I fear masks are going to be more virtue-signal than protection. I hope not, but I see where this thread is going...

I was at SFoG today.  First half of the day it felt like I was the only one there.  Zen rides on a few coasters.  Lines started becoming 10-20 minutes second half of the day. 

Workers all had masks on.  Guests were doing a pretty good job.  Security was reminding folks masks need to be worn.  Even saw the park president reminding folks of masks while he was walking around.   Was everyone perfect?  Not by a long shot.  Lots of noses, pulled down masks, etc.  But I think overall folks were doing pretty good, kids included.  You'll never see everyone in compliance all the time, but it was far better than Lowes and Walmart around here.  Today was also mid 70s.  So, a very pleasant day.  I'm curious what I'll see in a month when I'm back down there.

They did every other row on the coasters with a train wipe down every hour or so.  It would be a ~5 minute delay and they would wipe down all seats, even the ones not being used.

 

1 hour ago, gforce1994 said:

I pulled up the graph, not because of DW, but due to the reopening of other attractions in area. I was asking that if the numbers in Sevier County are spiking without Dollywood being open, shouldn’t there be some concern with the lax mask policy?

How many cases are due to the increase in testing? The media always leaves that part out. All they want to do is spread fear. Most places hospital admissions due to covid are also down but again some graphs and the media would have you believe otherwise. 

I didn't have problem when mowed grass and pull weeds with maks on.  Dad said he gets a maks that gets putted up from neck

12 hours ago, SnakePlissken said:

How many cases are due to the increase in testing? The media always leaves that part out. All they want to do is spread fear. Most places hospital admissions due to covid are also down but again some graphs and the media would have you believe otherwise. 

Paradoxically, more testing tends to lower the number of cases over time, as people identified early can be isolated while they're contagious. More interesting than the raw number of new cases is the percentage of tests that come back positive. Luckily, in Ohio, this percentage is relatively low (3.7%) and is decreasing thanks in large part to masks and social distancing. The annoying thing is that we have to keep mitigation tactics in place until we contain the pandemic.

For checking the numbers by state, I like the dashboard on covidexitstrategy.org. It includes both data on the raw number of cases as well as the positive test rate.

Is today the day? Fingers crossed...

1 hour ago, chibul said:

Is today the day? Fingers crossed...

I feel like if this was in the 90s we'd already have a phone tree set up for notices when the reservations open lol

Something I think worth noting in the conversation about Covid-19 and amusement parks. Holiday World in Indiana is not requiring anyone to wear face masks. I realize it's a different state, but it is within the same industry. The stated reason from their website is that face masks go against their loose articles while riding policy. To me, this makes more sense. Not just that, but coupled with the the fact that the CDC stated that it's rare to contract it from surfaces and also that being in the heat also makes it extremely difficult. 

7 minutes ago, KIBeast said:

Something I think worth noting in the conversation about Covid-19 and amusement parks. Holiday World in Indiana is not requiring anyone to wear face masks. I realize it's a different state, but it is within the same industry. The stated reason from their website is that face masks go against their loose articles while riding policy. To me, this makes more sense. Not just that, but coupled with the the fact that the CDC stated that it's rare to contract it from surfaces and also that being in the heat also makes it extremely difficult. 

Indiana as a state is not as restrictive as Ohio. I believe the mask rule either just dropped for the whole state or is soon. The state is also going into stage 5 on July 4 which means no caps on capacity if the park so chooses. Its why Indiana beach is not doing reservations for July 4th and beyond.

Today, I witnessed a 40ish "country boy" throw a hissy fit in an Ulta because he was asked to wear a mask. Why can't people be like, "You know what, fair enough!" and turn around?  Do these people not realize how ridiculous they look by acting this way? 

Anyways, bringing it back to KI, my condolences are to those working the front gate and thus forced to deal with such behavior this season. 

24 minutes ago, KIBeast said:

Something I think worth noting in the conversation about Covid-19 and amusement parks. Holiday World in Indiana is not requiring anyone to wear face masks. I realize it's a different state, but it is within the same industry. The stated reason from their website is that face masks go against their loose articles while riding policy. To me, this makes more sense. Not just that, but coupled with the the fact that the CDC stated that it's rare to contract it from surfaces and also that being in the heat also makes it extremely difficult. 

Correct. We were going to go there and Kentucky Kingdom two weeks from now before the news about KI came down.

13 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

Indiana as a state is not as restrictive as Ohio. I believe the mask rule either just dropped for the whole state or is soon. The state is also going into stage 5 on July 4 which means no caps on capacity if the park so chooses. Its why Indiana beach is not doing reservations for July 4th and beyond.

Indiana resident here. So...we've never technically had any mask rules at all, in terms of requirement. It was "highly recommended" that masks be worn in public areas where social distancing isn't possible. There's a few random stores that are mandating masks (Menards being the largest example) but for the most part, the bulk of the population hasn't been wearing them here, which is disheartening considering how they've been proven effective in combating the spread of the virus in indoor places. In grocery stores, I'd say at the peak we had about 90% compliance...but we were in a grocery store two days ago and at that point I'd say it was barely 20% compliance. 

