News in a Minute - 29th May 2020

This week's news:
• Walt Disney World is reopening it’s theme parks. Magic Kingdom and Disney's Animal Kingdom will reopen on Saturday, July 11, while Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios will reopen on Wednesday July 15, with soft opening events for select audiences before theN.
• Sea World Orlando has put forward its reopening plan as well, with a plan to reopen on June 11th.
• There was an amazing photo taken this week of the state of Super Nintendo World Japan! Looks amazing!!
• Six Flags today announced that the first of its parks Frontier City park in Oklahoma City will reopen on June 5. It’ll be first to utilise the new chain wide safety protocols including IR Temperature checks and contactless bag searches.
• Cedar Fair announced an update of its parks' mobile apps to support new admission procedures. This includes the ability to reserve entry times and complete the health survey required to enter the parks.
• Former Fox World Park At resorts world Genting in Malaysia has been Delayed to Late 2021.
• The Themed Entertainment Association today canceled its rescheduled 26th annual Thea Awards ceremony and TEA Summit for 2020 and announced that its Thea Case Studies sessions from the summit would move online.
• Legoland Florida has gotten approval from the state of Florida for its reopening plan, so the resort will resume welcoming guests on June 1

News in a Minute - 22 May 2020

Here is this week's news!
- Disney Springs has partially re-opened in Florida, with mixed success. A lot of talk this week about how signage for queue has been done, as Disney appear to be using a "Don't Stand Here" approach, as opposed to universal using a "Stand here" approach.
- Universal Orlando has put forward a plan to their county, to re-open their theme parks to the public on June 5th. The Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force has requested plans from all major theme park chains in the region. They uniamously approved the plan, which includes a testing periods on June 1st for cast members, and June 3rd and 4th for invited guests and annual pass holders.
- In Europe, Efteling has re-opened, with firm rules around distancing, but no requirement for wearing masks.
- This years IAAPA Expo Asia has been announced as a virtual event , which will run on July 28th to the 30th.
- Current WDW President Josh D'Amaro has been named as Bob Chapek's replacement as the hea d of the park, experiences and products division of the Walt Disney company.
- Village Roadshow, who owns and operates Movie World and Sea World in Australia, has entered into exclusive takeover talks with a private Equity company BGH Capital. Interestingly though, there specific terms in the offer relating to raising the price if the theme parks run by the chain are able to re-open before the deal is finalized.
- Europa Park gave a video of the making of their new Piraten in Batavia ride.

News in a Minute - 15th May 2020

More good news this week!!

Here it is:
• Shanghai Disneyland successfully opened this week to many face masks and much social distancing.
• Universal Orlando’s Citywalk also opened selected restaurant and shops yesterday.
• Holiday World have announced that they will have all rides with virtual queues when the park reopens on June 14
• Knott's Berry Farm and Cedar Point have Postponed their Anniversary Celebrations until next year.
• Some of Europe’s biggest theme parks have announced their reopening with Europa Park opening on May 29th and Efteling opening in May 20th
• It’s rumoured the wdw might open reservations for their hotels in the coming weeks, with July 1st being the suggested date.
• Six Flags has introduced its new system for visitors to make reservations to visit the company's amusement parks. They said that pass holders will get first option to book and that people will able to add themselves to a wait list for booked out days. No announcement yet on when parks will reopen

News in a Minute - 8th May 2020 - THE RETURN

The long await... maybe... return of Theme Park News in a minute!

This week's news:
• Shanghai Disneyland is set to re-open on Monday May 11th! The first Disney park to survive the Coronavirus. The park closed in January along side Hong Kong Disneyland. They've been requested to allow no more than 30% of their normal capacity, but Disney has stated the initial days will be even lower. All guests and cast members will be required to wear masks, excluding Face characters, however they will only be accessible "from a distance".
• Disney Springs at Walt Disney World is going to start a phased re-opening starting May 20th. Select retail and dining locations will be opened, and there will be new safety measures in place for capacity as well as the use of face coverings.
• Universal Orlando's CityWalk may also be in the process of re-opening with reports of staff being told there are potential re-openings as early as next week.
• Hersheypark has had it's first test run of it's new coaster Candymonium this week. The new B&M Hypercoster is the anchor for their new entrance plaza, planned to open this year.
• The Cedar Fair park reported their first quarter earnings, which showed that Knott's Berry Farm had a 19 percent increase in attendance, prior to the coronovirus closures.
• It's been stated that when Six Flags theme parks re-open from this current shutdown, they will require guests to make advanced reservations to visit the park, so that they can limit visitation numbers.
• A rumoured new 100 million dollar theme park in Iowa  called Lost Island theme park has continued construction during this pandemic, with site owners day it wouldn't be wise to stop things now for the planned 2022 project.

Don't forget that you can also have Theme Park News straight to your earholes. Search for Theme Park News in a Minute on all good Podcasting platforms... or just click here:
https://anchor.fm/themeparknut/episodes/2020-Week-19---THE-RETURN-edpc9u