I’ve only been to Knott’s Berry farm 3 times. Sure it’s mostly a food tasting event and no rides are in operation but hey, at least I’ve been inside one.
That's very subjective. Republicans are going to rank the parks that did nothing highly while Democrats would rank parks that closed all year highly. Any park that resisted this shit gets high remarks from me while parks that pushed it (Disney) get rated very low
Water feature on Mine Train Lift 1 is now working. 2 of the water falls on Rapids are being replaced. The water fall on Runaway Mountain is being looked at. (It's in very bad shape). The water feature after the horseshoe on Chaps is being looked at. The water fountain next to Superman was just replaced. Look harder. The water fountains on either side of the Carrousel was removed for legal reasons, not money.
2020: an unexpected year that was out of our control (and amusement parks are no different on both sides of the issues this year) 2021: hopefully a year where things can get better and not worse
It might also send SeaWorld into a critical tailspin, because it's nigh-unlikely that they will EVER get back the huge investments they made into their new coasters now. At minimum, you'll have plenty of park employees and visitors wondering if there will even BE a SeaWorld chain in five years time!
@@benjaminfriedman9107 The long-term story is consolidation. In decades past there were far more small theme parks than there are today, and the big ones were smaller than they are now. It's kind of sad, because small parks have a charm all their own. But it does mean that we can ride giant monstrosities that never could have existed in those days.
I definitely hope those hand sanitizer bottles won't disappear. People are sneezing, coughing, and picking their nose all over the place. An amazing number of people don't wash their hands after going to the toilet. The lack of hygiene makes me wonder if the world was overdue for a pandemic.
I think the virtual queue thing is a negative. It might not seem like it at surface level, but if you think deeply about it (too much to get into here), it will actually make all lines much longer on busy days. A 45-minute actual line will become a 2-hour virtual line. Then the attractions that don't use the virtual system will also be far busier. You will get less done, and most of what you get done won't be things you went there to do. This has been very apparent on busy days at Holiday World. Plus, all the people that would've been in the queue are now in the already crowded midways. And personally, I absolutely hate bringing a phone with me into a park where I'll be riding rides.
When I went to La Ronde, it was a day with on again off again rain. Going on the Boomerang with a mask, when there was a sudden hit of heavy rain, was certainly an experience I won't forget any time soon, as will my trip on Vampire that had light rain.
@Theodoros Maheras I didn't go on Goliath, didn't feel up for it. Went on Vampire, Boomerange, Tobagan and Ednor, save for Goliath every other roller coaster was closed.
@@vortexluigirosalina5557 I don't think social distancing will last forever. Eventually it'll just phase out. However, it likely will remain in place until a vaccine is widely available.
I agree all the restrictions stink, but they are absolutely necessary. it is only temporary though, and it'll feel great once the pandemic is over and it is all back to normal!
I was forced to go out of state to ride a rollercoaster this year. Never had that happen b4. And tbh... only wanted to make me move out of upstate new york even more. There's a big difference between lets stay safe. And let's satisfy our crazy governors power fantasies
SFMM is my home park. Nothing is worse than driving by X2 everyday and having it taunt you. I really hope that even though SFMM couldn't open this year that it comes back with a vengeance.
This is going to be a LOOOONG comment....because well, I’ve been to 16 theme parks this year SINCE the pandemic started. I covered ALL of them on my channel as i went along - everything from Lagoon to Hershey. The trip has been INSANE, took an RV, wrote articles for Attractions Magazine and Behind the Thrills, and made videos for each park I went to. Got to CLIMB LEAP THE DIPS and tour the power station. I also got to climb Skyliner at that park. I was fortunate enough to break 300 credits this year finally, probably my biggest single year gain ever. I didn’t really Mind the masks. I wore N95’s the ENTIRE season, at every single park I went to, with a neck gator to hold the straps on the more intense rides. I feel they are a minor inconvenience to be safe - and as ive gone through all these parks i have not caught covid yet. I do agree that the train half capacity is miserable. I almost wish they would do full trains to help cut down the lines, because I noticed that the lines tend to be where people get most lazy about social distancing. I was fortunate enough to get to pick my seats out most of the season, and was fortunate that a LOT of the days I went I got empty parks or mostly empty parks. I noticed that from park to park things would change - some parks would run all their B&M rows, while some separated. I did manage to get some night rides at Kings Island this year during their 9 PM closures. It’s also possible to pull night rides at a few six flags and now Silver Dollar City currently that are doing their Halloween Events. So, Who wins Best coaster 2020? LOL I was at six flags Magic Mountain March 11th. Last day of Operation was March 13th. I planned to be at Discovery Kingdom opening weekend, and was even in San Francisco already when the 13th rolled around and the closures happened. There seems to be a solid rumor that Carowinds may do their winter event - there has been activity at the park, and they apparently have permission from both states to open. I agree - this massive loss of income is going to be miserable. I am fortunate for what the parks have done as they had no control over this years situations, but I do agree it will probably be 2023-2025 before we finally start seeing new attractions again - possibly even longer. Will this delay the first AXIS coaster being built? I HOPE NOT. I feel like one or two may have already been ordered or purchased so, we shall see..... Now shall I do your positives to? Yeah - I agree the crowds were minimal a lot of the time. When I went to SDC they were running one train on EVERYTHING (Even Time Traveler) there were actual lines, that could have been eliminated with more trains. Virtual queue? Spend money? Ha. I LOVE THE NEW metal detectors though! I agree that they are great. When we went to SDC last year there were no metal detectors at all though, and this year they had the old style. Mobile dining works ok, it is absolutely hit or miss. Disney has been doing it for a LONG time. LOL I carry my own, the sanitizer at parks are VERY hit or miss. VERY VERY hit or miss. I love the way Hersheypark is handling when they have an empty station: They have a text number that you text into and they come refill it. Also, I saw bob at the end of the video - Hi Bob.
10 [Coaster Built by RMC] 9 [Coaster Built by RMC] 8 [Coaster Built by RMC] 7 [Coaster Built by RMC] 6 [Coaster Built by RMC] 5 [Coaster Built by RMC] 4 [Coaster Built by RMC] 3 [Coaster Built by RMC] 2 [Coaster Built by RMC] 1 [Coaster Built by RMC]
@@frdspa5434 what?? RMC occasionally does lateral ejector, not really pure laterals. I think you meant: 1) Ghostrider’s final helix 2) Ghostrider’s final helix 3) Ghostrider’s final helix 4) Ghostrider’s final helix 5) Ghostrider’s final helix 6) Ghostrider’s final helix 7) Ghostrider’s final helix 8) Ghostrider’s final helix 9) Ghostrider’s final helix 10) Ghostrider’s final helix
@@ducksfan_1149 Nanana, both wrong, I think you mean Beast massive double helix or Pegeses at Mt Olympus last little transition at the very end into the brake run.
1. Pegasus last turn 2. Pegasus last turn 3. Pegasus last turn 4. Pegasus last turn 5. Pegasus last turn 6. Pegasus last turn 7. Pegasus last turn 8. Pegasus last turn 9. Pegasus last turn 10. Pegasus last turn (Honorable mention) Pegasus last turn
@@maxhagenauer24 I think all three would probably make the list. I personally prefer Ghostrider’s helix over the beast’s bc the uncovered portion on beast is pretty weak. I’d be surprised if an RMC made the list honestly. And obviously both helixes are more sustained then an untrimmed turn
The Virtual Queue is pretty nice, from parks I visited, just Walibi Holland did that and i hope it stays here. I don't mind standing in a well themed queue, but a lot of parks don't have great lines, and a virtual one is much better for the guests and the park. I mean you can spend your time(and money) in a gift shop and/or a restaurant. About some financial aspects. Mack Rides, made a statement, that Universal Studios canceled a 20Million dollar project(for 2023!), and they were afraid by the long term effects of the whole situation. However, Roland Mack said shortly after that a Chinese investor took the opportunity to order some attractions. Its pretty interesting that someone else just took over the capacity. Hopefully we can return next year back to a normal situation.
