Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks

[JammyH]

Just want to add to the discussion by commenting on how dumb this suggestion is.

Capacity would be so atrocious that you may as well just save the money and not run the coasters. Imagine the queues! And more importantly, even if there's only 2 or 4 riders on an entire train... If they sneeze, you're still spreading the droplets and most likely showering guests below with them, too. Just face it guys, theme parks will be shut for a long time, and it should be that way. It would be incredibly irresponsible to open them, and because of this, they'll be right at the bottom of the list when we start opening things up again.

Transmission risks are significantly reduced if everyone is wearing a face mask.

In my opinion, this is the way forward, and the only way theme parks will be allowed to operate.

I think it’s possible parks will start to reopen from June onwards, with significant restrictions.

 

[Professor]

If the face masks were branded to the theme parks logos, colours and rides instead of everyone looking like they are surgeons maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Still can't see it staying in place on an 80mph coaster though.

 

[Professor]

The French president has said that lockdown is extended until May 11th after which schools will open first but bars and cinemas will remain closed. There will not be any festivals until mid July and thus likely the Formula 1 race in France will have to be postponed (scheduled June 28th). I think it's safe to assume Disneyland Paris will not reopen before mid July either, perhaps it will open on or just before Bastille Day (14th of July, a Tuesday this year).

 

[Ethan]

Transmission risks are significantly reduced if everyone is wearing a face mask.

In my opinion, this is the way forward, and the only way theme parks will be allowed to operate.

I think it’s possible parks will start to reopen from June onwards, with significant restrictions.

But why risk it? Theme parks are a place where everyone is touching the same handles, bars, fences etc. A mask doesn't do **** if you're still touching your eyes, nose and mouth without washing your hands. Besides, where are the parks going to source hundreds of thousands of masks? Surely masks can be put to better use in the hands of those who really need it.

On top of that, staff will probably be forced to wipe down restraints constantly, queues will need to have social distancing measures in place, facilities cleaned more regularly, I could go on. Even if you reduce the number of people you allow into the parks, in my opinion, it's not worth the risk. Especially not as early as June like you're suggesting. Like I've said, these parks are a haven for things to spread, and I'd actually say that it would be insulting to those in the NHS to open up the parks at all before all of this has almost completely blown over. Theme parks will be last on the list, and rightly so. Schools, offices etc are far more important and I imagine you can implement social distancing measures far more easily than in a theme park, where people naturally form crowds and are constantly moving around.

I predict that when the parks here eventually do open, we'll see things like hand sanitising stations and the like. I don't see them handing out masks to every single guest upon entry. Would a mask really stay on during 40mph drops and inversions? I think not. Besides, the thought of having to where a hot, clammy mask all day whilst I trek around a theme park is actually awful. Theme Parks are fun because you can forget about the real world and have a blast... Having everyone wear masks and stay 2m away from each other aren't things that scream "fun day out" to me.

 

[BlueSonicHD]

Face masks only work if they are the correct ones and you know how to use them tho.
A bit of cloth over your mouth will not stop the microscopic virus from getting through

 

[UP87]

Why does this always come up?! The main thing about face masks is not a protection of yourself but the protection of others. Any kind of cloth works for that as it takes away most of the moisture you put in the air and thus the virus doesn't get airborne. No virus in the air means a lot less risk for everyone. That only works if everyone uses a mask. Especially the one carrying the virus without knowing about it. I'm pretty sure we'll have to wear masks for most of our outdoor time in the foreseable future!

 

[i305_zack]

Guys, I have a trip at the beginning of July to Cedar Point for my first time, what are your guys’ thoughts? Do you guys think I will be okay??

 

[BlueSonicHD]

Why does this always come up?! The main thing about face masks is not a protection of yourself but the protection of others. Any kind of cloth works for that as it takes away most of the moisture you put in the air and thus the virus doesn't get airborne. No virus in the air means a lot less risk for everyone. That only works if everyone uses a mask. Especially the one carrying the virus without knowing about it. I'm pretty sure we'll have to wear masks for most of our outdoor time in the foreseable future!

but the virus is airborne, so the mask does nothing as air passes straight though it

 

[i.d.b]

Things like coasters and flat rides would still be silly to run, right? One person sneezes on a roller coaster or intense flat, and those droplets have literally been spread everywhere, over everybody else on-ride. To me it just seems silly to operate roller coasters and rides straight after lockdown ends, but that's just my opinion. Theme parks just seem like the perfect place for viruses like this to spread.

