Daytime Fireworks

[Nibbins]

I think the problem is that if they open any longer they probably would need workforce for a whole additional shift.

It seems that the same group of people are operating the same rides currently all day. Opening up their ride at 11am, closing down at 7pm. That's roughly a 8-9 hour work day.
Once you are staying open another 3-4 hours that would turn into 12-13 hour workdays, which wouldn't be sustainable with the same amount of people.
Differential pay doesn't matter much if you cant find enough people in first place.

 

[Jonesta6]

You are right about meal plans. I did not take that into consideration.

I didn't say they had to do 10:00pm closing daily. But weekends wouldn't hurt. The thing I scratch my head on is the staffing issue. You do need a decent number of staff to open in the morning hours. That generally requires them to be there an hour or so before the park opens. So is the issue, not having enough staff to work late evening hours? Could that issue simply be fixed by offering night differential pay? Same thing they do with construction workers and people that work at hospitals. For a theme park, they could easily offer 4 dollars more for staff shifts that extend pass 6:00pm.

Not privy to their payroll decisions, my guess is that they've probably explored that option but found it to be less profitable than desired whether or not we as enthusiasts believe otherwise.

 

[Gavin]

I dunno about the other departments, but ride ops clock in 30 minutes before park open unless the ride has ERT. Closing is usually no more than 30 minutes as well, if that. Usually everyone is trying to race out of the park.

 

[Crunchewy]

Good question - I'd guess that it comes down to the competitive advantage to have employees headed home before 8pm (assuming the staff has to stay behind a bit to corral guests and clean up after park closure plus it takes time to go from a work location to their cars) vs. retail/food service employers that have a late 2nd shift end or even a 3rd shift (Taco Bell needs to satisfy late nights and breakfasts now). WF operations are for a much shorter term than summer seasonal hours, and although they do bring on new staff I believe a majority of staff you see are summer and/or Haunt employees riding out their employment as long as possible.

With a labor shortage, the park not being a prime employment option for many in the area, and other employers potentially offering more value to employees, they gotta do what they can to ensure proper staffing levels.

So I’m not going to say where this comes from, but one of KD’s main problems right now is they keep having to fire new staff for not following the rule that if you get your phone out while operating a ride, that results in immediate firing. Which of course it should, but it’s not helping staff shortages.