Today Massachusetts announced that amusement parks can reopen.
Effective May 10, all outdoor amusement parks and water parks in the state of Massachusetts
can reopen, which of course includes Six Flags New England.
In this video, I will discuss what policies we can expect from Six Flags New England through
the 2021 season.
Six Flags New England has been unable to open as an amusement park since the covid-19 pandemic
started.
All amusement parks in the United States were closed for much of April and May of 2020,
but a majority of parks started reopening that June and July with capacity limits, social
distancing, and masks.
But a few states banned amusement parks from reopening at all in 2020 and Massachusetts
was one of them.
As states like California and Illinois started giving permission for amusement parks to reopen,
there was a notable exception- Massachusetts.
The Bay State was the only state in the United States still barring amusement and water parks
from reopening until today’s announcement.
Massachusetts has had some of the strictest restrictions during the pandemic.
Face coverings were required anytime you were on the street or in a public place unless
you were eating or drinking.
Even if you were alone in a field, by the letter of the law you were required to have
a face mask or risk being fined.
And for the most part, compliance was strong across the state.
As Massachusetts started allowing businesses to reopen with face masks and distancing,
amusement parks were one of the notable exceptions.
Despite how other states had proven spacious outdoor amusement parks like Six Flags New
England could operate with face masks, distancing, and increased sanitation, Massachusetts would
not budge and allow parks to open.
I didn’t agree with the decision, but thankfully there were other states nearby with amusement
parks available to Massachusetts residents throughout 2020.
But as more Massachusetts residents get vaccinated, the state is now allowing outdoor amusement
and water parks to reopen anytime after May 10, 2021.
Upon reopening, parks can open at 50% capacity.
And today’s announcement was also accompanied by an update to Massachusetts’s mask requirements.
Effective April 30, face masks are not required while outside and socially distant.
Several states had this policy in 2020.
As did several amusement parks such as Holiday World.
However, Six Flags adopted a universal mask policy at their dry parks regardless of what
the state’s masking policy was.
Face masks were required at all times unless you were eating, drinking, or in a mask relaxation
zone.
Masks likely will not be required in the water park.
They especially won’t be required on rides or in pools, but you likely won’t need them
walking around Hurricane Harbor at all.
That was the policy Six Flags had at their water parks throughout 2020.
Recently, Cedar Fair announced that masks would no longer be required at Cedar Point
and Kings Island outdoors as long as people can maintain distance from each other.
Whether Six Flags adopts this policy at some of their other parks in 2021 has yet to be
seen, but I expect Six Flags New England will err on the side of caution and require masks
at all times inside the park unless you’re actively eating or drinking.
I also expect timed reservations to be required for entry into the park.
Outdoor amusement parks are reopening at 50% capacity.
Six Flags now requires reservations for all their parks, which can be booked online in
advance or the day of- if there’s still capacity.
When all the Six Flags parks reopened, the reservations were for specific times.
You could arrive anytime after your reservation, but not before.
Some of the Six Flags parks have relaxed the timed entry component of the reservation,
but I expect Six Flags New England to again err on the side of caution and implement the
timed entry reservations.
When each Six Flags park has reopened, they started by skipping rows in between riders.
As 2020 progressed, Six Flags started adding plexiglass dividers in the station and loading
all rows on a majority of rides.
I suspect Six Flags New England will again take the cautious approach and skip rows in
between parties when they originally opened.
This is what we have seen at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, and
Six Flags Great America, all of which recently reopened in 2021 after being closed following
the pandemic.
I expect most rides will begin loading all rows as the year progresses and covid numbers
continue to drop, but until then, expect ride lines to move slower than normal.
There will also likely be sanitation breaks that will slow dispatches as well.
There are arguments why some of these policies may not be necessary and I don’t want the
comments section of this video to become a political discussion.
I support whatever policies Six Flags New England needed to implement in order to get
permission to reopen and stay open.
After seeing the park closed all year, I’ll happily wait however long needed to get back
on favorites like Superman and Wicked Cyclone.
It’s likely there will be a handful of attractions that won’t operate in 2021.
This was confirmed by Six Flags as a budget saving measure.
This was seen in their parks that were able to open in 2020.
The park confirmed that Goliath, the park’s problematic giant inverted boomerang, will
remain closed in 2021 and its long-term future is very much in doubt considering how much
downtime that attraction suffers from due to weather and maintenance issues.
I could also see something like Blizzard River being closed since it has a high operating
cost and water rides were a common ride closure at the other Six Flags parks in 2020.
One ride that we know will be open in 2021 is Supergirl Sky Flyer.
The park confirmed their new-for-201 ride will still be opening this year.
However, we do not know when.
It could open with the park or have a separate opening later in the season.
This Zamperla Endeavor will look great in Kryptonite’s old spot and should be one
of the park’s better flat rides with its high Gs and fast inversions.
Six Flags New England is currently open as the Dinosaurs Walk Thru Experience.
This event is slated to run thru May 23 on weekends.
As a result, I expect Six Flags New England will reopen fully with rides beginning the
following weekend either on May 28 or May 29, but stay tuned for an announcement from
the park.
Although it is possible they will soft open a few rides during the Dinosaur Walk Thru
or open with rides sooner if they choose to.
While 2021 is likely to look a lot different than other seasons for Six Flags New England,
at least the park received confirmation they can open in 2021 and have a season.
And that goes the same for all of the other amusement and water parks in Massachusetts
such as Edaville USA and Water Wizz- yes that’s an actual name for a water park.
It’s a bit harder to predict how these parks will reopen since they’re independent ones,
but I suspect many of the policies seen at the Six Flags parks will be implemented as
well.
The last part of Massachusetts’s announcement today is that indoor water parks such as the
Great Wolf Lodge can reopen effective August 1.
On this day, all capacity limits and restrictions will be lifted for all industries, which means
Six Flags New England and the state’s other parks can operate at 100% capacity.
Ultimately, I am very excited I will be able to visit the amusement and water parks in
my home state this year and I hope they are able to rebound well after a lost year.
These parks need the business and they will be doing everything possible to ensure you
can have a fun time while staying safe.
Stay tuned for more updates as the parks reopen here at Canobie Coaster.
Thanks for watching!