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Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks

JammyH said:
I am pretty hopeful that Alton towers will (and in my opinion they definitely should) do a u turn on the fact masks should be required in their parks.

Not necessarily in open spaces such as the gardens and pathways, however in queue lines, on the rides and in indoor attractions and shops I definitely think they should be mandatory, the same as what’s required in germany.

@Nicky Borrill very exciting about your trip! I’m currently planing one for 2-3 weeks time, but haven’t decided exactly where I want to go yet. What parks are on your list?
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Much depends on France ‘confirming’ their intention to reopen borders on Monday, if that happens I’m headed Europa and Holiday Park ( I STILL haven’t done either of these, so I’m trying to think of it more as a cred run, than a theme park experience, as I don’t want covid restrictions tainting my view)

Incidentally if it doesn’t happen I will have just wasted £400 unless I can get dates changed ????‍♂️
 
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In some more theme park news, efteling will be opening in evenings from 19:00-23:00 from 3rd July so they can accommodate more guests.

More info available on the website:

www.efteling.com

Opening hours Efteling park - Efteling

All opening times, crowd calendar and events in one overview.
www.efteling.com www.efteling.com

If you stay in the hotel you will have to buy the evening tickets as an additional supplement to the day tickets you are provided with.

Aquanura, the park's water show, will start running again from 13th June, but raveleijn remains shut indefinitely.
 
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Lake Compounce has announced they will be opening July 1-5 for season passholders, and open to the public July 6.

Some general guidelines (taken from their website):
  • Guests will need to register for the date they wish to visit in advance, in addition to their regularly purchased Ticket or Season Pass.
  • If the date you wish to visit is not listed in our online calendar, we have already hit our capacity limit for that date, and you will need to choose another day.
  • All those wishing to enter Lake Compounce (Guests, Team Members, Suppliers, and Contracted Partners) will have their temperatures scanned before entering the park.
  • Any person with a temperature of 100.4°F or higher, or displaying other symptoms of COVID-19, will be denied entry.
  • Facial coverings are also required for all entrants, except children under two and those with a valid medical condition

Nice to see a small park like this opening back up (although it is the largest theme park in the state). I haven't been since 2017 so I'm due for a revisit. Not gonna try for the first week of operation, but I think I'll probably aim for a mid-to-late July visit.
 
Night-time summer trips to Efteling sound incredible......will be keeping a close eye on whether that's feasible.
 
Smithy said:
Night-time summer trips to Efteling sound incredible......will be keeping a close eye on whether that's feasible.
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If you’ve got the readies, it’s already feasible, people have been travelling via Stenaline for the last couple of weeks ;) prices are steep though.
 
Putting my mystic meg cap on
I’m saying the uk quarantine will be gone by the 4th July
2m rule down to 1m by 4th July
Hopefully that will help with eu park visits
And help the the abysmal uk park ride restrictions that will be in place
 
BlueSonicHD said:
Putting my mystic meg cap on
I’m saying the uk quarantine will be gone by the 4th July
2m rule down to 1m by 4th July
Hopefully that will help with eu park visits
And help the the abysmal uk park ride restrictions that will be in place
Click to expand...

The restrictions are stricter in Europe than in the UK. Mandatory masks in all countries on public transport and most in all shops. A lot of parks have mandatory masks in queuelines and on the rides as well, and of course in any enclosed spaces.

I don’t think the quarantine will be gone until end of July, but we might have air bridges in place at the start of July.

The 2m rule won’t be decreased to 1m as the closer the distance, the higher the chance of infection. It may well be decreased to 1.5m to allow businesses to reopen on higher capacity to save jobs, but 1m I cannot see being feasible.
 
I don't know if the BBC is having a tabloid headline moment day or this carries some more weight. I'm sure I saw this being dismissed just yesterday as Jammy pointed out above.

www.bbc.co.uk

Coronavirus: Growing calls for government to scrap 2m rule

Conservative backbenchers say easing the restriction in England is essential for economic recovery.
www.bbc.co.uk

You would have thought it could have an impact for theme parks IF reduced. Possibly no social distancing on roller coasters for example. Probably only single riders not allowed to sit next to others. Thus the impact on ride capacity wouldn't be reduced by much. I still think parks, certainly at the beginning of July would operate with reduced capacity in the UK.

Will have to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks.
 
AndrewRollercoaster said:
I don't know if the BBC is having a tabloid headline moment day or this carries some more weight. I'm sure I saw this being dismissed just yesterday as Jammy pointed out above.

www.bbc.co.uk

Coronavirus: Growing calls for government to scrap 2m rule

Conservative backbenchers say easing the restriction in England is essential for economic recovery.
www.bbc.co.uk

You would have thought it could have an impact for theme parks IF reduced. Possibly no social distancing on roller coasters for example. Probably only single riders not allowed to sit next to others. Thus the impact on ride capacity wouldn't be reduced by much. I still think parks, certainly at the beginning of July would operate with reduced capacity in the UK.

Will have to wait and see what happens in the next few weeks.
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The BBC news channel is still reporting that the 2M rule will stand for now, but is under constant review and when the science backs up a change will be changed... Where did we hear that before? Oh yeh, the run up to masks being recommended...

I’d say a reduction in distance is close, whether it will be 1m or 1.5m and when is anybodies guess... But it seems to be coming.

What will be being considered however, and hasn’t been mentioned, though could prevent or delay a change, is the MILLIONS of pounds UK shops and businesses have spent preparing for the 2M rule and reopening on Monday... All of the signage, markers, even the risk assessments cost money... Is it fair to say to those businesses “Yeh we know you’ve each spent thousands on the 2M rule, but we’ve changed our minds, do it all again as it’s now 1M?”
 
