Water parks add safety procedures
Distance markers, temperature checks and more are new staples.
The reopening of Central Florida’s water parks has trickled into place. The trend, in the wake of the attractions’ coronavirus-inspired shutdowns, has been an emphasis on sanitizing and spacing, from lazy rivers to locker rooms.
“We knew right away that we would have to have a really good plan in place before we could even consider reopening,” said Chris Ozimek, director of marketing for Island H2O Live water park, which opened in Kissimmee last year.
“We knew times are changing and it was going to be a different world once we got back on track,” he said.
Island H2O reopened with an abbreviated operating schedule on May 23; it’s now scheduled to be open daily through Labor Day. Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando returned June 5. Aquatica, SeaWorld Orlando’s water park, opened again June 11 but is currently closed two days per week.
Walt Disney World has not announced a time frame for its Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon water parks to reopen. Its theme parks are coming back in two phases on July 11 and July 15.
Water parks have added procedures the public is growing accustomed to as the pandemic continues. Each has installed ground markers and other signs that indicate the recommended six feet of distance between groups. The attractions are running with reduced capacity, and its lines for food, retail and rental registers are spread out.
“We’re doing our part to help our guests maintain social distancing,” Ozimek said, “but it is a shared responsibility.”
There are temperature checks at entrances for visitors and workers. More employees are doing the rounds of visibly cleaning surfaces. There’s wiggle room on the facecovering front. For the most part, masks are recommended but not required for visitors, but they are not to be worn in the water or on slides.
“All of our employees are required to wear masks while they’re on property,” Ozimek said. “Even the lifeguards on the stands have to wear them, but they do have to remove them before jumping in the water.”
Something all the water parks have in common: chlorinated water.
“There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water
in pools, hot tubs, spas or water-play areas,” according to the official website of the Centers for Disease Control. “Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine and bromine) of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water.”
Direct sunlight is detrimental to the coronavirus, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s biodefense research lab, Ozimek said.
“So direct sunlight helps us, too — we’re an outdoor attraction,” he said.
At Aquatica, extra care is being used to sanitize safety equipment, including life jackets, said Kyle Miller, SeaWorld’s president.
“We have bins for used and sanitized equipment like noodles and tubes,” Miller said.
At its wave pools, there are “entrances and exits to make sure that we’re controlling capacity, and we’re able to social distance folks in those areas as well,” he said.
The water parks aren’t moving in lockstep with their operations. Island H2O has suspended use of inner tubes in its lazy river and wave pool. Aquatica has one lazy river with tubes and one without, as it did before the pandemic.
“People can lose control of the water currents, and they can bump them into each other, so for now, we’re not allowing the tubes in those two attractions,” Island H2O’s Ozimek said. Rafts and mats remain in use.
“Because you go down one at a time, you won’t bump into anyone else,” he said. “Every time someone uses one of those wraps, or mats or tubes, we disinfected before the next use — every single time.”
Universal Orlando officials would not answer questions about its Volcano Bay water park procedures, but the attraction’s visitors have seen tubes in one of its lazyriver attractions and lifeguards with bright red face coverings that can be slipped down around the neck. After riders splash down on raft rides, workers spritz the tube’s handles — spots where folks grip their hands during the ride — with disinfectant before it is placed on a conveyor belt and returned to the top of the slide’s tower.
Island H2O has instituted public procedures for letting staff know when tables have been used and are ready for cleaning as well as for when lounge chairs are no longer occupied. The chairs are arranged in clusters of four with social distancing between the groupings.
“People are saying that they feel safe while they’re here. It’s very visual to them as well. They can see us cleaning up,” Ozimek said. “Not only are we really cleaning, but the fact that they can tell we’re doing it is reassuring to the visitor.”
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