Silverwood Theme Park Opening May 30

In a letter on the park’s website, Gary Norton, owner of Idaho’s Silverwood Theme Park, announced today that the park would open for the season on Saturday, May 30.

Highlights of measures that Silverood is taking include:

Daily Operation begins Saturday, June 6
Silverwood isn’t requiring masks, but will provide a complimentary mask if you want one.
Controlled, Reduced Capacity with limited numbers of “dated” tickets.
Social Distancing in ride queues
Additional sanitization on rides between cycles.
Additional Hand Sanitizing Stations.
Open-access (open doors) to shops and restaurants
Replacing of air filters throughout the park.

The letter can be read in full below:

Dear Guests,

I want to personally thank you for your patience and support during these unprecedented times. The State of Idaho and our local health district have approved Silverwood to open during Phase 3 of the Idaho Rebounds Plan. We recognize Silverwood is a major component in our region’s economic recovery. With that being said, Silverwood will open its gates on May 30th and 31st, and both Silverwood and Boulder Beach will open for daily operation starting Saturday, June 6th. For those planning on staying in the Silverwood RV Park, it will open on May 16th.

Safety is our number one priority, and that is why we have developed extensive social distancing and cleaning protocols to reduce the risks to guests and employees as much as possible during their time at the park.

Silverwood will be taking the following proactive steps to reduce the risk of spreading the Coronavirus while experiencing our facility:

Capacity, Tickets, and Season Passes

For the safety of all our guests and employees, if you, or anyone in your visiting party, are sick or experiencing COVID-like symptoms, please stay home.

If you would like to wear a mask and did not bring your own, complimentary masks will be available for each guest upon arrival.

We will be operating at a controlled, reduced capacity to ensure your family has ample space to create memories while maintaining social distancing guidelines.

In order to control capacity, starting May 23rd, all tickets sold will be reservation only and require you to select your date of visit. Be advised, as the number of tickets that can be sold for any specific date will be limited, the date you want may not be available. For specific details regarding reservation tickets, please visit our website after May 23rd.

We encourage all ticket purchases to be conducted through our online website to limit person-to-person interaction. In addition, by purchasing online you will save up to $20 off the gate price.

Season passes and tickets purchased prior to May 23rd can be used any operating day of our 2020 season.

Rides and Queue Lines

We have changed the configuration of our queue lines to allow for social distancing between families. As our overall queue capacity will be reduced, lines for our attractions may appear to be longer than normal.

We request your assistance in leaving the appropriate space between your family and others in lines, on rides, and in food venues to ensure proper social distancing as recommended by the CDC.

On our higher capacity and more popular attractions, an additional Silverwood attendant will direct the loading of ride vehicles to maintain proper spacing between family groups.

Please be patient in line for our attractions as we have added a sanitation wipe down procedure between cycles. You will see additional Silverwood personnel at the more popular attractions wiping down touchable surfaces between each ride cycle to reduce the risk of contamination. Though this procedure may increase the time between cycles by a couple of minutes, the additional sanitizing will reduce the possibility of virus transmission.

We have placed alcohol-based hand sanitizing stations throughout ride exits, venue entrances, and other high touch areas.

Water park chlorine and ph levels will continue to be constantly inspected to ensure guest safety.

The CDC has stated, “There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools and hot tubs. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g. with chlorine and bromine) of pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.” https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/water.html

Food and Retail

We will be utilizing cashless procedures at most of our retail and food venues to limit person-to-person interaction. We will accept credit/debit cards, our own VIP (debit card) along with our reloadable cash card, which is available for purchase online or at any of our cash register locations. Only a few designated locations will allow the purchase of these cards through a cash transaction. Cash will be accepted at the front gate to buy tickets and reloadable cash cards. For more information on our cashless options click here.

We have removed and rearranged tables and seating as well as adding divider panels in our food venues to facilitate proper separation between family groups.

Silverwood will have open access (open-door entrances), well-ventilated buildings and venues available for guests. Common touchpoints (i.e. utensil and condiment dispensers) will be replaced with single-use products.

We are upgrading our building air handling systems to hospital-grade HEPA filtration. Research studies have shown that a HEPA filter is capable of removing over 99% of particles the size of the Coronavirus in a single pass.

As you can see from the above list, we have taken many steps to try to mitigate the spread of infection between our guests and employees. The complete list of changed practices is much longer and will be constantly improved as we learn more information.

Determining whether or not to open the park during these unprecedented times was a difficult task. Like many organizations, we’re continually monitoring the balance between public safety with the desire to keep our economy alive. This balance needs to be re-evaluated on an ongoing basis. We have based our plan on the information and guidelines from state and health experts, however, we cannot guarantee there is no risk associated with engaging in a social activity at this time; we can only say we have done our best to minimize the risk with the procedures we have taken. If you feel you are in one of the vulnerable categories due to age or health considerations, we would advise you to postpone your visit to the park this season and wait for more secure times.

We believe it is your right to access the risks involved, take your own precautions, and come to your own conclusion as to whether to participate in social activities during these trying times.

Rollover Ticket Sale
Our Rollover Ticket Sale will continue until May 22nd. If you purchase your tickets before this date, you will be able to use this ticket any day the park is open for the 2020 season. This policy is subject to change if necessary, to manage attendance levels. If you don’t use your pre-purchased 1-day, 2-day, or 3-day tickets during the 2020 season, we will automatically roll your tickets to 2021. Starting May 23rd, tickets will require reservations and can only be used during the 2020 season. To purchase rollover tickets, please click the link. https://sw4.fun/Tix-Rollover

Season Passes
If you have already purchased a season pass and don’t use your pass by September 27th, 2020, it will automatically roll over to the 2021 season. However, if you are able to use your pass this summer, we are going to extend to you a special discounted rate when you renew to a 2021 pass. If you have been putting off purchasing your season pass, now is the time to do so because, as long as you purchase your pass before May 22nd, you will be included in this special renewal option for the 2021 season. Click the link for more info. https://sw4.fun/SP-Rollover

To accommodate for social distancing, season pass holders do not need to visit the season pass desk before entering the park. Before your visit, please log into your Silverwood Guest Account and print out your pass voucher. This voucher will be your pass for the season. If you would like a plastic season pass card you may request one when logged into your account.

Again, thank you for your continued support. We are so appreciative of all the memories you have shared with us over the past 32 years. We look forward to making even more memories this summer as we adapt to the changing environment. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Silverwood Theme Park at 208-683-3400 ext. 0 or email [email protected]. We are excited to open up and see you back at the park soon.

Gary Norton, Owner
Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park