Our best Japanese tourist impression
With theme parks starting to reopen across the world, many thrill-seekers are anxiously waiting and planning their future travels. Japan’s parks especially are counting down the days until they can see their beloved guests again.
But, they just have one request for their guests: No screaming.
This rule comes from a new set of Covid-19 guidelines, to ensure the safety of guests and staff.
The guidelines were issued by the East and West Japan Theme Park Associations, an organization made consisting of over 30 major amusement park operators in Japan, including Oriental Land Company (operator of Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea) and Universal Studios Japan. According to a CNN report, in addition to asking guests to keep their mouth closed on rides, the guidelines include additional cleaning procedures, implementing social distancing, wearing masks, and shorter customer service interactions.
“As a new style of customer service, even when you’re wearing a mask, you can use a combination of smiley eyes, hand gestures, etc., to communicate with visitors,” the guidelines say, according to CNN’s report.
The report also states performers and other employees whose jobs make wearing a mask difficult, should stay at least one meter away from guests.
Stated in a recent Coaster101 article, guests are now required to wear face coverings, participate in temperature screenings at the entrance to the park. Parks will also be limiting the number of guests allowed inside to only 30 percent of its normal capacity.
This is pretty bizarre. Especially for those who are still scared of roller coasters and are genuinely screaming.