Coronavirus and Theme Parks

With the news that theme parks can open on 4th of July at a 1m social distance. Who's going to be supporting drayton manor when they announce to open? As of yet still waiting for a update.
The park has just released details. Partial reopening in the 4th and full(ish) reopening on the 18th. Face masks and virtual queuing required.

I’ll probably go but pass holders now have to book in advance.I’m hoping they don’t limit the number of visits as it will severely reduce the value of being a pass holder.
 
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I want to go and support them however I doubt i'll be able to go on the first month of reopening.
It'll be a struggle to convince the family as there are concerns as to how enjoyable a day at a themepark can be with social distancing and restrictions in place.

I would be interested in seeing how things are going to work but will definitely aim to get one trip in as the park needs the support now more than ever.
 
It’s interesting to note that even though most thrill rides will be closed until July 18th, Drayton Manor won’t be operating with a full ride line-up for the foreseeable future - with multiple rides closed due to current Government guidelines.

Below is their Ride Information guide (as of June 24th 2020) taken from their website.

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SATURDAY 4TH JULY - FRIDAY 17TH JULY 2020
  • Thomas Land
  • Carousel
  • Jolly Buccaneer
  • Accelerator
  • Flying Dutchman
  • 15 acre Zoo
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    FROM SATURDAY 18TH JULY - SATURDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2020
  • Thomas Land
  • Carousel
  • Jolly Buccaneer
  • Accelerator
  • Flying Dutchman
  • 15 acre Zoo
  • The Bounty Pirate Ship
  • Maelstrom
  • Air Race
  • Shockwave
  • Polperro Express
  • Buffalo Coaster
  • Pandemonium
  • Apocalypse
  • Drunken Barrels
  • Sheriff's Showdown
Rides closed until further notice due to restrictions in place*
  • Dodgems
  • The Haunting
  • Emily's Adventure Play
  • 4D Cinema
  • Bryan's Museum
  • Thomas Exhibition
  • Meerkat Manor
  • Stormforce 10
  • Terrence's Driving School
  • Reptile House
  • Zoo Experience
*Subject to change in line with government guidelines.
 
I booked my tickets for the 12th July just had to select the 2 annual passes linked to my account and put my number plate in as it will only be active on the 12th July to stop pass holders turning up. The good thing is it’s all free and passes now run to the 3rd July 2021
 
They're really being careful with what they have chosen to reopen - I think some of those, especially the zoo parts, could reopen in a few weeks with social distancing markers.

I can understand this entirely and hope to see the park recieving support as they've had a really rough year.
 
I see the Halloween,Fireworks and the Christmas event have been removed off the website with just a main season from the 18th July to 31st Oct so they only open for 15 weeks with mid week closures in September and October
 
I see the Halloween,Fireworks and the Christmas event have been removed off the website with just a main season from the 18th July to 31st Oct so they only open for 15 weeks with mid week closures in September and October
Is it the entire Christmas opening? If they remove that I think they will need to extend the ultimate passes further than July next year as over this year they will have been a complete waste of money.
 
Is it the entire Christmas opening? If they remove that I think they will need to extend the ultimate passes further than July next year as over this year they will have been a complete waste of money.
I think they just gonna see how the next 15 weeks go before they decide if they can run there Christmas event as I doubt they will have fireworks at the end of every night and I think the castle of dreams will not be used
 
It’s good news they’ve been accredited. I’ve noticed a few of these accreditation’s coming up from various sources (I believe the AA) is doing one too. I do wonder though if they actually influence peoples decision to visit.
Any thoughts?
 
I think Season and annual pass holders will visit but think the general public will wait as I not got £95 spare for a family of 4. Talking to the guys with kids at work they hope to at least go away in the summer holidays even if it’s to a caravan or camping site.
 
I visited Drayton Manor over the past few days and had a wonderful time. We felt completely safe and secure with the measures in place, the staff appeared confident and did a great job at reassuring customers, the entire experience was professional and reassuring - a real good job done by th park, they should be proud.

