If China’s Shanghai Disneyland and The Netherland’s Efteling fairytale theme park are any measure – both quickly sold out advance reservations before opening May 11 and May 20, respectively – the answer may be yes.

But capacity will be limited, face masks mandatory, hand sanitizer plentiful and consumers won’t be able to get up close and personal with characters, which at Disney World are one of the keys to the kingdom. Disney also will deploy a “social-distancing squad” of Disney World workers to encourage visitors to remain six feet apart.

Re-Opening Pace Quickens
The pace of scheduled re-openings quickened last week when Disney World and SeaWorld Orlando received approval from the Orange County (FL) Economic Recovery Task Force to return July 11. Disney’s Epcot Center and Hollywood Studios (FL) will follow four days later. Earlier, Universal Studios Florida gained approval to open June 5.

Elsewhere, Six Flags said last week it will open the first of its 26 parks on June 5 in Oklahoma City, OK. Legoland in Orlando will return June 1. And California Governor Gavin Newsom said last week the state is closing in on Phase 3 of its re-opening, which would cover, among other businesses, Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood and other parks.

Licensing Uncertainty
Yet while the parks are re-opening, what that means for the hundreds of companies that develop licensed goods for park stores and as game prizes, remains to be seen.

For example, Fiesta Toys, which supplies plush for games and in-park stores, has a full warehouse of licensed goods. With business uncertain, Fiesta developed its own consumer web site and was authorized by those brand owners to sell those goods directly to consumers, says Fiesta’s Coral Reynolds. Fiesta’s agreement for Bob Ross runs through 2021, says Cynthia Modders, whose agency, Firefly Brand Management, represents the property. And Fiesta also sells Ryan’s World plush through the ecommerce site.

Fiesta, which also has licenses for Hello Kitty (Sanrio), Cup Head (Hearst Corp.) and others, also has slashed its 2021 product assortment to 3-5 lines from a more typical 40; SKU count was cut to 100 from a more typical 400. For new agreements, Fiesta is seeking three-year contracts for deals starting this year rather the more common two-year pacts to help to make up for the downturn in business.

The slimmer lines also are due to operators reducing the number of people that can play a game to comply with social distancing requirements. In one case, a water racing game operator is cutting the number of players to five from 20, says Reynolds.

“We are at capacity in our warehouse and China factories are waiting for us to release products, but without anybody opening to take anything, we have been at standstill,” says Reynolds.

The parks themselves will likely first operate at substantially less than 50% capacity – Universal has said its parks turn a slight profit at 50%, but Shanghai Disneyland opened at less than 30% – in taking a “conservative”  approach to re-opening, says Premier Rides Jim Seay, whose company has designed “Superman: Ultimate Ride” rollercoasters for three Six Flags parks.

“It is important that theme parks establish a model and, that whatever the capacities end up being, they make business sense and provide a safe environment for the guests,” says Seay. “They have to achieve both of those goals or else you will see some facilities decide to not open. I believe the parks will find pathways to be successful.”

In many cases, plans for opening new “worlds” and theme parks have been postponed amid COVID-19. Legoland in Goshen, NY postponed its opening to spring 2021 from the previously planned July 4, 2020, after halting construction in mid-March to comply with New York State’s shelter-in-place requirements. Universal delayed plans for Epic Universe in Orlando indefinitely and its Super Nintendo World in Japan will open later this year a few months late. Cedar Fair Entertainment also postponed to 2021 the 150th anniversary celebration of its Cedar Point, OH park near Cleveland.

“There is pent up demand [from consumers] and one of the unique situations is the parks are very focused on not rushing to open,” says Seay. “There is a big effort to make sure the process is one that both the guests and the employees are comfortable with as they come back to the park.”