(CN) — Whenever the teacups start spinning, there is always a risk that someone is going to get sick. But preventing the spread of an infectious coronavirus is a different challenge than cleaning up after dizzy thrill-seekers.
From Holiday World in Santa Clause, Indiana, to Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut, hundreds of theme parks employing thousands of seasonal workers are eager to bring back millions of annual visitors for priceless summer fun.
While Universal Studios may be the first American theme park to reopen amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it will hardly be the last. On Thursday, the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force in Florida unanimously approved Universal Orlando’s plan to reopen in June. The entertainment company spent the previous week introducing 38,000 visitors to its new rules at the City Walk shopping center, including temperature checks, mandatory masks, and social distance between parties.
“Don’t assume that all guests are afraid to go,” said Dr. Martin Lewison, roller coaster connoisseur and a professor of business management at Farmingdale State College in New York. With his wife Cheryl, Lewison has buckled into more than 2,000 roller coasters around the world. “There's definitely demand for theme parks to open.”
He added: “My wife is an ER doctor here in Queens in New York and we got hit really bad here. It's an awful virus and it does all kinds of terrible things to you. The rest of the United States hasn't really seen this. They're frustrated about not being able to go to work, not being able to go get your hair done, being stuck in your house, losing income. It's a very stressful, anxious period for a lot of people.”
Now as much as ever, Lewison said, people want to have fun.
Lauralyn Johnson agrees.
“We go as often as possible so we’re looking forward to seeing another side of Disney,” said Johnson, a mother of five from Clay City, Kentucky. Her blog is Smart Moms Plan Disney.
"If people are concerned, they should stay home, but I don’t think there’s reason for that concern unless they are immunocompromised, or older,” Johnson added. “If this is your once-in-a-lifetime trip, I would also hold off. A six-month delay will probably see the parks much more normal than when they first open.”
The Disney Springs shopping center reopened in Orlando on May 20, but the company has not announced when parks will reopen.
“We want to return to work as soon as it’s safe to do so,” said Paul Cox, president of IATSE Local 631. The union is a member of the Disney Service Trades Council Union representing more than 42,000 workers, many of whom have been out of a job since March.
“Even if we had an end date for the furlough, it would be irresponsible both corporately and for the union socially to be pushing for things to open up before it was safe to do so,” Cox said.
Cox describes his work as an entertainment technician at the ESPN Sports Center as his dream job. In the months he’s been out of work, he made a long list of ideas for shows on Evernote and helped his fellow union members work through Florida’s notoriously laborious unemployment insurance system.
Even with masks and social distancing required on Main Street, Cox said backstage kinks still need to be rehearsed before shows can return.
“When we feel safe to go back to work and we have safe working conditions, it's going to equate to a much safer place for the guests at the end of the day,” Cox said.
Some theme park season pass holders don’t feel safe going this year and just want their money back.