Coronavirus: Impact on Theme Parks
- Thread starter JammyH
- Start date
From what I’ve heard shows are definitely cancelled until the end of August. Whether they will run from September onwards isn’t known yet, and depends on regulations from the authorities. I would imagine it might be possible given shows are back at efteling, Phantasialand and Europa park, but at the end of the day it is down to the authorities.
And yes, mandatory masks throughout the resort. Queue times seem very low so far, most attractions are operating on every other row, and express pass is still available. Also for street mission you will be required to put on a pair of disposable gloves.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Sat in coffee shop in Forbidden Valley now... Honestly not nearly as bad as I was expecting, atmosphere is actually better than a normal off peak day, most wearing masks on rides, some even wearing them in queues and in shops... Distancing isn’t being strictly adhered to (2M) but people are keeping more space, usually over 1M... queues between 20 mins or 90 mins for Smiler...
So far so good tbh... Glad you guys had me entering with low expectations, because so far they’ve been exceeded.
So far so good tbh... Glad you guys had me entering with low expectations, because so far they’ve been exceeded.
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@AndrewRollercoaster.
I've just checked with someone from the Portaventura team. If you are planning on staying on-site on the Portaventura resort in one of the hotels (caribe and El Paso are closed though), you can still purchase unlimited fastpass for your whole stay. It costs 85 euros for the whole time you are at the resort.
I've just checked with someone from the Portaventura team. If you are planning on staying on-site on the Portaventura resort in one of the hotels (caribe and El Paso are closed though), you can still purchase unlimited fastpass for your whole stay. It costs 85 euros for the whole time you are at the resort.
Matt N
CF Legend
Glad you seem to be enjoying your day so far! I went yesterday and had a lovely day; queues sound a little lower for you than they were for me! I was very impressed by how well the procedures worked, the queues weren’t too bad on the whole and distancing was adhered to very well, so my impressions of post-lockdown Alton Towers are overwhelmingly positive on the whole!
I must ask, however; have you ridden The Smiler today? Only asking because the queue moved quite slowly for us yesterday; it definitely seemed to be the ride most profoundly impacted by the new procedures. Our wait ended up at close to 2 hours, so I’m only warning you; the queue could be slow if you go to ride The Smiler.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Thanks for the heads up... We’re about to do that now... Glad we left it until last ??
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Joined less than a minute after posting that.... Still queueing ??
Matt N
CF Legend
Have you reached the indoor part of the queue yet? I thought the queue actually went very quickly after the indoor section!
witchfinder
Giga Poster
If I saw the Smiler queue was over an hour I wouldn't even bother joining it! ?
Hutch
Strata Poster
Imagine the amount of rides you could have gotten on Nemesis in that same time frame.
Matt N
CF Legend
The queues were all quite long, but I would definitely have been able to get 2 or 3 Nemesis rides in within the time frame that I was queueing for The Smiler, which I would definitely have preferred!
However, I've controversially got to admit that Nemesis is probably only my 3rd favourite at Alton Towers these days. Based on how phenomenally it was running yesterday, my personal choice for lapping would have been Wicker Man!
Smithy
Strata Poster
I've been following the situation in Spain quite closely and by all accounts they seem to have really knuckled down and dealt well with it. That's not to say it was perfect because it wasn't, but by and large they locked down quite quickly, and extremely strictly, and yet it was adhered to widely with very little resistance. Now with the re-opening, people are following guidance and advice, and finding new ways to make the new normal work. Want to see the menu in a restaurant but can't physically hold one? No worries, there's a QR code now on each table. Entering from outside an EU country? Here's a health questionnaire you have to fill in before passing through security. I get the impression that what you see in that PA video will be the new normal for the next 18 months at least - so it looks positive that it seems to be running smoothly so far.
zazobo
Hyper Poster
Im currently in Spain, at my place just outside of Malaga. Everyone seems to be handling it very well here, everyone wears a mask when inside and most wear them outside while walking around too.
However, the situation at the arrivals hall at Malaga airport on Saturday was nothing short of disgusting. We were funnelled into a cattle pen queue with perhaps 500/600 people all INCHES away from each other for them to carry out temperature checks and check our health/tracking forms. We were in that queue for at least 30 mins, social distancing was NOT adhered to. Honestly it was a disgrace and would put me off coming back anytime soon unless they sort it out.
Quite a few reports in the media stating Hong Kong Disneyland will close again from July 15th after supposedly a surge in cases.
Hong Kong has only about 30 - 40 cases per day, but that is quite recent in the last week after a period of hardly anything. Make of that what you will.
Hong Kong has only about 30 - 40 cases per day, but that is quite recent in the last week after a period of hardly anything. Make of that what you will.
Benenen
Hyper Poster
I flew into Barcelona airport today and my experience was the complete opposite. From leaving the plane to stepping outside the terminal took less than 15 minutes, I was straight through an automated passport scanner, quickly showed my health questionnaire QR code I'd filled out the night before then straight into arrivals, no queuing at any point. One of the quickest and efficient airport experiences I've had.
Walking round Salou I'd say 80% of people are wearing masks in the street which is more than I thought. Spain seem to be pretty tight on this. I'll update this further with my Portaventura experience tomorrow.
Walking round Salou I'd say 80% of people are wearing masks in the street which is more than I thought. Spain seem to be pretty tight on this. I'll update this further with my Portaventura experience tomorrow.
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Sounds super safe and well organised.
May I ask how you got from Barcelona to Salou? Are you staying on site at portaventura?
Benenen
Hyper Poster
I got a coach from the airport direct to Salou, masks were compulsory on board and it was a painless journey. I'm staying at a hotel in Salou for the trip about half an hours walk from Portaventura.
Everything feels safe so far, if I've caught Covid this week I reckon it's more likely from supermarket trips at home than anything I've done today. Even went to some bars tonight but they were dead so socially distanced by default. Bartenders very hot on wearing visors when serving.
Nicky Borrill
Strata Poster
Compulsory masks in UK shops confirmed!!! £100 police enforced fines for those that do not comply ???
All public indoor places next please Mr Boris... And don’t fanny around so long this time please!!!
(p.s I guess the UK epidemic PPE emergency stockpile is full again
probably much bigger now too ?)
All public indoor places next please Mr Boris... And don’t fanny around so long this time please!!!
(p.s I guess the UK epidemic PPE emergency stockpile is full again
probably much bigger now too ?)According to BBC news other indoor settings are under review, but with at the pace we move at, don’t expect to hear anything more on them for another month or two. ?
In all seriousness, this announcement is a massive positive change, and a big step in the right direction for handling the virus in the UK and stopping a major second wave. Definitely feels like we are finally making big progress as a country. We have the capacity to carry out 300,000 tests a day now, we have a track and trace system (it’s not great but at least there’s one), and with this new rule mask wearing in this country should hopefully be boosted from 36% to 50%+ on official figures, and this increased mask wearing really can save thousands more lives.
If we all work together, we can stop a second wave, and fingers crossed we won’t be in another national lockdown!