaccine. Six Flags might actually get to open up a new coaster with the park!

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It was actually the LT Governor who announced them. He did say that they only have a handful of stuff left to reopen. That's a pretty good sign if you ask me. I think we will get an announcement on amusement parks in the next couple weeks. 

3 minutes ago, flightoffear1996 said:

I think we are getting pretty close to the point of return. I think the park will remain closed likely to Winterfest depending on a vaccine. Rumor has it United States have ordered 300,000,000 doses of a possible vaccine. Six Flags might actually get to open up a new coaster with the park!

I think they would just cancel the season if they were knew they would likely stay closed that long. CF said they want to reopen when there is a manageable number of days left in the season. That likely means imo if they can't open mid July, they won't open at all. 

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