SoCalJasonland

https://www.ocregister.com/2020/05/29/knotts-berry-farm-exploring-virtual-queue-system-for-post-coronavirus-reopening/ Knott’s Berry Farm is actively evaluating a virtual queue management system that would help reduce wait times and shorten lines for rides and attractions, park officials said. Knott’s Berry Farm could feel very different with required advance reservations, reduced capacity, COVID-19 health surveys, mobile food ordering and possibly even a virtual queue system when the Buena Park theme park reopens following an extended coronavirus closure. Knott’s has implemented a number of technological updates and is exploring others to address new COVID-19 health and safety protocols that will be put in place when the park reopens. Knott’s Berry Farm is actively evaluating a virtual queue management system that would help reduce wait times and shorten lines for rides and attractions, park officials said. ... Knott’s also plans to update the park’s mobile app with new functionality geared toward the “new normal” of the COVID-19 era. Once the park reopens, Knott’s visitors will use the updated mobile app to: Make required advance reservations for a specific date and time Present their timed entry voucher at the park entrance Complete a required pre-arrival COVID-19 health survey Process season passes without visiting the pass processing center Place mobile food orders Make cashless digital payments at shops and restaurants Find the closest hand sanitizing station using the app’s map Receive health and safety reminders

The 50-year-old man in me states "I have to walk around barefoot on hot concrete and climb steps to the top of all those towers to sit in chlorinated pisswater for a 30-second ride?" When I was 13 to 15 years old though, it was "Dude, but there are girls in hot bikinis walking around the water park. We can just stand there, hit on 'em and play Dig Dug in the arcade. Then sit at the bottom of the speed slides to wait for a bathing suit top to come off. Then you head over to the wave pool after the wash cycle and put on your swim googles to look for floating dollar bills or locker keys on the bottom of the pool to return for deposits. Ahhh, part of the 80s at a water park. I guess water parks have their age of attraction.

Water parks and amusement parks are both late stage 3 in Califronia, and we are already in early stage 3 in most counties. I guess it is all up to Six Flags to determine if they want to meet the safety requirements, and have enough demand and staffing to open both the amusement and water parks.

What I took from the video is that Six Flags likes to borrow too much money in good times and bad. Their debt level is approaching what it was before the last time they filed for bankruptcy. If their interest rates go up because of further credit downgrades; they are screwed.

They are allowing public pools to re-open because chlorine naturally kills the virus. I can see water parks re-opening when amusement parks do.

Yes but that only kicks in when you cancel. It seems best if you are at a seasonal park to cancel early summer and get the rest of the summer and early fall free, and then sign up again at the beginning of the next season. I don't exactly trust them to remember that they owe me a few months several years from now.

Oh no, the Karens are stupid too!

This could be a nice year for Magic Mountain and Knott's if a lot of schools don't go back in the fall and the amusement parks are allowed to reopen in June.

I guess it is not millimeter wave technology like TSA currently uses but uses computer-based AI instead of people reviewing the images. I was a little lost in the science. https://www.securityinfowatch.com/perimeter-security/threat-detection-imaging-inspection/article/21125832/checkpoint-security-evolved Evolv has two flagship products, the Edge and Express. The Edge is based on millimeter wave technology and looks much like theft detection paddles at a library or retail store. Edge captures a single millimeter wave image in one-hundreth of a second. As a pedestrian walks through, the device captures enough images to eliminate motion blur and produce clear and reliable sensor imagery to the central processor. The processors interpreting the sensor data have been trained to ignore harmless objects – so keys, cell phones, and jewelry stay put. Purses and jackets can be carried through. While only one person can walk through at a time, the company says up to 800 people per hour can be processed through the Edge, as compared to approximately 200 through an airport security lane. Evolv’s newer product, the Express, operates using advanced magnetic field sensing. In this scenario, multiple people can walk through at the same time – such as a mother holding hands with a child. A free flow of people through the sensor permits up to 3,600 people to be screened per hour. A red light indicates someone has violated the sensor, and security guards are prompted with an image of the violator overlaid with a box showing the exact location of the perceived threat on that person, enabling rapid secondary screening.

I wonder if the metal detector replacements at the gate are millimeter-wave scanners or the old backscatter x-rays that the TSA got rid of? I really hope that there are some open areas where you don't need to wear a mask. If not, I will probably be at a table with a beer in front of me half the trip, so I have an excuse to take it off. We don't have to wear masks outdoors any more in much of So Cal. I am more than happy to wear it on all of the rides, in lines, stores, close to other people, etc, but most Six Flags parks with limited attendance have more than enough room to socially distance. At least during the day, the sun and humidity produce hydroxyl that kills the virus in the air, so it is not as dangerous as being inside. I know this because we have hydroxyl generators at work that were designed to generate hydroxyl to kill the virus in the air inside a building. And unlike our ozone generators, it is completely safe to be around hydroxyl. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxyl_radical http://www.hydroxylnews.com/hydroxyl-news/using-hydroxyl-technology-to-dynamically-sanitize-air-and-surfaces-on-cruise-ships/ https://www.odoroxhg.com/home

It is kind of like the former Big Coaster / Scandia Screamer in Ontario, California. The last car of the train was horribly violent and when it was under 70 degrees, every seat had to be full on the coaster before they would dispatch. I asked the ride operator why they did not put four water dummies in the last car, fill them up, strap them in well, and leave them there. He said that makes sense but management would rather just run it less and save money. I guess having one decent coaster that people had to stand around and wait for a half-hour to dispatch wasn't enough to keep people interested and coming back. They gone now.