As well and sneezing or coughing on a ride you have to question what’d happen if someone was to throw up mid-ride? Not pleasant at the best of times.

 

[Hixee]

Guys, I have a trip at the beginning of July to Cedar Point for my first time, what are your guys’ thoughts? Do you guys think I will be okay??

I think whatever your outlook on this is, be it on the optimistic (or stupid?) side thinking everything will be fine by June, or on the pessimistic (or stupid?) side thinking we'll be screwed until September, I think both sides would agree that, pragmatically, you need to be cautious booking/planning trips for the short term future (say the next 3 months).

Book refundable hotels, car hire, etc, and hope that if things do change you can at least recoup some of your potential losses.

It's mentally trying to be like this, but just remember that Cedar Point will still be there in 2021, and you can always visit again.

 

[JammyH]

but the virus is airborne, so the mask does nothing as air passes straight though it

That’s not true. If you are wearing a mask, it protects others around you if you are infected. Wearing the mask doesn’t protect yourself, but other people around you.

I suspect wearing masks in public places will become the new normal once lockdown restrictions start to lift.

In Asian countries wearing masks is already considered a norm and Poland & Austria have already put laws in now that if you go outside you must be wearing a face mask. If you live in Lombardy, you also must be wearing a face mask to go outside, I imagine this will be extended to the whole of Italy.

Germany, France & spain have also said they are considering putting in laws that face masks will be mandatory for those travelling on public transport.

As I’ve said before, if everyone is wearing a mask, it is the safest option as transmission rates are reduced. As potentially up to 50% of people carrying this virus are asymptomatic, the safest thing to reduce the spread of the virus is for everyone to be wearing a mask. That way anyone potentially infected has less chance of passing it on to someone else as everyone is wearing a mask. In my opinion, the UK would be idiotic to also not follow up with these rules. At the moment, the masks are desperately needed for front line NHS staff, however in 2-3 weeks from now there will be a sudden drop on the pressure on frontline doctors and nurses and then that’s when they won’t require as much PPE. For example in Poland, they are setting up vending machines dispensing masks so if you are going outside you can buy one to wear.

My aunt works in the NHS, she says wearing masks are the only way forward. Otherwise public spaces pretty much have to stay shut from now until we have a vaccine or achieve herd immunity, however vaccine is 12-18 months away and we are only 15% of the way to herd immunity.

For those of you who are interested, German scientists have done some modelling and predict that 15% of the population have already been infected, and potentially up to 5 million in the UK. That runs in line with the symptom tracker app developed by KCL which estimates about 3 and a half million people currently have or have had the virus so far in our country.

Experts in Germany believe Europe could be close to herd immunity

GERMAN SCIENTISTS believe a proportion of the population could already have immunity to the coronavirus.

www.express.co.uk

 

[JoshC.]

Whilst cheap face masks offer some protection, they need to be changed often, otherwise they become less and less effective. This is especially true after you have coughed, for example, in which case you should probably dispose of it and change it immediately.

I frankly don't see the logic in making everyone wear masks so they can go to theme parks and other leisure activities. It gives people a false sense of security (I'm sure people have seen, either online or in real life, people still touch their faces, take masks off to talk or other silly things, but think they're fine otherwise 'because they're wearing a mask'). And given plenty of people lose their common sense when visiting parks, I can only imagine the stupid things people will do.

On top of that, if people go for the better masks, it then means there's less for healthcare professionals who certainly need them much more.

I'd rather wait longer for parks than see restrictions such as forcing people to wear ineffective equipment, enforce social distancing and whatever else. If you introduce those measures into the leisure industry, it makes it harder to enjoy those experiences, and harder to remove those measures when they aren't necessary.

 

[JammyH]

Especially not as early as June like you're suggesting.

