Kings Dominion is Officially Smoke-Free

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Mushroom

Mushroom

Getting aHEAD of myself
Advisory Panel
Feb 12, 2011
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I thought this deserved its own thread since this appears to be a permanent change, not just a temporary modification for the pandemic. According to the park's latest blog post, Kings Dominion is now officially a smoke-free park:
Beginning December 5, 2020, smoking will only be permitted in the designated smoking area outside the park’s main entrance. Smoking will not be allowed anywhere inside Kings Dominion.
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Now that the change is official, that brings KD in line with the other Cedar Fair parks that opened this year. Personally, I'm thrilled about the change, but I'm curious about how the general public will feel about the new rule.
 
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As an ex-smoker I feel for smokers here. People who smoke should have somewhere to go. If for no other reason, by giving them nowhere some will smoke somewhere and perhaps not where non-smokers would prefer.
 
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If the park was over an hour away, I would be asking for a refund. This is not what I paid for. I doubt strongly I will be attending any other Cedar Fair parks ever again. I already decided against a trip to Dorney this year.
 
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I know there was a big discussion when CP started to do it, and I was on the record of being for it.

But CW, Carow, KD, KI have a unique ability the other parks don't: All 4 of them have plenty of space around the park that they could do a "back door" to have a second smoking option on the part of the park furthest from the gate.

CW: Back by Jumping Jet behind Hurler is a good spot.
Caro: Back by Dodg'Ems they could put one behind Copperhead
KD: Back behind Apple Zapple and TT
KI: Back in by the Beast station.
 
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Given how many times I’ve been close to people outside of smoking areas who are smoke, even getting so bad as people smoking/vaping in queues, I’m fine with this.

I’m sure that they have done extensive research into any lost revenue that might result of this and found it acceptable.
 
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^^-- I think they believe they will make more money in the long run by providing a sterile appearance, and I don't mean just virus-wise. I think they are overlooking its affect upon groups.

As to my previous response, I want to be clearly on record this will cost them a few bucks from me. I may still go if "in the area" but it will be a factor in my decisions, both practically and feeling dissed. I will not avoid them on a matter of principle or believing that a boycott will change anything. It is simply what affect it will have on my experience. I can do a lot of walking or short visits in the amount of time it would take to drive somewhere else than KD, so they force my hand here. I always thought it seemed too good to last anyway.

I also doubt it will do much to reduce misbehavior.
 
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In my experience, if people really want to smoke, they’re going to try to smoke. In numerous times at BGW, I‘ve noticed someone smoking in a non-smoking area. Typically, the park employees are pretty quick to “nip it in the bud,” though.

Edit: this is not to say I expect a lot of people to do this now that KD is non-smoking... I think less will do so, which is a pretty big plus for this new rule for me.
 
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warfelg said:
I mean...smoking is something you chose to do. I don’t see why a company choosing to not letting you do so on their premises means you won’t go there. Like I said. Just doesn’t make sense to me.
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If all else is equal to another option, why wouldn't it? And it would probably make more difference to me than most that might look at it from the opposite direction. However there are certainly people that consider it a big plus... Anyway it's not the only reason to not travel long distances to go to an amusement park, it doesn't necessarily take a lot to tip the scales the other way. It's a lot to go through to not get a simple accommodation.

I can add that I've gone to KD vapeless, having forgotten pocket apparatus, it was just a bit less luxurious for short visit, but going somewhere for the whole day would be different.

P.S. you "back door" post, exactly, KD has 2 points quite far from the front gate; CP could just reopen the extra gates and add areas there, but if it didn't have those, it's a long long place.
 
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bill s said:
^^-- I think they believe they will make more money in the long run by providing a sterile appearance, and I don't mean just virus-wise. I think they are overlooking its affect upon groups.

As to my previous response, I want to be clearly on record this will cost them a few bucks from me. I may still go if "in the area" but it will be a factor in my decisions, both practically and feeling dissed. I will not avoid them on a matter of principle or believing that a boycott will change anything. It is simply what affect it will have on my experience. I can do a lot of walking or short visits in the amount of time it would take to drive somewhere else than KD, so they force my hand here. I always thought it seemed too good to last anyway.

I also doubt it will do much to reduce misbehavior.
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I think you're making a valid point. You're not saying you'll visit less out of protest, you'll probably just end up visiting less because being at the park will be less enjoyable to you because of the new rule. I don't smoke of course, but I can see where you're coming from and I think that's a totally respectable opinion. I don't think anyone should be disagreeing with you on this point, honestly.

That said, and I think you might agree with this, the nuance in this discussion is that yes, some people will be negatively affected by this change and may decide not go visit the park because of it. But overall, the park has probably concluded that the business they'll lose will be outweighed by business they gain by creating a cleaner, safer appearance.
 
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BGWnut said:
A contract they reportedly lost to BGW this past year, but who knows that was before the pandemic
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I was hoping BGW would go smoke free as well but that would be a pretty awkward conversation if Altria buys out the park a few days a year. But I think they could just as easily let the Altria employees cosplay as chimneys all day long since they would be the only guests in the park.
 
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panopticon31 said:
I was hoping BGW would go smoke free as well but that would be a pretty awkward conversation if Altria buys out the park a few days a year. But I think they could just as easily let the Altria employees cosplay as chimneys all day long since they would be the only guests in the park.
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Interestingly enough two of my students at Altria employees and they said smoking within the company is pretty rare on the whole thanks to wellness programs.

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Also these conversations about smoking in parks always makes me think of the musical “Urinetown”
 
warfelg said:
Interestingly enough two of my students at Altria employees and they said smoking within the company is pretty rare on the whole thanks to wellness programs.
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I've heard more or less the same thing. Makes sense, really - you don't have to use a company's products to work there, and you know the dealer shouldn't indulge.
 
warfelg said:
Interestingly enough two of my students at Altria employees and they said smoking within the company is pretty rare on the whole thanks to wellness programs.

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Also these conversations about smoking in parks always makes me think of the musical “Urinetown”
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I retired from PM in 2009. I saw very few employees smoke and smoking areas were not always near work areas.
 
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warfelg said:
Interestingly enough two of my students at Altria employees and they said smoking within the company is pretty rare on the whole thanks to wellness programs.

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Also these conversations about smoking in parks always makes me think of the musical “Urinetown”
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That show is just plain gross.

This does remind me of "Barbarians At the Gate"
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Right. Like most jobs it's simply what people ended up with rather than what they wanted to do.
 
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