Post Pandemic Riding

Pagoda Gift Shop said:

Amusement parks might be one of the last things to get back to normal. There aren't many other places where large crowds are in a contained area for as much as 8 or 10 hours.

Amusement in general. Sporting events, movies, even some restaurants.

True answer: no idea. We were considering Kings Dominion or Carowinds during spring break, but despite certain hopes of 'packed churches on Easter', I dont think our Govenor in VA is going to lift gathering restrictions within the next three weeks. Dont know about NC, but my M-I-L is immunocompromised (kidney transplant 5 years ago) so, we'll stay away for a little while longer.
Stay safe, I love you all.
Cheers,

I had signed up for the CP Ride & Run Race on 6/14. They just sent an update saying that no news yet they are aligning up a a virtual run contingency instead and a ticket to the park to be used a later date (which wasn't necesarily part of the original fee). So yeah, they just put us on notice probably sans a refund.

I think it entirely depends on when and which parks start to open up first. Like someone has said earlier, doubtful all the parks open at once... So I’ll probably hit up one of the first parks to open and my hunch is it’ll be something in Florida and what was in my original schedule and that’s BGT for Iron Gwazi. I’m not an epidemiologist, but something tells me that COVID isn’t going to do well in high heat and humidity, and that’s Florida in short order. Texas parks will probably follow, then the Midwest, and the Northeast parks I’m guessing will be the last to open. So in terms of hitting up the ‘BIG’ new rides this season it’s Iron Gwazi first, Texas Stingray, Orion, Pantheon and finally Jersey Devil. The saddest part is we probably won’t have this incredible of a new ride season for quite sometime going forward.

2Hostyl said:

True answer: no idea. We were considering Kings Dominion or Carowinds during spring break, but despite certain hopes of 'packed churches on Easter', I dont think our Govenor in VA is going to lift gathering restrictions within the next three weeks. Dont know about NC, but my M-I-L is immunocompromised (kidney transplant 5 years ago) so, we'll stay away for a little while longer.
Stay safe, I love you all.
Cheers,

Ohmalort. Quarantine brings out the Hostyl!

I had a few trips planned, but since I work in nightclubs & bars in Chicago, I'm expecting to be out of work until at least Late-May or June. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll be able to drive to King's Island around my Birthday in August to try out "Orion", but I'm not even sure if that's realistic. I wanted to fly to Busch Gardens Tampa for "Iron Gwazi" or Williamsburg for "Pantheon", but I don't think that's going to happen this year. If I have to wait until 2021, so be it. I'd rather be safe and healthy.

I don't think crowds will be an issue. People are hurting financially and will be for some time. I'm blessed being retired from my primary career early and receive a pension check. I have no idea how I would be surviving, let alone thinking about going to a park after this dies down. I hope all are doing well in this time of trouble. What worries me more is the next season of this virus, if there turns out to be a down and up time for it. If you look at the Spanish Flu and 1918, it was the second round or season that was the most serious. However, we have advanced medically speaking so this time things could be different. I hope everyone is staying in good health. I'm sure we will have a flood of Planet Coaster parks we could review.

Re: Universal pass extensions... pretty easy to find.

All Annual and Seasonal Passes will automatically be extended by the number of days our theme parks are closed. There is no action required from the Passholder. Existing benefits and restrictions will continue to apply.

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/terms-of-service/operations-update

Our first trip was Disney World as it shut down due to covid19. We were booked to be there March 14th to 21st. And stayed until 3/17 when Disney Springs closed. There were 120 open seats on our flight down to Orland o. Baltimore Washington International Airport was a ghost town like we've never seen. Our flight home was much more crowded with people wanting to make it back home.

We had two trips planned for this weekend depending on when their new coasters opened at each park. We were either going to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Kings Dominion, or Kings Island and Kentucky Kingdom.

It looks like the new coaster down the street at Hersheypark isn't going to open until June at this point. The company I work for was scheduled to service all the air compressors at the park. We got about a third of them done before they got shut down. We are just waiting on the word to be able to resume work.

