Coaster101: Today California public health officials issued new guidance for the re-opening of theme parks. The new guidance essentially says that very small parks will be open on a limited basis sooner than large parks, and it will probably be awhile before those large parks can re-open. It all has to do with what coronavirus “tier” the home county of parks is in. So, in order to understand these new guidelines, here’s a quick explainer of California’s reopening system.
6 comments:
The concept of opening Disneyland and other theme parks is a messy situation. Across the board, there are so many varying opinions of if California should reopen and if so, when? I don’t know where I would stand on a reopening date, but I do think it needs to wait until at least California is in a better place, if not the whole country. Yes, it is fun and yes no one anticipated it closing for so long, and yes so many people want to get back to work, but it should not come at the cost of risking people’s health and lives. I don’t think Disney should be laying everyone off either. When Covid was just being given attention in the US, rarely anyone thought Disney would close its doors, especially not for as long as it did. I saw a photo the other day that someone made as a joke of the wait times for Disneyland and it said the wait was 525,600 minutes. It was funny because of the song of the same name as well as the fact that it could be true. I do respect theme parks and other guest dense businesses staying closed, but the politics surrounding it are a mess. Lots of people are really mad at how the California Governor is handling it. It is easy to see all sides, especially with all of the conflicting information and updates constantly going out, but I think the best way is to just go with the flow and trust what will be, will be and hopefully it ends up being the best outcome for as many people as possible. The article details the guidelines and how it is designed in phases, with smaller theme parks opening first. While there is not much information on the “when” of it all, I do think it is a good plan to have been designed in these phases/tiers.
-Ariel Bernhard
This article is very informative and thought provoking. Living in California during the summer, I actually never saw any of this information for theme parks. I knew plans were being worked on, but this is the first I am hearing about any of this. Also, at first glance, I would assume that Theme parks would just no open, it isn’t worth it. Of course, the article goes on to say a similar note. Is it really worth it to open the theme parks with those restrictions in place? If everyone in the county of that theme park even be enough people to worth it? It just seems unrealistic and I am not at all surprised that theme parks have already started trying to get it relooked at. However, the article doesn’t touch on the other side of the equation, even if theme parks are open and with valid restrictions… is anyone going to come? Will people actually want to go ride on these rides and pay the ridiculous amounts of money it costs when they are also likely financially not ideal.
Right now seems like the worst time to try to reopen theme parks, as US case numbers approach record highs since the summer! We seem to be pretending that everything is fine, so we can justify putting visitors and employees lives in danger. Furthermore, it is frustrating to see these parks complain about the restrictions, which are understandably strict because there is a global pandemic happening right now. I do understand that these parks just cannot be profitable with 500 or so guests, but the problem here shouldn't be reopening in order to cover the costs. The government needs to do a better job providing for those who need these theme parks to earn a living. I also like the point that Nicolaus made, asking if anyone would even show up to these parks right now. I actually think there would be people interested, after all many of us are aching to get back into theatre, but when the visitors are restricted to members of the county the pool of people gets cut down substantially.
I am from Los Angeles, so I constantly heard the words “phases” and “tiers” thrown around during the pandemic. Honestly though, I never knew the specifics of each tier. So it was interesting to actually see the different requirements set in order to start reopening businesses. I know many people criticize how strict California is being, but I really appreciated it. It made me feel safer and more prepared. It’s crazy to me that we are already talking about theme parks reopening again because it doesn’t feel like much has changed since summer. Looking at the restrictions for small parks, I think it’s a good idea that guests are restricted to people from their own county. Travel is extremely dangerous right now and I’m sure cases would rise if people from all over the state are traveling to one area. Additionally, the author brought up many good questions about parks that don’t require entrance tickets and parks that have found loopholes in opening already.
The idea of opening up theme parks right now worries me to no end. Honestly it seems like the United States has forgotten that we are currently in a pandemic and that the pandemic is at an all time high. We are all operating as though this pandemic is gone or at it its tail end when its at the opposite. I cant seem to find a good reason to open theme parks other than the people that are working for the park however theme park companies are notorious for mistreating their labor. Rather than reopening these parks I hope the government helps the unemployed workers find new jobs rather than letting these big companies exploit workers in the name of helping unemployment. I do hope that an insane amount of people don’t flood these parks and rather visitors are heavily tested and restricted for both the employees sake and the people attending. I definitely do think that people will come to attend these parks as long as rides are open and there are activities to do. Parks like Disney Land will probably have people attend regardless as they have already created a cult culture around the experience of the park itself. My biggest worry is that opening up so many entertainment things will just cause this pandemic to get even worse and send us into a second lockdown.
I think this article really hit the nail on the head when it comes to just how uncertain and confusing the requirements to reopen safely are. I don't necessarily mean that interpreting those requirements are confusing, but rather that setting them is fluid and ever-changing. Frankly, I believe that the requirements for reopening parks are more of a "not happening any time soon" than a goal to strive for. Up to 2 months ago, I had lived in California for my entire life, I can attest that there is an extreme lack of unity and cohesion in pursuing goals for the common good. Especially during the pandemic, I have witnessed hundreds of people completely disregarding our public responsibility to help flatten the curve and bring this virus under control. To my knowledge, only 4 counties in southern California have managed to improve their situation, and even then it was only to the red tier, the second to lowest tier. The situation could improve, but I personally find it unlikely until such time that better treatment and/or a vaccine is widely available, meaning that these parks are unlikely to reopen any time soon.
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