When Dorney Park opens to the general public on Friday, there are sure to be complaints and confusion over the park’s new chaperone policy.

The park was opened on Sunday as the policy went into effect, but just season ticket-holders were allowed to attend, and the festivities ended at 4 p.m. When the park opens Friday, the chaperone policy will be in effect from 4 p.m. until closing.

Dorney officials said they are trying to head off problems which have occurred at other amusement parks owned by Cedar Fair, Dorney’s owner.

The South Whitehall Township-based park now requires guests 15 and younger to be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years of age between the hours of 4 p.m. and closing. According to the new policy, the chaperones must present a government ID and ticket to enter, and the chaperone cannot accompany more than 10 guests who are 15 and younger.

Some are anticipating a logistical and identification nightmare, but Dorney officials say it will take a little while before the new system starts working as intended.

“The safety of our guests and associates has always been our top priority at Dorney Park,” the company said in a statement. “We believe these changes will help ensure that Dorney Park continues to have a positive atmosphere where generations of families and friends can gather for a day of safe fun and good food. Millions of guests have counted on us for exactly that, and we will continue to deliver on that promise for generations to come.”

Chaperones must be with young teens at entry, remain inside the park throughout the visit, and “be available by phone throughout their stay,” the policy states. Guests 15 and younger who are found to be without a chaperone will be removed from the park.

By the way, it won’t matter if you are a season-pass holder. The new policy applies to all.

When the policy was announced several weeks ago, Dorney fans and detractors took to social media to either praise or demonize the decision. There was all sort of speculation on how this could possibly work and be enforced, but Dorney officials said they expect the policy to have a few bumps at the start but ultimately to have little to no impact on patrons’ enjoyment.

Many who commented expect Dorney to take a big attendance hit since a lot of early-teens from throughout the Lehigh Valley area, meet there during the summer and hang out until closing time.

Dorney’s communication manager Ryan Eldredge said he wanted to set the record straight that the chaperone does not have to be with the child constantly - they could be off on their own - so long as the chaperone is contactable by cellphone.

As for ID’ing those under 16, Dorney officials will not be doing it, saying it is impractical. Eldredge promised that if youthful parkgoers are not being disruptive, no one is going to bother them.

Dorney does not accord chaperones discounts, at least not at the moment, but it appears that this is something that might be considered in the future.

Although Dorney has not experienced some of the incidents that occurred at other Cedar Fair amusement parks, officials said they are taking a “pro-active” position in initiating the chaperone policy.

Last month, during opening weekend at Worlds of Fun amusement park in Kansas City, Missouri, there was a huge fight involving between 100 to 150 unsupervised teenagers, many of whom were expelled from the park. Cedar Fair officials imposed the chaperone policy there almost immediately.

The hours the policy is in effect - from 4 until closing - were not chosen randomly, because Dorney officials believe that if trouble does occur, it usually happens later in the day and after dark.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.