It’s not necessarily the parks that get lazy refilling the hand sanitizers, at ki it all falls on the operators but there’s almost never time to constantly check on them during the middle of the day, if there’s even sanitizer in stock at our locations
For me the best thing that came out of 2020 was the opportunity to join a jump team from SF Darien Lake to Sf Great Adventure, I worked at Ride of steel and because of that I got to work el toro which was a dream come true
@David Scarpa Disneyland's problem has always been the City of Anaheim. Now with the pandemic the governor is on board with trying to control them and all parks suffer. I left California for Texas, you can have Oklahoma! KUNGALOOSH!!
That number one is such a cop out of the good. And in my eyes, what makes a thing officially better is if it would also benefit the park during non-covid times.
With my experiences from Universal Orlando I can say the following: 1, for a more intense ride experience on some coasters, put water dummies in the blocked rows. Heavier trains go faster, thus more fun! 2, square away dining for pass holders. For me in mid October, dining plans still had to be done in person
I try and go to magic mountain once a year I can not imagine being there on those 100 degree summer days in a mask. although I did go to six flags discovery kingdom for their no rides event it was better than not going at all and reminded me of life pre covid (even with a mask)
I made a few trips to Great Adventure this season, and I gotta say, Great Adventure and Six Flags in general seems to be doing a pretty decent job with COVID protocols, good balance between safety and not trying to compromise the guest experience too much
I’m an employee at kings island and I agree with everything you said, yes the sanitizer stations should stay as well as the security scanners but I can’t wait to go back to normal because I hated having to tell people where to sit
Six Flags Over Texas has actually always had free water cups at all the beverage stands, its a great feature I loved to take advantage of even before water fountains got shut off.
Actually, when I went on Millennium Force this year, they let us pick our seats. I'm gonna request a front row on Top Thrill Dragster since even if the pandemic is over, my grandmother is handicapped and they still choose rows for us.
I love the idea of reservations for the day you plan on going. This helps control crowd levels and helps parks plan ahead for staffing so they are running at a level which can handle the crowd which attends that day. I worked in a park and "record breaking attendance" days just SUCKED when we were staffed for a 75 or 80 percent day. I've also had the misfortune to show up at a park first thing in the morning and by 2 pm.... they've set a new "attendance record" and it was miserable. I don't care if it is an outside entertainment venue. Too many stinking people is too many stinking people. You can't do anything, you can barely walk around. Reservations is an awesome idea which I hope parks embrace during peak season and special events.
I went to Knobels on the Saturday before Labor Day (big mistake), and they assigned seating on coasters. They assigned the front seat for me on Phoenix!
As a single rider I’m super excited that now no one can sit next to me and they don’t get mad because they can’t. I like empty stations to people aren’t pushing around and trying to match up with each other and they get mad at me because I’m just by myself. I love it.
I love seeing all of your new footage! Glad you got a really beautiful day at over Texas, that day definitely was more of a footage day. If I had a choice, I would of just stay on the oil Derrick and relax.
I agree with everything in this, but for me, It didn’t really change any plans. I still made 7 trips this season (with 1 or 2 more that I might squeeze in), with around 4 or 5 thousand miles clocked in for park trips. The thing that absolutely sucked, was limited hours like you said. Certain coasters are INSANE at night, and parks at night are absolutely incredible, they seem completely different and there isn’t a park I don’t prefer massively at night. That’s easily what I missed most about this year
Definitely a year of negatives for the theme park industry but at least we now have faster security and mobile food ordering. Virtual Queue is an interesting thing as well, if executed correctly it could become immensely helpful and improve a park visit. I worry though that if done badly it could cause a lot of issues such as overcrowded walkways and shops which would make visiting a new park more of a headache.
Disney has had mobile ordering for a few years now. I remember last year doing a SF park survey about it as they were about to roll it out. I think the only reason we got it was because of Disney, not the pandemic. And bags were searched at SDC when I was there last month. I don't think they upgraded the security. SWSA next weekend for extended park hours 10 - 9pm with fireworks! KUNGALOOSH!!
I was one of the few workers that got to work at cedar point over the summer due to the park Valley Fair located in Shakopee Minnesota not being able to open. It was nice to be able to work at another major park of that size and to get that overall experience. Was definitely hard as well. They brought in from other Cedar Fair parks such as Worlds of Fun, Kings Dominion, California's Great America, and Valley Fair. Some other parks were also included but only their management were those that worked and not their seasonal staff. Always fun working in the Amusement Park industry.
I have been waiting for this video because I have been worried about the theme park industry during the pandemic. I am encouraged by the steps and innovation that these parks are implementing due to COVID and I hope that they are here to stay, outside of the limited attendance and assigned seating, but I also like the idea of these parks not stuffing as many people in as humanly possible for profit...for a better consumer experience. The food apps are perfect and the pandemic should not have been its arrival, this should have been here a long time ago because it makes too much sense. I might be the only person that absolutely loves your #1 because I am a hand sanitizer fiend lol 😂 I always have it on hand (get it? 🥴) and I think having sanitizer wipes before getting on a ride would not only be beneficial, but could give a reassurance to the rider that anything that they touch is clean. Its also a psyche thing, some people want to mentally feel like they’re in control of their health during a pandemic. Overall, I loved this video and I am glad you touched on numerous topics: good and bad. I hope that we bounce back and we don’t see a return to financial issues like those after the Great Recession of the late 2000s or the tech crunch of the early 2000s. People need places to escape and amusement parks are a great way to do that. I grew up with divorced parents, but that meant I was living in two areas with great amusement parks. My day lived in San Francisco and took me to Six Flags for the amusement park/zoo atmosphere and Paramount’s Great America, which was my favorite. My mom moved back to LA area and of course that meant Disneyland and Magic Mountain, but I was partial to Knott’s Berry Farm, mostly because I was a huge Peanuts and Snoopy fan as a kid. As a teenager I started to love SFMM and PGA stayed my fave when at my dad’s. I hope these parks bounce back, but stay smart in investments and they ride out (🥴😏) this storm (Sorry SFNO) so we don’t see park closures 🤞
Visited Lagoon several times this year. Their drinking fountains are still open, but everywhere else has theirs closed. They used to have staggered seating on all of their rides until midway through the season. Now, they fill their rides at full capacity. Masks and social distancing are still required and have sanitizer stations everywhere, and Jet Star 2 is closed because it's not a social distance friendly ride. Aside from those, Lagoon seems to operate normally. They no longer do reservations for season passholders and I don't know if they're doing any capacity limits anymore. Primordial was already behind schedule for a 2020 opening before the pandemic, but they've been slowly working at it and now they're building the lift hill. Lagoon is slowly getting to where everything's back to where it used to be, but I wouldn't mind them implementing a virtual queue system or that mobile ordering for food.
I agree with the virtual queue. I was able to get to Holiday World for the first time and I thought the virtual queue through your phone was awesome. Waiting on line without having to actually wait on the line until it was your time to go on the ride was a great idea. I hope parks start using this all the time. Glad I brought my portable phone charger though because between taking photos and using the virtual queue I would have ran out of power a few times, so I definitely recommend bringing one.
