SALT LAKE CITY — Having opened its gates two months late due to coronavirus health concerns, Lagoon, Utah’s largest and oldest theme park, is now requiring guests to wear masks while waiting in ride queues in response to a rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The policy went into effect Monday morning.
Lagoon opened to the public on May 23 with up to 6,000 guests allowed inside at a time, just 15% of the park’s normal capacity. These social distancing measures will remain locked in place in addition to the new policy.
Adam Leishman, Lagoon spokesman, said that prior to Monday guests were required to have a mask in order to enter the park. However, while they were strongly encouraged to wear them, masks were not required inside as the park is spread out over 200 acres.
Guests, with the exception of very young children and toddlers, will now be required to wear a face covering while waiting in ride queues.
Guests can remove the masks while on the rides because none of the rides are being run at full capacity, allowing for social distancing, Leishman explained.
He said Lagoon officials made the decision in collaboration with the Davis County Health Department in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the community.
Even with markings on the ground in ride queues, people generally don’t tend to follow them, Leishman said. The policy requiring masks in line is in lieu of forcing people to constantly wear them in the park.
Regarding enforcement, Leishman said he hopes “guests will be the good neighbors that we know they are.” Employees will continue wearing masks at all times.
“We are doing that to protect our guests. Hopefully that slight inconvenience for guests is worth it to protect us as well,” Leishman said. “We will ask nicely, we will have monitors in the lines with signs, verbal reminders — the whole thing.”
Masks are also available for purchase if guests do not bring their own, he said.
The new policy has garnered some mixed feedback. Comments on Lagoon’s Instagram and Facebook pages were both positive and negative, attracting a great deal of comments and public attention overall. Many commenters praised Lagoon for the new policy, thanking the theme park for its consideration. Some expressed frustration and said they’ll be staying away for the season.
Kaitlyn Holman had planned to take her five children to Lagoon on Monday after purchasing their tickets Friday — a day prior to the park announcing the new policy.
Now, Holman said they will not be visiting the park because her children have health conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask.
“My kids have asthma and allergies and it’s been recommended by their doctor not to wear a mask because of the reduced oxygen levels,” she said, pointing out that the heat and elevation would make doing so even more unhealthy.
Holman said the park would not grant an exemption, nor would it issue a refund, but she was told they could use their tickets at a later date in the year. Holman said this is not a possibility as they are from Washington and will not be returning to Utah for some time.
Spencer Pohlman attended Lagoon with his kids Monday for the first time this season. He recalled going to the theme park quite a few times last year.
With the new guidelines in place this summer, including the mask policy and social distancing measures, Pohlman said it’s nice to “get back to some life” and that he doesn’t mind wearing a mask, though he wonders at its overall efficiency.
“You are wearing a mask if you are in line, but if you are just walking around you don’t have to,” Pohlman said. “I don’t know if that reduces too much risk here, but I’m willing to work with it.”
He added that wearing a mask is going to “be pretty tough” when temperatures rise 10 to 15 degrees throughout the summer.
Still, Pohlman said he’s happy to be at Lagoon with his family.
“We are having fun. We are going to have fun — be careful but have fun. Get back to some life,” he said.
