Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks

[Hyde]

Another critical factor for opening up again: staff. Especially for larger parks, staff do not live locally, which adds new complexity of bringing employees together in dorm living, a huge challenge when you consider how to control continued spread of Covid. While we know warmer weather and more direct UV sunlight will help in controlling spread of virus outside; it would not be able to compensate for bringing thousands-and-thousands of employees together in tight confines.

Reopening parks also means having an inflow of visitors to regions. Again, Erie County Ohio (where Sandusky/Cedar Point resides) has 8 current cases of Covid - that is a number that could quickly change with hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting daily.

One could imagine seasonal parks reopening with smaller staff counts, limited hours, or limited ride offerings as a means of coming online on a minimal basis - time will tell.

We'll see - this is all extremely uncharted water, and response is changing hourly.

 

[The Undead Creature]

Maybe it could happen if a somewhat profitable but debt-ridden park collapsed in the crisis, the owners and investors had to eat the loss, and the park was sold wholesale to a visionary with a better credit rating. The new owner wouldn't be buried under the same mountain of debt that prevented the previous owners from expanding. Maybe expansion wouldn't be the first item on the agenda, but a few years down the line, perhaps...

That's probably not going to happen in many places, mind.

That's probably unlikely because if you buy a company then you could end up with the companies problems including it's debt. A new management and marketing strategy may work better than a completely new owner.

As far as updates are concerned, we aren't expecting anything new to reach us until the end of April. I suspect theme parks will be low down on the list of businesses that will qualify for help, but at the same time they contribute to the economy just like any other. If an otherwise profitable company can't trade because of restrictions then it isn't contributing anything other than being a drain. It would be in everyones best interest to get as many companies trading and as many people back into work as possible.

Only problem is, this needs to be done gradually to prevent everyone going out and getting infected all at once and sending us back to square one. Phasing out restrictions over the course of 6 months combined with people being wary of crowds would mean pretty much all parks would struggle to break even let alone turn a profit this year. The parks need to be seen to be doing something to stop the virus spreading, this started before the lockdown even began with some parks closing before they were told to. If this image if shattered by parks just throwing open the gates and alowing hoards of people in, that will likely drive people away out of fear.

 

[Hyde]

The frank answer is a lot of parks and chains will simply downstaff to minimize overhead, and ramp back up once things improve - the same move is happening with zoos, museums, and other visitor attractions: https://www.ocregister.com/2020/03/...ends-coronavirus-closure-to-mid-may-or-later/

It's just a matter of keeping a skeleton crew to pay the bills/stay afloat, and rebuild your staff once you are ready to re-open.

 

[FarleyFlavors]

No VR attractions

Every cloud and that.

 

[cookie]

Denmark has now extended its ban on mass gatherings until the last of August, so Tivoli and others won't be open this summer, I'm afraid.

Grade schools will reopen on April 15th, but restrictions on gatherings larger than 10 will stay until May 10.

Denmark gradually opening up again after Easter - The Copenhagen Post

PM Mette Ferderiksen announced that the smallest kids will gradually begin to return to their institutions over a four-week period

cphpost.dk

 

[Matt N]

In terms of what some European countries are doing, Austria is going to let some non-essential shops reopen on 14th April. If this goes well, then larger shopping malls will be allowed to open by the end of the month, followed by bars and restaurants by mid-May. Mass gatherings will be allowed again by the end of June. For reference, they entered lockdown on 16th March.

Italy, which entered lockdown on 8th March, is now looking at ways to exit lockdown, and Spain is doing the same.

I also saw an article today about how tourist attractions across China were rammed over the weekend, and restaurants were so busy that they were only accepting those with reservations. All the while, new case numbers still remain pretty low. China entered lockdown in late January.

If this is anything to go by, I could see some kind of normality resuming to an extent by July at the latest, probably more like June.

 

[Nitefly]

Blimey... doesn’t sound good for BoJo :s

 

[Professor]

I don't think normality is going to return to the UK at all. Theme parks will be the least of people's worries after industries that employ thousands of people around the country will be on the brink of collapse. The true extent of this is becoming clearer every day. I suspect China is putting on a brave face as a last throw at the dice.

