Prior to visiting any theme/amusement park I had anticipated the new measures that has been put into a place to almost ruin the fun of a theme park. However, I can confidently say otherwise since experiencing first hand. Here’s how I found these changes impacted our day and here’s a little idea as to what you can expect!
Before You Visit:
As many of you will be aware prior to visiting almost every park you must pre book your tickets. Even if you own a season pass or merlin annual pass you must still pre book. For the likes of Blackpool Pleasure Beach pre booking is free. However for any Merlin Park it’s £1 each pre booked ticket. I do not believe you will gain entry without these tickets, but just double check the said Park you hope to visit. Also you must remember to bring along a face covering whether that’s a mask or snood but you can also buy these at the majority of theme parks anyway. But please remember if you are feeling unwell, had a continuous cough or fever you should not visit these parks.
Gaining Access:
The majority of plazas are clearly laid out to ensure social distancing to the best of its ability. Again majority parks take temperature checks for you to gain entry however Pleasure Beach did not seem to do this. Have you e-tickets to hand as well!
Inside/Around The Park:
It’s important to remember each theme park may vary in how they work, so ensure you thoroughly read through their websites & signs upon arrival. Every queue line will have some form of social distancing markers to indicate the safe distance between your group to others. Some of the markers might be on the floor or to the side of the queue line. Upon entering & exiting queue lines/rides there is often a hand sanitisers available. The likes of Alton Towers enforce guest to use these especially before boarding the train. Remember to be patient as it will take time for these parks to get into the full swing of these new rules and changes. Queues may stop moving at some points for the enhanced cleaning intervals.
You may not be able to ride right next to your party due to rows been closed of and you may not even get on the same train. But remain patience as this is for your own safety as well as everyone else’s. Some selected rides will remain closed as social distancing may not be possible on them but again that’s for your own safety as well as everyone else’s. Whilst you’re in the park ensure you read the signs and follow them to the best of your ability!
Food Outlets:
Some food outlets across the parks will remain closed whereas others may be open with a different system in place. Places like Blackpool Pleasure Beach have an ordering system via an app. You will receive the email on the day of your visit in order to understand how it works. Alton Towers food outlets however ran as normal but social distancing measures in place.
Face Coverings & Rides:
Before experiencing it for myself I was convinced that I would loose my face mask the first ride I do. So I ensured to bring a couple of spares in case. However the face mask barely move on your face whilst on the rides. They may slip and slide sometimes but they never come close to coming off. If you do loose your face mask majority of parks shops offer their own printed ones as well as medical paper ones.
Be Patient:
These times can be testing for many but it’s important to remain patience. The staff are trying their utter best to ensure guest remain safe but also able to have fun. Remember queues may look a lot bigger then they are due to gaps in between everyone. Rides are always subject to availability anyway & ride do breakdown. There’s no point in getting angry or rude over these situations as it can not be helped and guest safety is paramount.
Remain Safe & Have Fun:
We found the social distancing to enhance our enjoyment throughout the majority of our visits. It’s nice to have personal space within queue lines. We felt very safe inside both parks we visited this weekend. In all honesty we didn’t find the parks lacked too atmosphere at all and in some sense felt fairly normal but just more aware of each other. The main important thing to remember throughout your visit stay safe and have fun! Be aware of others around you and staff and always remember to be polite & well mannered.
If your yet to visit a theme park since the changes have come in and have any questions, feel free to ask us them below ! We will be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you for reading