Honestly, if they change it to 1m, I’m pretty sure they will have no choice to make masks compulsory in all hospitality sectors. From theme parks to cinemas to shopping centres, I’m pretty sure if they cut the distance by half, then face masks will have to be made compulsory.

I only say this because Chris Whitty said you are 30x more likely to catch the coronavirus at a 1m distance than a 2m distance, but then again I don’t particularly trust his handling of this outbreak anyway.

I definitely think we could move to a stage where rows don’t have to be left free on rollercoasters, similar to at phantasialand, they just don’t let single riders sit next to each other. But I’m pretty sure in that scenario face masks would be a compulsory requirement. And I’m sure the government are reluctant to relax the 2m rule to 1m as due to PPE shortages in this country making face masks compulsory in every sector of hospitality puts their supplies at risk.

1.5m I could see being more manageable, but it would still require the parks to leave empty rows free, so it wouldn’t make much difference in terms of operations, but you would be able to fit more people in the park and in queuelines etc.

@Nicky Borrill i completely agree with your point, but I wouldn’t put it beyond this government to do a complete u turn like they did with the masks, or potentially like we are about to see with the quarantine (if they don’t get air bridges in place Ryanair, easy jet and BA are taking legal action). Therefore, if the conservatives need to reduce it down to 1m to save jobs and save the economy, I wouldn’t put it past them. But as I said before then they have no choice but to make face masks compulsory in all public settings as people will be too close together.
 
They should have made masks in shops mandatory already!!! ? On what logic can you say “you must wear masks in one enclosed public space where you’ll spend a reasonable amount of time, but not in others?”

Monday is the first moment in this whole easing process where I’m a tad nervous of infections rising... I knew none of the outdoor stuff would make a significant difference (yes EVEN the beaches and protests) but so many people now mixing indoors with no masks... That is a little concerning. Don’t get me wrong, I still think carried out properly it will most likely be safe enough, (refer back to my earlier opinions on the effect of even a small amount of immunity out there) but for the first time, I am a little nervous. ?

As a side note Jammy, I’m seeing 1m mentioned far more frequently than 1.5m... Sir Iain Duncan Smith has been banging on this morning that the most important next step is to get the distance down to 1m for the economy. On that note, it’s important to remember, regardless of what the science says, if this decision is made, it will be economically motivated, and 1.5m doesn’t really help the hospitality, leisure and retail sectors as much as 1m. So for purely economic reasons, if they make the change, I think it will be to 1m, or they risk the debate continuing and being forced by public opinion to change it again. But honestly, I am no longer sure there is anybody left in downing street able to predict things like that, so who knows? ??
 
Europa Park is running full coaster trains again like Phantasialand have done for a while:
www.looopings.nl

Europa-Park: treinen en boten weer volledig gevuld ondanks corona

In Europa-Park worden de karretjes en bootjes van achtbanen, waterbanen en andere attracties weer volledig gevuld. In eerste instantie bleven bij de...
www.looopings.nl www.looopings.nl

Hopefully we will not see any of this social distancing inside of a coaster train in the UK when parks re-open, still over 3 weeks to go remember.

To me it is a bunch of BS, a token measure that makes no sense.

I'd much rather wear a face mask all day and get on rides quicker.
 
Been trying for the last 90 minutes to buy tickets to WMSP...

This is worse than when I buy Glastonbury tickets...

But it’s a good sign for zoos!!! And a very promising (although worrying for enthusiasts) sign for theme parks.
 
Article from sky news about how scientists and researchers say compulsory masks in public will stop a second wave of coronavirus in the UK for 18 months.

www.google.co.uk

Coronavirus: Making face masks compulsory in public would stop second wave, says study

Even home made face coverings play a significant role in cutting transmission rates.
www.google.co.uk www.google.co.uk

Really hope the ministers make action and they become compulsory in all public spaces. Would even support the distance being reduced to 1m if masks become compulsory, as I genuinely believe masks are the most effective solution to lower transmission rates and stop the spread (see germany etc).
 
Austrian showmen have also put together some of their rides for a temporary summer amusement park near the city of Graz. The park is called Steirerpark and it opened its doors earlier today.

www.facebook.com

SteirerPark Seiersberg | Seiersberg

SteirerPark Seiersberg, Seiersberg, Steiermark, Austria. 7,857 likes · 2 talking about this · 1,452 were here. SteirerPark, der steirische Vergnügungspark in Seiersberg bei Graz! Fahrgeschäfte,...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
We are getting a first glimpse of Cedar Fair's reservation system, as Worlds of Fun has gone live with their system. https://cpfoodblog.com/2020-cedar-fair-season-passholder-reservation-system/

It appears you can reserve on an hour-by-hour basis, with an hourly preset capacity. As Cedar Fair has alluded to using apps to track movement in the park; it will be interesting to see if they have a direct tracking of guest movement on an hourly basis (think having a barcode scanned on your phone to enter each ride/scan of ticket or pass).

As I mentioned earlier, Cedar Fair's admission system is extremely geared towards tracking park entry, but not exit. So the new COVID-19 logistics has required a funamdental restructure of the entire backend of their admissions system.
 
Polish borders reopen tomorrow :) Anybody heading that way? Looks like our trip out on the 6th is on ?? Airline have confirmed revised departure times :)
 
Nicky Borrill said:
Polish borders reopen tomorrow :) Anybody heading that way? Looks like our trip out on the 6th is on...
Click to expand...

Not definitely, but Poland is near the top of my to-do list once lockdown is lifted so will be monitoring your progress carefully, and decide when to go based on how you get on. Good luck bro! ?
 
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