 

[Peet]

Denmark has now extended its ban on mass gatherings until the last of August, so Tivoli and others won't be open this summer, I'm afraid.

Denmark gradually opening up again after Easter - The Copenhagen Post

PM Mette Ferderiksen announced that the smallest kids will gradually begin to return to their institutions over a four-week period

cphpost.dk

No it's just "Big Events" that are banned for now, details TBC but this will be sports events, concerts etc, not theme parks. Full quote below.

No big events until August
However, Frederiksen said that if developments once again take a turn for the worse over Easter, plans to slowly open up will be shelved.

The restrictions, including closed borders and 10-person gathering limitations, have been extended another four weeks until May 10.

Meanwhile, it was bad news for bigger events, which have been banned until the end of August. The specifics of that will be revealed later, said Frederiksen.

 

[cookie]

No it's just "Big Events" that are banned for now, details TBC but this will be sports events, concerts etc, not theme parks. Full quote below.

Theme parks cram enough people into crowded spaces that they might as well be "big events," Tivoli especially works with tight corridors that would be hotspots for any virus spread. I'd be surprised if they're exempt.

 

[Professor]

Theme parks cramp enough people into crowded spaces that they might as well be "big events." I'd be surprised if they're exempt.

I remember seeing a video from Disneyworld going round, a random weekday in February this year. No particular holiday. Mega busy and they wouldn't let any more people in. Social distancing would be virtually impossible in many parks. At least for them to make a profit surely. Maybe Alton Towers could work but many parks are totally crammed and if this virus doesn't disappear it would be considered a hot spot for it to spread again.

I can foresee a summer with offices and shops opening up again but adhering to social distancing like supermarkets now, McDonald's opening again but only drive through and take aways and uber eats, cinemas opening again but less available seats per screen. Theme parks will be pretty much last on the list. Even after football leagues starting up again.

2021 for most theme parks I suspect. Might be lucky with a Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park but realistically even that will probably be cancelled.

 

[Professor]

Unlike the miracle that is "obviously" and without any questioning whatsoever happening in China having defeated the virus, how "normal" countries will possibly deal with the virus in the long term as some have suggested in the media is a rolling lockdown until a vaccine is available or until the virus has much less impact on the healthcare system. So lockdown on, lockdown off, lockdown on etc...

In that scenario I could foresee theme parks perhaps opening 4 weeks, closed 4 weeks, opening 4 weeks etc. But then expect parks to be far more busy which sort of defeats the purpose I guess. Perhaps they could raise prices and limit access. Enough people would probably still go during an easing of lockdown if a further lockdown is on the horizon again and whilst international travel is probably still restricted or people just not bothering with it (which seems to be the case at the moment; very few holiday bookings even long term). It really depends if the virus spread explodes again when lockdown is eased.

I still think the re-opening of theme parks is going to be very tricky in particular, even for countries such as Germany or Sweden which has seen less deaths from this virus (So far, though these seem to be creeping up). No doubt in China all the roller coasters will be operating as normal (supposedly).

 

[CSLKennyNI]

Every cloud and that.

Respectively disagree as then I'm longer out of a job... ?

Reopening will truly be an operational nightmare. I'm interested to see how various European parks will cope.
If indoor rides are kept closed, as well as distancing measures, would indoor queuelines also be kept closed? Would create some awkward issues for Silver Star and Wodan in Europa Park for instance. Or if Phantasialand's F.L.Y. was still to open this summer.
Would indoor ride closures balance out the extra staff needed to run simple things like carousels - staff positioned around it onboard to ensure people use alternating horses and to disinfect them between rides. Or with a reduced workforce do they even have the staff for things like that. Does a point come with staffing issues (missing international staff / cost saving measures) and so many attractions closed or the fact that they may close again soon due to a second wave is it even worth opening up? Although I assume they will do anyway as soon as they are allowed just to start having some kind of income again. There's just so many odd variables in this uncharted territory.

