When was the last time you visited a theme park? Last year? Perhaps, early this year? Or, maybe, you can’t remember it anymore. One thing is for sure none of us visited a theme park in the past couple of months, and we all know the reason why. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world badly and forced even the biggest establishments and businesses, including theme parks, to close temporarily.
We’ve got good news for you, though, especially for you avid thrill-seekers: Enchanted Kingdom, the first world-class theme park in the Philippines has reopened to the public!
Last October 17, Enchanted Kingdom announced that after a period of closure, they are welcoming guests once again to experience the magic. I know a lot of you have a number of concerns regarding health and safety during this time, so we created this article to share with you our experience visiting EK and the new things we noticed when we visited Enchanted Kingdom.
Enchanted Kingdom Safety Protocol and Changes
To ensure the health and safety of every visitor, Enchanted Kingdom has imposed several stringent measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
Park Capacity
Although Enchanted Kingdom is already open and accepting guests, they are only allowed to operate at 50% of their original capacity as compliance with IATF guidelines. The park is highly encouraging visitors to book online and avoid buying tickets on-site to make sure they can accommodate you.
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Age Restrictions
18 – 65 yrs old – Allowed to enter
15- 17 yrs old – Must be accompanied by parents/guardian
Park Operating Hours
October 17 to December 13, 2020: Saturdays and Sundays | 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
December 14, 2020 to January 3, 2021: Daily | 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Check out the official website of Enchanted Kingdom for their updated operating hours.
Temperature checks
Yup, a body temperature check is mandatory. They will check your temperature at the entrance of the parking area and another temperature check before you enter the Enchanted Kingdom premises. Also, Enchanted Kingdom management requires their guest to fill out Health check forms before entering the theme park.
Face Mask and Face Shield
Wearing a face mask and a full face shield is mandatory. Actually, Enchanted Kingdom Management is very strict about it. In the entrance of the parking area, aside from the temperature check, staff are already checking if you have a facemask and a full face shield.
Just to add how strict they are in complying with this mandatory PPE, there are Safety Marshals/Officers or “Safety Wizards” inside the park who are politely reminding visitors to always wear their face shield and face mask. There is no escape from them in our experience. Even when it was raining during our visit, the Safety Wizards are there to ensure that everyone is complying.
Hand sanitizer and Handwashing station.
EK is taking proper handwashing and sanitation seriously. In fact, hand sanitizer dispensers and handwashing stations are literally everywhere in the park for everyone’s convenience.
Prior to the pandemic, when the ride ends, the staff are already letting the next batch of guests in (the entrance and the exit have different paths). But in the new normal, this routine is slightly changed. Now, every time the ride ends, the staff will sanitize the area first before accommodating the next batch of visitors.
Guests will also need to observe social distancing while on the ride. Just to give you an idea, on Rio Grande, out of eight (8) chairs, only four (4) are allowed for guests (one seat apart) while in Dodgem (bump car) only one (1) guest per car is allowed.
Fireworks Show
We know some of you are wondering if there will be a firework show. To answer this we asked the staff of Enchanted Kingdom and we found out that the fireworks show is temporarily suspended in compliance with IATF guidelines. This is also a safety protocol they needed to do in order to maintain social distancing and prevent visitors from gathering in one place.
Overall Experience
With all the safety protocols that the Enchanted Kingdom put in place, we can confidently say that we had a truly enchanting experience during our visit. It’s a BIG thumbs up for us that they made these adjustments all the while ensuring that their guests, like us, will still be able to enjoy the rides and attractions.
Just a gentle reminder to everyone planning to visit EK: The park’s staff and officials have done an excellent job so far in keeping their guests safe, so I hope you, too, would do your part in ensuring that all safety measures are being observed. Enjoy and have fun but always keep in mind the importance of observing the health and safety protocols.
Book a magical day at Enchanted Kingdom on KKday now!
This article is a special guest post by our friends from Dabudgetarian. Find out more about them on dabudgetarian.com!
*Featured image courtesy of Enchanted Kingdom
