Worlds of Fun about to open with COVID-19 rules. Here’s what a visit will look like
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Amusement parks are opening
Worlds of Fun joins other amusement parks carefully opening with COVID-19 restrictions.
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This will be the first clue that COVID-19 has changed your trip to Worlds of Fun this season: You need a reservation to get in. Pick a time slot.
Here’s your second clue: You have to wear a mask.
Worlds of Fun opens on Monday, but until early July only people with season passes can get in. There is no opening date set yet for Oceans of Fun.
Most amusement parks in the country are reopening this month or by mid-July, though a few opened Memorial Day weekend.
If mask-wearing riders on the Mamba — spaced out every other row — aren’t enough of a reminder that you are at Worlds of Fun during a pandemic, the plethora of hand sanitizer dispensers, Plexiglas barriers and signs reminding you to stay a safe six feet away from other guests surely will.
Another sign of the times: The park has suspended its live variety shows to avoid crowds inside theaters.
Worlds of Fun, run by Cedar Fair Entertainment, has adopted safety protocols used by amusement parks nationwide. Parks are reminding visitors of the inherent danger of being exposed to COVID-19 in public places, and telling them they voluntarily assume that risk.
COVID-19 has created a unique challenge for the industry: Maintain the fun atmosphere while keeping visitors safe from a highly infectious disease.
“That’s a little tough to do, to be honest with you,” said Worlds of Fun general manager Tony Carovillano. “We’ve been planning for months now, and as we’re starting to put signs up in the park and distancing markers and reminders … it’s necessary to let folks know.
“You don’t want it to be in your face, but you can’t avoid it in this day and age …
“You’re going to see signage. You’re going to see ambassadors walking around answering questions. You’re going to see restrooms with an attendant. And obviously, frequent cleaning is going to happen.”
Many parks are requiring reservations, which means visitors can’t just show up and buy a ticket. “It’s going to be different,” said Carovillano. “We’re learning that as we go.”
Worlds of Fun is following the city of Kansas City’s emergency orders, in effect until at least July 5, that businesses operate at no more than 50% capacity. The park, sprawled across more than 235 acres, will open at well under that. The park doesn’t disclose attendance numbers.
“We’re going to start off small, small crowds, and then graduate up … work our way up to that 50% over the next 30 days,” said Carovillano. “We could ramp up or down, that’s the benefit of the reservation system. It allows us some flexibility. But we fully intend to get to 50% capacity.”
Worlds of Fun isn’t asking visitors to do things they likely haven’t already done at the grocery store or Home Depot.
When they make a reservation — it can be done on the park’s free mobile app — visitors will answer questions based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. For instance: In the past 14 days have you or anyone in your party been in direct contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19?
The reservation process will remind visitors to pack a mask. “Those guests who don’t have one … we will have them here for purchase,” Carovillano said.
The mask requirement came after consulting health experts — including Kansas City’s health department — and others in the amusement park industry, Carovillano said. The CDC currently recommends that everyone wear at least a cloth mask in public.
“Safety was our primary position,” said Carovillano. “And you’ll see that across the amusement park industry. Universal, Disney. Six Flags. All of us are using the same protocol requirements.”
(One fan on the Worlds of Fun Facebook page asked what happens if someone’s mask flies off while they’re on a ride. The park said it would give that visitor a complimentary mask.)
Visitors will have their temperatures taken at the entrance. If it’s higher than 100.4 — a red flag according to the CDC — they have to reschedule their visit.
Larger parks like Disney are considering ways to let people queue up for rides online, but Worlds of Fun hasn’t made that switch. But lines will be set up “so that folks aren’t congregating directly adjacent to one another,” Carovillano said.
Parents will be asked to help their children on and off rides if necessary.
Ride operators are generally “hands-off,” said Carovillano. But, “because of all the precautions and procedures that we put in place we’re asking parents that would normally allow their kid to do it, that they actually assist as well,” which will help ride operators stay a safe distance from visitors, he said.
“So it’s another way for us to, I hate to say separate, but adhere to social distancing,” he said. “We’re trying to eliminate contact and go contact-less almost everywhere. That’s why you’ll see Plexiglas barriers up on all our restaurant counters, all our retail counters, guest services. We’ve invested quite a bit in Plexiglas barriers.”
One of the most difficult restrictions for Carovillano was suspending the live entertainment.
“We’ve kind of founded ourselves on entertainment and that’s been one of the biggest decisions, to remove those type of things indoors,” he said. “It pains us to do it.”
He said the park is trying to figure out how to safely bring back the music.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 2:10 PM.
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