COVID-19 Coronavirus and Theme Parks Official Thread

[Canobie Coaster]

I mean people are wearing them on T Express just fine and that’s full of air time. Although here they’re keeping the water parks closed for now.

 

I imagine keeping the masks in place and intact on a water ride would be harder than a coaster to be honest.

[A.J.]

I'm wondering how parks (especially in the Orlando/southern California area) are going to enforce the 6 feet measure. 50% capacity still means over 10,000s of people and hour long lines. Even if they all adapt a virtual queue system, you'd just be moving the crowds to the pathways, with not as much for them to do (no parades, shows or live entertainment).

No parades and / or live entertainment would actually be helpful at this time, people typically crowd / hoard up hours in advance for those and it's best that people keep moving. As for the queues, despite some of the exaggerations, I do recall some experts implying that the virus does not survive as well outdoors, so perhaps parks like the Disney parks will begin to use outdoor overflow queues as the "regular" queues with marked distancing intervals, and only let people inside until it's absolutely necessary. I know a lot of the queues at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure are majority outdoor anyway.

[Garet]

I mean people are wearing them on T Express just fine and that’s full of air time. Although here they’re keeping the water parks closed for now.

 

I imagine keeping the masks in place and intact on a water ride would be harder than a coaster to be honest.

 

I can't really say since Everland rides don't get you that wet but these all seem to be problems that haven't been an issue the whole time the parks were open.

 

I've seen pictures of the park on the last public holiday with hundreds of people squished together as well. There've been fake social media posts before in previous years to scare people so I won't post until I see a reliable source but it makes me wonder if parks switch to virtual queueing/ making people wait outside, won't this result in crowded streets of people just standing around or busier restaurants as so many people wait out their times. Tomorrow is Children's Day which is normally one of the busiest public holidays so if the photos are real then I'm sure some Korean media will pick up on some tomorrow.

[dankeykang]

IAAPA has recently published reopening guidance for the amusement industry. Regarding face mask requirements for water park attractions, their stance is that it's basically at the discretion of the parks, based on the type of ride:

 

"Whether or not guests should wear masks/ face coverings on water park attractions depends on the attraction. Operators should assess with their lifeguard training company or the ride manufacturer to determine the appropriate guidelines. Masks/ face coverings should not present a loose-article hazard, interfere with the safe operation of the attraction, or present a concern on attractions where guests are or may be fully immersed in water."

 

Full guidance: https://www.iaapa.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/IAAPA_COVID-19_ReopeningGuidance_rev1_final.pdf

[coasterbill]

So their guidance is that parks should do whatever they feel like they should do and guidelines for each attraction depend on what the park feels like doing for that specific attraction.

 

Thanks, IAPPA

Edited May 4, 2020 by coasterbill

[KarlaKoaster]

So their guidance is that parks should do whatever they feel like they should do and guidelines for each attraction depend on what the park feels like doing for that specific attraction.

 

Thanks, IAPPA

I think that's a bit unfair. I just read through the whole document and thought it was pretty exhaustive and offers a lot of guidance for parks for everything from height checks to loading rides. It was only ever going to be guidance as IAAPA have no authority over how parks operate, different countries have different rules, and different parks operate in different ways. I think as a starting point it is very useful, particularly for smaller parks.

Edited May 4, 2020 by KarlaKoaster

[teacherkim]

I'm really not sure water parks are any more dangerous as far as virus spread than the regular parks. There are no indoor attractions (unless you maybe count enclosed slides) and there is enough chlorine in the water to choke a horse. I mean you kind of bath in disinfectant on each ride, lol. And I agree that masks would present somewhat of a drowning hazard in places where you might be completely submerged.

[bert425]

Problem with masks is that you would have to switch theme every couple of hours. Because of your breath, the mask becomes moist and doesn't stop the virus from entering your nose or mouth anymore. That's why doctors and nurses need multiple masks a day and why a lot of countries barely have enough for jus the healthcare.

 

just to note, since I don't see anyone responded here.

 

*unless* you are talking the level of PPE that Hospitals are using? the masks that the vast, vast majority are going to be using - be it a disposable, a cloth/washable one, or a bandana/homemade one - DO NOT prevent you from getting the virus.

 

Keying off your comment here:

 

the mask becomes moist and doesn't stop the virus from entering your nose or mouth anymore.

 

 

the whole point of covering your face, is so you can avoid spreading the virus if you have it / are asymptomatic - ie: the mask covers your mouth/nose, so that you don't expel any virus into the air.

 

yes, your personal mask might help reduce your risk, but really, the request to wear the mask is to keep any virus you may have, within your own mask. (see the "urine" Meme I posted a couple of pages back, that helps illustrate this).

 

with that explanation, you can see that you wouldn't have to switch out your own mask multiple times per day. Although if one is removing it to eat/drink, I likely would bring along a spare to swap out after.. .but I don't see THAT particular issue (needing multiple masks) being too much of a problem.

