Lehigh Valley

‘We Must Adjust' Lack of Workers Forces Dorney Park to Cut Back to 5 Days a Week

Guests won't be able to ride the rides and slides of Allentown's Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom Mondays and Tuesday due to a lack of workers for the summer of 2021

NBC Universal, Inc.

What to Know

  • Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom won't be open seven days a week this summer.
  • The Lehigh Valley amusement park is citing a lack of workers for cutting its operating schedule to Wednesday to Sunday.
  • "As we're seeing across a wide range of industries, the availability of labor continues to be a challenge, and our park is no exception," Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom said in a statement posted Wednesday to social media.

Don't plan on cooling off on one of the waterslides or getting a thrill on a roller coaster at Pennsylvania's Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom seven days a week this summer.

On Wednesday, the Lehigh Valley amusement park announced that a lack of workers is forcing it to cut back operations to a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, effective immediately.

"While we are aggressively recruiting and adding new staff daily, we must adjust our operating calendar based on workforce availability," the amusement park said in a statement posted to social media.

The company understands that cutting back to five days a week could mess with reservations or plans already made to visit the amusement park. They urged people to check out the operating calendar (no Mondays or Tuesdays are available through the summer, at this point, with the exception of Labor Day) online and adjust any reservations on the website.

"We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience and support as we work through these challenges," Dorney said in its statement.

The company hopes that jobs paying $15 to $20 per hour will attract more workers and allow them to "add more opportunities for fun."

Dorney Park is far from the only business struggling to fill positions as the economy kicks back into gear after more than a year of COVID-19 restrictions. Dorney even served as a mass coronavirus vaccine site.

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