Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks

[A++]

Shanghai Disney Resort will open May 11th https://shcorporate.shanghaidisneyresort.com/en/category/press-room-en

I think this is quite big news, by the time it opens the park will have been closed for 107 days.

 

[SimonProD]

I honestly don't think I can be bothered until the parks are fully operational again.

I tend to agree. If they are running parks with lowered capacity this year I might only visit Hansa-Park once on a weekday outside school holidays. I certainly won't drive all the way to for example Europa-Park to have a line thats 4 times as long due to lowered capacity of the rides - it just won't justify to spend the money for travel and hotels if you cannot ride (enough).

This is also valid for my planned US trip next year. If limitations are still on I will cancel my Queen Mary 2 crossing even if I loose the down payment.

 

[Matt N]

As I said before; as shallow as it sounds, the restrictions wouldn't personally bother me. If I can just be back in a park and back on a ride, that'll be enough for me, so I'll be going as soon as they throw open their doors here in the UK.

 

[SimonProD]

Depends on if you visit your local park(s). You know your local parks and you are in no pressure. If the Gerstlauer is running on horrible capacity you just skip it and do the old Schwarzkopf multiple times - just an example. But if you travel all the way overseas, spend lots of cash to get there and then you have like a big park with 10-15 coasters were each no has a two hour line compared to a 30 minutes line and you end not getting the creds its a waste of money and fun for me.

 

[CSLKennyNI]

Press conference for the state of NRW in Germany just confirmed with new safety measures in place their theme parks can reopen from this Monday 11th May. Hotels will be allowed to open from 21st May too. This would apply to Phantasialand and Movie Park Germany. Surprised to see such an early date; most other states have been suggesting late May/early June.
Presumably both parks will be making announcements soon then to confirm their plans.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2664233600480351

 

[caffeine_demon]

Talked to my neighbor working at the red cross crisis team yesterday and they also talked about theme parks - Hansa-Park in this case.

• Every guest has to bring at least two FFP2 masks to wear in all ride areas and during rides to use rides to full capacity - cost at a local pharmacy last week: €20 for two FFP2 masks

Thinking about this - just wondering what the difference would be between everyone wearing a medical grade mask, and a bog standard mask, or even a face covering made out of a pair of undies?

Also - Wonder how long it will be before someone has a mask fall off someone on a ride and land on them??

 

[JammyH]

Press conference for the state of NRW in Germany just confirmed with new safety measures in place their theme parks can reopen from this Monday 11th May. Hotels will be allowed to open from 21st May too. This would apply to Phantasialand and Movie Park Germany. Surprised to see such an early date; most other states have been suggesting late May/early June.
Presumably both parks will be making announcements soon then to confirm their plans.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2664233600480351

Just to confirm this movie park have now updated their website showing an opening date of the coming Monday!
https://www.movieparkgermany.de/en/plan-your-visit/opening-hours

NRW ministers will be releasing tomorrow the exact rules and restrictions that both Phantasialand and Movie Park will have to operate under.

Also bear in mind just because they are opening it (unfortunately) does not mean we can visit! If you are entering Germany you must take part in an enforced 2 week quarantine, so for those of us from other countries, these parks are out of the picture for the time being. Germans are not allowed to travel internationally until at least 14. June so I imagine the quarantine restrictions will take place until at least that point in time.

 

[BlueSonicHD]

Also - Wonder how long it will be before someone has a mask fall off someone on a ride and land on them??

sat back row of a coaster and get bombarded with used virus infested face masks .... nice ?

 

[Matt N]

Just to confirm this movie park have now updated their website showing an opening date of the coming Monday!
https://www.movieparkgermany.de/en/plan-your-visit/opening-hours

NRW ministers will be releasing tomorrow the exact rules and restrictions that both Phantasialand and Movie Park will have to operate under.

Also bear in mind just because they are opening it (unfortunately) does not mean we can visit! If you are entering Germany you must take part in an enforced 2 week quarantine, so for those of us from other countries, these parks are out of the picture for the time being. Germans are not allowed to travel internationally until at least 14. June so I imagine the quarantine restrictions will take place until at least that point in time.

But if you're a German enthusiast, then you can visit these parks provided you don't have coronavirus or haven't come into contact with anyone who does! So the regional crowd will benefit!

I think this is fantastic news! Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Phantasialand usually not open until mid to late April anyway? So if they open on Monday, they will have missed less than a month of the season!

 

[BlueSonicHD]

? hmm how easy is it to get a German passport ?

In the UK I see the GOV are ditching the "Stay at home" slogan from Sunday for something else.

Hope they change to "Go out, enjoy yourself at a local theme park, start living your life again"

It could happen !

 

[CSLKennyNI]

But if you're a German enthusiast, then you can visit these parks provided you don't have coronavirus or haven't come into contact with anyone who does! So the regional crowd will benefit!

