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

Would need to be a very very long stick for the likes of oblivion, unless they just used outer seats. Can't see anyone coming at you with a hooked stick anyway. It's not possible to check restraints and belts properly unless up close and personal. The only way is they observe you checking the restraints yourself. Would that be acceptable though?

They do this at Disney a fair bit. For example asking you to push up your restraint as they walk past on RnRC or pull on a yellow toggle attached to a seat belt on the likes of Test Track and Star Tours so they visually check if you are secured in.

It would be technically possible for Towers to introduce similar measures, such as staff asking you to push up on coaster restraints and pull on seatbelts - whether Merlin H&S would allow it is another matter.
 
I heard that when Disney reopens every ride will have a virtual queue so u get time slots for 3 rides as soon as you get into the park. They will also have safe standing and bypass all preshows so u won’t be in the same room together and leave big gaps on loading rides like finding Nemo and the Haunted Mansion.
 
How long do we think the measures will be in place for once the parks reopen? Until there's a vaccine, or longer?

My personal prediction is that these measures will stay in place until 2021, by which point we should have a vaccine.
 
I know I would but do you they they, the gov, would count Towers as an open space.
Yes, this article is from the sun and they are quoting a daily fail but.
It’s a tiny glimmer of hope
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No, for the simple fact it is not open spaces in queues. Theme parks will be among the last things to open I would have thought. They will have the same if not lower priority as places like pubs and cinemas.

EDIT. I know a different country but relevant. I believe I am correct when I say open spaces like beaches have re opened in Florida. The parks have not. For the same sort of reasons. Atleast in open spaces you can congregate but keep your distance. This would be almost impossible to enforce in a theme park. So it is just safer and easier to keep them closed.
 
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People were keeping a sensible distance, respecting space and doing very thorough handwashing over the four opening weekends on the Beach this year.
By the last weekend the staff were disinfecting the rides every thirty minutes.
Only once did I have to politely request someone to keep distance, they immediately backed up and apologised.
 
I believe I am correct when I say open spaces like beaches have re opened in Florida. The parks have not. For the same sort of reasons. Atleast in open spaces you can congregate but keep your distance. closed.

While Beaches have 'opened' in some parts of florida this is for exercise only and at certain times of the day. You can't sit on the beach, sunbathe or have a BBQ. It's like when the national trust was open (we know how that went :p)

Theme parks include things like Restaurants and Bars amongst other things. I think they will be some of the last things to re-open.
 
All the time any advice to maintain any sort of distance between people remains it would be an absolute nonsense to consider operating pretty much any rides.

The point of the distance is to prevent the virus transfering from one person to another. While 2m works as general advice, designed to be a mostly workable and mostly effective alternative to total isolation, it stops being effective once you start travelling at speed through another person's space, especially while you are screaming with your mouth wide open!

There is no point at all in standing 2m apart in a queue, then sitting 2m behind on a ride travelling at 60mph. It'd be the equivalent of sitting on each others laps in terms of virus transfer risk.

Thinking of Towers:

Nemesis, Rita, thirteen, Wicker Man, Galactica, RMT, Octanauts. NOPE! One row per dispatch, can not be worth opening.

Spinball, Rapids, Duel, Gangster Granny, Skyride and the rest of Cbeebies would be fine, one group per dispatch.

Hex would be somewhere under half capacity, staggered rows of groups with everything up to the ride as a free flow walk though. So it'd be crap.

Dungeons is a no, Sealife with a tiny capacity.


I cannot see it being economically viable to open until a time when the government advice does not include maintaining a specified distance between people from outside of your family group.
 
And yet when lockdown is relaxed, you’ll get people demanding it open as “they can’t see what’s wrong”. While distancing is in place it’s definitely looking likely a lot of tourist places won’t be able to reopen as yet, if no where can reopen till about end of the year it makes it a very quiet year for tourism this year.
 
