Amusement parks to limit customers
Thrill-seekers stuck at home may soon be able to gain an adrenaline rush by planning their next trip to Six Flags in advance.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. isn’t saying yet when it’ll reopen the 26 North American parks, but it’s starting by rolling out a new advanced reservation system that’ll let it manage attendance to prevent overcrowding.
Customers will be required to use the reservation system to enter any park, and anyone without an advance reservation will not be allowed in, the Grand Prairie-based company said Wednesday.
“By having guests preregister before they visit, we can plan ahead with proper staffing and sanitation measures, including ensuring that guests and team members maintain safe social distancing throughout the day,” said Six Flags President and CEO Mike Spanos in a statement.
Theme parks are just beginning to reopen globally after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close. Disney’s Shanghai resort reopened to a sellout but lowcapacity crowd on Monday, according to USA Today.
Six Flags’ reservation system will let customers pick the day they want to visit a park and pay in advance for admission and parking. If all options for that date are taken, customers can join a waitlist.
Diamond and Diamond Elite customers, those with unlimited passes to the parks, will automatically be added to a priority waitlist. Diamond-level customers and season pass holders will receive booking priority over single-day ticket buyers.
Mark Kupferman, Six Flags’ vice president of insights and interactive marketing, told USA Today that customers will also need to schedule a time.
“People used to be able to just buy a ticket and show up,” Kupferman said. “Now it’s going to require a little more advanced planning and effort.”
Six Flags made about $816 million of its $1.5 billion in revenue last year from park admissions.
The new reservation system won’t be active until specific park reopening dates are announced. Six Flags Over Texas closed in mid-March when stay-athome orders went into effect in the state.