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Could some parks close for good because of the pandemic?


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A few days ago many Cedar Fair parks announced they were not reopening this season. And many manufacturers announced they are not going to the IAAPA show in Orlando this fall.

Yeah... I would be legitimately surprised if the in-person IAAPA Expo even happened this year. Asia recently went digital and it was apparently more successful than anticipated. Just because the expo might not happen in person doesn't mean that negotiations and deals still aren't happening.

 

I wouldn't get discouraged... yet.

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You are right. But parks that are open right now are suffering financially. 2020 is lost profit wise. The main concern is that 2021 might not be much better. It does not look like this virus will be gone and cured by next year. I think we have not seen the ugly yet in the amusement industry. And many are expecting the worst. I don't wanna be negative. I'm a very positive person but I am somehow realistic.

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  • 2 months later...

It doesn't state they are closed for good, but it sort of looks that way.  Pharaoh's Lost Kingdom / Splash Kingdom in Redlands, California has had a sad 20-year decline with two new fires this year. 

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/2nd-fire-to-erupt-at-vacant-splash-kingdom-water-park-in-redlands-this-year-investigated-as-suspicious/

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16 minutes ago, SoCalJasonland said:

It doesn't state they are closed for good, but it sort of looks that way.  Pharaoh's Lost Kingdom / Splash Kingdom in Redlands, California has had a sad 20-year decline with two new fires this year. 

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/2nd-fire-to-erupt-at-vacant-splash-kingdom-water-park-in-redlands-this-year-investigated-as-suspicious/

Let's be honest... that place was sketchy as hell and probably needs to be gone forever. 

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The 2 parks at Coney Island are at big risk for closing, I have a feeling Deno's Wonder wheel Park, and Luna Park.
 

Deno's spent 5.5 Million to expand the park and buy more land, then spent "$6 million to commission a splashy new European thrill ride of an undisclosed type." According to this article https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/realestate/coronavirus-coney-island-wonder-wheel.html

Inside Edition filmed an Interview and you can hear in there voices on how financially unstable they probably are with the park. (Also Zamperla closed down Victorian Gardens and relocated the rides to Luna)

I am so scared for the Coney Island Businesses, I will be so sad if Deno's or Luna has to close. That would be the start of a domino effect on Coney Island Businesses.

 

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I'd be completely shocked if Deno's or Luna closed down  (even if just for a new buyer). . . both of these places (tho in Luna's case, it's more the name than the actual site itself - although the Cyclone is technically onsite at Luna Park, isn't it?) are historic, and Iconic.

no way would these disappear.    Community or Preservation folks would step in to save them.

just my feeling on it. 

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25 minutes ago, bert425 said:

I'd be completely shocked if Deno's or Luna closed down  (even if just for a new buyer). . . both of these places (tho in Luna's case, it's more the name than the actual site itself - although the Cyclone is technically onsite at Luna Park, isn't it?) are historic, and Iconic.

no way would these disappear.    Community or Preservation folks would step in to save them.

just my feeling on it. 

Cyclone is easily not going anywhere, its just the others rides and businesses

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All parks are suffering financially right now, closed or open.  People are really starting to realize what this pandemic is doing to the amusement industry, and it ain't over yet.  Hopefully a vaccine is coming soon because no vaccine means we are in for an ugly ride. Even with a vaccine next summer, 2021 will be similar at amusement parks.  Everything is changing forever everywhere.

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29 minutes ago, ricklap77 said:

All parks are suffering financially right now, closed or open.  People are really starting to realize what this pandemic is doing to the amusement industry, and it ain't over yet.  Hopefully a vaccine is coming soon because no vaccine means we are in for an ugly ride. Even with a vaccine next summer, 2021 will be similar at amusement parks.  Everything is changing forever everywhere.

No one knows more about the state of the theme park industry than the people who work in it themselves, I'm one of them. There's really not much left of this dead horse to beat.

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There will most certainly be new owners for some parks when this is all said and done.  This has set the industry back 10 years and not all parks will have the cash flow to operate in future years.