Entry - the entrance process was seamless, we opted to use the Clock Tower / Apocalypse Entrance although I believe all three gates were open to spread the load. A member of staff was present at the first gate to check tickets were booked, the next member of staff took our temperature in a non-invasive manner and tickets were scanned - we were then straight into the park.

Park Capacity - the park was not too busy at all, with it being more than possible to keep a safe and comfortable distance from all others throughout the entire park, I've no idea of exactly how busy it was on the date of my visit, but it most certainly wasn't quiet, but wasn't too busy either, it was absolutely a comfortable capacity.

Rides - until 18th July, only Thomas Land and selected other attractions are available, we managed to fill our day with these combined with the Zoo. In terms of rides, the waits were not long, with most queues being non-existent with the virtual queueing measures in place (more on that later). The rides appeared to close for cleaning frequently, this lasted for around 10-15 minutes, but I imagine this varies from attraction to attraction. I watched the cleaning process and this was very thorough and reassuring to see. In terms of capacity, Accelerator loaded with bubbles being separated by a row, the same sort of process was followed on Troublesome Trucks. Other than that, the available rides do the distancing for you, really.

Zoo - the operation in the zoo was exemplary, with the entire zoo being arranged into a one way system with entry in the main gate (near the Reptile House), the Reptile House was open but I believe the Meerkat House was closed, I'm not entirely sure though. As for the reptile house, a member of staff was positioned at the front monitoring capacity and giving the go-ahead to enter. We had a short wait whilst windows to the enclosures were sprayed and cleaned, which was great to see. High touch points had also been identified, which is a great move. Inside there is a one way system in place, with distancing tape clearly visible. Once the Fishing Cat & Lemur Area was reached, there was the option to continue through the one way system to Dino Land / Tidmouth Hault, or to skip this area and pass straight through to the Spider Monkeys, etc. You come back to the Spider Monkeys, Tigers, Birds, etc regardless, unless you catch the train at Tidmouth Hault. A really smooth operation here with distancing clearly marked. It is worth saying that the farm section of the Zoo with the Thomas Exhibition and Terrence's Driving School is currently closed and is not possible to access.

Food Outlets - we used Mrs Kyndley's Shop on our visit to the park, this was great with all tables being stacked away and distancing tape in place, benches outside were distanced and wipes were available for use on these from a dispenser, a great touch. Inside, staff were wearing PPE and the food offering was great, I'm not sure if this was limited or not as the outlet looks to have had some work done since last season and the offering may have been reduced then instead.

App - this is really great and is a stark improvement on the previous app, and is incredibly useful. We found that the app really enhanced our day, and made it potentially as pleasurable / more pleasurable than a normal day on the park. A map of the park can be seen, this can be filtered to show different filters, directions can also be provided. The queue times could also be accessed, although these remained mainly on 0 minutes when we visited, with a few closed for cleaning. When a ride is tapped on the map or the queue section, a virtual queue can be joined with a barcode scannable by the staff on the ride to grant entry; this worked really well and we had no issues, I imagine if there is a wait then the virtual queue can be joined and the barcode is visible once the time has been waited. It is worth saying reservations have time limits, and I believe only one attraction can be reserved at once. Visually the app looks really great too, I like the logo overlay on the images of the rides.

Below are some images of my day highlighting social distancing enforced, other images have been shared on the relevant threads.

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Just to add on what Dan put in the above post
The queue area for the temperature check
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Also where possible they had arrows on both sides of the path
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Theses cleaning stations were at the entrance and exit of every ride,Shop and area
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Also it was 1 way round the zoo only
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I was really impressed at how much effort they have gone to, especially with the amount of hand sanitiser available.

Did anyone else notice some of the sanitiser had a distinct whiskey smell to it?
 
I think they have to get this 1 right as the park had bad press over the last 3 years.
No I didn’t smell it but I will now when I next visit ?
The only thing they need to sort out now is the parking as it was a free for all.
 
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