Cedar Fair (FUN) theme parks across the country are bringing back a policy to ensure guests have a safe environment to bring their families to. While the Theme Park industry itself is meant to provide a place where friends and family can come and enjoy the park’s attractions, safety is still a top priority for all guests and staff.
Rules aren’t meant to be broken at theme parks, they are meant to provide a way to all people to come together and enjoy a day or evening of fun knowing that they are in a safe place that is regulated to ensure safety for all guests. Sometimes ensuring safety means enduring some inconveniences, and that has fallen on the theme park operators coast to coast.
Most families think about how to help their kids have their best time while at theme parks, making sure everyone has sunscreen, hats, water and snacks. The guests do what they can to make sure their time at the parks is filled with fun memories. Guests who travel far and wide to come to the theme parks have expectations of being able to enjoy their time without incident. While the majority of guests come to the parks to have a good time and will avoid conflicts when they arise, other guests have chosen to cause trouble, and it is affecting the entire industry.
Cedar Fair Chaperone Policy
In summer 2022, Cedar Fair’s Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif., implemented a chaperone policy requiring anyone under the age of 17 to be accompanied by a chaperone of at least 21 years of age. The policy came about after the park closed early due to fights that broke out at the park. One of the fights involved an attack on the park’s security. While having security around, keeping the guests and all staff including security safe is a top priority of all Cedar Fair theme parks.
"A safe, family-friendly atmosphere of Knott’s is the type of experience our guests expect and deserve," according to Knott's Berry’s website. "This policy was put in place to ensure that all guests have the best time ever and leave happy and eager to visit again."
Knott’s Berry Farm has updated its policy since last year. The updated Chaperone Policy states that due to an increase in disruptive behavior over the last two years, the policy is being put in place and will be enforced upon entry to the park and can be checked while inside the park. The new policy went into effect April 23 requiring a chaperone for anyone under the age of 15 instead of 17. The chaperone over the age of 21 can accompany up to 10 guests of ages 15 and younger. The chaperone policy begins each day at 4 p.m. and goes until the parks close.
Cedar Fair has made this policy effective for Knott's Berry Farm, Kings Island, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, California's Great America, Dorney Park, Valleyfair, and Worlds of Fun. Cedar Fair theme parks without chaperone policies are Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, and Michigan's Adventure, but that’s not saying there won’t be one in the future though.
Disney’s Chaperone Policy
Both Disneyland and Disney World have a current chaperone policy in place and can be found on Disney Park’s website.
It states: “Children should be supervised. Guests under age 14 must be accompanied by a Guest age 14 or older to enter a theme park or water park. To board an attraction, children under age 7 must be accompanied by a person age 14 years or older.”
Disney has experienced its own incidents that even involved guests being ‘dragged’ off of rides, according to Inside the Magic.
