Pa. House approves bill to ease amusement park alcohol rules
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania House on Tuesday approved a bill to give Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and other amusement parks more flexibility in alcohol sales by putting the parks in the same liquor license category as stadiums and concert venues.
The bill, sponsored by Lower Macungie Township Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, passed in a 199-1 vote and will go to the Senate for consideration.
Mackenzie, interviewed Wednesday, said he did not expect significant opposition there.
The South Whitehall Township park currently has a restaurant-class liquor license issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board that allows it to sell alcohol at nine approved locations within the park, according to LCB meeting minutes. The LCB in 2020 rejected a request from Dorney’s operator to expand sales under that license.
If it becomes law, the measure would allow Dorney, Hersheypark and other parks to serve alcohol throughout their properties, as is permitted at other public venue-licensed facilities.
“The amusement parks across the state have been asking for this change for about a decade,” Mackenzie said. “I was made aware of it because Dorney Park actually went to court to have this addressed by the LCB.”
That case played out in early 2020 when Dorney’s operator filed an appeal of the LCB rejection in Lehigh County Court. The court sided with the LCB.
Mackenzie said, “The correct process was to change it legislatively.”
During a discussion involving multiple park operators about the need for the change in the law, Mackenzie said, Dorney and Hersheypark were the most vocal.
The only dissenting vote cast in the House on Tuesday came from Berks County Republican Rep. Mark Gillen. He said the Dutch Wonderland amusement park is just outside his district.
He described it as a park that is especially appealing to small children with only one restaurant location that sells alcohol, and the bill would make it so “the alcohol influence is migrating through the whole park.”
He added, “If you are sitting at a baseball park, it is a slightly different standard than if you are putting small children on and off a ride.”
Attempts to contact Dorney Park owner Cedar Fair L.P. on Wednesday were not successful.
Included in Mackenzie’s bill is a provision that sets alcohol sales hours in amusement parks from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. It also outlines requirements for checking ID’s.
Another provision requires that an amusement park that currently holds a restaurant-class license — like Dorney — must exchange that license for the public venue license.