The regular season is over for Ohio’s two major amusement parks, though they continue operation on shortened hours for Halloween-related events. A Democratic state lawmaker has a proposal that he wants Cedar Point and Kings Island to consider for next year—if legislators don’t require them to do it first.
Kings Island and Cedar Point are both owned by Six Flags, and they have apps that show rides that aren’t operating to visitors while they're in the parks. Rep. Sean Brennan (D-Parma) wants that info about stopped rides and when they’ll be running again to be visible both inside and outside the parks.
"The app gives you ride times and when rides are down when you're in the park, but when you leave the park you lose that information," Brennan said in an interview. "They've already got the information. They can already share with people. They just choose not to. And my question to you and anybody listening is, why do you think they do that?"
Brennan's proposal would require parks to show rides that are down "within five minutes on their app, on their website and in the park on electronic signage" and also when the rides come back online.
Brennan, who said he’s a season pass holder, said he views his proposal as "mutually beneficial".
"I think it obviously helps the consumer by providing them with more real-time information about the park," Brennan said, noting that admission to the parks is around $50, with additional charges for parking and for faster access to rides. "But I think it also helps the parks by providing a better customer experience."
Brennan added: "My hope is that my bill will spur them to disclose that information so that we don't have to go through the legislative process."
Brennan said he’s still trying to drum up support among his colleagues in the Ohio House for the bill, so he hasn’t introduced it yet.
A spokesperson for Six Flags' parks in Ohio wrote in a statement: "Both Cedar Point and Kings Island already provide ride status information (including temporary closures and wait times) in the mobile app and at each ride, updated in real time. In the event of a long-term closure, that status is also updated on the website, mobile app and at the ride."
