Silverwood opened it’s gates for the 2020 season on May 30th, and we were there to experience all the changes that the park has made for the year. In this post, we’ll share details of how the day went, photos of the new health and safety measures, and offer some of our thoughts and comments.
Opening Day of 2020 will go down in history. In the world of the coronavirus, nothing is certain anymore, and even less is guaranteed. We awoke the morning of May 30th, 2020 to a forecast of warm weather mixed with unpredictable thunderstorms. We weren’t sure how much of a “day” we were going to be able to make out of it, but regardless, we headed straight for Silverwood Theme Park.
The first item of note as we pulled into the parking lot was the unmanned parking booths. Sure enough, on Opening Day 2020, Silverwood was letting all guests park for free. We’re not sure how long this will last, but it was a nice gesture to set a positive tone in starting the day. We breezed past the parking booths and into the parking lot, which was starting to fill up fast. We were surprised. With high clouds and an iffy forecast on top of already cautious environment, we figured many people would throw in the towel and give Silverwood a try on another day. Surely some people did just that, but still it seemed that many others, like us, were determined to be there.
Walking into the park, we immediately noticed social distancing signs and markers scattered throughout. These were, for the most part, relatively unobtrusive. Signs were small and did not detract from Silverwood’s lovely aesthetic.
Foot paths were painted with “bigfoot” style markers to promote social distancing. It wasn’t exactly clear if the markings meant “stand here” or “do not stand here” – but regardless, they were about 6 feet apart, and everyone knew their purpose.
And, of course, the other obvious coronavirus standout in 2020 are the notorious face masks. Required for all park staff, but optional (and available for free) to guests. Our observation? 100% of the employees were wearing them at all times. By contrast, we’d estimate that less than 5% of guests were wearing them at all. We have no intention of taking part in the Great Mask Debate of 2020, other than to say that Silverwood’s employees wearing them sends the right message to guests: we care about your health and safety and we are going to do our part. That’s good enough for us.
We headed straight through the entry gate, and into the Coffee House. Thankfully, there have been zero changes here. One can still grab a fantastic Blueberry Muffin Top or Cream Cheese Cinnamon Roll, amid other delicious pastries and drinks. As we paid for our food and went to find a seat, who should we see sitting in the circular gazebo area but Gary Norton himself, the Walt Disney of Silverwood. We’ve met with Gary in the past, and Silverwood is truly his labor of love. Today, he seemed both excited and anxious – completely understandable under such circumstances. We talked with him for a few minutes, thanked him for leading the park toward this opening date, and wished him well. He probably had more on his mind today than in his entire history of creating and operating Silverwood.
Our entry this year took us left after the train station toward the theme park, instead of our usual morning right turn toward the water park. Boulder Beach’s opening today was a last second decision by Silverwood given that the weather was supposed to be hot and sunny. But the fact that the morning started out a bit cool, cloudy, and breezy meant that we would hit the big rides first, ensuring we got on a few coasters in case things did take a turn for the worse.
Our first attempt was SpinCycle, but it was testing. We made a b-line for Aftershock: closed for now. At 0 for 2, we grew a bit anxious, but turned into the station for Timber Terror, which was welcoming a steady stream of guests.
As we approached the boarding station, we were stopped by an employee who was asking the size of our group, and ensuring that only the next train of riders was allowed entry into station. This employee was spacing out all groups to ensure one empty row of seats in between each. We were guided into the station and would be riding the second dispatch of the day.
The train rolled into the station having completed its first trip, with a bunch of happy looking riders. They disembarked the train, and only after every single rider had exited the building, did the Silverwood employees begin a rigorous wipe-down of every single seat.
This was a tedious process, taking 10 minutes or more. Granted, it was the first wipe-down of the day, and we watched as a lead employee guided the others on exactly what needed to be done. Four employees worked on this process together. We don’t envy Silverwood with the added labor costs this obviously creates, but we loved the idea of stepping into a freshly cleaned roller coaster train.
