I wanted to talk about Universal Studios Singapore for a moment. It has been operating so it may provide a good guide as to what we may see once Disneyland reopens.
Before I do however, it should be noted that Universal Studios Singapore will be closing April 7th. Singapore took very aggressive steps early in the process. As a result they never locked down. However, a second wave of infections has been worse than the first phase so Singapore is shutting down just about any public place where people gather in large numbers. A cautionary tale about restarting too soon.
In looking at what USS has been operating, here are some of the actions they have been taking that we could see at reopened parks here in the states. A friend of mine was at the park this past week. I was also in Singapore in February, but did not visit USS.
- Reduced hours
- Before getting into the park you are required going through temperature screening. Every guest walked past a camera that analyzes body temperature. Anyone with a higher than average temperature is turned away.
- All residents and visitors to Singapore now need to fill out a health declaration form. Singapore has developed a system to track people movement so they can better trace outbreaks during this time.
- All shows, indoor and outdoor are closed. This includes large shows like Waterworld as well as Shrek 4D and lights camera action, which is an indoor stage show.
- Meet and greets and all other entertainment was suspended. This includes streetmasphere, parades etc
- Fountains were turned off to discourage congregation
- All benches were taped off at the halfway point with a note encouraging only one person to occupy a bench at a time.
- Some seating inside restaurants was removed. The remaining seating was spaced far apart from each other.
- Rides were open but running at half capacity. Guests were seated in every other row.
- In queues staff were enforcing people to maintain at least 6 feet from each other. Indoor queues were hardly being used. Instead they were lining people outside and then only allow a few people into the indoor portion at a time for ride loading.
- For several rides, staff were disinfecting vehicles after every ride. Between this and only operating every other row, ride capacity was greatly reduced.