I loved going back to Universal Studios Hollywood when they reopened this last April at limited capacity for their Bonus Days event (they did this for those who had Annual Passes and tickets for the 2020 season). Even though it is a smaller park, people were doing the best they could to stay 6 feet apart. The ride operators sprayed sanitizer onto each rider's hands before they on the ride's. They were also doing Virtual Queues for their new dark ride Secret Life of Pets: Off The Leash. My sister and I definitely felt safe there. Disneyland was a different story. While we did fine at Disneyland Park, California Adventure was a complete mess when we went. There was almost no social distancing and it felt like it a full capacity. While we were lucky to get boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance on Friday at lunchtime, we were not so lucky to get boarding passes for Web Singers, the new ride in the newly-opened Avengers Campus (I say it that way because the other ride inside Avengers Campus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, has been operating at California Adventure since 2017). But I did get to ride some of the rides I wanted to go on and enjoyed some nice meals during my visit thanks to Mobile Ordering (Disney has been doing this for a few years and it is great), and ate dinner King's Fish House, a nice seafood restaurant outside of the Disneyland Resort and just down the street from the Honda Center (where the Anaheim Ducks hockey team plays AND where the final hockey game of the Junior Goodwill Games in Disney film D2: The Mighty Ducks was shot).
Universal also had virtual queues, but not for every ride. Even still, having been there and Holiday World this season, the virtual queues are a win both for the consumer (less waiting in line) and the park (more time to play games, shop for merch, etc) and it really makes sense for more parks to do this going forward!
in my opinion the worst thing might just be the coaster community and gp will be less attached to theme parks and will limit investments for many years
When people are denied something...... and then get to get it......they want to overdose on it. I think people who have never purchased a season pass to a park will be buying passes to any park within 200 miles of their home. People who have gone to a park one time each year will go multiple times this next year. It will be the same with everything, people who have never purchased tickets to a professional sport game, concert, art gallery, or amusement park will be out there partying like it's 1999.
Reduced train capacity was the worst, between that and running empty trains after every sanitization break, lines for rides like Blue Streak and Corkscrew were pushing an hour - typically they're 10 minutes max. Given that, you can imagine the other rides! In my 3 trips to Cedar Point this year, I never got on more than 3 coasters in a day - longer lines and shorter hours. Specific to Steel Vengeance, moving the metal detectors back to the front entrance and doing away with using the pouches on the train for cell phones was a major step back that I really hope was unique to this season.
I agree with everything except the virtual queue. My experience with it at Holiday World wasn't as efficient as I'd hoped. I would be stuck waiting 2hrs to get on voyage but watching the train dispatch with 2 or 4 people because there was no one in the physical queue. You can't go hop in another coaster line because you're still queued for another coaster even if that other ride has a zero wait time. It has potential but needs the wrinkles ironed out
First since parks reopened including my home park I have been 3 this year. Of those here are things I knowtice. First the sanitizer station were a good idea. Fewer crowds even on a weekend. Limited hrs. Went to Kings island back in July. Should have closed at 10pm but closed at 8pm. Next thing have been drink station or getting drinks at restaurants: u have either the staff member getting it for u or u get a foam cup and fill that. Now for some parks only a portion of the park could open. Like KI only had theme open not the water. Or a six flags had a water open not the theme etc. now For Halloween. Parks getting creative on the event like Hallofest at six flags where u get both a kid friendly during the day and somewhat scary at night. Or straight kid friendly like Ceder fair. What to come is hard to say since we don’t know how much money parks made or making right now. But if your home park has extended passes till next year when they reopen spend money on stuff to help them out.
I'm so glad that Indiana Beach reopened earlier this year. I live really close, about 25-30min away, and it's just such a charming place with the wooden coasters and the boardwalk. It seems that Indiana Beach had a very successful year of operation since the park page is teasing 3 new rides of some sort for Summer 2021. I feel like something like a Chance Rides Freestyle or a Zamperla Endevor would be good fits since they used to have a Chance Rides Chaos on the boardwalk, but got removed because of reliability issues. Hopefully the park gets back on the right track after 2020-2021 and keeps adding to the boardwalk. Personally, I think an S&S Free Spin would be a fantastic fit for the park right along the water if they can find a spot to put it!
I’ve made it to Mt. Olympus, holiday world, six flags St. Louis, Kentucky kingdom, Dollywood, SFGadv, Hershey park, Dorney, Kennywood, Waldameer, Knoebels, and several visits to Kings island.
I’m just going to be thankful my home park of Six Flags Great Adventure opened up this season. 2020 was a bizarre year to become an enthusiast, and after getting interested in coasters I was dying to ride my favorite coasters. I only got one trip this year on a Tuesday in July and I can confirm basically everything you said in this video as true. Despite everything, I still had an amazing time, getting great rides on El Toro, Superman, Kingda Ka, Bizzaro, Nitro, and Wonder Woman! Also, shoutout to the Nitro ride op who let my friends and I in the back row!
@@AirtimeThrills 100% Agreed. Considering only California and maybe New York really beats us in terms or regulations, I can't believe it either. Plus, we got hit horribly at first with the virus. Thankfully we also recovered really fast, fast enough for Governor Murphy to allow theme parks to re-open (Morey's Pier also re-opened for 2020). From what I've heard, things have been operating smoothly at SFGAdv since and the park is having its Hallow Fest right now with Holiday in the Park planned. Lastly, Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream Mall just re-opened at the start of this month! Shellraiser and their new for 2020 coaster Sandy's Blasting Bronco are operating. Its less than half an hour where I live, so I might get a new credit for 2020 yet.
I’m a new platinum pass holder for Cedar Fair parks. Granted I live 2 hours from Cedar Point, and 4 from Canada’s Wonderland and King’s Island. It was my reward for my weight loss since I love coasters
I’ve been to the Busch Gardens Williamsburg mini events and they were awesome. Tiny crowds, great ops, Just a few rides but no waiting so lots of marathoning
This was an especially tough year for Magic Kingdom and Cedar Point, both of which were planning big anniversary bashes. I think the biggest chain parks will survive (though not without having to cancel or postpone some upgrades and investments), but some of the smaller chain parks may have to depend on the fortunes of their owners.
When me and my mom rode shockwave in the back at SFOT yesterday, it was a full train, when it’s a full train you get the full effect, when it’s 1/2 the train it just feels different
i skipped out on attending my home park (great adventure in new jersey) this season and i do not regret it. judging by how much tourism we got this summer in NJ, it was too risky to go to a theme park. hoping for a safer and more normal summer next year!
I went to Kings Island right when Covid started and enjoyed the lower crowd count so much i bought me and 2 of my friends season passes, we have been there pretty much non stop 😂. They are being pretty cool about letting you choose which spot you want when you ride here. We went last weekend and got to ride Orion/Banshee/Diamond front row. KI has been a good escape from all the world drama for me.
The smoke from the California wildfires drove me nuts so I took off to the east coast. Just went to Cedar Point, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Six Flags America, and Six Flags Great Adventure. Busch Gardens did it best but the park was only about 40% open. One of the employees told me that they only let in 1000 people, so the 4 coasters that were open all had short lines or no line at all. Cedar Point did it the worst with their ride reservations and the fact I nearly missed out on an opportunity to ride Steel Vengeance. I’m sure that plenty others were shafted. I us3d the flash pass at the six flags parks so I didn’t have any issues with crowds really.i guess I should have gotten a skip the line pass for Cedar Point as well. In times like this, it’s essential.