After our restraints were checked, it was off for our first ride, and of course, it did not disappoint. Timber Terror may have aged a bit, but it’s still a blast to ride. As we pulled into the station with smiles on our faces, life felt somewhat normal again.
We moved next to SpinCyle, which was now about to board the first batch of riders.
Again, we would be on the second cycle of the day, so we got the chance to see what changes this ride had in store. The biggest was the spacing of an empty chair between all groups.
Otherwise, SpinCycle did it’s job and thrilled us as usual with it’s incredible 360 degree performance. Why don’t more of these frisbee style rides make a full rotation? It adds so much to the experience.
We moved our way through Coaster Alley by next hitting Aftershock, still running better at Silverwood than anytime we rode it at Six Flags Great America – and better than its siblings – all of which we have ridden as well. Silverwood does such a fantastic job keeping this ride running, and running well. It’s been a great addition to the park since Day 1, providing that ultra-intense experience that rounds out the attraction roster so well.
To this point we hadn’t experienced anything more than a 15-minute wait, and that included the ride wipe-downs. However, when we got to Tremors, that all changed. The queue had been split into two separate lines, which merge together right before the loading station…this was a clever way of keeping space between guests, and avoiding the switchbacks.
But this is Silverwood’s most popular coaster. The wait, with the additional cleanings, took at least 45 minutes. Just at the edge of our patience, but we endured.
And we’re glad we did. We’ve been on over 400 different roller coasters across the globe, and this one can still hold its own against almost any other traditional wooden coaster. Yes the queue was moving slowly, but it was well worth it.
At this point we moved toward the water rides in the park. Thunder Canyon’s wait was near nothing. We noticed the same thing here as found on other rides – spacing between groups of at least one empty seat. The Log Flume’s queue, which definitely does not support social distancing, had added plastic panels between the switchbacks.
This seemed to get the job done nicely.
Both rides were exactly as we remembered them.
After a quick ride on the legendary Corkscrew coaster (still a great piece of history, if a bit painful with those ancient shoulder restraints), we decided to grab a snack at the Ice Creamery. We held our breaths in anticipation of something major having changed here – whether it was portion size or selection of flavors – or maybe just an altogether closure of the store.
Thankfully, the outlet was open, and this was just as we’ve always known it, with the exception of plastic panels again to separate guests and workers. As usual, an obscenely low price still gets you a two-huge-scoop “kids size”, or an incomprehensible five-huge-scoop “single scoop”. We love you Silverwood.
Our day took us next to the Silverwood Railroad, a classic attraction that can never be skipped. While the narration on this attraction has become a bit overwhelming (we’d appreciate a few stretches of silence to just relax and enjoy), we found the experience to be again, almost exactly as we remembered.
The team still puts on a great show. Food is still sold on-ride. The bandits still walk the train for donations to charitable causes. And the scenery continues to be enhanced each year. We saw a few new characters on our journey:
And we also noticed the improvements at the bandit show area, including an all-new well with enhanced water “explosions”, as well as some scaffolding:
We understand all of this in preparation for an all-new show Silverwood hopes to debut later this Summer.
At this point in the day, the weather had improved noticeably, and was bordering on hot. We decided to make our way to Boulder Beach. As mentioned, Silverwood had made a last-minute decision to open the water park earlier in the week. This couldn’t have been easy to pull off, but we were both surprised and impressed.
The first thing we noticed was that the area beyond the Velocity Peak speed slides was complete closed. This meant the Toddler Springs play area, second wave pool, and Avalanche Mountain/Ricochet Rapids slides, were all down for the day. We suspect this had to do with the light crowds, and possibly even being a bit short staffed with the last-minute decision to open.
The remainder of the water park was open, including all slides and pools, and most of the food outlets. While social distancing is a bit more challenging in a wave pool or lazy river, it did not seem to deter guests from keep spaced out, having fun, and enjoying the sunshine.
