Parks closing early a regular thing this year

[Surf Dance Chris]

Does it seem like parks are closing early way more often than they used to? Seems like everyday on social media parks are closing early, or not opening at all, due to expected weather or other reasons.

I think doing this regularly will make guests think twice about going to parks, getting passes, and workers not wanting to work at places where they’re given the day off without pay all the time.

What does everyone think?

[Heather Kendrick]

Post by Surf Dance Chris
Does it seem like parks are closing early way more often than they used to?
Seems like everyday on social media parks are closing early, or not opening
at all, due to expected weather or other reasons.
I think doing this regularly will make guests think twice about going to
parks, getting passes, and workers not wanting to work at places where
they´re given the day off without pay all the time.
What does everyone think?

Sorry for the late reply but yes, parks having weather closings does seem
more frequent than it used to be. Kennywood was always kind of twitchy on the
trigger finger with rain, but I think other parks have been doing it more
often. And this is on top of parks just closing very early in general. I was
rather shocked to finally make it out to Santa Cruz earlier this month (a
longtime ambition of mine finally realized) and discover that even on a
Friday night the Boardwalk closes at 9. The only night it stays open later is
Saturday and only until 10. It really seems like a place that should have
late night operation.

[Surf Dance Chris]

Post by Heather Kendrick

Post by Surf Dance Chris
Does it seem like parks are closing early way more often than they used to?
Seems like everyday on social media parks are closing early, or not opening
at all, due to expected weather or other reasons.
I think doing this regularly will make guests think twice about going to
parks, getting passes, and workers not wanting to work at places where
they´re given the day off without pay all the time.
What does everyone think?

Sorry for the late reply but yes, parks having weather closings does seem
more frequent than it used to be. Kennywood was always kind of twitchy on the
trigger finger with rain, but I think other parks have been doing it more
often. And this is on top of parks just closing very early in general. I was
rather shocked to finally make it out to Santa Cruz earlier this month (a
longtime ambition of mine finally realized) and discover that even on a
Friday night the Boardwalk closes at 9. The only night it stays open later is
Saturday and only until 10. It really seems like a place that should have
late night operation.
--
Heather, the Carousel Rabbit

The early scheduled closings are a sad sight, too. Just about every park closes much earlier than they used to. A shame, since evening/after dark time at a park is always the most fun with the best atmosphere. Plus a lot of people think it’s too hot to be at a park during the day in summer, why take away the time when it’s cooler?

[Dave Althoff, Jr.]

Surf Dance Chris <***@aol.com> wrote:

: Does it seem like parks are closing early way more often than they used
: to? Seems like everyday on social media parks are closing early, or not
: opening at all, due to expected weather or other reasons.

It sure seems like it. I think there are a couple of factors involved;
first of all, the existence of social media makes parks think they can just
post something on Twitbook or TickFace saying that they're closing early
and that will be enough to notify everyone. Then the visitor from 200 miles
away arrives at the gate on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon only to find that
the park is either closed or is closing in an hour or two. Yeah, I've been
there, done that, and repeated behavior of that kind got me free tickets to
Kennywood more than once.

There's something else at work here, and I suspect it's part of the reason
Kennywood closed early for "inclement weather" on that particular beautiful
Sunday afternoon: their season pass dining package. It would not at all
surprise me if they figured out that the vast majority of the relatively
small crowd they had in the park that day consisted of season pass holders
there to take advantage of a day of prepaid entertainment and
food....meaning that in the aggregate, the park might have been operating
at a loss that day. No business wants to do that, so they simply shut down
for an evening. Giving everybody in the park a ticket to come back another
day costs almost nothing, but serving up a bunch of "free" meals gets to be
expensive. Note this was pre-COVID; I want to say it was 2018. It certainly
makes me think twice about committing to that drive if the weather forecast
is anything less than perfect!

: I think doing this regularly will make guests think twice about going
: to parks, getting passes, and workers not wanting to work at places where
: they?re given the day off without pay all the time.
:
: What does everyone think?

Of course, then along came COVID to really screw things up. Everybody
shortened hours as we came out of the pandemic restrictions, and lots of
those hours have never been brought back. My all-night grocer still closes
at 10pm and I can't buy a loaf of bread *anywhere* in this major city after
Midnight. I curse and lament the loss of the 24-hour world, and even worse
is what has happened to amusement parks. Here in Ohio, Kings Island and
Cedar Point are finally back to 10pm closes, but in neighboring
Pennsylvania we're seeing major parks schedule closing times before it even
starts to get dark! Given labor challenges, I can understand trying to cut
the operation down to one shift, but why does that shift have to start at
the crack of dawn? If the operating hours need to be shortened, why not
shorten them from the other end? Instead of running from 9a-7p, operate
from 12n-10p! Take advantage of the fact that most parke become so much
more magical after the sun goes down. Not to mention the fact that people
who are working during the day can stop in after work if the park is open a
few hours in the evening.