That being said - on June 12 we entered "phase 4", and originally the mask guidance from the state was going to transition from "highly recommended" to "optional" - the governor changed the wording in the guidance last week from "optional" to "recommended". But as far as actual requirements, Indiana's never had any - the logic from Dr. Box (health department) is - "there are some people who may have health concerns and are unable to wear them, and others may become claustrophobic wearing them". The former seems like a defensible stance...the latter seems utterly ridiculous.

As the protests have developed and as more guidance has came out, I've actually done a complete 180 on this topic - I was very much in the "anti-mask at Kings Island" boat, as I stated repeatedly on this forum. Now, however...I don't think I'd go at all if masks weren't required. It's just coming down to a "better safe than sorry" mentality for me. If it's too miserable wearing a mask in the park, we'll just leave and come back in 2021 (we have platinum passes this year, for the first time ever). 

The KI app has sanitizing stations up, might be a few scattered lol. Looks like at food places so far.

Interesting. We're getting closer.

I'd say from today on, it could literally be at any time.

They are selling pretzels lots of places this year!

Another update, haven't gotten to read through yet

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/welcoming-you-back

Looks like the exact same thing posted for Worlds of Fun, even down to the video

Here's something new that's different from the WOF info:
 

Are all rides and attractions at Kings Island open?

We anticipate all rides and attractions will be open. Please refer to signage prior to entering the park for a list of rides that may not open on the day of your visit.

 

15 minutes ago, chibul said:

Here's something new that's different from the WOF info:
 

Are all rides and attractions at Kings Island open?

We anticipate all rides and attractions will be open. Please refer to signage prior to entering the park for a list of rides that may not open on the day of your visit.

 

I was trying to see if they mention passholder reservation limits, haven't seen it yet. 

WoF vs KI below

1 minute ago, PatchesC said:

I was trying to see if they mention passholder reservation limits, haven't seen it yet. 

WoF vs KI below

I'm assuming maybe it's because KI will ultimately be open for passholders only longer than WOF is?

Just received an email from KI directing me to the link you provided. At the bottom it mentions the reservation email will be coming "VERY soon". 

Looking at the webcam, it appears that they have started filling Diamondback's splashdown!!

You are correct, it is filling up



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Interesting, it looks like KI is allowing those rest areas like Universal, and you can only take the mask off on water rides or dining otherwise. Another thing is that some attractions might not be open. I'm assuming that this is because of staffing, but maybe it's harder to follow cdc guidelines on some compared to others.

14 minutes ago, IceePirate said:

Interesting, it looks like KI is allowing those rest areas like Universal, and you can only take the mask off on water rides or dining otherwise. Another thing is that some attractions might not be open. I'm assuming that this is because of staffing, but maybe it's harder to follow cdc guidelines on some compared to others.

Their website states that they expect all attractions to be open. I posted that section above.

I haven't seen any evidence of rest areas, or of any stated policies for removing masks? Where did you see these things?

2 minutes ago, chibul said:

Their website states that they expect all attractions to be open. I posted that section above.

I haven't seen any evidence of rest areas, or of any stated policies for removing masks? Where did you see these things?

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/welcoming-you-back/when-youre-in-the-park

1 hour ago, THE_BEASTmaster said:

You are correct, it is filling up



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I love the Diamondback splash down area but I think maybe adding some more foliage and pairing the splash down pool a dark blue would do the area wonders I think. 

3 minutes ago, IceePirate said:

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/welcoming-you-back/when-youre-in-the-park

Thanks! I must have glossed over that.

27 minutes ago, flightoffear1996 said:

I love the Diamondback splash down area but I think maybe adding some more foliage and pairing the splash down pool a dark blue would do the area wonders I think. 

I think Diamondback could be meaner...

45 minutes ago, chibul said:

Thanks! I must have glossed over that.

The RelaxZone icons are already on WoF app, same icon as the hand sanitizing stations. They're sneaking tidbits in while we sleep lol

And not to jump to conclusions Soak City has sanitizer icons as well so hope they are attempting an opening this year.

3 minutes ago, PatchesC said:

The RelaxZone icons are already on WoF app, same icon as the hand sanitizing stations. They're sneaking tidbits in while we sleep lol

 

Hmm. There doesn't seem to be nearly as many as I'd expect. I can imagine those getting crowded quickly. Maybe it's just because it's a smaller park.

10 minutes ago, chibul said:

Hmm. There doesn't seem to be nearly as many as I'd expect. I can imagine those getting crowded quickly. Maybe it's just because it's a smaller park.

Kinda hard to tell, we haven't been to WoF yet. I'd be a little nervous going there with only 5 dining spots showing up.