“May have had to forfeit an entire year at your home park. This is unprecedented.” My grandparents grew up going to West View Park. It was SBNO for 3 years before an arson that destroyed most of the park.
One positive I hope that stays around is the food containers. My home park SFOT are doing a great job getting food out faster and the portions seem larger and more presentable. You usually have to ask for an extra plate or napkins to cover your plate but with the new food containers that's not an issue anymore.
If anything, it's helping me decide on future trips to coasters I've never ridden. First trip will most likely be Silver Dollar City and POTENTIALLY SFSL but that is questionable. Been curious on Outlaw Run and Time Traveler for a while now and my last visit to Branson (in 2012), NEITHER of those coasters existed so I didn't go. Now could be my best chance. :)
I had a gold pass for 2020 at my home park of Cedar Point, but due to the pandemic, to be extra safe, my family and I backed out and had a whole summer of no coasters. Thankfully, we were able to use those passes for the 2021 Season
I really appreciate the parks that reopened this year. I was able to go to universal studios Orlando, Hershey park, and I am going to sfga this weekend! Great video btw!👍
We just experienced Virtual Queue in Europapark. I am very much against any kind of fastpass system, because the normal queues are too long. However, they made it work quite well, with the chance to use some each day and not really disturbing the real queuelines too much.
I think what irked me the most about some parks not being allowed to open (namely CW) is they had a plan in place to open and operate safely but our government still said no.
You've made great points here. During my only trip to Cedar Point in late May 2018 I once bought some food only to realize I touched it without having washed my hands after touching too many restraints other people touched being on MANY roller coasters at Cedar Point in different rows. I almost spat out my 1st bite upon realizing that, then decided to swallow due to 1) hunger; 2) precedent (I used to have a rough lifestyle about 20 years ago and I didn't get sick then) The food wasn't the best, being CP during May. My point is: I was aware of the danger of touching too many things others have touched long before this pandemic in May 2018. I ate the food and didn't get sick. surviving is only fair outcome. Covid should never be used as an excuse that Cedar Point has shitty food: It always did, especially during May.
Out of the two parks I went to this year, only Lagoon required masks (especially since the park owner was there that day, so they were enforcing it). Silverwood was nice to not require masks, if you are ok with that of course. And a note on seat assignments, it was funny how many times I was assigned front row on Cannibal lol almost every time. I traded a few times cause I've been there enough haha
i was part of a test run for the virtual ride line at SF:Over Texas last weekend and it worked well, they only problem i had was you could only reserve one ride at a time, so i set it up on my kids phones so we could set up multiple rides at the same time
I had to down grade my big plans for my first visit to Cedar Point and Bush Gardens, Tampa Bay. I still managed to get about 20 new credits this summer tho, I wasn't expecting to like Kentucky Kingdom as much as I did and got Holiday World off my checklist finally! But ya, THE WAIT FOR IRON GWAZI IS GETTING RIDICULOUS.
My home park is Hershey, and we went 5 times. The crowds were down so much, the waits were super short (even with reduced capacity). Candemonium almost never had a wait. I don't think we waited more than 30 minutes on a single ride the entire season. Even with reduced hours, we got many more rides in.
At Kennywood depending on the ride operator you could ask for a certain seat and they will let you take it, some operators did not let me choose but most did. Id say about 85-90% of the time i was able to choose my seat.
Uh... was that last clip of the video -- of Airtime Thrills (Chris?) pointing to the "Hades" sign -- intentional? That is, it was symbolically referencing what this year has been like: hell???
Holiday World's virtual queue was utter trash. Out of my 4 visits, it really only worked once. Can't even recall how many times I would have to wait 45+ minutes to ride a ride with no one in line and the ride cycling empty trains.
Isn't that the point of a virtual queue? It's like waiting in line without having to actually stand in the line. The Cedar Point access passes, those were truly terrible. Wait in a line to get a pass with an appointment time to enter the queue and wait in line some more. Thankfully you only need access passes for four coasters, but what a pain!
I went to the opening day for GAdv and it was rough, the whole right side was closed. Also for El Toto the ride is WAY more rough thanks to the 1/2 capacity.
Man, my biggest dissapointement, linked to the point you make about long term investements, was when Parc Astérix announced they postponed their Intamin triple-launch blitz coaster all the way to 2023... this was set to be one of Europe's best... well at least F.L.Y. opened
Six Flags can't afford to do that. The profit from those other parks is where a huge chunk of the money comes from to pay for all the cool new stuff their "big three" parks get to enjoy every stinking year.
I agree with everything in this video. Ever since the coronavirus outbreak, I haven't been to any theme park.
I’ve only been to Knott’s Berry farm 3 times. Sure it’s mostly a food tasting event and no rides are in operation but hey, at least I’ve been inside one.
I've been to lake compounce and canobie lake. But thats because my home park isn't open
This has been an unexpected year that was out of our control!
I haven't been to any theme park recently either but that's because I don't reguarlly go to theme parks
I only went to six flags St. Louis once
8:28 RIP Guy in back row's hat
Whenever - 2020
I was looking for a comment like this XD
You should do a video talking about which parks handled COVID the best and who was the worst from your experiences
This is a good one. I second this
@@Emplordxiii Same here
Wish i coulda visited more parks this year but i have a small sample size
Yeah
That's very subjective. Republicans are going to rank the parks that did nothing highly while Democrats would rank parks that closed all year highly. Any park that resisted this shit gets high remarks from me while parks that pushed it (Disney) get rated very low
Luckily, Over Texas' water fountains haven't worked in decades.
Oof
New patk president
Water feature on Mine Train Lift 1 is now working. 2 of the water falls on Rapids are being replaced. The water fall on Runaway Mountain is being looked at. (It's in very bad shape). The water feature after the horseshoe on Chaps is being looked at. The water fountain next to Superman was just replaced. Look harder. The water fountains on either side of the Carrousel was removed for legal reasons, not money.
@@travismartin6470 when was this fixed?
@@travismartin6470 I'm talking about the drinkable water fountains.
2020: an unexpected year that was out of our control (and amusement parks are no different on both sides of the issues this year)
2021: hopefully a year where things can get better and not worse
It’s only gonna get worse from here. This world’s gonna be an apocalypse by the end of the decade...
Or we dont make it into 2021 and on December 31st, something happens that kills us all.
This comment aged like fine milk.
Limited parks hours is the worst.
Wrong. The new for 2020 attractions not opening are the worst.
Still a problem today unfortunately.
I think this situation will cause parks that were struggling financially to die
Me too. I know for example Conneaut lake was in trouble before and this may be the final nail
Just like the small restaurants and bars
It might also send SeaWorld into a critical tailspin, because it's nigh-unlikely that they will EVER get back the huge investments they made into their new coasters now. At minimum, you'll have plenty of park employees and visitors wondering if there will even BE a SeaWorld chain in five years time!
@@AirtimeThrills its sad having parks close but they lead to newer and better parks usually
@@benjaminfriedman9107 The long-term story is consolidation. In decades past there were far more small theme parks than there are today, and the big ones were smaller than they are now. It's kind of sad, because small parks have a charm all their own. But it does mean that we can ride giant monstrosities that never could have existed in those days.
Anyone else haven’t ridden a coaster this year?
Today is the one year anniversary of me riding my most recent roller coaster, Corkscrew at VF
Nope haven’t since 2019
Me also😢😢😢😢😢
Last one was Twisted Colossus back in February. Nice one to end it on.
Me. No way I'd go anywhere near a park right now!
