Parents file lawsuit after security guard refused them entry into amusement park without face masks
Ligonier IN July 12 2020
An incident at Idlewild and Soakzone in Ligonier has led to a lawsuit against the park’s parent company.
Reports say that a group of parents of children with disabilities along with adults with disabilities have filed the lawsuit, saying that the mask policy of Palace Entertainment, who owns Idlewild and Soakzone along with Kennywood Park and Sandcastle, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit states that Janine Wood, who suffers from anxiety issues and her daughter, who is autistic, tried to go to Idlewild and Soakzone in Ligonier on Tuesday as part of their season-ticket-holder preview days.
The two were told that they could not enter the park without masks on, but Wood explained to the park officials that they could not wear masks due to medical conditions.
According to the lawsuit, security guards prevented them from going inside and “screamed at her child causing her to have a mental breakdown and to break out in hives due to anxiety.”
As of right now, the parks’ policy is to have everyone wear a mask when they enter and while they are inside the parks and does not provide an exception for people with disabilities. The only exception is for children under two years of age and people using the parks’ cooling zones, but that is only for ten minutes.
