P.E.I. school trips to amusement parks postponed, not cancelled, so far

The cool and rainy weather this month has not cut into school groups travelling to amusement parks on P.E.I.'s North Shore so far. There have, however, been lots of postponements.

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"So far it's been very minimal, we've had a few groups that we've had to move around," said Matthew Jelley, president of Maritime Fun Group, thecompany that operates Shining Waters and Sandspit in Cavendish, P.E.I.

"The bulk of our school business happens the middle of this week to the middle of next week so we haven't had any groups cancel, it's just been a few postponements."

Busy days

The parks opened last Thursday for school visits and Shining Waters was closed Monday after schools decided to wait for a better weather forecast.

He says everyone is hoping to rebook, which could mean some busy days ahead.

"As we get later into this week, it will put some strainon the crowds," Jelley said.

"But it's something, being in the outdoor amusement business, it's something I've been dealing with for over 25 years and our staff have lots of experience so at this point, there's no concern."

What you like to see is at least the weather broken up where you have a nice day and then maybe an off day, as long as you get a couple of nice days in a week.- Matthew Jelley, Maritime Fun Group

Jelley admits the weather this month has been typical for P.E.I. at this time of year.

"June on Prince Edward Island, as we've seen this year, you can have everything from booming sunshine to frost," Jelley said.

"For other businesses and for golf courses, I'm sure that the cooler weather has not been of assistance but for us it's had no material impact at this time."

Weather watch

Jelley says weather can, obviously, be a factor for outdoor amusement parks.

"Long stretches of bad weather are never great," Jelley said. "What you like to see is at least the weather broken up where you have a nice day and then maybe an off day, as long as you get a couple of nice days in a week."

Jelley says it's rare to have schools cancel entirely.

"Some schools prefer to come the very last day or the second last day and in that case there's not always the opportunity to rebook," Jelley said.

"But then we've had a lot of days in the past where those schools have said they're coming rain or shine and our parks operate rain or shine."

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