Posted Oct. 15, 2021
By Huda Aden
Staff Reporter
When the Enchanted Forest announced on social media on May 17 that it would reopen to the public after the pandemic, financial woes, and a devastating ice storm forced it to close, people responded with threats and angry comments, so much that the owners decided to walk back their reopening plan.
The Enchanted Forest is an amusement park located in Turner, Oregon, on a small patch of hilly wooded land next to Interstate 5, just south of Salem. The park was created and hand-built by Roger Tofte over a period of seven years in the late 1960s. The park first opened to the public in 1971.
When word got out that the park was reopening, many park fans were not happy that the Enchanted Forest made a decision to allow only vaccinated guests to go without masks, provided they show a vaccination card.
“We weighed it all out and decided that we cannot open safely,” park co-manager Susan Vaslev stated to The Oregonian. “Until we reach the point where we all agree how this transition is going to take place between mask, unmasked, vaccinated, unvaccinated and everyone can be together safely and commingle—that has to happen before reopening.”
“We weighed it all out and decided that we cannot open safely. Until we reach the point where we all agree how this transition is going to take place between mask, unmasked, vaccinated, unvaccinated and everyone can be together safely and commingle—that has to happen before reopening. We feel like the mandate that exists is clear. We’re trying to maneuver how to operate business but operate it safely where everyone can coexist. That isn’t in the cards right now.”
-Enchanted Forest co-manager Susan Vaslev
The park is not releasing specifics about the worst threats that came via email and phone, but their original announcement on Facebook received nearly 1,000 comments, many of which were angry and abusive. The backlash against the plan, from many people who claim to have recently donated to The park GoFundMe campaign to stay afloat, have been “extremely upsetting,” stated Valsev to The Oregonian last spring. “We’re desperate to reopen because we’re just hanging by a thread. The threats were extensive enough that we made the decision not to open.”
The Enchanted Forest never intended to quiz their visitors about their vaccine status. Instead, they were just trying to give vaccinated guests the opportunity to go without masks if they had vaccination proof.
“We feel like the mandate that exists is clear,” Valsev said. “We’re trying to maneuver how to operate business but operate it safely where everyone can coexist. That isn’t in the cards right now.”
Enchanted Forest is currently closed for the season. It will reopen on March 18, 2022, if it is safe to do so.