[bert425]

oh, and TeacherKim. . I did see from . . .hmm. . can't recall, maybe it was on CNN? about the Six Flags chain, and it sounded like the call they had the other day, listed a handful of parks they are planning to get open (if infection numbers hold steady/decrease) include both Texas parks. (SFFT & SFOT). It also included SFOG & SFStL. . so maybe that 5/18 date is real?

 

anyone else see that info?

[SharkTums]

In a way I would feel MORE comfortable at a water park with all of the open air, sunlight, and chemicals!

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ I agree, so long as attendance is limited enough that you can keep a safe distance. Sometimes those pools get very crowded.

 

^^ Bert, I saw that same thing, though I don't remember where either. West County in general and Eureka in particular are spiking right now. I do not believe it will be safe to open SFSTL on the 18th. They may do it anyway, certainly Parson is pushing for it, but I would absolutely NOT recommend going until the infection rate subsides in the surrounding area.

 

https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/results.php

[tndank]

SFoG rumors are currently suggesting May 22. Haven't yet seen any reports of employee call backs, etc.

[Canobie Coaster]

If you go to the park hours for Six Flags, you'll now find the following blurb. Looks like we'll have to reserve our visit, which is a good idea if there's an attendance cap.

 

IMPORTANT: ALL VISITORS (INCLUDING PASS HOLDERS AND MEMBERS) MUST MAKE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS TO VISIT THE PARK. To meet state social distancing guidelines and ensure the health and safety of our guests, all visits to the park must be pre-scheduled using our online reservation system. Check back here for details.

[boldikus]

And enforcing the use of masks might be difficult considering how many riders will have them fly off on coasters. Enthusiasts like us will be prepared for that but not necessarily the GP.

 

I love when enthusiasts talk about non-enthusiasts like they're aliens.

[RollerManic]

Missouri plans to open all businesses today with no limits on occupancy for some (?) venues, just distancing requirements. I’m getting mixed info, but so far I haven’t looked a ton into it. Some local government specific regulations are of course still in place as the situation varies by community. What I do know is a large outdoor venue I work at outside the KC metro area has been allowed to reopen with no occupancy cap, but we are on 200+ acres. Similar facilities around the state have also reopened in the same fashion, with the exception being one indoor one that does have an occupancy cap.

 

Here’s an article from the KC area:

https://www.kshb.com/news/coronavirus/missouri-gov-mike-parson-discusses-plan-to-reopen-economy

 

And from StL:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ksdk.com/amp/article/news/local/missouri-reopening-plan/63-f8d38bfd-17df-4b37-87f0-6b2f1497e0c9

 

If my understanding is correct, I’m not surprised SFStL may be amongst the first parks in the chain to reopen given Missouri’s ambitious reopening plan.

 

I know for my community in the mid-Missouri area we’ve only had ~3 total hospitalizations of COVID-19 since the start of it and hospitals are sitting empty otherwise. The plans specified on the articles mentioned it being contingent on the capacity of the local health care and I think that’s fair. StL and KC ought to be more cautious but communities like my own are really suffering economically and we have the capability of helping more people if the infection rate goes up. I think it’s a fair compromise to try to keep business afloat through all this so long as it’s kept played by ear.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

If my understanding is correct, I’m not surprised SFStL may be amongst the first parks in the chain to reopen given Missouri’s reckless reopening plan.

FTFY

[coasterbill]

Interesting. I'm curious to see how this plays out.

[thrillrider]

So six flags has this posted on some pages now...

[A.J.]

^ Someone already beat you to it, but thanks for the screenshot.

 

IMPORTANT: ALL VISITORS (INCLUDING PASS HOLDERS AND MEMBERS) MUST MAKE ADVANCE RESERVATIONS TO VISIT THE PARK. To meet state social distancing guidelines and ensure the health and safety of our guests, all visits to the park must be pre-scheduled using our online reservation system. Check back here for details.

This will be very interesting. I hope that they only allow one reservation per person / group and do not allow concurrent reservations... If they just let you reserve as many visits as you want, no one is going to be able to go because of the inevitable hoard of people that will just reserve every day because they can.

[coasterbill]

It's kind of funny that they used the ability to skip extra lines per visit upon reopening as incentive to not pause Diamond and Diamond Elite memberships and they're limiting capacity and lines chain-wide in a major way. Obviously this is necessary and the only reasonable thing that they could do but hopefully they do throw those people a bone with an extension on that offer otherwise... lol.

Edited May 4, 2020 by coasterbill

[tndank]

That whole reservation system sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Are these going to be timed in any way? This could make for some really empty park experiences.

[coasterbill]

I actually thought it was a better system than I would have expected from Six Flags. We haven't seen it in practice but I like it.

Edited May 4, 2020 by coasterbill

[tndank]

Don't want to be manning the turnstile when Karen and 15 of the neighborhood kids show up without reservations on a beautiful sunny day.

[VF15]

Seems like this would be the best way to prevent a situation where someone drives three hours to the park only to be turned away because capacity was reached. I wonder if they might have some sort of wait list for cancellations/no shows/people who leave early.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

No, y'all are right. I'm sure Six Flags has thought this all the way through, like they're known for doing.