Well last night I did a cursory glance at airfare from Houston to Cincinnati and it showed Delta has RT flights for a mere $123 this September. Thats generally when Gay Pride Night is held at Kings Island so I might bite the bullet and buy the ticket. Delta and American Airlines said I get ONE free change if the plans dont work out, so it could be worth it. Its also only $125 RT to Los Angeles so I could possibly do KBF and SFMM. However, the LA Times just reported that large gathering points and sporting venues in the city might remain closed until 2021! If thats the case, Im sure theme parks will also be on that list, so I proceed with that plan cautiously!

This is a great time to plan future travel if you can. I have been booking trips for later in the year and even looking at booking a couple cruises. If they don't happen then I can just change them to later without the worry. My trip to Europe in June has now become my trip to Tokyo next year for the Olympics.

99er said:

This is a great time to plan future travel if you can. I have been booking trips for later in the year and even looking at booking a couple cruises. If they don't happen then I can just change them to later without the worry. My trip to Europe in June has now become my trip to Tokyo next year for the Olympics.

I was with you until you said "cruises". I think Im gonna wait til spring 2021 before I consider another cruise. But that works out perfectly because my ____th birthday is in August 2021 and I want to ride either the Harmony or Symphony Of The Seas. =)

I'm not quite ready to book the cheap airfare yet. Not that I don't feel safe flying, but at this point there are still too many variables on what will be open. If, for example, I knew the Ohio parks would be open after July 4th, there are plenty of roundtrips from Orlando to Cleveland or Cincinnati for less than $100, heck, some are less than $50. But I'm not ready to pull that trigger just yet.

Once parks start setting opening dates and are able to stick to them, then my Frontier miles and I are going to go on some adventures.

I don't think that the risk of a cruise (well, a Disney cruise at least) is materially different than visiting a theme park. The proximity isn't that different. The deck parties are like watching fireworks, the restaurants are like the restaurants. The biggest difference is that on the ship they make you wash your hands constantly. So when the parks are a realistic option, I'll certainly cruise as well.

But man, I just don't see how we get there without effective treatment in the short-term, because vaccines will take much longer. A real testing ramp doesn't seem like a priority either, which is part of the equation. And as of today, "It's up to you, governors." Like that helps.

My parents were on the second to last cruise on a Carnival ship out of Galveston prior to their shutdown. They booked another cruise while they were on the ship that was supposed to leave this coming Saturday knowing that it would probably be cancelled. They were able to rebook for a cruise in March 2022 and got $650 in on board credits each. I wouldn't book a cruise for this year, but there's a big advantage to booking for one a ways out.

If airlines did the 125-150% credit thing I'd be booking trips for May I know I wouldn't be able to take

BrettV said:

I'm not quite ready to book the cheap airfare yet. Not that I don't feel safe flying, but at this point there are still too many variables on what will be open.

I mean if your trips are purely for parks then sure. The trips I am booking are just to see cities I have never been to or out west for camping/hiking. I don't necessarily need anything major to be open for this cheap of airfare.

bigboy said:

They booked another cruise while they were on the ship that was supposed to leave this coming Saturday knowing that it would probably be cancelled.

That is essentially what I am going to do in hopes that it will be cancelled. What the cruise lines are offering for cancelled cruises is great. If it isn't cancelled, then I get to take a cruise. And as Jeff was suggesting, a cruise isn't any different than the parks and honestly much more clean. Id trust a ship over a park after all this was over.

Definitely for parks, but also for other destinations. If I'm going to a major city or destination I want to be able to eat at the restaurants, visit the museums, see shows, etc. I can get to NYC or Chicago or Nashville or Vegas in June for a silly low price, but nothing I would go there to do would be open.

Oh in June no, nothing will be open in most places. But I am still finding insanely cheap flights for later in the year. Between August and January I have found RT flights to NY, CA, and OH from Florida for all under $100. There's no way I am traveling anytime soon.

Jeff said:

And as of today, "It's up to you, governors." Like that helps.

Hasn't it been like that since day 1?