Green Tagged – Theme Parks in 30 for Oct 3
This week on Green Tagged: Florida governor lifts restrictions as Disney lays off workers; the CDC and White House disagree on “no-sail” guidelines; associations worldwide continue to plead for assistance; guests are on-edge and attractions must respond; and pandemic-resistant ideas.
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Opposing Responses to the Pandemic—Lifting Restrictions and Laying Off Workers
Two stories dominated the news this week: Florida’s moving to Phase Three and Disney laying off 28,000 workers. Both speak to the efforts of the industry trying to right size itself. And yet, news that was somewhat buried this week was the collision between the CDC and the White House regarding the no sail order renewal.
Florida Governor Lifts Restrictions
On September 25, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order removing all remaining statewide restrictions on businesses that were put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local government can restrict restaurants to a minimum of 50% capacity but must have an economic or health justification for tighter restrictions. Theme parks will be allowed to “return to normal operations with limited social distancing protocols.” Businesses in Florida are left to decide what can and can’t happen on their property. Restaurants, for example, can have full capacity assuming that everyone is appropriately distancing—which may be a big assumption.
As Disney goes, so does the industry and it’s worth watching their response closely. After the Florida governor’s announcement, Disney issued a statement saying that masks are still required at its properties. Other attractions in the area, including haunts, are also still requiring masks.
However, Disney has unofficially been experimenting with increasing its capacity and many fan reports are coming in that their safety protocols are breaking down with the increased load. For mask-wearing and distancing to be effective, it needs to be enforced everywhere. If someone doesn’t follow the rules, the virus can spread like wildfire as parks increase capacity and aren’t simultaneously enhancing their safety guidelines.
Disney Lays Off 28,000 Cast Members
Last week, Disney announced the layoff of 28,000 cast members in its two parks. In a statement, Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experienes and Products said, “As heartbreaking as it is to take this action, this is the only feasible option we have in light of the prolonged impact of Covid-19 on our business, including limited capacity due to physical distancing requirements and the continued uncertainty regarding the duration of the pandemic.”
Of course, all of us in this industry—and almost every other industry—are struggling. However, Disney’s decision could be viewed as attacking the position of the California government and essentially using people and jobs to do so. On the other hand, layoffs and restructuring go on all the time.
Scott pointed out that many of the larger theme parks always seem to have unnecessary positions—not unnecessary people, but unnecessary positions. He sees Disney’s move as a bellwether for the rest of the world, but, he points out, it comes down to right-sizing your business and your industry. “The decision by Disney can be seen as political, but it’s also painfully honest,” said Scott. “We don’t want to admit there’s a problem, and we want to think big corporations can keep people on payroll, even if they’re not making money. Now we see even Disney is doing what every other theme park has done, which is to right-size its organization.”
White House Blocks CDC Extension of “No Sail” Order
The CDC this week issued a new order to keep cruise ships docked until mid-February 2021, but the White House blocked this order and said the “no-sail” order would be lifted after October 31. This is the date the cruise-ship industry had agreed to on its own.
Here’s another instance of infighting and making a health and safety issue political—the CDC says no and the White House says yes. Cruise lines have come up with their own guidelines and believe they can resume business safely. Of course, we’re well aware of the history of serious diseases originating on cruise ships, because ships are largely an enclosed environment with lots of people. If one person gets infected, the disease often moves quickly. But we can assume the cruise industry is well aware of this and will proceed with scientifically based caution.
Reopening News and Struggles
In an ongoing theme both domestically and internationally, tourism associations continue to plead for both reopening guidance and assistance. We discussed previously what other countries are trying and the fight for associations to get reopening guidance.
Tourism Groups and Unions Appeal to European Commission to End Quarantines
More than 20 travel and tourism groups as well as unions across Europe joined together in an unprecedented appeal to European Commission leadership to institute an EU Testing Protocol for Travel to lieu of quarantine restrictions. This effort was made to save the jobs of more than 27 million Europeans who work in the travel and tourism sector.
