As amusement parks across the nation slowly started to reopen, concerns arose about the spread of COVID-19 among park goers. As of today, the top 20 amusement parks in the U.S. have not reported any outbreaks of the disease, praising employee training and enforcement of enhanced safety guidelines for their successful reopenings.
What’s Happening:
- Several weeks after reopening their gates to guests, there have been no reports of COVID-19 outbreaks at 20 of the largest amusement parks across the country.
- The Orange County Register shared the news this afternoon citing state health and theme park officials.
- Among the amusement and theme parks that have not experienced any outbreaks are:
- Disney
- Universal
- SeaWorld
- Busch Gardens
- Six Flags
- Legoland
- Cedar Fair parks in Florida, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan
- Year round entertainment venues closed down in mid-March due to the pandemic, while seasonal locations had to delay their openings.
- Locations that are currently operating had to receive approval from state and local officials before being allowed to reopen.
- As for theme parks in California, they are still awaiting the all clear from state officials to open or fully reopen.
- Some parks such as Knott’s Berry Farm and SeaWorld San Diego have been able to partially reopen for food and shopping festivals but are operating at a limited capacity and are not offering rides.
- Legoland California has partially reopened the Miniland U.S.A. section of the park to annual passholders, Legoland Hotel guests and Big Shop shoppers.
- Knott’s is currently hosting Taste of Knott’s and will then transition into Taste of Fall-O-Ween starting later this month.
- Meanwhile SeaWorld San Diego partially opened a few weeks ago with Zoo Days: Bayside BBQ & Brews.
- While Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood have not been able to welcome guests to their parks, their Resort shopping districts (Downtown Disney and CityWalk respectively) have been gradually reopening.
- Among the new guideline in place at amusement parks and resorts are:
- Mandatory masks
- Social distancing
- Increased sanitization
- Contactless payments
- Reduced attraction capacity
- Employee training
- Some locations such as Walt Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando are managing by requiring guests to make advance reservations for the days they want to visit.
What They’re Saying:
- Disney officials told OC Register: “Walt Disney World resort’s data on COVID-19 outbreaks is consistent with what Florida officials have shared.”
- Universal Orlando spokesperson Tom Schroder via email: “We know of no ‘outbreak’ and would refer you to Orange County health officials for specifics.”
- SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment officials: “SeaWorld and Busch Gardens theme parks in the U.S. have not been notified of any COVID-19 outbreaks.”
- Legoland California president Kurt Stocks: “We’ve opened all our other Legoland resorts all around the world with no reported outbreaks.”
- Six Flags officials: “The safety of our guests and team members continues to be our highest priority. The extensive safety and hygiene measures we have in place were developed with epidemiologist consultants and meet or exceed all federal, state, and local guidelines. We want our guests and team members to feel confident about their health and safety while in our parks.”
- Cedar Fair officials: “Prior to reopening our parks, Cedar Fair implemented robust health and safety protocols for our guests and associates, informed by our in-house, industry and local government experts along with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control. We credit these protocols for the good news that we have effectively averted to date any COVID-19 outbreaks that link back to any of our parks.”
- Hersheypark spokesperson Garrett Gallia: “Since we have reopened, we have not been notified, directly or indirectly, of any COVID-19 outbreaks related to a guest’s visit to Hersheypark.”
- Jessica Good, Orange County Health Care Agency via email: “We have not associated any outbreaks tied to Knott’s Berry Farm.”
- Sarah Sweeney, San Diego Health & Human Services Agency via email: “We do not disclose the location of outbreaks unless there is an active threat to public health and an action that the public should take.”