News: Cedar Point’s mask rule ignites firestorm of fan protests on social media

If next year isn't "better", I wonder what 2022 Season Pass sales will be.

If the non essential economy loses 2 full years, many industries will totally collapse. The regional amusement park industry could be at the top of that list. Back when this started in the US, Six Flags had in their initial public comments that it had cash on hand to sustain a lost 2020 season, looking towards normal ops in 2021. If 2021 is another lost year, catastrophe looms I fear. Major park closures, unfavorable mergers and significant quality and upkeep reductions along with the virtual elimination of all future attractions. Sea World parks, which include the excellent Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa, already look to be on the verge of insolvency.

Sounds like a real world realization of directive 10-289 to me. Which is very, very, very bad.

Do what I say not what I do.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-ppp-ayn-rand/...SKBN248026

I don't think we're in it for two straight years, but I think it may exceed one year. We started to shut down mid-March, and widespread vaccination, assuming people aren't anti-science jerks about it, isn't going to be deployed by then. We'll be lucky to be half-way there. So what does that mean? In-person retail is going to suffer hard for the holidays, independent restaurants may very well disappear, and commercial real estate will be in trouble because those two industries won't be able to pay rent. So there's going to be carnage, and it's not because of any government intervention of shutdowns. People aren't going to circulate in the world if they don't feel it's safe.

Regional theme parks might be OK, though the spring season could be soft. The international parks here in Florida could be in a break-even mode until people in the US and elsewhere can actually come here in the same numbers they used to.

James Parker jr said:

Sea World parks, which include the excellent Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the mediocre Tampa park, already look to be on the verge of insolvency.

Fixed that for you :)

Also, even if 2021 isn't "normal" I imagine it'll still likely be a full six month season and not nearly as restricted as now. We've already come far in terms of coexisting with COVID. By next spring my guess is we'll be at a point where the new normal feels significantly more normal

^^Just curious what you don't like about BGT.. That's probably a topic for CBuzz, admittedly. But while I do agree that BGW is the better of the two, I still think BGT is a pretty fantastic park.

Sigh.

It's just so disheartening to know where we could be right now, instead of where we are.

That's all I have to say about that.

After being in the park with my neck gaiter on. That is a better way to go. More comfortable and breathable than a mask. Today I saw just a few people with their masks either below their chin, nose sticking out or not on at all. I would say there was about 90% compliance. I even observed some employees telling guests to put their masks on right. One of them was an escort for midway entertainment. People seemed to also be following SD guidelines pretty well. Outside of Valravn while it was testing due to weather downtime looked bad as far as SD goes but everyone was wearing face coverings. And my neck gaiter never even came close to coming off my face.

^Thabto, how did the crowd conduct themselves when the evening storms came through? I live near downtown Sandusky and it was a quick moving rip-roarer that hit. At CP, usually people gather under any overhang or the arcade and social distancing is difficult.

I was in Pagoda when the first storm went through. It wasn't too bad in there.

With it being a new year, is it possible they may tweak the mask rule? When I visited Holiday world last year, they told you, you had to wear a mask throughout the park, but could remove it while riding a ride. I hope Cedar Fair allows that this coming year.

Now I'll start this off by saying this February and insert opening day (may at the earliest) are far separated both in current available information and available resources related to everything.

That being said I wouldn't get your hopes up. Per WCO information they are locking down on masks requiring full face cloth with explicit statement that no valved/flapped masks are allowed.

Shawn: When did you visit? Early in the season, the first time I visited, Holiday World had NO mask requirements, and by HoliWood Nights their requirements were harmonized with the State of Indiana requirements, where face coverings were required at the park entrance and in indoor spaces (including coaster stations), but not aboard the rides.

If Cedar Point’s rules had been harmonized with the more general State of Ohio requirements, as was the case at the Columbus Zoo until November, I would have visited in 2020.

—Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:

Shawn: When did you visit?

—Dave Althoff, Jr.

Dave, I visited back in late June the first trip, then a second trip back in early August. The first visit was just how you described it. The second visit though, they started making people wear a mask outside and indoor areas. You could still remove your mask for riding the rides, and eating obviously. I think they wanted to mandate it more since more people were getting sick towards the start of August.