Amusement Park Industry Requests Reopening Guidance
The Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting reopening guidance for parks, which remain closed due to the pandemic. The group also wrote to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami and proposed relief measures for parks including a rollback on fixed minimum electricity charges, a state GST tax holiday for 12 months, and the end of an entertainment tax.
These stories echo the reopening struggles we’re seeing in Florida and reflect the serious problem resulting from theme parks and other industries not being provided with guidance on what they need to do to reopen. This lack of guidance is a huge detriment. Many industries—as we just mentioned with the cruise lines—have developed their own guidance for reopening. The IAPPA has done this for theme parks, but the government refuses to acknowledge these industry-developed guidelines.
Guest Management in a Pandemic World
There were recently three stories about incidents at theme parks. Cedar Fair, the owner of Dorney Park near Cleveland, was sued by a season pass holder who alleged the company failed to offer reimbursement as a result of a shortened season due to the pandemic.
A mother sued Disney over its mask policy when the Disney Store at the Lehigh Valley Mall in Pennsylvania refused to allow her disabled child to enter because he wasn’t wearing a face mask. The mother claimed the child was unable to wear a mask.
Lastly, and most disturbingly, there were three shootings at haunted houses during the first weekend that most haunted houses reopened—September 25-27. One was at Erebus in Detroit and another was at Reaper’s Realm Haunted House in Charlotte, NC. The Erebus shooting resulted in a death.
All three shootings made a splash in the media, although Erebus handled its situation expertly. The predominant theme in all three shootings was people becoming unruly while waiting in line and difficulties in controlling the number of people at the attraction. In all the cases, staff were trying to enforce the safety regulations of people waiting in line, and some people just erupted.
This pandemic has put us all on edge. People attending these events are emerging from a long period of time when we haven’t been able to live “normally,” and this is affecting all of us psychologically. It’s necessary to remind ourselves to take half a step back and recognize that we all want to get through this. We all want it to be over.
Haunted Attractions are particularly vulnerable as many are reopening for the first time this weekend. And, for those without neighboring theme parks, guests have less reference points on how to behave. When I interviewed Spencer from Fear Factory this week, his team is: increasing frontline staff to monitor lines and increasing PPE availability for staff and guests.
Attractions must have conversations with their frontline staff and cast members about how to defuse situations and approach people with empathy instead of with judgment. The last thing we want to do right now if someone is upset is to judge them. We need to encourage positivity and approach guests with empathy, and we need to be providing our staff and cast with training on how to do this. We want to handle guest discourtesy first by listening and then by talking, not by talking first.
Pandemic-resistant Ideas
TikTok is Back! Last week we discussed the use of TikTok at Madame Tussauds, and this week Blooloop reported a another success story from The Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
The Great Wolf Lodge Offers Schoolcations
The Great Wolf Lodge, a family-favorite indoor water park in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, is providing “schoolhouse” and socially distanced activities this Fall, in which children attend classes online while staying at the Lodge and enjoying the park with their parents when they’re not in class. The schoolhouse has desks placed eight to 10 feet apart that are fitted with plexiglass partitions, and all participants must wear masks. The room is staffed to help children connect with their schools, and there are snacks and break-time activities. Reservations are required for the program, which costs $85 per day.
This is a brilliant way to combine education and entertainment.
A New Drive-Thru Halloween Attraction at Sesame Place
Sesame Place in Levittown, PA, just announced it will offer a drive-thru attraction for this Halloween season. Guests travel in their own vehicle through a kid-friendly Halloween-themed experience that includes a special soundtrack, festive decorations, millions of lights, and Sesame Street characters dressed in costumes on Halloween-themed floats. In addition to the drive-thru experience, all the park’s rides, dining, and shops are open during The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular, which takes place each weekend.
This is the first theme park to offer a drive-through experience, and this one is not only kid-friendly but IP-themed. It’s interesting to see this trend of in-car-experiences moving closer to the mainstream. What’s particularly cool about Sesame Space is they’re using their available assets. They already had the floats and the parade, and they’re repurposing those assets in an innovative way.
