USA TODAY US Edition

Theme park attendance still thrown for a loop

Some are reducing days, slashing ticket prices

- John Seewer ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOLEDO, Ohio – Theme park operators who spent months installing hand sanitizing stations, figuring out how to disinfect roller coasters seats and checking the temperatur­es of guests at their gates so they’d come back in the midst of the pandemic are finding many reluctant to return.

Some parks have reduced operating days, slashed ticket prices, and closed early for the year because of lowerthan-hoped attendance – expectatio­ns weren’t high to begin with – along with the uncertaint­y of what’s to come with the coronaviru­s. A few parks have been unable to open their gates at all because of state and local health restrictio­ns.

Disney this week will begin cutting an hour or two out of each day at its four Florida theme parks. It already called off its annual after-hours Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom. Neighborin­g Universal Orlando also nixed its Halloween Horror Nights.

Amusement parks across the South that saw their seasons delayed by virus outbreaks in the spring dealt with a second punch with the summer flareups across the Sun Belt. Some, including Kings Dominion in Virginia and Carowinds in North Carolina, never opened and won’t this year.

Cedar Fair Entertainm­ent, which operates those two, has reopened just half of its 13 amusement parks and water parks across North America.

The company, based in Ohio, expected attendance to stay at no more than 25% of normal levels through the rest of the year at its parks that are operating, CEO Richard Zimmerman said in early August. Despite the lower numbers, those parks are still able to make a profit, the company said.

Cedar Point, the company’s flagship park in Sandusky, Ohio, scaled back in mid-August to weekends only and did away with online admission reservatio­ns to manage the daily crowds.

California’s parks haven’t been open – except for a few food festivals – since mid-March and are pushing the state to issue guidelines on how and when they can allow guests back.

“Disneyland has been ready to roll since July awaiting guidance from the state’s governor on what the reopening protocols will be,” Jim MacPhee, Walt Disney World’s chief operating officer, said two weeks ago.

Kennywood, an amusement park near Pittsburgh, delayed its opening twice this year, cut ticket prices in half and then decided to end its season early on Labor Day.

“It’s hard to predict what’s going to happen in a few months,” said park spokesman Nick Paradise, explaining why they canceled the popular Phantom Fright Nights and Holiday Lights events. “The safest thing is to finish on a high note.”

The park’s attendance started slow after its July opening but picked up as people began feeling more comfortabl­e with the safety measures in place, he said.

The industry put in long hours just to restart this season, adding constant reminders about social distancing, from decals on the pavement in queues to roving “social distance squads” at Disney World.

Six Flags added touch-free bag checks with high-tech, walk-through machines.

 ?? KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP ?? Visitors ride the Wave Swinger at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pa., on Aug. 29. The park delayed its opening twice.
KEITH SRAKOCIC/AP Visitors ride the Wave Swinger at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, Pa., on Aug. 29. The park delayed its opening twice.

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