What Does the Future of Theme Parks Look Like?
The past year has brought many challenges to the entertainment industry, with theme parks feeling a substantial impact from the pandemic. Parks like Disney and Universal were forced to close their doors in response to government mandates requiring nonessential businesses to close. People stayed home in self-isolation in fear of catching the virus. It seemed as though life had come to a halt for the majority of the world. Now, with vaccination efforts underway, there is hope that life will soon return to normal on the horizon. What does this mean for the future of theme parks?
Cleanliness will continue to be held to a high standard. With advanced cleaning and sanitation practices in play currently, people feel a level of comfort knowing that rides and other attractions have a regular cleaning schedule. For places like Six Flags, this includes sanitizing high-touch surfaces at the end of each ride to minimize delays. At Disney, rides are closed periodically throughout the day to accommodate deep cleans, while hand sanitizers are placed at the entrances and exits to rides for guests to use.
For the foreseeable future, social distancing and reduced capacities will remain in effect. It would be impossible for parks to expand their physical size to accommodate pre-COVID attendance, so parks will continue to let reduced numbers in to support social distancing measures. On top of this, high traffic areas will likely continue to be one way to reduce the number of people in certain areas of the park
On top of that, parks will need to be digitally innovative to deliver new ways of experiencing rides or attractions. The improvement of VR and AR technologies can help theme parks deliver the experience of being there in person to people at home. Alternatively, parks could offer exclusive digital experiences that give viewers an alternative and new way to experience what their favorite theme park has to offer.
Once parks can reopen at full capacity, people will want to feel safe in their decision to go. Parks can employ health checks, to ensure that all attendees are healthy and free of illnesses that could inadvertently pass to other guests.
Eventually, theme parks will be able to return to normal operations. While the future is hopeful, it is uncertain how long it will be. However, when theme parks can return to normal, they will be poised to survive the challenges of the future.
