Do you miss your favorite theme park? Well, if you can’t wait to spend a lovely summer day on a thrill ride, I have some good news. Many parks are planning to reopen soon. In fact, one even has an official date! Here’s a status update on some of the most popular theme park companies.

Busch Gardens/SeaWorld

Like other Florida theme parks, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is in a holding pattern right now. However, interim CEO Mark Swanson has indicated that the Texas parks could return soon.

During an earnings call, the new head of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. stated that SeaWorld San Antonio and Aquatica San Antonio will reopen first.

The reality is that SeaWorld parks need to return soon. The company is in financial ruin, having laid off 95 percent of its staff. Also, leadership is an issue.

The CEO the company hired in February quit in September. Then, SeaWorld hired a replacement CEO last November only for this person to resign in April. Busch Gardens parks need to return since they provide reliable revenue for a company that seems cursed.

Cedar Fair

Cedar Fair operates several North American parks. The company is also highly regarded within the industry for its business savvy. So, there’s a lot of interest in Cedar Fair’s evaluation of running a park during a pandemic.

There's also a lot of confusion about what will happen next. The Motley Fool believes that “Cedar Fair is ready to open its parks within two to three weeks of getting the go-ahead from regulators.”

Conversely, The Cleveland Plain Dealer states, “It’s still unclear when — or even if — Cedar Point and other Cedar Fair parks will open this year.”

Both of those reports are from May, meaning that a lot of confusion exists here. I’m inclined to believe the Motley Fool, though. Cedar Fair was enjoying a record year and will want to continue its winning ways asap.

On a side note, Cedar Fair’s anchor business, Cedar Point, really doesn’t want to cancel this year if at all possible. Cedar Point will celebrate its 150th anniversary on July 18th.