The thing with WDW is that when they opened, they essentially became their own council/government. Whilst there will still be enforced restrictions and limitations, reopening for them should be noticeably easier. Not to mention at around 25,000 acres, they have much more land to play around with.

 

Disneyland on the other hand is a lot smaller and doesn’t have as much power as authorities  go, so will likely be the last resort to reopen by a noticeable margin. 
 

Then again with cases on the rise within the states, the chances of delaying a full reopening is likely.

Merlin attractions are good to go with certification from the tourist board!

 

I assume Blackpool will follow in the next few days if there operations are u to scratch.

I believe some Merlin Midways are now set to open on the 4th, Manchester for example.

The London attractions, Merlin's money maker are awaiting for London and tourism to reopen and will be the last of the UK's attractions to open.

 

Also its the thought that counts....................

All Belgian theme parks are reopening today. 

 

I'm rather confused how Bellewaerde managed to open Wakala for some sort of previews yesterday given the rule was that theme parks couldn't open before today. I guess they found some sort of loophole given they have a zoo, but I was under the impression that they weren't opening the zoo only at any point prior. 

 

Not the end of the world either way though..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54350423

 

All the while, the top managers at Disney returned to full salary a month ago. A lot of long term workers getting the boot. Several entertainers across the Disney World resorts have been made redundant such as the Grand Floridian band who have performed at the hotel for 32 years. The heart of Disney, the people, being thrown to the bin. 

Disneyland Paris is closing from the end of tomorrow due to government advice, hoping to reopen during the Christmas period (when they’re at their busiest) but then closing again for January and February. Sad for the staff and cast members working there.

The countdown to Lockdown 2 - Cough Harder, is ticking down now.

 

Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?

The chances of another lockdown happening is increasing faster than such Corona cases.

 

Looks like November is going to be a long boring one.

On 10/31/2020 at 12:21 PM, Matt Creek said:

Looks like November is going to be a long boring one.

 

Not for me son, I'm going through all the hilarious moments featuring A**x Cr**p on old TPWW videos.

So Disneyland Paris has now officially extended their closure, with reopening now scheduled for the 2nd April. Source- park social media.

 

Wouldn’t be surprised to see this pushed further to May or June given circumstances. Delayed closure/reopening of other European and U.K. parks is unfortunately imminent.

TheIslandLikeNoOther is due to open on 27th March... I'm quietly optimistic that will happen. Just without DBGTROTD, TWDTR and Black Mirror Labyrinth...!

 

Whilst we all wait impatiently for the park season to begin (whenever that may well be), an eager fan sets up shop ready for opening.

 

As I'm sure everyone is aware, UK theme parks are set to be allowed to reopen from 12th April (assuming all goes to plan). However, the circumstances are slightly to different to when they reopened last July..

 

Last time, they were among the last things to reopen. Now, they're opening before indoor restaurants and indoor entertainment, and hotels. Obviously it means no indoor attractions (which is how the Merlin parks started out anyways last year). But it does raise some interesting questions:

 

-How will the parks cope without the ability to offer indoor, sit down restaurants? Will that reflect the number of people they choose to let in?

-What will the rules be for rides with indoor stations / that are partially indoors? See, for example, Smiler: will that be allowed to operate? If so, what conditions?

-Being open is great, but how will some parks (Towers, Blackpool and Flamingo specifically) fare whilst hotels are closed?

 

Whilst I doubt that these will impact the openings of the parks outright, I certainly think that that first month of opening will be different to how the parks felt last year.

 

Again, take Towers as an example. If rides with indoor sections can't open, that affects Smiler, Th13teen and Galactica. Arguably Wickerman too. But then what of the likes of Nemesis and Oblivion, with their open, more shed-like stations? It's something which certainly could have a huge impact.

Mingo might be ok actually because the "resort" is all self catered caravans. Which are allowed to open around the same date.

 

Others will initially struggle potentially. But it was always going to be a long road back considering how we dealt with it in the first place.

It's no secret that mainland Europe are a little behind us when it comes to vaccines and general case numbers, so most parks out there are still closed.

 

However, Heide Park has won a legal battle which allows them to now open, and they will do so this weekend! https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/lueneburg_heide_unterelbe/Heide-Park-Soltau-startet-am-Wochenende-in-die-Saison,aktuelllueneburg5562.html

 

The reason for the legal battle is that zoos have been allowed to open, and the park argued that they could open as safely as a zoo could. The ruling means that the park can open, but could be forced to close if infection levels go above a certain point. 

 

This ruling is only in relation to Heide Park, but other parks could equally make challenges. However, the way Germany's government is set out, it's likely only parks in the Lower Saxony region could be reopening any time soon. 

 

There are further rules for entry. Everyone over the age of 6 must either show a negative test that is at most 24 hours old, or you have been vaccinated for at least 15 days (not entirely clear if they mean fully vaccinated or minimum of one dose). The park have a lateral flow test centre, and any resident of the Lower Saxony region can use it free of charge (once per week).

 

For those who live outside the region, and wish to use the park's test centre, you have to pay 18€ for a test. Ouch.

 

If you do not wish to use the park's test centre, that's fine, but you have to use a test centre and provide documentation you attended a test centre (ie: you couldn't bring an at home one).

 

tl;dr - Heide Park opens this weekend, people have to show they've tested negative in the prior 24 hours to visiting or be vaccinated. 

 

 

It's interesting seeing how parks abroad are tackling the situation. The Netherlands have had many ideas for trying lateral flowing tests for access, but that has been met with a lot of opposition from the parks. It'll be interesting to see what this summer ends up being like.