The Tuesday after Labor Day is always a bit of a sad day as it marks the day many water parks and small Theme parks (especially in the north) are closed for the season. Although the end of summer is officially September 21st, Labor Day has traditionally marked the end of summer from a vacation perspective. More and more parks are holding Halloween and Christmas events and operating more days than ever, but for some this is the end of operations until sometime in 2025, especially water parks.

Although some of the September closures have to do with weather and/or summer vacation season ending, more commonly it is staffing issues as many parks rely on high school and college students for the bulk of their workforce. This is especially true of water parks and the integrated water park areas of theme parks. For example, Wild Adventures closed Splash Island and Six Flags Over Georgia closed Hurricane Harbor for the season this past weekend even though both locations should have nice weather for several more weeks, especially Valdosta, GA.

This year a handful of parks still have one more weekend left in them with our local Six Flags White Water and Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure staying open through September 8th. Alabama Adventure is an Amusement Park side of a dry/wet park combo, but its last day is September 8th as well. However, even some big Northern theme parks call it quits this week with Iowa’s large Lost Island closed for the season.

So it’s sad to see one season end, but it brings the hope and excitement of a new season with potentially new attractions. For example, Alabama Adventures is bringing back a refurbished wooden roller coaster Rampage in 2025. Many other parks have or no doubt will soon make 2025 announcements too.

I like the sign at the exit of Splash Island at Wild Adventures which says “Aloha Nui Loa!” The translation from Hawaiian means “with much love” which is a unique and wonderful existing message that most probably miss. We love our local parks and are already looking forward to 2025!