 

[JammyH]

Respectively disagree as then I'm longer out of a job... ?

Reopening will truly be an operational nightmare. I'm interested to see how various European parks will cope.
If indoor rides are kept closed, as well as distancing measures, would indoor queuelines also be kept closed? Would create some awkward issues for Silver Star and Wodan in Europa Park for instance. Or if Phantasialand's F.L.Y. was still to open this summer.
Would indoor ride closures balance out the extra staff needed to run simple things like carousels - staff positioned around it onboard to ensure people use alternating horses and to disinfect them between rides. Or with a reduced workforce do they even have the staff for things like that. Does a point come with staffing issues (missing international staff / cost saving measures) and so many attractions closed or the fact that they may close again soon due to a second wave is it even worth opening up? Although I assume they will do anyway as soon as they are allowed just to start having some kind of income again. There's just so many odd variables in this uncharted territory.

I think at the end of the day this virus is not going to disappear, over time it may just become a seasonal virus like the flu, and if most of the population is vaccinated against it, then it won't really be anything to worry about anymore.

The virus is causing the disease COVID 19 and that's what is killing people; as I've said above researches are looking to find an effective treatment against this disease. If an effective treatment is found and can then be mass produced, the amount of people dying will be significantly reduced and therefore it is no longer such a big threat to society and to healthcare systems. If this treatment can be discovered and produced in the next few months, then life can go back to normal late summer/autumn POTENTIALLY.

If no effective treatment is discovered, then we are looking at a year from now until things go back to normal. Hopefully by then we will be able to roll a vaccine out to all the most vulnerable citizens of the population and we can achieve some kind of "herd immunity".

The parks are really going to struggle to even open until either an effective treatment or vaccine is mass produced.

 

[Matt N]

According to this article published in the Daily Mail yesterday, UK lockdown could start being gradually lifted within the next few weeks: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...YstJ4z-VQX6C1smBuFCJ12cpZTm-MpFtdl6lXBP38yku0
It would certainly be good if this is true!

In terms of what this would mean for the parks; I'd imagine that this would see parks opening up again, perhaps with some measures in place, by May/June. In the article, it says that they want lockdown to be lifted completely by June at the latest. Remember, parks like the Merlin parks, Paultons and Blackpool were intent on opening not long before lockdown was announced, so I'd imagine they'll be throwing their doors open ASAP once they can!

 

[JammyH]

Remember, parks like the Merlin parks, Paultons and Blackpool were intent on opening not long before lockdown was announced.

One thing this situation has shown to me is which UK parks actually care about health and safety of their guests and their staff and which parks are more interested in the money.

Drayton, dreamland & fantasy island closed earlier on their own accord whereas the merlin parks, BPB and PP (essentially the more corporate parks) didn’t close until they absolutely had no choice.

 

[JoshC.]

Does a point come with staffing issues (missing international staff / cost saving measures) and so many attractions closed or the fact that they may close again soon due to a second wave is it even worth opening up? Although I assume they will do anyway as soon as they are allowed just to start having some kind of income again. There's just so many odd variables in this uncharted territory.

Another staffing issue that will crop up as well is training. Obviously every park is different, but the way seasonal parks in the UK generally work is that once you're trained to work on a ride, you have to work on it every so often (I can't remember numbers exactly, but I think maybe 4 weeks?), otherwise you need to be refreshed on it. If you haven't worked on it for over a longer period of time (I think 3 months?), you then have to be completely retrained.

All the UK parks will have gotten staff in training before lockdowns and the like, but if it's more than 3 months before they're allowed to get staff back in running rides, it could cause some issues and delay to getting back open.

The virus is causing the disease COVID 19 and that's what is killing people; as I've said above researches are looking to find an effective treatment against this disease. If an effective treatment is found and can then be mass produced, the amount of people dying will be significantly reduced and therefore it is no longer such a big threat to society and to healthcare systems. If this treatment can be discovered and produced in the next few months, then life can go back to normal late summer/autumn POTENTIALLY.