Couldn't they just put water dummies in the empty seats/rows and strap them in well?

I thought the video looked like the trade show in Orlando but I am not sure. The photo gallery on their site shows more locations. The only place I have ridden one was the Santa Monica Pier. I wish there was a site like RCDB where people kept track of operating carnival style rides, but not that I can find. https://www.moserrides.com/gyro-loop/

They could rent $50 Segways, electric go-carts, or golf carts and let you zip around between the attractions. People drive golf carts on a golf course. Shouldn't be much os a stretch to rent a 4 seat cart to a family with a cooler in the back for $50 and make some extra money. Add a 12-pack of soda cans for $24 or so. Sandwiches, salads, can/plastic bottled drinks, picnic food, etc.. Possibly don't even have to keep the restaurants in the park open on slow days.

I love those personal Top Spins: [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

Yes they are, which is why a resort hotel guest only policy would be attractive to them but not to me, Mr. $75 Super 8. Disney and Universal are pretty smart and don't want to turn down any money from off-site guests. Once the social distancing is lifted, they need the local hotels again. While social distancing, I could see either company requiring you to make a reservation to enter a particular park and then open that reservation period to their own hotel guests earlier than offsite or pass holders, but they aren't turning down money from guests that just purchased a ticket and drove there for the day or pass holders unless they reach capacity.

Why does all the important stuff go out of business? [youtu_be] [/youtu_be]

I wanted to leave the country after Erin Andrews got over 100-million dollars for her bruised dignity from a hotel because they didn't know their peepholes could be reversed by someone carrying tools. Why is a rich person's dignity worth a 100-million?

I will cancel my membership the day they go back to weekend operations. Please don't even suggest such a horrible idea

The California Governor's speech today wasn't optimistic about large-scale gatherings in California even if the economy starts to re-open soon. I don't know what that means for amusement parks that can't show that they have a social distancing plan in place. I wonder how long the lines would be at amusement parks if everyone had to stand 6' apart like in our lines at stores? Section from article: https://ktla.com/news/california/gov-newsom-to-reveal-details-of-plan-to-lift-californias-stay-at-home-order/ ... "Officials cautioned that even once restrictions are loosened, things won’t be as they were before the pandemic. Restaurants will probably have fewer tables, temperatures checks may become the norm at establishments, and protective face coverings will likely remain common in public. We’ll see more teleworking and distance learning, the governor said. And when schools start back up again in the fall, arrival times could be staggered and classrooms reconfigured to enforce social distancing among students, teachers and staff. “This is not about going back to where we were before. It’s about going forward in ways that are healthy for all of us,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health. “But it won’t look the same.” People also shouldn’t expect to participate in large gatherings like sporting events or concerts in the near future, according to Newsom. “The prospect of mass gatherings is negligible at best until we get to herd immunity and we get to a vaccine,” he said. Experts have previously indicated a vaccine is at least 12 to 18 months away." ...

The government isn't taking the land from Elitch. Kroenke and Revesco purchased the park in 2015 and have been talking about turning the land into residential units since their purchase of the property. Both companies hold several investments and Elitch is the only amusement park, so they let Premier run it for them until they could shut it down. If It was a sports team, Kroenke might keep it but he doesn't seem to care about amusement parks. Who knows, maybe it will move to Los Angeles?

I wish we had some type of Vegas oddsmakers so we could bet on who re-opens first: 1. any Funspot 3-1 2. Castles & Coaters 4-1 3. Magic Springs 5-1 4. Frontier City 2.5-1 5. Adventuredome 3-1 etc... I just made up these numbers, so don't debate them

See in the USA, we have freedom! We have some states just dying to be first to re-open. Personally, I am going to see how they do first. I got my Warsteiner and tamales from Trader Joes and gonna watch this from afar. Yup, German beer, and Mexican food. They go together well!

How many days a year is it hot enough for a river rapids ride in Vancouver near the ocean?

Well, in the last great recession, oil/gas prices suddenly dropped, the market tanked, interest rates dropped, and people stopped paying their mortgages. So, basically yes, pretty much the same so far but who knows how quickly things will recover this time. Six Flags also has more debt than their properties and depreciated improvements are worth, so a negative price to book ratio doesn't help. My biggest fear is that if their credit rating downgrades too far; they will sell Magic Mountain for the land value.