Shepherdstown, W.Va., – After an extremely unique 2020 season, Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort: Williamsport, Md. is now open and ready for the 2021 season! The campground opened on Friday, March 28, 2021 and was at maximum capacity.
Due to COVID-19, Yogi Bear’s 2020 season was very different for all guests and staff at the park. A limited amount of people were allowed in the park at one time. This also caused the amount of people allowed per activity to drop.
The swimming pool and water zones had sign-up slots that allowed guests to swim for 2 hours and then they had to get out of the water. Lifeguards would have to sanitize every single chair and waterslide tubes during the 30-minute break between sessions.
Other activities like arts and crafts turned into take and go crafts. Normally, everyone would pile into the Cindy Bear Pavilion and sit at different tables and do their crafts and then leave. Now staff had to put everything that the guests would need for a specific craft into individual baggies and then send them on their way back to their campsite.
Another popular activity that was the jumping pillow. In normal non-COVID times, the jumping pillow averaged about 25 to 30 kids and adults at a time. But last season, only 10 people were allowed to jump at a time.
The staff member sitting at the bounce pillow would have to set a timer for 15 minutes and then once the time was up, they would kick everybody off and then clean the whole bounce pillow.
All staff and guests were extremely excited to hear that this year was going to look a little bit like what they were all used to. Restrictions are being lifted and activities are opening back up.
Now, guests are allowed to sit at tables inside the Cindy Bear Pavilion that are 6 feet apart from each other. If guests are still uncomfortable with being near others, the staff has activities that they can take back to their sites with them.
Guest Experience Manager, Johanna Stine, said she is, “so excited to see things getting back to normal. Last year was really rough for all of us, so it is going to be so nice to do some of the activities that we all love even if we have to change them just a little bit to make them safer for my staff and our guests!”
The swimming pools and brand-new lazy river will no longer have time slots so guests can splash in the sun all day long!
A recreational staff member at the park, Alex Stanicek, said, “this year is going to be really good; I can feel it. The joy that I saw on everybody’s faces made me so excited for the rest of the season.”
The park is still following all of the CDC guidelines and requires masks to be worn inside all closed buildings and inside the pavilion if 6 feet social distancing cannot be maintained. All staff also does extensive cleaning of all craft materials and equipment throughout the entire park.
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