California, amusement parks reopen: photos

For some time now, seeing images that portray many people together doing something is strange. It is a taste of normality that we have somewhat lost the habit of. That’s why see the photographs of the reopening of American amusement parks (in the US there have been 29.5 million Covid cases and over 536 thousand deaths since the beginning of the emergency) make your eyes roll, as if to ask yourself: does this really happen? Because that normality, also made of Sundays at the amusement park, on a roller coaster or in line for a cotton candy are far from us today.

Precisely in those hours when Italy faces a new lockdown during the days of the Easter holidays.

Across the ocean, the roller coaster has started spinning again, as have the most diverse attractions, from children’s shows to the pirate ship that puts everyone upside down. “It’s exciting,” he said Greg Wright, Six Flags Magic Mountain park director. “I haven’t seen any people on my team for 13 months”.

The reopenings are partial, with limited admissions, the obligation to always wear a mask for all visitors aged two and over and social distancing. Among the rules suggested to parks to maintain a high level of anti-Covid safety there is also the invitation, inherited from Japan, to prohibit guests from shouting while on a roller coaster.

Al Magic Mountain entrances were allowed every fifteen minutes with the aim of minimizing the possibility of creating gatherings. Once at the entrance, visitors walk through a heat tunnel and security zone without stopping. The photos themselves tell of the changes brought about by the pandemic: signs reminding us of distancing everywhere, attraction sanitizers who sanitize the seats at the end of each ride, columns with hand sanitizer at every corner. Small steps towards normality.