In the theme park starved Northwest of the United States, all theme parks were ordered to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. We’ve extensively covered Silverwood’s closure and subsequent re-opening, but we thought it might be helpful to give an update on other parks across the region. In this post, we’ll share the status of each major theme park / amusement park, any construction updates we’re aware of, as well as some thoughts.
Aside from Silverwood, many may not even be aware that there are other theme parks in the Pacific Northwest. In reality, there’s actually quite a few, although most are small, local parks with short seasonal calendars. We wouldn’t go so far as to call them “regional parks”; that would be a bit of a stretch. When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States earlier this year, most of these parks and attractions were already closed; with hopes of being able to reopen on time. Alas, that’s not been the case.
The current status of these parks is shaped by local and state governments, all of which have different timelines and plans for reopening. This is largely why Silverwood (located in Idaho) is open, whereas the remainder (in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia) are all still closed. It’s likely that we’ll see the parks open in a “state-by-state” manner, as each individual state progresses through their phased reopening plans.
Our goal here is to have one central post that lists the current status of all of these parks. We’ll keep this updated going forward as new information becomes available.
Silverwood announced they would not reopen as originally planned, but have subsequently re-opened as of May 30th. They are limiting capacity by requiring any new tickets to be purchased online only, and must be purchased for a specific day. Annual passholders can still visit whenever they want, with no reservation needed. Other measures are in place, such as social distancing markers in queues and throughout the park. Masks are not required, but recommended, and are available for free for guests who want to wear them. As of June 12th, entertainment, such as Nick and Amanda Norton’s magic show “Phantasm”, has also returned.
Wild Waves theme park and water park in Federal Way has finally thrown in the towel on the 2020 season, and will not re-open this year. In a slight bit of good news, the park’s website states that all 2020 season passes will be valid through the entirety of 2021. As an added bonus, all passholders will automatically be upgraded to the premium level pass, which offers the most benefits.
The Washington State Spring Fair 2020 was cancelled, and as of July 9th, Fall Fair 2020 have been cancelled. This normally is a 4 week event that runs through the month of September.
In other news, an interesting construction update was posted a few days ago by the fair, showing that the WildCat roller coaster is getting a fresh new coat of paint, while also being relocated to a new spot in the fairgrounds, just south of the Classic wooden coaster.
Enchanted Forest, or “The Miniature Disneyland of the Pacific Northwest” as we like to refer to it, has re-opened as of June 26th. The park has a whole slew of health and safety measures in place that you can read in detail here. We’ll cover a few of the highlights. First, they are only allowing 200 guests into the park at a time, so all tickets must be purchased in advance for a specific day and a specific 3 hour time slot. Multiple time slots may be purchased for a single day if they are available. Ride tickets must be purchased, and no all-day bracelets will be available. All guests must wait in their vehicle until their specified time slot is called, and must then undergo a temperature screening before entering the park. Masks are required in all indoor facilities, and are strongly encouraged everywhere else. Social distancing markers are in place in queues, and some pathways are one-way only.
Almost all rides, shows, and attractions are open, with a few exceptions. Basically, anything that involves high-contact, such as the slides, tunnels, caves, coin-operated games, etc. are all closed for the time being. Also of note is that the park is 100% cashless, so plan accordingly. Finally, they are encouraging guests to bring their own food and drink, as drinking fountains are turned off, and food options are very limited.
Oaks Park is closed and will not re-open in 2020. Their website states that any ticket bracelets that were purchased for 2020 but not used, will be allowed to be used in 2021. They also hope at some point this year to open the roller skating rink and dance pavilion, although no timeline is established.
Playland will open on July 10th, and will be open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for the time being. Only 12 rides will be available to start out, with more expected later on. Tickets must be purchased in advance for a specific date and time slot. There are two 4-hour time slots per day – a morning session from 10:30 to 2:30, and an afternoon session from 3:30 to 7:30. Face masks will be required in all queues and on all rides. The park will be providing a Playland face mask to each guest as part of their admission ticket, which we think is a great move. Food and beverage outlets will be open, but will be cashless, so plan accordingly. You can read more details about Playland’s heath and safety measures at this link.
Although not an official theme park, we’re using this section to refer to the collection of attractions on Pier 57, which includes Wings over Washington, the Seattle Great Wheel, and the Carousel at Miner’s Landing. Our update as of August 12th is that the website is showing the Seattle Great Wheel as re-opened. However, Wings over Washington remains closed. No information on whether the Carousel at Miner’s Landing has re-opened, but probably safe to assume it is not running at this time.
Are you looking forward to these parks re-opening later this year? Have you been to Silverwood yet sinced they re-opened a few weeks ago? Let us know in the comments!
The official Silverwood Theme Park website can be found at: www.silverwoodthemepark.com. All business-related questions should be directed to this site.