I had to cancel my 3 week annual vacation to the US as well, so 2020 bites the big one.
I definitely hope those hand sanitizer bottles won't disappear. People are sneezing, coughing, and picking their nose all over the place. An amazing number of people don't wash their hands after going to the toilet. The lack of hygiene makes me wonder if the world was overdue for a pandemic.
This! Even before a pandemic, theme parks were a cesspool of germs and diseases with everything you just said.
well, there's a fairly major pandemic about once every hundred years, so this one was right on schedule.
I think the virtual queue thing is a negative. It might not seem like it at surface level, but if you think deeply about it (too much to get into here), it will actually make all lines much longer on busy days. A 45-minute actual line will become a 2-hour virtual line. Then the attractions that don't use the virtual system will also be far busier. You will get less done, and most of what you get done won't be things you went there to do. This has been very apparent on busy days at Holiday World. Plus, all the people that would've been in the queue are now in the already crowded midways. And personally, I absolutely hate bringing a phone with me into a park where I'll be riding rides.
When I went to La Ronde, it was a day with on again off again rain. Going on the Boomerang with a mask, when there was a sudden hit of heavy rain, was certainly an experience I won't forget any time soon, as will my trip on Vampire that had light rain.
@Theodoros Maheras I didn't go on Goliath, didn't feel up for it. Went on Vampire, Boomerange, Tobagan and Ednor, save for Goliath every other roller coaster was closed.
The slc might get new trains
@Theodoros Maheras I haven't gone there (yet) but I have insider sources on the new train
It makes me wonder if any of these will be permanent.. like how security increased permanently after September 11
Agreed
I think sanitizer stations and mobile ordering will be. Maybe even cleaning, but less often than they do now.
Distancing might be permanent unless there’s a vaccine
@@vortexluigirosalina5557 I don't think social distancing will last forever. Eventually it'll just phase out. However, it likely will remain in place until a vaccine is widely available.
@@bigblueamusementproductions you do have a good point
Six Flags Great America Illinois will open November 27-December 27, 2020 for Holiday in the Park but no rides operating.
I agree all the restrictions stink, but they are absolutely necessary. it is only temporary though, and it'll feel great once the pandemic is over and it is all back to normal!
4:44 "Assigned Seating"
Six flags over Texas and fiesta: What are you talking about?
I was forced to go out of state to ride a rollercoaster this year. Never had that happen b4. And tbh... only wanted to make me move out of upstate new york even more. There's a big difference between lets stay safe. And let's satisfy our crazy governors power fantasies
SFMM is my home park. Nothing is worse than driving by X2 everyday and having it taunt you. I really hope that even though SFMM couldn't open this year that it comes back with a vengeance.
I love the virtual lines too! Such a great way to get things done. It also helps if you're claustrophobic. 🌺💜
This is going to be a LOOOONG comment....because well, I’ve been to 16 theme parks this year SINCE the pandemic started. I covered ALL of them on my channel as i went along - everything from Lagoon to Hershey. The trip has been INSANE, took an RV, wrote articles for Attractions Magazine and Behind the Thrills, and made videos for each park I went to. Got to CLIMB LEAP THE DIPS and tour the power station. I also got to climb Skyliner at that park. I was fortunate enough to break 300 credits this year finally, probably my biggest single year gain ever.
I didn’t really Mind the masks. I wore N95’s the ENTIRE season, at every single park I went to, with a neck gator to hold the straps on the more intense rides. I feel they are a minor inconvenience to be safe - and as ive gone through all these parks i have not caught covid yet.
I do agree that the train half capacity is miserable. I almost wish they would do full trains to help cut down the lines, because I noticed that the lines tend to be where people get most lazy about social distancing. I was fortunate enough to get to pick my seats out most of the season, and was fortunate that a LOT of the days I went I got empty parks or mostly empty parks. I noticed that from park to park things would change - some parks would run all their B&M rows, while some separated.
I did manage to get some night rides at Kings Island this year during their 9 PM closures. It’s also possible to pull night rides at a few six flags and now Silver Dollar City currently that are doing their Halloween Events.
So, Who wins Best coaster 2020? LOL
I was at six flags Magic Mountain March 11th. Last day of Operation was March 13th. I planned to be at Discovery Kingdom opening weekend, and was even in San Francisco already when the 13th rolled around and the closures happened. There seems to be a solid rumor that Carowinds may do their winter event - there has been activity at the park, and they apparently have permission from both states to open.
I agree - this massive loss of income is going to be miserable. I am fortunate for what the parks have done as they had no control over this years situations, but I do agree it will probably be 2023-2025 before we finally start seeing new attractions again - possibly even longer. Will this delay the first AXIS coaster being built? I HOPE NOT. I feel like one or two may have already been ordered or purchased so, we shall see.....
Now shall I do your positives to?
Yeah - I agree the crowds were minimal a lot of the time. When I went to SDC they were running one train on EVERYTHING (Even Time Traveler) there were actual lines, that could have been eliminated with more trains.
Virtual queue? Spend money? Ha.
I LOVE THE NEW metal detectors though! I agree that they are great. When we went to SDC last year there were no metal detectors at all though, and this year they had the old style.
Mobile dining works ok, it is absolutely hit or miss. Disney has been doing it for a LONG time.
LOL I carry my own, the sanitizer at parks are VERY hit or miss. VERY VERY hit or miss. I love the way Hersheypark is handling when they have an empty station: They have a text number that you text into and they come refill it.
Also, I saw bob at the end of the video - Hi Bob.
That’s why you take off your hat... 8:30 😂🤣😂
I thought it was a mask 😷 lol
Came here to say that!!! Lol
I was also extremely happy about the implementation of sanitizer as well.
Video request: top 10 best lateral moments.
10 [Coaster Built by RMC]
9 [Coaster Built by RMC]
8 [Coaster Built by RMC]
7 [Coaster Built by RMC]
6 [Coaster Built by RMC]
5 [Coaster Built by RMC]
4 [Coaster Built by RMC]
3 [Coaster Built by RMC]
2 [Coaster Built by RMC]
1 [Coaster Built by RMC]
@@frdspa5434 what?? RMC occasionally does lateral ejector, not really pure laterals. I think you meant:
1) Ghostrider’s final helix
2) Ghostrider’s final helix
3) Ghostrider’s final helix
4) Ghostrider’s final helix
5) Ghostrider’s final helix
6) Ghostrider’s final helix
7) Ghostrider’s final helix
8) Ghostrider’s final helix
9) Ghostrider’s final helix
10) Ghostrider’s final helix
@@ducksfan_1149 Nanana, both wrong, I think you mean Beast massive double helix or Pegeses at Mt Olympus last little transition at the very end into the brake run.
1. Pegasus last turn
2. Pegasus last turn
3. Pegasus last turn
4. Pegasus last turn
5. Pegasus last turn
6. Pegasus last turn
7. Pegasus last turn
8. Pegasus last turn
9. Pegasus last turn
10. Pegasus last turn
(Honorable mention)
Pegasus last turn
@@maxhagenauer24 I think all three would probably make the list. I personally prefer Ghostrider’s helix over the beast’s bc the uncovered portion on beast is pretty weak. I’d be surprised if an RMC made the list honestly. And obviously both helixes are more sustained then an untrimmed turn
The Virtual Queue is pretty nice, from parks I visited, just Walibi Holland did that and i hope it stays here. I don't mind standing in a well themed queue, but a lot of parks don't have great lines, and a virtual one is much better for the guests and the park. I mean you can spend your time(and money) in a gift shop and/or a restaurant.
