With the start of summer vacation a month away, amusement park officials are braced for a difficult season.

An overall sluggish economy is already hurting Scandia in Ontario, where several Saturdays in June remain open for corporate bookings or other large gatherings, said Connie Rojas, the park's sales and marketing director.

June normally is booked solid and Rojas a month before Memorial Day should be concentrating on July and August. Corporate parties and other group events are lucrative for Scandia. The park charges $47,000 for a gathering of 2,000.

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Photos By Larry Rose

Riley Taylor, 12, of Norco gets wet as she plays with a friend on the bumper boats at Scandia.

"Business started to pick up about a month ago when we got some company picnics, then it started to slow again," Rojas said. "Now we're waiting for things to pick up."

After the school year ends in June, Scandia attracts up to 1,000 patrons a day. Its rides, batting cages, game arcades and miniature golf attract up to 600,000 customers a year.

Only one booking, a school in Los Angeles, cancelled because of high gasoline prices, Rojas said.

"I think it's a whole bunch of things," she said. "Whenever you turn on the television, or read the newspaper, all you get is 'recession' over and over. It's an endless supply of bad news. Everything feels like a red-flag warning and that's causing a lot of families to conserve. They aren't spending as much, and the bottom line is we aren't where we were a year ago."

Scandia officials are looking at increasing its advertising, perhaps more billboards, to attract customers, Rojas said.

Officials at Castle Park in Riverside hope a new ride, the DragonFlyers - which will be one of about 25 in the United States - will help keep business thriving during a difficult summer, General Manager Rolf Paegert said.

Based on a classic ride from the 1930s that was once a staple at Coney Island in Brooklyn, the DragonFlyer features eight suspended carriages, each of which holds two people. The carriages reach 35 mph and move from side to side with a wing at the front of each carriage that the riders manipulate.

Skilled riders can time the carriage shifts to allow for dramatic turns at high speed. Castle Park's first new ride since 2004, DragonFlyers is being assembled in Texas.

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Robert and Reatha Soden of Trona on the Scandia race track.

It's expected to be operating by Memorial Day, Paegert said.

Castle Park, which attracts about 350,000 patrons a year, will advertise the DragonFlyers - which will be one of about 25 in the United States - in its television, newspaper and radio promotions this summer, Paegert said.

"We've announced it and we have banners up in the park telling people that it's coming, but the best thing about this business is the word-of-mouth advertising," Paegert said. "If you put in a new ride and it's good, the kids will tell everyone about it and word will get around. I can't speculate on how much it will increase our business, but it will help."

Local theme parks throughout the United States are struggling this year. Castle Park attracted fewer patrons early this year than it usually does, and heading into summer group, sales are down, though Paegert declined to say by how much.

"There's no question this is a tough time for our industry, just like it is for a lot of industries," he said. "In our case we were hurt early in the year by the weather. It seemed like it rained every weekend. Now it looks like people in the Inland Empire are buying down. Because of the economy they're looking for things closer to home that they can afford to do. And we are affordable, so the slow economy - even the gas prices - might help us."

This summer anyone who buys a $24.99 one-day admission ticket to Castle Park can upgrade to a pass that grants free admission until Labor Day.

"We did it last summer and it worked," Paegert said. "It gets people in the park."

Officials with Calico Ghost Town are eager to gauge attendance at their annual Bluegrass in the Spring music festival, which will be held during Mother's Day weekend, May 10-11, spokeswoman Cyndi Zidell said. Calico Ghost Town is owned by San Bernardino County.

"If attendance is good there then we'll probably be OK," Zidell said.