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As a resident of Virginia, I had the un-pleasure of having Virginia's two biggest parks (Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens) remaining closed throughout the 2020 season, thus forcing me to travel to other parks located in other states so I could fulfill my amusement park needs.  The good news for me is that the season pass I purchased for this season can be used for next season.  However, what kind of season 2021 will give us?  Even if a vaccine was announced for today, it will still takes several months for things return to normal, and it may not the same normal we had in seasons pass.  This year I was able to visit Hersheypark five times, Knoebels twice, and parks such as Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kennywood, and Dollywood once, but it was all under the COVID-19 protocols and procedures used to protect us and other from the spread of the virus.

In conclusion, I would like to say the amusement park industry would recover in time, but expect some casualties in the long run.  Still, I noticed during my most recent trip to Hersheypark (in the dark) that park was crowded, meaning that everyone who attended choose to not be afraid of the catching the virus and take needed precautions to insure that they leave that park with sweet PMS (Pictures, Memories, and Souvenirs) and not the virus.  

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  • 1 month later...

So far I think it's pretty good as parks stay in business despite the downtime.  A lot of them are not doing too good financially but thet all hope for a turnaround in 2021.  I believe 2021 will be crucial for parks to stay in business.  We all rely on an effective vaccine that could somewhat end or at least calm this pandemic.  If 2021 turns out to be much like 2020, unfortunetly we will see several parks closing for good.

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1 hour ago, ricklap77 said:

So far I think it's pretty good as parks stay in business despite the downtime.  A lot of them are not doing too good financially but thet all hope for a turnaround in 2021.  I believe 2021 will be crucial for parks to stay in business.  We all rely on an effective vaccine that could somewhat end or at least calm this pandemic.  If 2021 turns out to be much like 2020, unfortunetly we will see several parks closing for good.

I think after a long winter season most people will have cabin fever so bad that once parks open back up for 2021 they will be packed 

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  • 1 month later...

With the pandemic getting worse it's actually surprising that we don't hear anything bad from parks yet.  It doesn't seem we'll be having a normal summer and year and that parks will be able to welcome as many guests they'd like to.  Let's keep our fingers crossed no parks get hurt too much.

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4 hours ago, ricklap77 said:

With the pandemic getting worse it's actually surprising that we don't hear anything bad from parks yet.  It doesn't seem we'll be having a normal summer and year and that parks will be able to welcome as many guests they'd like to.  Let's keep our fingers crossed no parks get hurt too much.

Well, at this point most regional or small parks would be closed anyways till spring break time. So I think the do or die moment for most parks will be later this summer, especially for the parks in states where the restrictions are still heavy like in New York, California, Oregon, and Washington. If parks that didn't open or barely opened last year can't open this year at lease partially normally, then they could be in trouble. 

Enchanted Forest in Salem, Oregon dodged the bullet, for now, thanks to the local community but other parks (Oaks, Luna, Deno's, Funtown Splashtown, Cliff's, Wild Waves, etc.) could be not so lucky unfortunately.

Probably a wait and see at this point.

Also, The Rides at Long Beach (in Washington) looked pretty closed this last weekend when I went up there. It was for sale or lease, so someone could pick it up, but otherwise most of us missed our on a wacky worm credit (Wow! What a big shame...)

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I used to always (minimally) complain, that I wished Playland(PNE) was open a lot more than it usually is every year.

That being, May(wknds) - August(w/PNE), with a couple of weekends in September, and then FrightFest in October.

Which used to only add up to about 88-90 days of operation. But nowadays... I am actually glad it's "season" is as short as it is. And judging by their reaction to the past year, they are (happily) more than ready to re-open and welcome their guests. Soon.

So I really don't think that Playland is in any danger of closing up, for good. Coaster is just too good to give up on. 🎢

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It would be very sad to see Funtown Slashtown USA in Saco Maine shutting down for good. It is such a nice and clean family owned park.  I remember last Spring they were among the first parks to announce they were not opening for the season (2020).  They also mentionned that if they were not opening the following year (2021) they were going to auction off the rides.

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For sure this summer won't be a normal summer. Parks that will be allowed to open will have some restrictions.  The rate of vaccination is not fast enough and we don't know how long the immunity will last yet!  And any day a new variant of this virus can pop up and we need a new vaccine!  Buckle up we're in for a wild ride!

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