GB/Sweden: British Leisure Facilities Will Reopen Soon – Sweden Still Under Restrictions

According to the latest government announcement, British theme & adventure parks, amusement arcades, zoos, aquariums, safari parks and wildlife centres are allowed to reopen as of 4 July – a number of leisure facilities has already announced their phased reopening.

As one of the largest British theme parks, Alton Towers Resort has been able to open its historic gardens to visitors since 6 June. Now the long-awaited opening of the entire leisure complex will follow. New safety and hygiene measures will be implemented into daily operations. Park guests will be requested to use contactless payment methods, wear a mouth and nose protector from the age of six years and book their tickets online in advance. In addition, guests will be asked to have their body temperature checked when entering the park and observe the legal minimum distance of one meter (two meters if possible).

However, the opening of Alton Towers new themed area “The World of David Walliams“ including the new “Gangsta Granny“ ride, which was scheduled to open this season, has been postponed to spring 2021. Strict hygiene and social distancing measures will also be implemented in other facilities managed by Merlin Entertainments, including Thorpe Park, Legoland Windsor, Warwick Castle and the Chessington World of Adventures Resort, as well as in the group’s indoor experiences such as Madame Tussauds.

The operators of Paultons Park are also looking forward to the coming reopening, but here too, the launch of its new theme world “Tornado Springs“ had to be postponed to 2021. The new theme are will feature a spinning coaster by German manufacturer Mack Rides (cf. EAP news of 29 July 2019). Blackpool Pleasure Beach, which is lead by Amanda Thompson, will open its gates to visitors on 4 July, too. In addition to enhanced safety and hygiene measures, Blackpool developed an online F&B ordering system. With this system, visitors will be able to place their orders via smartphone and pick them up at a certain time.

Swedish leisure facility operators also hoped for a reopening at the beginning of July. However, this hope has now been shattered by the government with the decision to not loosen current restrictions which not allow people to get together in groups larger than 50 persons. Zoos and wildlife parks such as Kolmården Wildlife Park or Furuvik Zoo are allowed to open. (eap)