And yet when lockdown is relaxed, you’ll get people demanding it open as “they can’t see what’s wrong”. While distancing is in place it’s definitely looking likely a lot of tourist places won’t be able to reopen as yet, if no where can reopen till about end of the year it makes it a very quiet year for tourism this year.

Well given that Michael Gove has alluded to the fact that pubs may be forced to stay closed until much later in the year, I cannot see any of the UK parks having much of a season this year. It is all but impossible to maintain social distancing on a theme / amusement park environment.
 
If the government saying Social gathering will remain in place to most of the uk is vaccinated I can only see the park opening with family members of the same household and only having CBeebies land only and a few family rides up to 1.2m. If Hex opens only the ride available and have someone at Duel entrance door only letting family groups in every 20-30 seconds.
 
If the government saying Social gathering will remain in place to most of the uk is vaccinated I can only see the park opening with family members of the same household and only having CBeebies land only and a few family rides up to 1.2m. If Hex opens only the ride available and have someone at Duel entrance door only letting family groups in every 20-30 seconds.

Am I right saying duel has power running to each car? It's a shame because they could have added a mister at the end that constantly pumps out disinfectant like smoke between offload and onload. Helping clean the car after each trip or at least every 30 mins.

I don't think this season will go ahead with the main park and your right it's more likely to be family rides and rapids with the possibility of a spray being used to blast the grab rails every 30 minutes?

The coasters are out of question with people screaming and giving an aerosol effect. Boat rides and low capacity rides only I think this season in family groups.
 
Am I right saying duel has power running to each car? It's a shame because they could have added a mister at the end that constantly pumps out disinfectant like smoke between offload and onload. Helping clean the car after each trip or at least every 30 mins.

Disinfecting the hardware is the lowest priority. It does very little to actually help.
If you touch a surface, avoid touching your face and wash your hands.
Doesn't matter if it is a supermarket basket/trolley, bus seat, rollercoaster seat, cash machine. Always assume the surface is dirty and wash your hands.

The virus spreads much more through people sneezing and coughing, so for the time being the distancing is most important. So if distancing can't be maintianed then places won't be allowed to open. This is why it isn't expected that pubs will open until the autumn, but clothes shops will probably open around May.
 
Am I right saying duel has power running to each car? It's a shame because they could have added a mister at the end that constantly pumps out disinfectant like smoke between offload and onload. Helping clean the car after each trip or at least every 30 mins.

Unfortunately I don't think this is practical - the disinfectant mist would invariably over time find it's way into the blaster electrical / electronics on the cars. You can bet your mortgage on the fact the blaster electronics are not insulated to waterproofing standards.

Back in the Ripsaw days there were more than a few electrical problems on Ripsaw - normally the on-gondola lights. This was attributed to some operators getting the gondola liberally wet regularly, as opposed to using the fountains to "tease guests". And bear in mind that Huss Top-Spins were designed with the possible additions of fountains in mind, so the electrics should have had some level of waterproofing.
 
After hearing some proposals that Universal have been speaking about in their annual pass survey regarding safely reopening the parks in Orlando I really can't see how the parks can open before a vaccine is found.

Some of the suggestions:
Wiping each ride after use
Limiting park capacity
social distancing
Compulsory mask wearing
Temperature checking
Covid quick tests for staff and visitors
closing all indoor attractions
Virtual queue
Mobile food ordering
No events
No meet and greets

The above are just suggestions from Universal, trying to gauge opinion. But after reading through and thinking about it more I just can't see how the parks could afford to run in this way and also what sort of a day are we going to have as guests. It just wont be enjoyable.

I think personally i'd rather not go to the parks than have to go through all these procedures that just rip any enjoyment out of the experience.
 
If (and that's a big if) the park opens later in the year say Aug/Sep do you think they could and would keep open longer through to Christmas at weekends?

Suggestions in the press say that people want to escape to theme parks. Could extending the season with theme park weekends be an viable and realistic option?
 
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