About some financial aspects. Mack Rides, made a statement, that Universal Studios canceled a 20Million dollar project(for 2023!), and they were afraid by the long term effects of the whole situation. However, Roland Mack said shortly after that a Chinese investor took the opportunity to order some attractions. Its pretty interesting that someone else just took over the capacity.
Hopefully we can return next year back to a normal situation.
It’s not necessarily the parks that get lazy refilling the hand sanitizers, at ki it all falls on the operators but there’s almost never time to constantly check on them during the middle of the day, if there’s even sanitizer in stock at our locations
For me the best thing that came out of 2020 was the opportunity to join a jump team from SF Darien Lake to Sf Great Adventure, I worked at Ride of steel and because of that I got to work el toro which was a dream come true
I'll save you 13 minutes:
Worst Outcomes: California
And SeaWorld Parks
California seems to be 2020's punching bag amongst wildfires, park closures, and still dealing with rising Covid infections since March
And Illinois
@David Scarpa the irony of "if you disagree you can move to Oklahoma" lol
@David Scarpa Disneyland's problem has always been the City of Anaheim. Now with the pandemic the governor is on board with trying to control them and all parks suffer. I left California for Texas, you can have Oklahoma! KUNGALOOSH!!
That number one is such a cop out of the good. And in my eyes, what makes a thing officially better is if it would also benefit the park during non-covid times.
Sanitizer does make the park better during non covid times. There's a lot of reasons to sanitize that have nothing to do with covid
Pour one out for all the park employees who were laid off this year
With my experiences from Universal Orlando I can say the following:
1, for a more intense ride experience on some coasters, put water dummies in the blocked rows. Heavier trains go faster, thus more fun!
2, square away dining for pass holders. For me in mid October, dining plans still had to be done in person
I try and go to magic mountain once a year I can not imagine being there on those 100 degree summer days in a mask.
although I did go to six flags discovery kingdom for their no rides event it was better than not going at all and reminded me of life pre covid (even with a mask)
The worst outcome is if Lil Phantom closes
Nice ur first
@@swetzel08 Thanks lmao I'm usually super early
I made a few trips to Great Adventure this season, and I gotta say, Great Adventure and Six Flags in general seems to be doing a pretty decent job with COVID protocols, good balance between safety and not trying to compromise the guest experience too much
I’m an employee at kings island and I agree with everything you said, yes the sanitizer stations should stay as well as the security scanners but I can’t wait to go back to normal because I hated having to tell people where to sit
Six Flags Over Texas has actually always had free water cups at all the beverage stands, its a great feature I loved to take advantage of even before water fountains got shut off.
I really hope all parks can survive even the little ones it's so sad to see them go hope they all survive :(
Actually, when I went on Millennium Force this year, they let us pick our seats. I'm gonna request a front row on Top Thrill Dragster since even if the pandemic is over, my grandmother is handicapped and they still choose rows for us.
I love the idea of reservations for the day you plan on going. This helps control crowd levels and helps parks plan ahead for staffing so they are running at a level which can handle the crowd which attends that day. I worked in a park and "record breaking attendance" days just SUCKED when we were staffed for a 75 or 80 percent day. I've also had the misfortune to show up at a park first thing in the morning and by 2 pm.... they've set a new "attendance record" and it was miserable. I don't care if it is an outside entertainment venue. Too many stinking people is too many stinking people. You can't do anything, you can barely walk around. Reservations is an awesome idea which I hope parks embrace during peak season and special events.
I can see the positives of it but in general it was a pain
I went to Knobels on the Saturday before Labor Day (big mistake), and they assigned seating on coasters. They assigned the front seat for me on Phoenix!
As a single rider I’m super excited that now no one can sit next to me and they don’t get mad because they can’t. I like empty stations to people aren’t pushing around and trying to match up with each other and they get mad at me because I’m just by myself. I love it.
I love seeing all of your new footage! Glad you got a really beautiful day at over Texas, that day definitely was more of a footage day. If I had a choice, I would of just stay on the oil Derrick and relax.
I agree with everything in this, but for me, It didn’t really change any plans. I still made 7 trips this season (with 1 or 2 more that I might squeeze in), with around 4 or 5 thousand miles clocked in for park trips. The thing that absolutely sucked, was limited hours like you said. Certain coasters are INSANE at night, and parks at night are absolutely incredible, they seem completely different and there isn’t a park I don’t prefer massively at night. That’s easily what I missed most about this year
Definitely a year of negatives for the theme park industry but at least we now have faster security and mobile food ordering.
Virtual Queue is an interesting thing as well, if executed correctly it could become immensely helpful and improve a park visit. I worry though that if done badly it could cause a lot of issues such as overcrowded walkways and shops which would make visiting a new park more of a headache.
Disney has had mobile ordering for a few years now. I remember last year doing a SF park survey about it as they were about to roll it out. I think the only reason we got it was because of Disney, not the pandemic. And bags were searched at SDC when I was there last month. I don't think they upgraded the security. SWSA next weekend for extended park hours 10 - 9pm with fireworks! KUNGALOOSH!!
Closed: California
Open: Pretty Much Everywhere Else
I think you're missing MA, IL, NY, etc, it isnt just a CA thing
and va
You mean pretty much every state with a Democratic governor
the comments and this video give me so much hope in humanity
I was one of the few workers that got to work at cedar point over the summer due to the park Valley Fair located in Shakopee Minnesota not being able to open. It was nice to be able to work at another major park of that size and to get that overall experience. Was definitely hard as well. They brought in from other Cedar Fair parks such as Worlds of Fun, Kings Dominion, California's Great America, and Valley Fair. Some other parks were also included but only their management were those that worked and not their seasonal staff. Always fun working in the Amusement Park industry.
I have been waiting for this video because I have been worried about the theme park industry during the pandemic. I am encouraged by the steps and innovation that these parks are implementing due to COVID and I hope that they are here to stay, outside of the limited attendance and assigned seating, but I also like the idea of these parks not stuffing as many people in as humanly possible for profit...for a better consumer experience.
The food apps are perfect and the pandemic should not have been its arrival, this should have been here a long time ago because it makes too much sense. I might be the only person that absolutely loves your #1 because I am a hand sanitizer fiend lol 😂 I always have it on hand (get it? 🥴) and I think having sanitizer wipes before getting on a ride would not only be beneficial, but could give a reassurance to the rider that anything that they touch is clean. Its also a psyche thing, some people want to mentally feel like they’re in control of their health during a pandemic.
Overall, I loved this video and I am glad you touched on numerous topics: good and bad. I hope that we bounce back and we don’t see a return to financial issues like those after the Great Recession of the late 2000s or the tech crunch of the early 2000s. People need places to escape and amusement parks are a great way to do that.
I grew up with divorced parents, but that meant I was living in two areas with great amusement parks. My day lived in San Francisco and took me to Six Flags for the amusement park/zoo atmosphere and Paramount’s Great America, which was my favorite. My mom moved back to LA area and of course that meant Disneyland and Magic Mountain, but I was partial to Knott’s Berry Farm, mostly because I was a huge Peanuts and Snoopy fan as a kid. As a teenager I started to love SFMM and PGA stayed my fave when at my dad’s. I hope these parks bounce back, but stay smart in investments and they ride out (🥴😏) this storm (Sorry SFNO) so we don’t see park closures 🤞
Visited Lagoon several times this year. Their drinking fountains are still open, but everywhere else has theirs closed. They used to have staggered seating on all of their rides until midway through the season. Now, they fill their rides at full capacity. Masks and social distancing are still required and have sanitizer stations everywhere, and Jet Star 2 is closed because it's not a social distance friendly ride. Aside from those, Lagoon seems to operate normally. They no longer do reservations for season passholders and I don't know if they're doing any capacity limits anymore. Primordial was already behind schedule for a 2020 opening before the pandemic, but they've been slowly working at it and now they're building the lift hill. Lagoon is slowly getting to where everything's back to where it used to be, but I wouldn't mind them implementing a virtual queue system or that mobile ordering for food.
