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Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Ugh, that looks disgusting :rolleyes: Maybe the people that run Energylandia know something the general public don't about some upcoming restrictions!
Restrictions that allow them to open only on busy days... And condense midweek guests into weekend days too? Seems odd.

I don’t think they rely on foreign guests too much, so international travel restrictions won’t bother them.
 

witchfinder

Hyper Poster
Restrictions that allow them to open only on busy days... And condense midweek guests into weekend days too? Seems odd.
It was only a flippant comment but if you want to analyse it, it could be that they know more serious restrictions are coming in which will result in a lot less people being able to visit and so they've decided to close on quieter days to reduce costs.
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
It was only a flippant comment but if you want to analyse it, it could be that they know more serious restrictions are coming in which will result in a lot less people being able to visit and so they've decided to close on quieter days to reduce costs.
But that would just reduce your potential gate further, whereas midweeks could have been fully booked with restricted numbers at the weekend causing spikes in demand, just like the UK.

Anyway, sorry I missed the ironic humour in your first post.

The real reason is obvious, anybody who has visited mid week from sept on will agree that it’s probably a good business decision... They’re still trialling Christmas though!!!
 

Matt N

CF Legend
Interestingly, it would seem that in Florida, Universal’s theme parks have actually had a more successful reopening than Disney’s since reopening, and here’s an Inside the Magic article that identifies some of why this could be: https://insidethemagic.net/2020/08/why-universal-more-in-demand-than-disney-tm1/

I do agree with quite a lot of this article, actually.

In terms of exact stats, Universal is down 64% on 2019 levels, while Disney is down 80% on 2019 levels. So both are down, but Universal is doing comparatively somewhat better than Disney so far. There are also aerial shots taken within minutes of each other comparing the queue of cars to enter Universal with the queue of cars to enter Disney, and Universal’s queue seems to have far more cars in it; very interesting, and perhaps the first time in history that this has ever been the case!

In terms of the future, COVID cases are on the decrease again in Florida, so hopefully this means that the Florida parks can see greater success in the coming weeks and months!
 

James F

Hyper Poster
Perhaps because Disney targets young families, large families with young children and elder family members won't want to take the risk as much as younger adults that will more to likely visit universal?

I don't know to be honest, I'm just throwing that out there.

Sent from my SM-A217F using Tapatalk
 

Nitefly

Hyper Poster
Yup Energylandia was absolutely carnage from a Covid prevention perspective. Nobody was wearing masks except on the actual rides.

That said, it was utterly unbearable wearing a mask for any prolonged period in that heat (30 degrees centigrade).
 

JammyH

Hyper Poster
@Matt N in relation to your previous question regarding the so called “second wave”, this graph shows us how cases are starting to surge again across Europe after lockdowns were eased.

413A2411-1D8B-431D-A5D7-959CD683E2FF.png
Gives us a rough idea of where we currently sit in comparison to the peak of the first wave back in March-April. Bear in mind though testing across Europe was seriously poor in March-April time and is now much improved meaning that the first peak is not representative of how many cases there actually were given only hospitalised cases were recorded, the new daily numbers are much more accurate due to targeted testing; but still not everyone will be being picked up, especially asymptomatic spreaders.

In unfortunate news, Spain’s weekly hospitalisations are at 1400 this week, double last weeks figure. Cases in germany, Poland and Italy are also starting to surge too with the rest of Europe. UK has seen steadily increasing figures over the past few weeks, the real test for us will be getting schools open without outbreaks.

No doubt easing lockdowns and reopening borders has caused cases to start spiking again. Makes you wonder if the UK had gone for an elimination strategy like New Zealand we could all be living like normal right now for the most part bar international travel. What New Zealand are aiming for and have been achieving I think is an incredibly sensible strategy- eliminate covid and supply financial support to the travel industry, compared to the uk and Europe who are having to provide financial support to every industry as everything is operating with reduced staffing right now.

Here is an update of how we are looking in the UK for cases right now:

37C31C77-1480-4893-AC5C-D2A432139B54.jpeg
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
@Matt N in relation to your previous question regarding the so called “second wave”, this graph shows us how cases are starting to surge again across Europe after lockdowns were eased.

View attachment 9490
Gives us a rough idea of where we currently sit in comparison to the peak of the first wave back in March-April. Bear in mind though testing across Europe was seriously poor in March-April time and is now much improved meaning that the first peak is not representative of how many cases there actually were given only hospitalised cases were recorded, the new daily numbers are much more accurate due to targeted testing; but still not everyone will be being picked up, especially asymptomatic spreaders.