When I used the time frame of June, I don’t actually think any UK parks will be opening by that point. Our testing and contact tracing is and will be nowhere near good enough to warrant potentially a few thousand people go into the same space at one time.

I genuinely believe the German parks have a chance of opening by this point. Their lockdown measures needn’t be so strict as ours in the first place and their measures are starting to be relaxed from next week, with the priority being on reopening things like schools.

I would honestly not be surprised if the German parks were allowed to reopen by authorities by June/July time. It is potential that they may be reopen for only season pass holders and locals staying in the hotels. This way, the name of everyone in the park is known at all times, and therefore if it is discovered by the authorities that someone in the park was infected, everyone else who was in the park at the same time can be traced back.

From the start Germany’s contact tracing was very very good whereas it was absolutely useless within the UK, they’ve managed to flatten the curve. The authorities have said they are looking at relaxing the measures and believe they can do so without letting a second wave happen by catching infection chains with thorough testing and contact tracing.

Whilst theme parks are going to be last on the list of any country’s priorities for things to reopen, the countries which have handled this outbreak better are the countries where the leisure industry is likely to be reinstated first. However, for those of us on here who are not EU citizens, the German parks for example reopening will have absolutely no influence on us as the EU is potentially extending its border closures for another 3 months from now to non-Schengen nationals, meaning no one will be going on holiday to Europe this summer.

As for all of talking about masks, you may not think it is “fun” and you may think it “looks stupid” but these are businesses that want and need to reopen too, they are going to take any measures necessary so that they can reopen safely. I also think wearing masks in public could well become a mandatory and common measure across Europe over the next couple of months, so if you think it’s weird then you better start getting used to people wearing them!

 

[SimonProD]

Another question: If there is a ruling to use masks in parks this has also to be cleared with ride manufacturers and - in Germany - the TÜV. What happens if a mask gets loose and falls into the machinery, brakes, etc. If there is a mask ruling and manufacturers/TÜV do not clear the rides to be used wearing them it could mean that most rides will not operate...

I like the Austrian ruling on masks: Businesses have to provide them to costumers. Try to buy some here at pharmacies or drug stores - the sales poeple look at you and start laughing as there were/are none available.

 

[Trax]

In germany, a Leopoldina-paper has been published recently. It's basicly a suggestion for the goverment how to deal with the situation in the future, written by a group of experts.
They suggest to try to return to a somewhat normal life soon, with staggered openings for schools, restaurants and public places. They also suggest to maintain distance, and where not possible, masks.
So technically, IF the goverment decides to follow the paper (and Angela Merkel is very likely to do so, as she likes to wait until it is clear what is considered the best solution), theme parks might be able to open soon, with a mandatory facial mask for every guest, and some restrictions for food outlets, so people keep their distance while eating. I think this would be possible if the parks open up with a limited capacity - by limited I mean in a way that restaurants and snacks don't become overcrowded, but the park can still be decently filled with people and should be able to earn some money.

The paper also suggest to keep workers at home if possible, so home office is still strongly encouraged to relieve public areas of unnecessary amounts of people.

In my opinion, the suggestions sound really good. They would allow people to live a somewhat normal life again, and allow cinemas, restaurants and also theme parks to get some customers. I'd certainly prefer visting theme parks with a face mask over an opening in July.

@SimonProD The easiest way would be, if the parks hand out marks which they deem safe. The straps are usually expandable, and should therefore not become loose. In addition, a mask weights not much, so even strong g-forces should not be able to move it away - and the wind from the front will only push it closer to your face. Most rides can be ridden with glasses, those should be safe with a mask as well. The ones which are more intense should also be safe when the masks fits your face - this might have to be checked in some way.

 

[SimonProD]

Agreed

But I think even with masks and distancing on food venues parks will open in June at the earliest. I assume that the normalization will be done in stages and then its waiting for two weeks to watch the impact on the infection curve. I could see this for Germany: May 4th - schools (partially) and small businesses, May 18th - restaurants, bars and bigger business, June 1st - recreational facilities including parks. All this of course with masks and distancing, likely food venues will be limited meaning no food or drink outside designated areas were distancing is possible - meaning no food in cinemas or to-go in themeparks.