I think this is fantastic news! Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Phantasialand usually not open until mid to late April anyway? So if they open on Monday, they will have missed less than a month of the season!

No. As with all seasonal German parks its always just before Easter. This year was planned to be 4th April.

 

[Hyde]

So this is a thing going out to Cedar Point employees. No official word yet.

 

[Matt N]

No. As with all seasonal German parks its always just before Easter. This year was planned to be 4th April.

Ah right. Thanks for the clarification @CSLKennyNI; that is still only just over a month of missed business, though!

So this is a thing going out to Cedar Point employees. No official word yet.

View attachment 8272

If Cedar Point does open on 25th May, then won't they only have missed 2 weeks or so of the season? That would be very promising for their financial situation!

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Ah right. Thanks for the clarification @CSLKennyNI; that is still only just over a month of missed business, though!

If Cedar Point does open on 25th May, then won't they only have missed 2 weeks or so of the season? That would be very promising for their financial situation!

It’s very positive Matt, but remember the lockdown, assuming it ends soon, is only part of the economic crisis facing some businesses. Social distancing and it’s effects on revenue will be the next big hurdle.

 

[JammyH]

I must say this though, even though Phantasialand can open on Monday, I’m not sure they will.

An opening on Monday would cause significant issues with park operations. NRW is prioritising the opening of theme parks about 11 days before restaurants and hotels are allowed to open. Theatres and cinemas are also not allowed to operate until the end of May at the earliest.

Therefore, if Phantasialand was to open on Monday, it would be with no indoor restaurants open, only takeaway food stalls, hotels shut and no shows/performances/4D cinema running. I also imagine it would see the closure of attractions such as crazy bats & Hotel Tartüff (funhouse).

Phantasialand has very narrow pathways and with people unable to be in shows and in restaurants (which normally suck up high volumes of people), the pathways are likely to be very crowded and people won’t be able to keep 1.5m distance unless capacity is extremely low. Cologne zoo, for example, opened yesterday on a capacity of 3300. Phantasialand with the above restrictions would maybe be able to have a maximum of 2000 guests in the park.

I honestly think they would maybe be better to hold off for a couple of weeks and open align with the German parks in other states. Then they will be able to open the resort in cohesion with hotels, restaurants and potentially shows running on limited capacity. Otherwise, if they open on Monday all that I can see happening is ridiculously long queues and clogged pathways and people standing around with nothing to do.

NRW still has a rule that face masks are mandatory in public spaces (public transport, shops etc) so I imagine when the parks open face masks will be compulsory.

Movie park is a more spacious outdoor park and therefore perhaps would be able to open more safely at an earlier date than Phantasialand.

 

[Hyde]

If Cedar Point does open on 25th May, then won't they only have missed 2 weeks or so of the season? That would be very promising for their financial situation!

This is a first day of work, not "opening" day. Assuming Cedar Point does have staff start returning May 25th, it would take 2-3 weeks most likely to be at a place to be ready for guests.

Again, a screenshot of an email - will follow closely for any more updates.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Movie park is a more spacious outdoor park and therefore perhaps would be able to open more safely at an earlier date than Phantasialand.

Their 2 best rollercoaster may face issues though... (Could be a blessing in the case of ST:OE... I would have loved to skip all the pre show crap before it ??)

 

[CSLKennyNI]

Despite the government approval and the apparently mistake on the website - Movie Park Germany have said they are working towards reopening during the last week of May.

'marketing director Manuel Prossotowicz tells Looopings. "We are currently counting on the week before Pentecost, but we depend on the local authorities to monitor our measures," he says. "We also need face masks for employees."'

Eerste Duitse attractieparken mogen al op 11 mei open

De opening van sommige pretparken in Duitsland komt waarschijnlijk een stuk sneller dan verwacht. Al op maandag 11 mei mogen de attractieparken in de...

www.looopings.nl

 

[cookie]

Despite the government approval and the apparently mistake on the website - Movie Park Germany have said they are working towards reopening during the last week of May.

'marketing director Manuel Prossotowicz tells Looopings. "We are currently counting on the week before Pentecost, but we depend on the local authorities to monitor our measures," he says. "We also need face masks for employees."'

Eerste Duitse attractieparken mogen al op 11 mei open

De opening van sommige pretparken in Duitsland komt waarschijnlijk een stuk sneller dan verwacht. Al op maandag 11 mei mogen de attractieparken in de...

www.looopings.nl

Yeah, I was doubting that they'd have their stuff together in five days. Most parks would still need weeks to open even after getting approval.

 

[Hyde]

More coming out from Cedar Fair. No word on dates, but a lot of quorum with Six Flags on social distancing and implementing virtual queueing. https://www.cleveland.com/business/...-in-reopening-of-cedar-point-other-parks.html