The theme park experience is going to look different for the foreseeable future. Six Flags (SIX +0.00%) announced today what management called "extensive new safety measures and hygiene protocols" as part of a reopening plan that begins with its Frontier City park in Oklahoma on June 5.
Six Flags will require masks to be worn by all employees and visitors over the age of 2. Parks will be fitted with social distancing markers, and there will be dozens of layout changes ranging from redesigned buffet and salad bars to limited arcade game access.
"This 'new normal' will be very different," CEO Mike Spanos said in a press release, "but we believe these additional measures are appropriate in the current environment."
Image source: Getty Images.
Six Flags and peers including Cedar Fair (FUN +0.00%) and Disney (DIS 0.14%) are aiming to satisfy demand for their parks as the peak summer season starts, while also minimizing the threat of spreading COVID-19. CDC guidance recommends protective measures like face masks in situations where social distancing of at least 6 feet can't be maintained at all times. Heeding those health guidelines will require major operating changes for a business like Six Flags, which entertained 33 million guests in fiscal 2019.