I agree with the virtual queue. I was able to get to Holiday World for the first time and I thought the virtual queue through your phone was awesome. Waiting on line without having to actually wait on the line until it was your time to go on the ride was a great idea. I hope parks start using this all the time. Glad I brought my portable phone charger though because between taking photos and using the virtual queue I would have ran out of power a few times, so I definitely recommend bringing one.
I loved going back to Universal Studios Hollywood when they reopened this last April at limited capacity for their Bonus Days event (they did this for those who had Annual Passes and tickets for the 2020 season). Even though it is a smaller park, people were doing the best they could to stay 6 feet apart. The ride operators sprayed sanitizer onto each rider's hands before they on the ride's. They were also doing Virtual Queues for their new dark ride Secret Life of Pets: Off The Leash. My sister and I definitely felt safe there.
Disneyland was a different story. While we did fine at Disneyland Park, California Adventure was a complete mess when we went. There was almost no social distancing and it felt like it a full capacity. While we were lucky to get boarding passes for Rise of the Resistance on Friday at lunchtime, we were not so lucky to get boarding passes for Web Singers, the new ride in the newly-opened Avengers Campus (I say it that way because the other ride inside Avengers Campus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, has been operating at California Adventure since 2017). But I did get to ride some of the rides I wanted to go on and enjoyed some nice meals during my visit thanks to Mobile Ordering (Disney has been doing this for a few years and it is great), and ate dinner King's Fish House, a nice seafood restaurant outside of the Disneyland Resort and just down the street from the Honda Center (where the Anaheim Ducks hockey team plays AND where the final hockey game of the Junior Goodwill Games in Disney film D2: The Mighty Ducks was shot).
Universal also had virtual queues, but not for every ride. Even still, having been there and Holiday World this season, the virtual queues are a win both for the consumer (less waiting in line) and the park (more time to play games, shop for merch, etc) and it really makes sense for more parks to do this going forward!
in my opinion the worst thing might just be the coaster community and gp will be less attached to theme parks and will limit investments for many years
When people are denied something...... and then get to get it......they want to overdose on it. I think people who have never purchased a season pass to a park will be buying passes to any park within 200 miles of their home. People who have gone to a park one time each year will go multiple times this next year. It will be the same with everything, people who have never purchased tickets to a professional sport game, concert, art gallery, or amusement park will be out there partying like it's 1999.
Video request: “Which B&M Hyper/Giga gives the best prime ridetime?”
He already did Gigas so he should do hypers now
Hypers soon, but im gonna rank em first
Reduced train capacity was the worst, between that and running empty trains after every sanitization break, lines for rides like Blue Streak and Corkscrew were pushing an hour - typically they're 10 minutes max. Given that, you can imagine the other rides! In my 3 trips to Cedar Point this year, I never got on more than 3 coasters in a day - longer lines and shorter hours. Specific to Steel Vengeance, moving the metal detectors back to the front entrance and doing away with using the pouches on the train for cell phones was a major step back that I really hope was unique to this season.
I agree with everything except the virtual queue. My experience with it at Holiday World wasn't as efficient as I'd hoped. I would be stuck waiting 2hrs to get on voyage but watching the train dispatch with 2 or 4 people because there was no one in the physical queue. You can't go hop in another coaster line because you're still queued for another coaster even if that other ride has a zero wait time. It has potential but needs the wrinkles ironed out
First since parks reopened including my home park I have been 3 this year. Of those here are things I knowtice. First the sanitizer station were a good idea. Fewer crowds even on a weekend. Limited hrs. Went to Kings island back in July. Should have closed at 10pm but closed at 8pm. Next thing have been drink station or getting drinks at restaurants: u have either the staff member getting it for u or u get a foam cup and fill that. Now for some parks only a portion of the park could open. Like KI only had theme open not the water. Or a six flags had a water open not the theme etc. now
For Halloween. Parks getting creative on the event like Hallofest at six flags where u get both a kid friendly during the day and somewhat scary at night. Or straight kid friendly like Ceder fair. What to come is hard to say since we don’t know how much money parks made or making right now. But if your home park has extended passes till next year when they reopen spend money on stuff to help them out.
I'm so glad that Indiana Beach reopened earlier this year. I live really close, about 25-30min away, and it's just such a charming place with the wooden coasters and the boardwalk. It seems that Indiana Beach had a very successful year of operation since the park page is teasing 3 new rides of some sort for Summer 2021. I feel like something like a Chance Rides Freestyle or a Zamperla Endevor would be good fits since they used to have a Chance Rides Chaos on the boardwalk, but got removed because of reliability issues. Hopefully the park gets back on the right track after 2020-2021 and keeps adding to the boardwalk. Personally, I think an S&S Free Spin would be a fantastic fit for the park right along the water if they can find a spot to put it!
I really like your videos, they are so entertaining. Keep making great content
I’ve made it to Mt. Olympus, holiday world, six flags St. Louis, Kentucky kingdom, Dollywood, SFGadv, Hershey park, Dorney, Kennywood, Waldameer, Knoebels, and several visits to Kings island.
I’m just going to be thankful my home park of Six Flags Great Adventure opened up this season. 2020 was a bizarre year to become an enthusiast, and after getting interested in coasters I was dying to ride my favorite coasters. I only got one trip this year on a Tuesday in July and I can confirm basically everything you said in this video as true. Despite everything, I still had an amazing time, getting great rides on El Toro, Superman, Kingda Ka, Bizzaro, Nitro, and Wonder Woman!
Also, shoutout to the Nitro ride op who let my friends and I in the back row!
Its a minor miracle that NJ allowed that to happen
@@AirtimeThrills 100% Agreed. Considering only California and maybe New York really beats us in terms or regulations, I can't believe it either. Plus, we got hit horribly at first with the virus. Thankfully we also recovered really fast, fast enough for Governor Murphy to allow theme parks to re-open (Morey's Pier also re-opened for 2020). From what I've heard, things have been operating smoothly at SFGAdv since and the park is having its Hallow Fest right now with Holiday in the Park planned. Lastly, Nickelodeon Universe at American Dream Mall just re-opened at the start of this month! Shellraiser and their new for 2020 coaster Sandy's Blasting Bronco are operating. Its less than half an hour where I live, so I might get a new credit for 2020 yet.
I’m a new platinum pass holder for Cedar Fair parks. Granted I live 2 hours from Cedar Point, and 4 from Canada’s Wonderland and King’s Island. It was my reward for my weight loss since I love coasters
I love that kings island makes the guest check there own restraints
I’ve been to the Busch Gardens Williamsburg mini events and they were awesome. Tiny crowds, great ops,
Just a few rides but no waiting so lots of marathoning
This was an especially tough year for Magic Kingdom and Cedar Point, both of which were planning big anniversary bashes. I think the biggest chain parks will survive (though not without having to cancel or postpone some upgrades and investments), but some of the smaller chain parks may have to depend on the fortunes of their owners.
