COVID-19 Impacts on Kings Dominion

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With things so fluid right now, I don't know how they can plan for anything. We are dealing with a virus that has the ability crop up anywhere and at anytime. Plus, theme/amusement parks are not an essential business and will be the last to be opened (same for sports facilities, theaters [movies and performing arts], and concert venues).

What about staffing, food, sanitation? Can they get staffed in enough time to be operational? Is there enough staffing to keep most of the park operational? Will people make the choice to visit? Will there be enough visitors to make the operational expenses worth keeping the park open?

Way too many variables for any detailed opening plans right now. If you make a plan you are probably having to tear that one up at least every week. I guess management can do so if they don't have anything else going on. (Not saying plans are not setting on a shelf).
 
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mwhinva said:
With things so fluid right now, I don't know how they can plan for anything. We are dealing with a virus that has the ability crop up anywhere and at anytime. Plus, theme/amusement parks are not an essential business and will be the last to be opened (same for sports facilities, theaters [movies and performing arts], and concert venues).

What about staffing, food, sanitation? Can they get staffed in enough time to be operational? Is there enough staffing to keep most of the park operational? Will people make the choice to visit? Will there be enough visitors to make the operational expenses worth keeping the park open?

Way too many variables for any detailed opening plans right now. If you make a plan you are probably having to tear that one up at least every week. I guess management can do so if they don't have anything else going on. (Not saying plans are not setting on a shelf).
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Yeah I fully agree. My “plan” is just what I would like to see, but by no means do I think it’s foolproof. I am worried about amusement parks being the last to open, and I’m sure a lot of people will be too scared to come to the park even after the green light is given. I wish the government could give help to these businesses. I understand why people think that bailing out the airline and hotel industries are important, but I feel like they would be back in business regardless once we’re back to “normal” since people have to travel. People don’t have to go to an amusement park, which is why I think they’ll have more of a struggle gaining traction after a prolonged closure.
 
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Apologies for the double post, but per KD’s website, the first day that one can buy a daily ticket is July 1st, about five days before the scheduled end of Grand Carnivale. I noticed the same thing on Carowinds’ website, so I’m thinking that this is a chain wide change. I will check the other websites to make sure and report my findings in the overall amusement industry thread.

EDIT: Yes, every CF park has done this.
 
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Canada's Wonderland put up their equivalent post today. I got our Platinum Passes through them, so I'm glad to see it.
 
Joe said:
In addition to the obvious cuts we will probably see (shorter hours, lower staff), I wonder if the park will put more of an emphasis on in-park spending in 2021. This seems like the year to brainstorm every program and event in the book to get passholders opening up their wallets inside the park. This strikes me as the best way to make up for lost revenue while season pass sales are so severely limited. Any ideas on what they could do?
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I just hatched another idea. What if the park sells merchandise online in addition to in-person? I’m sure this will make some money!
 
Curious about that -

First as a consumer, what sort of KD merch is generally worth purchasing when $ is tight and the park is closed?

Second, thinking about logistics - would the park have stock on-site that'd need to be processed for orders and thus need fulfillment staffing and courier services, or is this something they could arrange with merch suppliers who'd presumably take a cut?

Finally, where would the break-even point be for launching such a program at this time?
 
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Kingsfest AND JoyFest 2020 have been cancelled at Kings Dominion. I wonder what this means for Grand Carnivale...

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I'm pretty confident that Grand Carnivale is off for 2020—at least in the form it took last year.

All the rumors out of Disney and Uni regarding reopening plans have included cancellation of parades, fireworks, and other entertainment offerings that encourage people to gather in one place. Many aspects of Grand Carnivale seem impossible with that philosophy in place.
 
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Zachary said:
I'm pretty confident that Grand Carnivale is off for 2020—at least in the form it took last year.

All the rumors out of Disney and Uni regarding reopening plans have included cancellation of parades, fireworks, and other entertainment offerings that encourage people to gather in one place. Many aspects of Grand Carnivale seem impossible with that philosophy in place.
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As much as it sucks....I think it's a good idea. If Halloween events and Christmas events happen this year I would expect some major modifications for similar reasons.
 
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Halloween events would be extremely difficult to operate under any social distancing policy outside of putting up decorations. A scaled back Christmas event may be possible with light shows and stage events as the primary draw. Still going to be hard, but more feasible than other events.
 
Zachary said:
I'm pretty confident that Grand Carnivale is off for 2020—at least in the form it took last year.

All the rumors out of Disney and Uni regarding reopening plans have included cancellation of parades, fireworks, and other entertainment offerings that encourage people to gather in one place. Many aspects of Grand Carnivale seem impossible with that philosophy in place.
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I’m worried about that, too. As much as I’d like to see it in its entirety, I don’t see how it could happen. My biggest worry would be the dance party at the end of the night, as that’s a lot of people in one area. Would it be possible to have longer parade routes industry-wide so that we could still have parades but crowds could be thinned along the way? Does that make sense?

warfelg said:
As much as it sucks....I think it's a good idea. If Halloween events and Christmas events happen this year I would expect some major modifications for similar reasons.
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I feel bad for Cedar Fair especially due to the WinterFest Wonderland parade expansion coming to 2 parks this Christmas (one rumored to be KD). I know December 2020 is a LONG way away but if a second wave of COVID-19 comes along like we’re thinking could happen, this screams bad news for my favorite times of year at KD.
 
I just don't see how any theme park will be able to open this year. With the obvious social distancing not ended no time soon and with the new sanitation guidelines from CDC, how can they do it? Haunt is more than likely not happening this year along with Winterfest and if they do open, they would only operate maybe at 50% capacity so that's less revenue coming in so they will probably be taking a loss each day they are open.
 
If they go 50% capacity and by that point there's pent-up demand, my guess is they'd be profitable enough to open.

However, 50% capacity would be the problem - it's still fairly crowded.

Haunt at 25% may be doable with all normal rides running and a few less mazes (keep Haunt specific costs low since I'd imagine outside of staffing the regular ride costs are fairly consistent).

With WinterFest normally having few rides open and huge chunks of the park closed off, however, I'm not sure if that kind of reduced capacity would be profitable enough.

Luckily, I'm not part of their financial team so it's totally cool if I'm wrong.
 
25% would be doable for non-event days, though they'd need to cap tickets on weekends.

Haunt is going to be tricky in general. I wouldn't be surprised if it's scare zones and outdoor mazes only with the rest closed off for the year. That might make the costs manageable with 25% capacity.

Winterfest would probably be the easiest to operate, particularly if the indoor shows are cancelled. I don't think attendance is that high for Winterfest to begin with and with most rides closed that reduces labor costs alone.
 
I would remind everyone to caveat what they know and what is an assessment or opinion.

I doubt anyone on this forum knows enough about KD’s financials to be able to assert that “25% would be doable.”

I am seeing this problem across the sub-fora.
 
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MAZ said:
I know for certain that a socially distanced zombie would not be very scary.
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Exactly what I was thinkng. The main thrill from these Halloween events is the scare actors getting up close and unexpectedly invading your personal space. I have no idea how events like Haunt could possibly work if social distancing extends into the fall.
 
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A better question would be....if social distancing expires before haunt, do you really want a zombie’s loud whispers in your personal Face space?!?!
 
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