Cincinnati's Coney Island will be opening to the public for the season on Friday, June 12.
This news comes after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gave amusement parks and water parks the go-ahead to open their doors on June 10.
There will obviously be some health and safety updates made to accommodate COVID-19 concerns, which you can read about in full here on the park's website.
Some changes include:
- The Typhoon Tower splashground and Twister water slides will be closed for at least the next several weeks.
- The Challenge Zone obstacle will not open until 2021.
- Guests are encouraged to practice social distancing at all times and to wear masks when not in the water. Do not wear a mask in the water.
- There will be no tables or cooler racks in the picnic area this year.
- If you're in the water, you can only congregate with members of your own household.
- Bathroom capacity will be limited.
- All retail store fitting rooms are closed.
- You must stand in a designated waiting area at the concession stand while waiting for your food.
Coney has already announced that those who purchased season passes for 2020 will be allowed to use those in 2021 as well. And if you haven't bought one yet, that deal still seems to be going on.
Other Coney attractions — paddle boats and mini golf — will remain closed.
“All of our consumer research, all of our consumer feedback and all of our in-park data shows that the vast majority of our guests come to Coney Island because of the fun they have while in the Sunlite Pool area,” said Rob Schutter, Jr., president and CEO of Coney Island, in a release at the time.
According to the release, splitting employees' time between the rides and the water attractions limited the amount of attention each area could receive. So they removed the rides to focus on the water.
The location has been an amusement area since 1870 and has been known as Coney Island since 1887. The park's famous Sunlite Pool has been in operations since 1925 and benefited from a $6 million renovation in 2016.