While much attention has been focused on the closure of Disney and Universal’s theme parks in Florida and California, there are many other theme parks located in the U.S. that operate on a seasonal schedule. The largest operator of those parks is Cedar Fair.
Starting with just Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, they now own and operate 15 locations around the US, including Schlitterbahn, our favorite waterpark in the world.
Sharon and I enjoy going to Schlitterbahn so much that we’ve purchased annual passes for the past three years, even though we live over 1,000 miles away.
I even was told that Cedar Fair’s CEO was forwarded my article about how I hoped Cedar Fair didn’t ruin our favorite place when they bought Schlitterbahn last year.
Our first trip in 2020 was planned for just over one month from now. While we’re not sure what the restrictions will be in place at that time, we currently have no plans on flying to Texas to visit a waterpark in June.
So there goes half of the value of that annual pass, right?
Not necessarily. I went to check the Schlitterbahn home page and was happy to see this update.
Update as of April 14, 2020
As we face these unprecedented circumstances, I want to thank you for your patience and support of Schlitterbahn Waterparks. We continue to monitor and follow local and national health directives while preparing to open our park as soon as it is safe to do so.
In the meantime, we want to share information on how we will manage 2020 Season Passholder benefits:
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2020 Season Passes and purchased 2020 Season Pass Add-On Products (if applicable) will be valid for the remainder of 2020 when our park is able to reopen.
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Additionally, we will extend the validity dates for current 2020 Season Passes (as well as purchased 2020 Season Pass Add-On Products) through the 2021 Season according to pass type.
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For 2020 Season Passholders participating in our Payment Plan Program, monthly billing has been suspended as of April 8, 2020, and will remain suspended while the park is closed. When the park reopens, billing will resume. Passholders will need to be current on payments to receive both 2020 and 2021 Season Pass admission and associated benefits.
Schlitterbahn is extending 2020 annual passes to be good through 2021. That’s a classy move since we still have no idea when the 2020 season will start.
Here are the statements on COVID-19 and annual pass extensions from each of the Cedar Fair locations in the US and Canada:
- California’s Great America
- Canada’s Wonderland
- Carowinds
- Cedar Point
- Dorney Park
- Kings Dominion
- Kings Island
- Knott’s Berry Farm
- Michigan’s Adventure
- Schlitterbahn (Galveston & New Braunfels)
- Valleyfair
- Worlds of Fun
Final Thoughts
While much has been written about how Disney and Universal are handling their annual pass holders, it’s a different situation for Cedar Fair. If parks are closed for 1 or 2 months, that’s a third of the season in some parts of the country. The annual pass renewal you purchased last year now isn’t worth nearly as much as it was before.
I’m glad to see the Cedar Fair management team realized this and did more than what was necessary by extending all of the annual passes for an additional year.
When I heard the Cedar Fair bought Schlitterbahn, I was afraid it would become a corporate cash grab. Seeing them make this move for all of their properties, you can be sure that once Schlitterbahn figures out how to operate safely in this new landscape, Sharon and I will be back there and going on the Hillside Tube Chute.
#stayhealthy #stayathome #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