Summer nights are special. Let's preserve them!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ /XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
NEW! When emailing this account, include the 'canonical magic word' in
the body of your message for a quicker response.

[Heather Kendrick]

Post by Dave Althoff, Jr.
Of course, then along came COVID to really screw things up. Everybody
shortened hours as we came out of the pandemic restrictions, and lots of
those hours have never been brought back. My all-night grocer still closes
at 10pm and I can't buy a loaf of bread *anywhere* in this major city after
Midnight.

I, too, lament the loss of 24-hour Meijer: a world in which Meijer closes at
night is one I cannot quite get used to. My closest one had expanded its
pharmacy to 24 hours too a couple of years before the pandemic and I loved
not worrying about getting there before the pharmacy closed. And now the
pharmacy closes at 8 pm (6 on weekends!).

Post by Dave Althoff, Jr.
Summer nights are special. Let's preserve them!

Having only a short time after dark at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was the
only sour note of what was otherwise a wonderful couple of days there last
month.

[Surf Dance Chris]

Post by Dave Althoff, Jr.
: Does it seem like parks are closing early way more often than they used
: to? Seems like everyday on social media parks are closing early, or not
: opening at all, due to expected weather or other reasons.
It sure seems like it. I think there are a couple of factors involved;
first of all, the existence of social media makes parks think they can just
post something on Twitbook or TickFace saying that they're closing early
and that will be enough to notify everyone. Then the visitor from 200 miles
away arrives at the gate on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon only to find that
the park is either closed or is closing in an hour or two. Yeah, I've been
there, done that, and repeated behavior of that kind got me free tickets to
Kennywood more than once.
There's something else at work here, and I suspect it's part of the reason
Kennywood closed early for "inclement weather" on that particular beautiful
Sunday afternoon: their season pass dining package. It would not at all
surprise me if they figured out that the vast majority of the relatively
small crowd they had in the park that day consisted of season pass holders
there to take advantage of a day of prepaid entertainment and
food....meaning that in the aggregate, the park might have been operating
at a loss that day. No business wants to do that, so they simply shut down
for an evening. Giving everybody in the park a ticket to come back another
day costs almost nothing, but serving up a bunch of "free" meals gets to be
expensive. Note this was pre-COVID; I want to say it was 2018. It certainly
makes me think twice about committing to that drive if the weather forecast
is anything less than perfect!
: I think doing this regularly will make guests think twice about going
: to parks, getting passes, and workers not wanting to work at places where
: they?re given the day off without pay all the time.
: What does everyone think?
Of course, then along came COVID to really screw things up. Everybody
shortened hours as we came out of the pandemic restrictions, and lots of
those hours have never been brought back. My all-night grocer still closes
at 10pm and I can't buy a loaf of bread *anywhere* in this major city after
Midnight. I curse and lament the loss of the 24-hour world, and even worse
is what has happened to amusement parks. Here in Ohio, Kings Island and
Cedar Point are finally back to 10pm closes, but in neighboring
Pennsylvania we're seeing major parks schedule closing times before it even
starts to get dark! Given labor challenges, I can understand trying to cut
the operation down to one shift, but why does that shift have to start at
the crack of dawn? If the operating hours need to be shortened, why not
shorten them from the other end? Instead of running from 9a-7p, operate
from 12n-10p! Take advantage of the fact that most parke become so much
more magical after the sun goes down. Not to mention the fact that people
who are working during the day can stop in after work if the park is open a
few hours in the evening.
Summer nights are special. Let's preserve them!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
/XXX\ /X\ /X\_ _ /X\__ _ _ _____
/XXXXX\ /XXX\ /XXXX\_ /X\ /XXXXX\ /X\ /X\ /XXXXX
_/XXXXXXX\__/XXXXX\/XXXXXXXX\_/XXX\_/XXXXXXX\__/XXX\_/XXX\_/\_/XXXXXX
NEW! When emailing this account, include the 'canonical magic word' in
the body of your message for a quicker response.

Totally agree about the evening hours loss. Would much rather have just later hours than just earlier hours. No one wants to get up early on their day off/vacation!

[sharondbond]

Post by Surf Dance Chris
Totally agree about the evening hours loss. Would much rather have just later hours than just earlier hours. No one wants to get up early on their day off/vacation!

(checks phone for my pictures of the sunrise on Lake Michigan up in Door County...yep, still there)

Some of us get up early and appreciate having earlier hours that we can get in rides before the bigger crowds get there. If they change hours to start at noon, then you get a huge crowd coming in at the same time. But I agree with everyone else that we miss that magical time when the parks are lit up. My personal opinion is that parks are using the restricted COVID time hours as an excuse - they save money on personnel and utilities by shutting down early. I don't think they are saving much on actual food costs, but they can close those buildings, get them clean, shut off the lights and the equipment, and not have to pay personnel for the hours they would normally have been open.

Sharon