southpuddle

Thank you for your very valuable contribution to the discussion. Meanwhile my post cited aspects of 2020 that I hope are different in 2021. You know, the topic of the conversation.

Thank you, Bill, for actually responding to what I said and not just saying “who cares we don’t want you in line anyway”. I totally understand the need for parks to do what they are doing this summer and that they are unfortunately bound by what the politicians in their respective states and counties are telling them they have to do, but I hope that by next year some of the policies we’ve seen have been loosened and some more common sense will prevail. That’s all I was getting at.

^ exactly, it’s social distancing theater that does precisely nothing to make anyone any safer. It makes people feel better about being on the ride because they can’t mentally grasp what you just said.

I can deal with wearing masks, I can accept that we may not see anything big new and shiny at a lot of parks for several years, but another year of pointless diminished capacity on rides would be a real bummer. Make it one party per row, or don’t sit strangers right next to each other - sure - but blocking entire rows and spacing people six feet apart is pure social distancing theater that would make me rethink all of my 2021 plans after experiencing it at the parks this summer. It makes what would be a pleasant day at the parks intolerable if there are even moderate crowds and only makes you stand in the un-socially-distanced queue twice as long as you would otherwise.

Disregard, wrong thread

I’d venture to say that almost no one checking IDs checks the expiration date. You’ll be fine, but bring the temp license as well.

^ YES! I wish the rule was just “one party per row” - maybe make an exception for Valravn. The set in stone blocked seats were adding insult to injury most of the time. I was also told by a manager when I went earlier this month that the rides close every 30 minutes for cleaning, but I swear it was more like every 15-20 - just enough for each train to MAYBE get three cycles in before the line was standstill for the next 10-15 minutes. Maybe those 10-15 minutes count toward the signal of the next cleaning break But what others have said, don’t go expecting to ride much and try not to get super aggravated by the operations. Take some beer breaks and try to relax. I also just kept reminding myself that I bought a Platinum pass this year solely because it was good for all of next year too. This year was really just a bonus for me, so whatever I was able to get in was all gravy.

We were told by a couple employees that if you miss your return time during the day, you’ll be let in with your expired access pass after 7:00, but be warned that they will close the line down earlier than 8:00 if it’s long to try to send the last train right at closing.

Gates open at 10:00, rides open at 11:00, access passes distributed at 11:00 and 3:30. This is how it worked the last three days anyway.

I would be astounded if Fright Fest happens. The leaders in the industry, Universal, have already canceled Horror Nights in Orlando, and they have the resources to make it happen, and they’re also in a state which doesn’t care. Maybe wait for the park to even open PERIOD before hoping Fright Fest happens.

It’s almost as if structural engineers know more about building roller coasters than some YouTuber

Schmitty, you seem like the type of enthusiast who would watch the aforementioned POVs, and then two minutes later start a thread titled “So what’s new for 2021?!”

The reverse cobra roll looks like something from NoLimits if someone was joking around and put random nodes all over the place and then auto-smoothed it out.

Enthusiasts should be happy if a park is still in existence next year and not bummed that they aren’t adding a new coaster. Also, it’s Cedar Point - they could not add a new coaster for a decade and probably still have the most incredibly stacked coaster lineup in the world.

These waterboarding comments are cracking me up. Nobody is suggesting wearing a mask WHILE SWIMMING, that would be absurd. The difficulty of wearing masks at a water park stems from the logistics of having to wear a mask in line for a water slide, and then what? Hold onto the mask while you go down the slide? Put it in your pocket? Now it’s soaked or lost. Nevermind the nightmare of masks clogging drains. Clearly wave pools and lazy rivers are probably a no-go because you know, you’re in the water, and at that point why open the water park to begin with?

By Intamin shop, I’m sure he means the former.

So 4 coasters are better than 3? well, yeah. But sometimes you have to settle for something more realistic. Candimonium looks very Mako-ish, which isn’t a bad thing... in fact, I think it might look better if only because it’s MCBR-less... one less chance to slow it down!

This has been talked about numerous times on several threads. 95% of masks will be just fine. I’m sure some will fly off peoples’ faces. Bring a couple spares. Don’t overthink it.

There are also literally no mountains in space

Eek. This is not the year to be making any first ever trips to parks.

Honestly, the more I think about it, I’m in the same boat. I can handle wearing a mask all day, but I know how much the reduced capacity operations would frustrate me, and if I can only ride half as much as a normally would be able to, I just don’t see a visit to a park being worth it.

Cedar Point Shores is Soak City.

IMO, 75% of what makes Splash Mountain a good attraction is that it is a flume, and a long one at that, which is not changing. The remaining 25% is the fact that there are show scenes, which there still will be - I don’t really care what theme the show scenes is.

^ I should think that professional grade cleaning products capable of giving riders chemical burns are not necessary, nor would I want a teenage ride op using such products all day long. I suspect the empty cycle after cleaning is just another case of Six Flags being Six Flags.

Clean between every cycle AND run empty afterward? JFC. I’ll wear a mask all day long, but I would literally explode with frustration at that type of operation.