By Emily Merchant

Since the pandemic hit almost a year ago, amusement parks, along with many other entertainment industries, have been struggling with the additions of social distancing protocols, mandatory temperature scannings, and mask wearing. Theme parks such as Busch Gardens, Water Country, Kings Dominion, Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park have had difficulty finding ways to stay open and take in guests. This has caused a tremendous decline in income for more than just these entertainment industries. In a Deadline article, California Attractions and Parks Association executive director Erin Guerrero, said, “nearly a year after parks closed in response to the pandemic, tens of thousands of employees remain out of work, while local businesses, communities surrounding theme parks, and local governments face ongoing negative consequences.”

Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Photo credit: Walt Disney World Instagram.

So far, The Walt Disney Company seems to be the only one out of these four places that has been able to reopen successfully. However, only the Disney parks in Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Japan, and Florida have actually opened. Both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park, located in California, are currently closed, and the state is saying they shall remain closed, “until coronavirus cases in counties fall below 1 per 100,000 — a target that will be difficult to achieve as cases soar throughout the country.”  

However, Disney CEO Bob Chapek feels that keeping parks closed isn’t the best option, saying “…we and other civic leaders have stated before, we believe state leadership should look objectively at what we’ve achieved successfully at our parks around the world, all based on science, as opposed to setting an arbitrary standard that is precluding our cast members from getting back to work while decimating small businesses in the local community….” 

California Screamin’ roller coaster at Disney California Adventure Park. Photo credit: Flickr user Andy via Creative Commons.

Guerrero believes parks are ready to re-open in California, saying that parks have “proven they can reopen responsibly while protecting the health of guests and staff. Science and data show it can be done. California should allow theme parks to reopen responsibly in the Orange – Moderate – Tier 3.” According to the table at covid19.ca.gov, California’s Tier 3 consists of “some business operations are open with modifications.” Overall, Disney has lost a total of $2.4 billion due to COVID-19; this includes all things Disney, such as cruise lines, resorts, stores, and the theme parks themselves.

The Walt Disney World Resort, located in Orlando, Florida, is currently open to the public with changes made to suit CDC requirements. Some of these changes include adjustments in the intensity of cleaning procedures, as well as social distancing protocols and reduced contact. 

Recently Chapek confirmed that “masks and social distancing policies will still be in effect at Disney parks at least through the end of the year. However, as vaccine rates go up… that capacity increases could come in the near future.”

Hunter Milligan (’21) went to Florida earlier this year and spent an evening at Disney Springs, an outdoor mall and dining attraction that is fairly close to Disney World, with a few friends. His initial reaction upon arriving was that “the traffic to get into the compound was extremely heavy and took us probably fifteen minutes to go half a mile.” He explained that the process of entering the mall was “…a little bit of a wait. Hundreds of people lined up to get their temperature checked and a wristband.” 

Milligan noted that a Disney worker kept track of the number of people entering, seeing as the mall had a capacity limit. He shared that they “stopped for dinner at The Boathouse… and, to be honest, they didn’t care much at all about distancing, as the tables were extremely close to each other.” He also said that “while inside… we were shoulder to shoulder with other people the entire time,” and that overall the place “was jam-packed, with everyone from grandparents to little kids, but despite the six feet distance, mask wearing was being enforced.”

Kings Dominion Amusement Park in Doswell, Virginia. Photo credit: Kings Dominion.

Last year, Virginia’s Kings Dominion, which has been opening its doors to the public each summer for the past 45 years, was forced to remain closed due to COVID-19. Hanover County’s director of economic development E. Linwood Thomas IV shared that while it’s upsetting to the public, “the economic impact is huge.” Back in August 2020, the park announced that with “Gov. Ralph Northam’s order that limits its capacity to 1,000 guests,” it would remain closed for the remainder of 2020.

As of right now, Kings Dominion has set up a page on their website explaining protocols, regulations, and extra steps they are taking to maintain a safe and healthy environment for when the park opens back up. These things include: the requiring of face coverings, at least one member of the group to have the mobile app, temperature checks as well as health screenings, and for all members to plan ahead. The park has also added hand sanitizer stations around the park. 

Olivia Travers, Maggie Slone, and Emma Graff, all seniors at Glen Allen High School, went to Kings Dominion’s Winterfest back in December. Travers said upon entering the park, “they asked us standard COVID screening questions and took our temperatures,” explaining that, “since they monitor the amount of people that come in each day, it was way less crowded than normal.” 

While there were fewer people at the park than usual, Slone shared that, “the lines were still very long, because they could only seat around half of the people that they normally would.” She pointed out that “the staff also cleaned every seat in between rides, which also contributed to the lines being long.” 

Graff mentioned that they, “had to have masks on the whole time, and…[the park] also had markers to stand six feet apart from everyone else in line.” As for food service and restaurants, Travers stated, “most of the indoor restaurants were closed, but they had some food trucks and windows where you could get food/snacks.” Slone and Graff agreed with Travers’ comment that, “I felt pretty safe at the park, and I think they did a good job of following COVID guidelines.”

Alpengeist roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. Photo credit: Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Last year, both Busch Gardens and Water Country were open but with limited capacities, with Busch Gardens being open for both of their seasonal events Christmas Town and Howl-O-Scream, and Water Country being open from Wednesdays to Sundays. There have been additions and changes made for both in order to fit CDC guidelines and make the experience safer for guests. These changes and additions include temperature screenings for both guests and employees, social distancing, face masks, sanitation stations, and all employees have had “COVID-19 specific training to cover all new enhanced park operating procedures.”

Featured image photo credit: user Gruntzooki via Wikimedia Commons.