Kennywood, a nearly 130-year-old\u00a0amusement park\u00a0outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is tightening its summer chaperone policy as parks around the country experience violent brawls and unruly teen crowds heading into the heart of the season.<\/p>\n
The popular Pennsylvania amusement venue said guests ages 15 and under must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or other supervising adult during all operating hours, effective June 12. The updated policy will apply through Sept. 7, according to a company statement.<\/p>\n
The move follows several high-profile incidents at amusement parks in recent weeks, including at Six Flags<\/a> St. Louis on opening day, when\u00a0multiple brawls\u00a0involving as many as 100 people prompted a police response and forced the park to close early.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kennywood\u2019s news also follows an opening-day\u00a0brawl at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania<\/a>, in which 55 people \u2014 including 52 minors and three young adults ages 18, 18 and 19 \u2014 were charged after a large fight broke out on April 3, according to police.<\/p>\n Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. Moment Editorial\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a proactive measure and part of our ongoing commitment to preserving the welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere that has defined Kennywood for nearly 130 years,\u201d a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n In a recent Facebook post, Kennywood wrote, \u201cWe are aware of social media posts circulating regarding a possible unauthorized gathering at the park. We have zero tolerance for disruptive behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennywood said its updated policy is intended to \u201cenlist the cooperation of\u00a0parents and other adults\u00a0responsible for children<\/a>\u201d and help the park provide a safe and enjoyable experience for guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The park also noted that responsibility for children attending Kennywood rests with parents, guardians or assigned chaperones \u2014 not park personnel.<\/p>\n Under the new rules, guests who cannot show proof they are at least 16 will not be allowed to enter without a qualifying chaperone. The chaperones must be at least 21 years old and present a valid government-issued photo ID.\u00a0<\/p>\n Each chaperone may accompany up to six guests ages 15 and under.<\/p>\n When the group enters the park, the chaperone must be present \u2014 and the chaperone must remain inside the park for the entire visit, though Kennywood said the adult does not need to physically stay with the minors at all times.<\/p>\n Guests 15 and under must be able to contact their onsite chaperone throughout the visit.<\/p>\n The park said the new policy extends its previous summer chaperone rules from a 4 p.m. start time to all-day enforcement, while lowering the age requirement from guests 17 and under to guests 15 and under.<\/p>\n Recently,\u00a0so-called \u201cteen takeovers\u201d\u00a0have disrupted parks, beaches, malls and other public spaces<\/a> in several cities. Authorities have said some gatherings, often organized or fueled by social media postings<\/a>, have escalated into fights, arrests and emergency crowd-control responses, as Fox News Digital previously reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hersheypark later implemented photo re-entry verification after fights between teens disrupted its opening weekend, according to Fox 43.<\/p>\n The park said at the time that safety was its top priority and that guests who violated its policies would no longer be welcome.<\/p>\n The Kennywood Aero 360 ride turns its riders upside down. L Rya Photography \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n Kennywood said its updated chaperone policy will be enforced at the entrance and throughout the park by management and security. Any guest 15 or younger found inside the park without a qualifying chaperone could face removal.\u00a0<\/p>\n Organized and\u00a0ticketed group events\u00a0\u2014 including school, church, corporate, summer camp and sports group outings \u2014 are exempt because they already have existing chaperone policies and practices, according to the park.<\/p>\n Online, many people praised the owners for taking decisive action.<\/p>\n Kennywood tries to get ahead of dangerous incidents happening at other establishments as they open up for the summer. Moment Editorial\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cGood on them for getting ahead of any potential issues,\u201d one Reddit user wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not normal kid behavior anymore that\u2019s being cracked down on,\u201d another person said. \u201cThis stuff has become way too common.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLove this idea,\u201d a third person said. \u201cJust wish they\u2019d bring back a non-rider entry fee or other discounted pass for chaperones who don\u2019t plan to ride.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennywood is located in West Mifflin, about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Opened in 1898, it is one of only two amusement parks in the US designated as a National Historic Landmark. (The other is Rye Playland in Rye, New York.)\u00a0<\/p>\n The park said all guests must also pass through a weapons detection system at the front gate during the summer, and only bags 15 inches by 15 inches by 15 inches are permitted \u2014 with exceptions for medical and diaper bags.<\/p>\n The western Pennsylvania staple has been known for generations for its classic rides, including the Jack Rabbit roller coaster, as well as its\u00a0popular Potato Patch fries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kennywood, a nearly 130-year-old\u00a0amusement park\u00a0outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is tightening its summer chaperone policy as parks around the country…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":217924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[50093,734,5418,28,30,29,8788,3668,31552,302],"class_list":["post-217923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-amusement-parks","tag-children","tag-hersheys","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-six-flags","tag-summer","tag-teens","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/217924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}