I feel like Kings Island is taking the pandemic really well, I forgot I had a mask on and it was my 1st park of 2020
When me and my mom rode shockwave in the back at SFOT yesterday, it was a full train, when it’s a full train you get the full effect, when it’s 1/2 the train it just feels different
i skipped out on attending my home park (great adventure in new jersey) this season and i do not regret it. judging by how much tourism we got this summer in NJ, it was too risky to go to a theme park. hoping for a safer and more normal summer next year!
*when your 3 closets parks are all closed until 2021*
I went to Kings Island right when Covid started and enjoyed the lower crowd count so much i bought me and 2 of my friends season passes, we have been there pretty much non stop 😂. They are being pretty cool about letting you choose which spot you want when you ride here. We went last weekend and got to ride Orion/Banshee/Diamond front row. KI has been a good escape from all the world drama for me.
The smoke from the California wildfires drove me nuts so I took off to the east coast. Just went to Cedar Point, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Six Flags America, and Six Flags Great Adventure. Busch Gardens did it best but the park was only about 40% open. One of the employees told me that they only let in 1000 people, so the 4 coasters that were open all had short lines or no line at all. Cedar Point did it the worst with their ride reservations and the fact I nearly missed out on an opportunity to ride Steel Vengeance. I’m sure that plenty others were shafted. I us3d the flash pass at the six flags parks so I didn’t have any issues with crowds really.i guess I should have gotten a skip the line pass for Cedar Point as well. In times like this, it’s essential.
“May have had to forfeit an entire year at your home park. This is unprecedented.”
My grandparents grew up going to West View Park. It was SBNO for 3 years before an arson that destroyed most of the park.
😢
If you go onto Magic Mountain’s website it now says that the passes will carry over until the end of 2022!
One positive I hope that stays around is the food containers. My home park SFOT are doing a great job getting food out faster and the portions seem larger and more presentable. You usually have to ask for an extra plate or napkins to cover your plate but with the new food containers that's not an issue anymore.
If anything, it's helping me decide on future trips to coasters I've never ridden. First trip will most likely be Silver Dollar City and POTENTIALLY SFSL but that is questionable. Been curious on Outlaw Run and Time Traveler for a while now and my last visit to Branson (in 2012), NEITHER of those coasters existed so I didn't go. Now could be my best chance. :)
I had a gold pass for 2020 at my home park of Cedar Point, but due to the pandemic, to be extra safe, my family and I backed out and had a whole summer of no coasters. Thankfully, we were able to use those passes for the 2021 Season
i think another one of the best things was a renewed appreciation among enthusiasts for underrated rides
I really appreciate the parks that reopened this year. I was able to go to universal studios Orlando, Hershey park, and I am going to sfga this weekend! Great video btw!👍
I also saw some Carowinds ride ops at Cedar Point
We just experienced Virtual Queue in Europapark. I am very much against any kind of fastpass system, because the normal queues are too long. However, they made it work quite well, with the chance to use some each day and not really disturbing the real queuelines too much.
I think what irked me the most about some parks not being allowed to open (namely CW) is they had a plan in place to open and operate safely but our government still said no.
Canada is a fascist state under Trudeau so it's not surprising. I wouldn't be surprised if they are forced to close again due to a "surge"
I went to Kennywood for my first time this year. It was actually a great experience despite COVID
Chris, you hit every point, great job.
You've made great points here. During my only trip to Cedar Point in late May 2018 I once bought some food only to realize I touched it without having washed my hands after touching too many restraints other people touched being on MANY roller coasters at Cedar Point in different rows. I almost spat out my 1st bite upon realizing that, then decided to swallow due to 1) hunger; 2) precedent (I used to have a rough lifestyle about 20 years ago and I didn't get sick then) The food wasn't the best, being CP during May. My point is: I was aware of the danger of touching too many things others have touched long before this pandemic in May 2018. I ate the food and didn't get sick. surviving is only fair outcome. Covid should never be used as an excuse that Cedar Point has shitty food: It always did, especially during May.
As a Connecticut resident - I never realized that Six Flags New England didn't open - Lake Compounce surprisingly did
Out of the two parks I went to this year, only Lagoon required masks (especially since the park owner was there that day, so they were enforcing it). Silverwood was nice to not require masks, if you are ok with that of course.
And a note on seat assignments, it was funny how many times I was assigned front row on Cannibal lol almost every time. I traded a few times cause I've been there enough haha
for my home park six flags st. louis, it has been absolutely slammed, with longer lines for everything
I went there in late July and I didn't think they were that bad. But to be fair folks in St. Louis aren't used to lines so...
i was part of a test run for the virtual ride line at SF:Over Texas last weekend and it worked well, they only problem i had was you could only reserve one ride at a time, so i set it up on my kids phones so we could set up multiple rides at the same time
I had to down grade my big plans for my first visit to Cedar Point and Bush Gardens, Tampa Bay. I still managed to get about 20 new credits this summer tho, I wasn't expecting to like Kentucky Kingdom as much as I did and got Holiday World off my checklist finally! But ya, THE WAIT FOR IRON GWAZI IS GETTING RIDICULOUS.
My home park is Hershey, and we went 5 times. The crowds were down so much, the waits were super short (even with reduced capacity). Candemonium almost never had a wait. I don't think we waited more than 30 minutes on a single ride the entire season. Even with reduced hours, we got many more rides in.
I was fortunate my home park (a tiny, non-chain sad excuse however) got to reopen. If they didn’t, the park would’ve been done for good
At Kennywood depending on the ride operator you could ask for a certain seat and they will let you take it, some operators did not let me choose but most did. Id say about 85-90% of the time i was able to choose my seat.
5:04 i definitely don’t enjoy it either, but i did end up getting multiple back row rides on steel vengeance so i am so glad i did
This video came out on my birthday.
When i was at cedar point in mid July I saw multiple ride ops wearing kings dominion uniforms.
Uh... was that last clip of the video -- of Airtime Thrills (Chris?) pointing to the "Hades" sign -- intentional? That is, it was symbolically referencing what this year has been like: hell???
Holiday World's virtual queue was utter trash. Out of my 4 visits, it really only worked once. Can't even recall how many times I would have to wait 45+ minutes to ride a ride with no one in line and the ride cycling empty trains.
I didnt see this, but it doesnt surprise me
The Holiday World virtual queue was terrible, as you couldn't register for more than one queue at a time.
I loved the virtual que!
Isn't that the point of a virtual queue? It's like waiting in line without having to actually stand in the line.
The Cedar Point access passes, those were truly terrible. Wait in a line to get a pass with an appointment time to enter the queue and wait in line some more. Thankfully you only need access passes for four coasters, but what a pain!
I wouldnt expect you to be able to register for more than 1 queue at a time anyway
There really weren't any positives for high risk people like me who haven't been able to spend a second at a theme park since last year...
True, unfortunately for high risk people its gonna be a long haul
@@AirtimeThrills Hopefully things get better going into next year with the whole vaccine and stuff, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
I went to the opening day for GAdv and it was rough, the whole right side was closed. Also for El Toto the ride is WAY more rough thanks to the 1/2 capacity.
My train was full and was smooth
Man, my biggest dissapointement, linked to the point you make about long term investements, was when Parc Astérix announced they postponed their Intamin triple-launch blitz coaster all the way to 2023... this was set to be one of Europe's best... well at least F.L.Y. opened
If I were six flags I'd sell off every park but magic mountain, great America and great adventure
Six Flags can't afford to do that. The profit from those other parks is where a huge chunk of the money comes from to pay for all the cool new stuff their "big three" parks get to enjoy every stinking year.