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and other tourist attractions to craft similar promotions, such as free friend passes and meal vouchers. On top of marketing package deals to consumers,
theme parks will also highlight the extra precautions they are taking to keep family members safe and healthy. Another strategy theme parks will consider will be
hosting special days and events at the park centered on increasing the safety of seniors and their families, and guests with additional health concerns. Theme parks are about magic, fun, and making memories with family and friends, and no members must be left out of the experience.
Safety changes to the onsite guest experience During the reopening period, theme parks must ensure their on-site health precautions meet or exceed the promise of their promotional campaigns. This could include branded safety merchandise, such as hand sanitiser and face masks, in addition to temporary social distancing policies after reopening. A helpful strategy for this includes capacity restrictions, particularly for show queue lines, to allow the public to feel a sense of personal space that is often not found in theme parks. Currently, many theme parks are partnering with health experts to administer best practice measures that will keep guests safe. In addition to health measures, theme
As the
world returns to more normal circumstances, the initial priority for theme parks will be to focus on making guests feel comfortable returning.
parks will implement themed entertainment technology during quarantine to assist in the deployment of new safety measures. For example, temperature checking technology will be incorporated into the security lines prior to entrance, providing both comfort to attendees still cautious from COVID-19 and as a preventative measure to curb the spread of the illness on-premises. Bob Chapek and the Disney team are currently renovating entrances and considering adding in temperature checks to their parks at this time. In pre-show areas and transport buses, the industry is considering implementing more counting tickers similar to metro buses in the US and abroad to make sure capacity is not surpassed. Moreover, they may also incorporate technology into
their retail and food facilities to limit the close interaction between staff and guests depending on how long the impact of the coronavirus lasts. Interactive food elements that were considered delightful pre-coronavirus, such
as ice cream dipping by staff, could be replaced by machines that also hand the items to guests. Theme park visitors can also expect quicker line experiences with digital tickets and other integrated tech measures down the line – a measure they are always looking into but may see the need grow more rapidly in the coming months. While theme parks traditionally hide
bathrooms and other standard amenities to avoid disrupting the immersive guest experience, hand washing stations and sanitising stops will now be overtly promoted with signs throughout the park to promote health and safety.
Additionally, guests will likely see roller coaster operators wiping down seats, and live characters using sanitiser after every photo opportunity with a guest.
Return visits and long-term design changes Theme parks will initially leverage branded limited edition products to reinforce the safe and healthy nature of their theme parks post-coronavirus. Along with branded merchandise, marketing teams will also encourage guests to share their experiences online to spread their positive experiences at the park. In addition to the short-term measures theme park
developers are considering, they will also need to explore implementing longer-term changes for successful re-openings. Though a complete structural change to future parks is not economical, there will be some permanent internal design changes. Besides implementing more longer-term sanitising stations and seamless line experiences, typical theme park operations will likely return to normal when the residual shock of the pandemic subsides, similar to the ways humans have historically responded to outbreaks. Although necessary safety and health precautions are a
must, the theme park industry will move past this situation with lessons learned that will strengthen its future. Fans currently miss their parks so badly, they are creating roller coaster experiences in their living rooms for their kids, logging into virtual theme park gaming programs and preparing popular park food recipes to avoid feeling disconnected from their favorite destinations. The demand for theme parks is still there, and the supply will be back soon.
APRIL/MAY 2020 39
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