2021 Park Operating Calendar

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It's definitely the right move to not open if you don't have the staff.

I think the question is what do they do to make up for it for people that already paid for the closed park with the expectation of it being open.
 
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For single day tickets for people that were planning to do soak city that's an issue. I assume if you contact their customer support you could get a refund in this case.
 
The other question is holding off till June going to make that much of a difference in staffing? With only being open weekends you already have the high-school age available and Colleges are starting to let out now so where is this large employee surge going to come from to fill these slots?
 
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horsesboy said:
The other question is holding off till June going to make that much of a difference in staffing? With only being open weekends you already have the high-school age available and Colleges are starting to let out now so where is this large employee surge going to come from to fill these slots?
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Training time, especially for guards? Depending on how they do it, could take a few weeks of classes and testing before they're ready. Coupled with pool water temps are chilly and it'll be another few weeks before a majority of students are done with exams, next month seems realistic.

Just because the pandemic precautions may be coming to mostly an end doesn't mean that any given business is able to turn around and take advantage.
 
horsesboy said:
The other question is holding off till June going to make that much of a difference in staffing? With only being open weekends you already have the high-school age available and Colleges are starting to let out now so where is this large employee surge going to come from to fill these slots?
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There is typically a HUGE jump in staffing between late May and late June. My college doesn't let out until next week and I know lots of people in a similar boat, so with the multiple weeks of training and processing that lifeguards have to go through, anyone getting out of college in the next couple of weeks would definitely not be able to work at the park by opening day. Add to that that most local public schools - Hanover and Henrico in particular - don't finish until mid-June. I expect that postponing Soak City's opening will make a massive difference, both with staffing the water park later and with staffing the dry park now.
 
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Jonesta6 said:
Coupled with pool water temps are chilly....
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Just to note - before the pools and such are filled up. The park will use local indoor pools to conduct training. I can't remember off top of my head, but I think Randolph Macon let's them use their pools?

But I'm sure the few week delay will make a massive improvement in staffing. I'm sure any guards that are fully certified and not helping with preseason cleanup in the water park will be cross trained in the rides for the weekends leading up. Which will also help the rides teams staffing a bit.
 
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horsesboy said:
The other question is holding off till June going to make that much of a difference in staffing?
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I would imagine that they might be hearing from people who are uncomfortable starting summer employment until they’re fully vaccinated, as well? (Which, again, technically speaking won’t be drastically different in June than May if those people were vaccinated when they were first eligible, but if college kids waited until they got home, it may be a bit of a boost.
 
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When I attempt to buy a single day ticket for a date that is showing as available (Monday, June 21), it only allows me to purchase a pass, and not a single day ticket. Am I doing something wrong?
 
Thanks for checking. Looks like it's working on my phone but not on my laptop. Weird.

If you make a reservation for a certain date (as required this year), what happen if it rains? Are you out of luck?
 
My understanding is that that is exactly how it works, that's why I decided to buy memberships instead.
 
rkp1967 said:
Thanks for checking. Looks like it's working on my phone but not on my laptop. Weird.

If you make a reservation for a certain date (as required this year), what happen if it rains? Are you out of luck?
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If the park is open you either go anyway and ride in the rain and/or hope it's intermittent, or you don't go and don't get your money back. I don't think this is any different than other parks. If some reason the park were not to open, I'm sure they would let you use your ticket on another day, but I don't know the details of how that will work and am not sure if it ever has happened.
 
Crunchewy said:
If the park is open you either go anyway and ride in the rain and/or hope it's intermittent, or you don't go and don't get your money back. I don't think this is any different than other parks. If some reason the park were not to open, I'm sure they would let you use your ticket on another day, but I don't know the details of how that will work and am not sure if it ever has happened.
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Well in the past, we've always had tickets that weren't date specific. We waited for a day when no rain was in the forecast, and went on that day. Now, you're forced to pick your date more than a month in advance and hope for the best.
 
rkp1967 said:
Well in the past, we've always had tickets that weren't date specific. We waited for a day when no rain was in the forecast, and went on that day. Now, you're forced to pick your date more than a month in advance and hope for the best.
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That's a side-effect of the pandemic. But it sounds like reservations and capacity restrictions will soon be lifted. Whether that is a plus or minus depends on the individual. I'm not sure how they will handle things when they lift these restrictions, with regard to existing dated single-day tickets. My guess is they will just say, come whatever day you want - ignore the date on it. And of course for season pass holders you won't need to have a reservation so you go any day you want as well.
 
FYI, the park has quietly updated the hours of operation page for this season. Let's just say it's not so pretty. As of writing this, there will no longer be any more closings at 9. The park's daily hours will be adjusted to 11-7 and in addition to this, between July 17th and August 1st, the park will be open from 12-8 to coincide with Grand Carnivale. From then after the park will resume 11-7 operation except for labor day weekend which will be 11-8 on Saturday and Sunday only.
 
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fugitiveALiEN said:
FYI, the park has quietly updated the hours of operation page for this season. Let's just say it's not so pretty. As of writing this, there will no longer be any more closings at 9. The park's daily hours will be adjusted to 11-7 and in addition to this, between July 17th and August 1st, the park will be open from 12-8 to coincide with Grand Carnivale. From then after the park will resume 11-7 operation except for labor day weekend which will be 11-8 on Saturday and Sunday only.
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Looks like they’re sticking to 8 hour operating days for the foreseeable future.

Believe it or not, there are two glaringly good things about this change.

1) Grand Carnivale now has consistent operating days. I’m sure that the interchanging 7pm and 9pm closings would have confused many guests who don’t visit the park often, so I’m glad to see that all parade nights close at 8pm now.

2) The park was originally scheduled to end daily operation after Monday, August 2nd. With the new schedule, the last day of daily operation will now end on Sunday, August 15th, giving us two extra weeks of fun at the park!

My guess is that the schedule will keep evolving and changing as conditions improve. I wonder what the hours will look like for Halloween Haunt and WinterFest should the staffing issues remain.
 
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PATHETIC

I see that includes closing at 7 on July 4. So much for that being a hope for improved evening hours.
 
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