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What changes to operations should we expect post Covid-19?

ThisIsTheWay said:
The appetite may be there, however UK legislation ..
2020 season not happening, will the 2021 season be any better with all the social distancing still needed.
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Some of the vaccine timelines suggest that social distancing may not be needed come 2021. With the amount being thrown at a vaccine and some of the timelines now being bandied about, I'm predicting that we will have a somewhat normal park come March 2021, with no social distancing in place.

Also, I wouldn't discount the 2020 season just yet. I could see parks opening at some point in summer if legislation allows for it.
 
I just don't see how it can work. They'd literally have to wipe down the restraints between every single ride wouldn't they? How long is that going to take?

There are some industries that with a few tweaks can get by during this pandemic. Theme parks are sadly not one.
 
Anyone who thinks theme parks will open before late August must be crazy considering we will just possibly coming out of lockdown in June they will want atleast a few months to see how things are while easing lockdown. That’s the reason why theme parks are last on the list with pubs and sit down restaurants. As I mentioned before even if they get told in July you can open in x amount of weeks just think how much time and money will have to go into a park that has stood empty for up to 6 months with no rides being checked or tested. Then as I keep saying to then open for 2/3 months with no events seems pointless.
 
Mr Pearse said:
Anyone who thinks theme parks will open before late August must be crazy considering we will just possibly coming out of lockdown in June they will want atleast a few months to see how things are while easing lockdown. That’s the reason why theme parks are last on the list with pubs and sit down restaurants. As I mentioned before even if they get told in July you can open in x amount of weeks just think how much time and money will have to go into a park that has stood empty for up to 6 months with no rides being checked or tested. Then as I keep saying to then open for 2/3 months with no events seems pointless.
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No idea when the park will open, but just to reference your last point. This article confirms engineers are still onsite to keep rides ‘ticking over’.

But since going into lockdown, the attraction now only welcomes a handful of engineers to keep the rides ticking over and several gardeners to keep the gardens and buildings looking neat.
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https://www.expressandstar.com/news...oYKxTFtGC3joUEXrzlkklm7Ts6I76JoVNos5vKrTm6KVg
 
I can see getting back to thorpe and it being like
nara-dreamland-romain-veillon-architecture-theme-park-photography_dezeen_1704_col_3-852x569.jpg


Mr Pearse said:
Well that surprised me I didn’t think they would be classed as essential workers. Fair play to them
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even if you are not an essential worker but can not do your job at home you can still work
 
The government are currently struggling to find a way of opening pubs and restaurants, can you imagine how difficult it's going to be to sort through the potential risks of opening a theme park at the moment.

Merlin can't even enforce queue jumping rules, how on earth are they going to ensure social distancing rules without employing rediculous amounts of extra staff.
 
IAAPA on Friday published a report entitled "COVID-19 Reopening Guidance - Considerations for the Global Attractions Industry". Sadly can't link to it outside a pay wall (Edit: WRONG, available here, thanks Rick), but it's a detailed report recommending operational adjustments to make, allowing parks to reopen with social distancing and other relevant considerations in place.

It's certainly possible - reading through it, most of the considerations were already in place at places like Legoland which opened for a week before lockdown came into effect. While it will be a very different theme park experience to what we're all used to, it's far from the bleak "there's no way of opening in 2020" view that some portray.

Basically, I think it comes down entirely to what restrictions are lifted at what time by the government. As soon as the parks can legally reopen, they will.
 
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For reference, Six Flags have posted the following on the operating schedule pages for each of their parks:

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.

I suspect we could see something similar at many other theme parks and ticketed tourism destinations.
 
The cynic in me thinks that parks will be loving the prospect of making visits by pre-booking only. Imagine how much parks could save by not over staffing quiet days.

I wonder though in reality would you turn away a family of £100+ or would you just get them book online and let them in? I guess the latter.
 
That's also a very good way to manage the park capacity; once reservations exceed a certain number in one day, they can just say "sold out" for that day.
 
There's so many pitfalls. I'm struggling to think of an industry that will be harder to implement these rules. Theme parks have it tough.

1. Queues will have to be looked at. Virtual queues could work but do they have systems in place to meet demand. 2m apart queues just won't work for most parks.

2. Ride vehicles and restraints will need to be cleaned after every rider leaves their
Seats you'd think.

3. Food outlets are going to be a no go area. Guests will surely be advised to bring their own food. That's a huge revenue loss.

4. Fast track sales. Surely that's going to be another hit for them. Can't see them being too high as guest numbers surely won't be high enough. Although if they have to implement that much ride cleaning they may make some cash. However that won't help with guest satisfaction.

5. Transport rides such as monorail, cable cars and trains are probably a write off.

6. Car park revenue will be down.

The list goes on.

