California theme parks to reopen with restrictions, but you can still scream on rides

The California Attractions and Parks Association (CAPA) has laid out a “Responsible Reopening Plan” as a companion to the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which will allow California theme parks and attractions to reopen with limited capacity and modifications to ensure guest and employee safety. Despite what you may have heard, they aren’t limiting guest’s screams.

The CAPA plan states that face coverings and/or modifications to seat loading patterns on rides are enough to mitigate the effects of shouting, so guests will be free to scream on California rollercoasters – plus sing along to their favorite theme park attraction tunes.

This is the opposite of recommendations last June from the East Japan and West Japan Theme Park Associations who instructed Japanese theme parks to urge guests to refrain from shouting and screaming when riding roller coasters and other conveyance-type attractions in addition to a mask mandate.

Parks will still require guests to wear masks at all times (except in designated eating and drinking areas) since face coverings have been a proven way to reduce the spread of the airborne virus.

Additional modifications outlined in the CAPA plan include physical distancing and capacity limits, but because theme park guests come and go at different intervals and are moving around — unlike other entertainment venues where people arrive and leave at the same time and congregate for extended periods — parks can adjust capacity within the state’s guidelines to accommodate safe physical distancing.

CAPA has also stressed the importance of moving indoor activities to outdoor areas and limiting mixing people from differing households by grouping families together on rides and attractions to limit physical interactions between guests.

Click here for the entire California Attractions and Parks Association Responsible Reopening Plan.