In unfortunate news, Spain’s weekly hospitalisations are at 1400 this week, double last weeks figure. Cases in germany, Poland and Italy are also starting to surge too with the rest of Europe. UK has seen steadily increasing figures over the past few weeks, the real test for us will be getting schools open without outbreaks.

No doubt easing lockdowns and reopening borders has caused cases to start spiking again. Makes you wonder if the UK had gone for an elimination strategy like New Zealand we could all be living like normal right now for the most part bar international travel. What New Zealand are aiming for and have been achieving I think is an incredibly sensible strategy- eliminate covid and supply financial support to the travel industry, compared to the uk and Europe who are having to provide financial support to every industry as everything is operating with reduced staffing right now.

Here is an update of how we are looking in the UK for cases right now:

View attachment 9491
That graph showing Europe is a little missleading as it doesn’t show clearly enough that the countries who’ve already had a large peak are not the ones having a significant second peak...

With the exception of spain and france, who’s second peaks were in completely different regions in very large countries, were half as bad as the first, and are already in decline...

This was predicted by many months ago, that countries / regions who had done better the first time potentially had more to fear from a second wave... I even posted about it here... And it’s looking like the case.

It also fails to show the effect of increased and better targeted testing. The first time around there wasn’t the capacity to test all ‘mild’ cases. This is now being done on a mass scale. It is evident from the death figures. No country has seen the kind of rise in numbers of deaths associated with cases we saw earlier in the year, or anywhere close recently. In fact in most countries death figures continue to fall, despite cases rising for almost 2 months now, including the UK.

This is partly because the virus is still in retreat in many places, but we’re testing more ‘mild’ cases.

However, it’s also due to the virus being less dangerous. There are more treatment options. There has not yet been an exponential increase, so health services are not overwhelmed.

Ultimately what I’m trying to say, is that the virus is still around, it’s still a clear and present danger, it IS on the increase in places that haven’t yet had a significant wave... However graphs like those, and articles published recently could mislead people into a state of panic that isn’t necessary. Keep following the guidance and we’ll all be fine to carry on as we are...

...For now!
 

Nicky Borrill

Strata Poster
Over 1500 cases in the UK yesterday...

Probably just an anomaly, but with colder, wetter, weather consistently forcing people indoors over the last few weeks I’ll be watching carefully over the next few days for rapid growth in areas that haven’t had many cases :/
 

Matt N

CF Legend
I didn’t know where to put this, but it’s to do with procedures a park is having to put into place, so I thought it might work here.

Paultons Park is now unfortunately receiving heavy backlash from visitors for introducing a £1 booking fee for its season pass holders, reportedly due to a high rate of no-shows (30%, apparently): https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18682339.paultons-park-make-changes-season-tickets-no-shows/

The park’s season pass holders are not happy about this change at all, however, saying that they deserve to be able to visit for free and whenever they like.

What are your thoughts? I don’t personally see anything wrong with it, because a lot of other places are doing it, and it does offer some incentive to actually visit. I can understand why the pass holders are unhappy, to a degree, but I personally agree with this change if it decreases the no-show rate and helps the park recover more quickly.
 

Bentleya

Mega Poster
If you were to get the figure refunded back if you actually turned for the day you booked - then I can't see the issue?
If you was to book a day and not turn up / not let the park know - then the fee should be kept by the park.

Alternatively, just void the season tickets for those who have booked and have not turned up.
 

JammyH

Hyper Poster
Over 1500 cases in the UK yesterday...

Probably just an anomaly, but with colder, wetter, weather consistently forcing people indoors over the last few weeks I’ll be watching carefully over the next few days for rapid growth in areas that haven’t had many cases :/

Here you can see the 7 day case rate and daily movements for countries across the EU. UK sits today at 12.1, which isn't bad yet, but as you say an increase of over 1500 cases yesterday indicates cases are on the rise again. The real issues are getting schools back on Monday and people starting to meet indoors rather than outdoors like you say. I am still sticking to government guidelines that only 2 households should meet indoors, but as more and more people break these rules cases are at a real risk of spiking again.

This will link to the introduction of the £10,000 fine if you host a gathering of over 30 people from today or £100-£3200 for attending, enforceable by police. Unfortunately I'm not sure the police will actually hand these fines out as they haven't really handed out many mask fines up until now but hopefully the threat will be enough to stop people hosting illegal gatherings and keep the numbers down.

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