Even if an effective treatment is found, it will still have to go through rigorous testing, which can take months in itself. To have any hope of life being 'normal' in the summer is - in my opinion - foolishly optimistic. (Not to say it won't happen, but frankly the chances of it happening are so small that we as a general public shouldn't be considering that as a possibility)

 

[Professor]

One thing this situation has shown to me is which UK parks actually care about health and safety of their guests and their staff and which parks are more interested in the money.

Drayton, dreamland & fantasy island closed earlier on their own accord whereas the merlin parks, BPB and PP (essentially the more corporate parks) didn’t close until they absolutely had no choice.

BPB and PP are owned by two different families as are Fantasy Island and Drayton essentially. Dreamland is owned by a council.
I do not see what is more corporate about BPB and PP than Fantasy Island or Drayton.

I said this before and some disagreed. I'm pretty sure Merlin and BPB were advised or asked to close days before the lockdown because it was imminent or at least on the cards already.

The delayed action they took (a day or so) I think can be completely overlooked in the grand scheme of things. This hardly was their fault and almost everyone in the west underestimated this virus. If we hadn't done every single country would have closed airspace with China and quarantined anyone repatriated. It would have caused the families directly affected by this a hell of lot of less pain.

If anything the World Health Organisation should have a complete overhaul or be disbanded and people should partially probably vent their anger at them rather than at a small theme park. I do not see how they helped at all. They were initially only a mouth piece for China and kept praising them and even as late as middle of January claimed this virus could not spread person to person. They forgot "the world" in their complete and utter stupidity it seems to me.

 

[JammyH]

According to this article published in the Daily Mail yesterday, UK lockdown could start being gradually lifted within the next few weeks: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...YstJ4z-VQX6C1smBuFCJ12cpZTm-MpFtdl6lXBP38yku0
It would certainly be good if this is true!

In terms of what this would mean for the parks; I'd imagine that this would see parks opening up again, perhaps with some measures in place, by May/June. In the article, it says that they want lockdown to be lifted completely by June at the latest. Remember, parks like the Merlin parks, Paultons and Blackpool were intent on opening not long before lockdown was announced, so I'd imagine they'll be throwing their doors open ASAP once they can!

854 new deaths announced today in the UK... Our situation here is as bad as spain/italy and potentially going to keep getting worse for the next couple of weeks. Deaths continued to grow in Italy for up to 4 weeks after they started lockdown (we have only been locked down for 2 weeks in the UK now). I'm glad you are optimistic but even if they lift restrictions I think I will continue to carry on social distancing for the time being...

There is no way any theme parks are opening in May. I think June is overly optimistic too, but it depends what strategies the parks and government come up with so that theme parks, if open, cannot become infection hotspots.

 

[The Undead Creature]

Another staffing issue that will crop up as well is training. Obviously every park is different, but the way seasonal parks in the UK generally work is that once you're trained to work on a ride, you have to work on it every so often (I can't remember numbers exactly, but I think maybe 4 weeks?), otherwise you need to be refreshed on it. If you haven't worked on it for over a longer period of time (I think 3 months?), you then have to be completely retrained.

All the UK parks will have gotten staff in training before lockdowns and the like, but if it's more than 3 months before they're allowed to get staff back in running rides, it could cause some issues and delay to getting back open.

You would be suprised how different staff training routines differ from one park to another. One park I worked in trained you up on a ride and you wouldn't see that ride again for 6 months yet you were still expected to know how to operate it. At the other end of the scale you have parks like Thorpe where you need a minimum number of hours being supervised before you are let loose on your own, and even then you may only get 2 or 3 rides for the whole season. Assuming a park has to start from scratch in terms of recruitment and training it could take at least a month to get everyone up to standard. There is one ray of hope though, if parks manage to get all the staff back who had already started work before everything went down the crapper then that would cut startup times by a huge margin.

Generally speaking, operators only need to be retrained if something has been changed, otherwise a simple refresher would be enough for returning staff.