Notably, the lifeguards were generally not wearing masks, as they needed to have their whistles at the ready. However, all other Boulder Beach staff were masked, just as we saw in the theme park. We found most everything at Boulder Beach to be operating in top form, just as we’ve come to expect. Though we will add that the timer for Lane 6 at the Riptide Racer mat slides was not working. We’re 100% positive we always won the race, whenever we picked that lane. 😉
If anything, the day ended too quickly. Silverwood closed at 6 pm, and we found ourselves wishing we had a bit more time for perhaps a dinner at Lindy’s (which was open and seating customers both inside and out), or possibly an early evening ride on a coaster or two. The building clouds in the horizon suggested, however, that the day’s promised thunderstorms weren’t too far off, so maybe a 6 pm closure was the right decision after all.
So what did we think?
Well, first up, we’ve got to give major kudos to the staff. It can’t be fun wearing a mask all day, especially when the temperatures start to rise. Nor can it be very enjoyable to have to wipe down and sanitize every seat, every ride cycle. But there they were, moving quickly and getting the job done, every step of the way. We noticed as the day progressed that they seemed to be getting more efficient at the cleaning cycles. What started as a good 10-15 minute process was down to about 5 minutes as the team found their groove.
We personally loved the constant cleaning that we saw all throughout the park. Even in a pre-coronavirus world, we’d have gladly paid a little bit more for employees to up the sanitation game.
Restroom cleanliness was at a new high. Garbage bins were being emptied regularly. Chairs, tables and chaise lounges were being wiped down when not in use.
Knowing that you are always boarding a seat or ride vehicle that’s been freshly sanitized is a great feeling. It seemed that everywhere you looked, someone was cleaning something. We’d expect that after experiencing this “new normal”, many guests will never want to see the increased cleaning go away. We would tend to agree.
What we appreciated most of all was the very hands-off approach that Silverwood has taken, across the board. Masks are available to guests, for free, but not required. Social distancing markers abound, but employees are not walking around policing these rules.
If anything, Silverwood seems to be taking the approach that they will provide a safe and clean environment, but that guests can and should be left alone to make their own responsible decisions. And while there are always a few outliers, it seemed like that’s exactly what most people were doing.
We applaud Silverwood for taking this brave step forward. This is one of the first theme parks in the country to re-open, and being a leader is never easy. It would have been so much simpler for them to wait this out – let others go first – and then make their move after they had seen the results of their peers. Instead, they made a bold move to be one of the first to re-open, setting a model and pattern for the industry to follow.
Is it a perfect model? Of course not. Will it change and adjust as we move forward? Probably. Was it worth re-opening? That’s for Silverwood to decide. It is obviously much more costly for the park to operate at limited capacity, coupled with increased staffing & cleaning. However, as guests and theme park enthusiasts, we’d say it was absolutely worth it.
Walking out to our vehicle at the end of the day, we were smiling. And that probably says more than any trip report could ever put into words. Having something to enjoy and escape to again like a theme park provided a welcome change from the world of quarantines and shutdowns. It suggested that, even today, there can be a smart and safe way to enjoy life’s pleasures again. If you’re considering a visit, and arrive with the proper expectations and behaviors, you too should find that a great experience can still be found at the Northwest’s best theme park.
Are you planning a trip to Silverwood this year? If so, you'll want to check out our 2020 Trip Planning Guide. Also, our Silverwood and Boulder Beach 2-Day Itinerary will give you a run down of how to experience the parks on your visit.
What do you think of all the new health and safety measures that Silverwood has implemented? Are you planning to head out to the park this year, or will you be waiting things out a bit longer? We love hearing from all of you, so please share your thoughts below!
The official Silverwood Theme Park website can be found at: www.silverwoodthemepark.com. All business-related questions should be directed to this site.
Can’t wait to go! Are they really developing a new show for the train? Seems kinda odd to build and debut it halfway through the season.