The Leopoldina alos states that sports events will be without sprectators "for months to come". I guess this will also be true for themepark shows.

 

[Trax]

June sounds reasonable to me as well. Don't be too fast, and start with the businesses which are more important than recreational businesses. Schools should have a higher priority than theme parks (This will also make the parks less crowded, because the kids will be in school when the parks open ;-) )

The good thing about the situation: I can't waste so much money for theme parks right now, so I can start saving for my Mega Hyper Giga-Trip next year.

 

[BlueSonicHD]

Current WHO advice is

If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection.

• Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
• If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly.

I can see lots of infected masks discarded around parks. As we all know people take no notice of advice

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Just want to add to the discussion by commenting on how dumb this suggestion is.

Capacity would be so atrocious that you may as well just save the money and not run the coasters. Imagine the queues! And more importantly, even if there's only 2 or 4 riders on an entire train... If they sneeze, you're still spreading the droplets and most likely showering guests below with them, too. Just face it guys, theme parks will be shut for a long time, and it should be that way. It would be incredibly irresponsible to open them, and because of this, they'll be right at the bottom of the list when we start opening things up again.

I’m sorry but your fear mongering is doing my head in!!! Theme parks will be much lower risk than shopping, dining, drinking, sports, or even going to work... As they’re mostly outdoors.

Of course there will be ‘some’ risk, but this will be relatively low compared to most other activities that will restart as countries ‘unlock.’

BTW sneezing is an extremely uncommon symptom of covid But I think you meant coughing...

That aside... All these European countries trying to slowly unlock already does worry me, even as an advocate for not locking down any longer than absolutely necessary, I do think it is a bit too soon yet!!!

 

[Pokemaniac]

I can't really see parks opening again until the situation has normalized completely, whenever that may be. Issuing masks to everybody isn't likely to become an option until masks are produced in abundant numbers for everybody, and currently they are pretty scarce (luckily, almost every country up there is starting up production lines, so give it a few months). But even when masks are as available as toilet paper, there's still the issue of wearing them correctly, and that tends to clash with how parks operate. For instance, they need to be properly disposed of, not just stuffed into any ol' trash bin around the park. There needs to be extra masks available whenever a new one is needed, so the park would have to supply them by the bucketload. Parks also earn quite a bit of revenue on food and drinks, and that's incompatible with proper mask use. Sure, you could wash your hands and mouth and sanitize and put on a new mask afterwards, so it's not impossible to eat or drink per se. But regardless, it's pretty likely that you would buy less stuff than you would have otherwise.

There are other factors as well. I'd bet most parks don't have the facilities available for everyone to wash their hands as often and as thoroughly as is recommended - which requires a lot of sinks, soap and hot water all over the park, more than is already required for toilets. People would also have to stand far apart in ride queues, which absolutely tanks their capacity with a risk of spillover into midways - which then become too crowded for crowds to move through them. Virtual queuing gives the same problem, as many park midways are built around the assumption that a large fraction of guests will be standing in queue lines at any given time. Take people out of the queues, and then everybody will be in the midways, congesting them beyond the safe levels. Of course, this could be mitigated by letting fewer people into the park in the first place, but then the question remains if there would be enough guests for the park to run a profit - especially considering the extra cost of operation under those circumstances.

And again, as touched upon previously in the thread: How fun would it be to go to a park with such measures in place? Having to wear masks, maintaining a distance to people and washing hands frequently is fine for adults, but if you're a parent who wants to take three kids to a park, it becomes a major hassle to ensure that everyone is complying at all times. Wait times for rides would be atrocious as they'd operate with fewer available seats and needing a good wipe down every so many ride cycles. Food and drinks would be another hassle. And there's also the action of going out among people in the first place. There is a clear risk associated with it, a perception of danger even though the measures would reduce it significantly. Would enough people consider the risk worth it to bother going to a park? I think it wouldn't be profitable to operate a park until normalcy is restored, and even then, it will take a while before people turn up in droves again. At any rate, 2020 is probably a total write-off for most seasonal parks.