And yet staff costs, insurance costs and the million other expenses won't change much.

Some parks will probably be worse off opening at all as they may actually lose money.
 
Benjsh said:
There's so many pitfalls. I'm struggling to think of an industry that will be harder to implement these rules. Theme parks have it tough.

1. Queues will have to be looked at. Virtual queues could work but do they have systems in place to meet demand. 2m apart queues just won't work for most parks.

2. Ride vehicles and restraints will need to be cleaned after every rider leaves their
Seats you'd think.

3. Food outlets are going to be a no go area. Guests will surely be advised to bring their own food. That's a huge revenue loss.

4. Fast track sales. Surely that's going to be another hit for them. Can't see them being too high as guest numbers surely won't be high enough. Although if they have to implement that much ride cleaning they may make some cash. However that won't help with guest satisfaction.

5. Transport rides such as monorail, cable cars and trains are probably a write off.

6. Car park revenue will be down.

The list goes on.

And yet staff costs, insurance costs and the million other expenses won't change much.

Some parks will probably be worse off opening at all as they may actually lose money.
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just think of all that work that will put in place for only 2/3 months. I know I keep saying it but if we get terrible weather when they reopen and due to social distancing they have to postpone events I can’t see how it will be worth it. We as enthusiasts obviously want the park open and think it will be roaring success but maybe in reality it won’t be like that as people have no money due to being out of work or are busy working. I want to see the parks open and being successful but I can’t see it being the right option.
 
Yeah I really can't see the parks opening during this. And as much as it pains me to say it, I don't want them to for the foreseeable future. I don't think anyone is going to have a nice day out visiting a mutilated, clinical version of their favourite theme park. Until this thing is under control, I think the parks should stay shut. Of course this is a very easy thing to say as someone who doesn't own a theme park, and I truly feel bad for the smaller guys in the industry. I'd be heartbroken to see Drayton go as a result of this, but I really don't see any effective way to open where everyone involved is happy and more importantly, not at risk.
 
Benjsh said:
There's so many pitfalls. I'm struggling to think of an industry that will be harder to implement these rules. Theme parks have it tough.

1. Queues will have to be looked at. Virtual queues could work but do they have systems in place to meet demand. 2m apart queues just won't work for most parks.

2. Ride vehicles and restraints will need to be cleaned after every rider leaves their
Seats you'd think.

3. Food outlets are going to be a no go area. Guests will surely be advised to bring their own food. That's a huge revenue loss.

4. Fast track sales. Surely that's going to be another hit for them. Can't see them being too high as guest numbers surely won't be high enough. Although if they have to implement that much ride cleaning they may make some cash. However that won't help with guest satisfaction.

5. Transport rides such as monorail, cable cars and trains are probably a write off.

6. Car park revenue will be down.

The list goes on.

And yet staff costs, insurance costs and the million other expenses won't change much.

Some parks will probably be worse off opening at all as they may actually lose money.
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Transport rides are fine, just load one family group per capsule, if people arrived in the same car then can get in the same monorail section or cablecar pod.

Wiping down of restraints/chairs doesn't need to be done that regularly, washing your hands regularly is far more important, people touch far more than just the ride vehicle (doors, fence posts etc) so need to wash hands anyway.

Food outlets will be fine if distancing in the queue and seating area can be dealt with. The parks are unlikely to open until other places such as pubs and food outlets are open anyway. Many places will be dealing with similar issues.
 
In terms of wiping down restraints etc., one thing suggested in the IAAPA guidelines is instead insisting that riders use alcohol gel before and after using certain attractions. That's be a lot easier/operationally-faster to implement.

As for food outlets, that'll be no different from restaurants/pubs in the 'outside world', so any restrictions in place at high street restaurants could easily be implemented in theme park F&B outlets
 
AT86 said:
No idea when the park will open, but just to reference your last point. This article confirms engineers are still onsite to keep rides ‘ticking over’.
.https://www.expressandstar.com/news/Features/2020/04/20/attractions-hit-hard-during-coronavirus-crisis-as-financial-impact-deepens/?fbclid=IwAR3iAKEI13UbQToYKxTFtGC3joUEXrzlkklm7Ts6I76JoVNos5vKrTm6KVg
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Anyone else noticed that the photo of Towers' entrance at the bottom of the article is really old? Shows the old Admissions kioks :p:confused:
 
I was discussing with @AstroDan a few days ago about the 2m rule and groups on park together. For families it won't be an issue, as you see it at shops now that couples will be stood together as 1 unit. But for groups of friends... what will happen?

There's clearly going to be 2m markers in the queue lines, but if you had every single person in the queue stood that far apart then it simply isn't going to work. My thoughts are that for groups of friends who don't live together, it would work on a common sense policy that no one in the group is showing any symptoms and must generally remain together throughout the day.
 
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