I thought I would add my opinion on this subject.  I am firmly against
stopping music between rides, as that defeats the entire purpose of a
band organ, which is to attract riders.

I have noticed that amusement parks tend to play the band organs
non-stop, while public parks and museums don't, in fact, public parks
and museums sometimes don't use the band organ at all, even if it's
just restored.

Amusement parks have the incentive also to attract riders, so of course
they would want the band organ to play all the time, and they also
would probably not want to hire the extra staff just to turn it off
between rides which, again, I think is ridiculous.

Amusement parks such as Kennywood, Hershey Park, Dorney Park, Knoebels,
Seabreeze, etc., play their band organs continuously.  Other amusement
parks that recently had their band organs playing within the past 15
years, such as Kings Island, Knotts Berry Farm, Cedar Point, Idlewild,
Lake Compounce, and Castle Park, also had their band organs playing
continuously.

Public parks and museums, on the other hand, usually don't.  Prospect
Park's Wurlitzer 153 gets turned off between rides.  Silver Beach
Carousel's North Tonawanda and Stinson organs also get turned off
between rides.  Also, Grand Rapids public museum, which has a Wurlitzer
157, and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which has a rare
Wurlitzer 147.

The most ridiculous thing I've seen, though, has to be the Farmer's
Museum, which does not play the band organ when the carousel is in
operation, which has to be one of the most absurd things I've ever
heard.

Still, using band organs only during rides is better than not using
a band organ at all.  The Columbus Zoo has a beautiful Wurlitzer 153
'special', which was just recently restored, and you have to beg and
plead to get them to play it, even though the organ was donated to the
zoo for the purpose of being played.

Just my thoughts,

Mikey Mills