Hello fellow travelers!
With summer just around the corner, here in central Florida we are definitely feeling the heat! We were so excited to hear the news that Island H2O Live! water park was opening its doors for all this Memorial Day weekend.
We wanted to share our experiences with you so that you know exactly what to expect as you try to soak up the sun with peace of mind. During our visit we met with the director of marketing, Chris, who shared with us some important information on what guests should expect when they visit! He also shared the Safe-Splash Guidelines that have been implemented to keep patrons safe.
Manage Park Capacity
In accordance to the CDC guidelines, Island H2O will have daily limits for its guests as well an emphasis on social distancing. Chris did mention guests’ need be ready to encounter longer-than-normal wait times as every visitor will pass through the health screening and security checkpoint. Also, they since they will not be open everyday until mid-June, check out their calendar to check out the days they will be open.
Helpful Tip: Purchasing your tickets in advance will get you in the gate much faster that purchasing on-site. Having an annual pass will make it even faster!
Implement Daily Wellness Checks
Before entering the park, all guests go through a verbal COVID-19 screening check before entering the security check point. Here are the security questions you will be asked:
In addition, all the team members also receive daily temperature checks and are sent home if their temperature exceeds the 100.4 temp. This rule also applies to all guests if they have any of the symptoms and/or if they have a fever.
Practice Social Distancing
As you walk into the park you will see signs all around expressing the importance of social distancing practices. In addition to this, Island H2O Live! has placed large blue dots on the ground at six feet from one another to guide guests to a safe distance while queueing for food or rides.
Hand Hygiene & Respiratory Etiquette
As you walk around the park you will notice a plethora of hand sanitizing stations for both guests and employees to make use off. Employees are also required to wear approved masks and guests are encouraged to do so.
Clean, Disinfect and Sanitize on a Continuous Basis
Something that I had NO idea about until I spoke with Chris were the lengths to which Island H2O Live! goes to protects its guests, even prior to the current state of events. All the pool water at the park is double treated with chlorination and ultraviolet light to maintain the healthiest water conditions. UV light disrupts the DNA or RNA of specific organisms, such as viruses, killing or inactivating the virus completely. Once I heard this, it made feel very comfortable knowing that they were taking every precaution necessary to make us feel safe.
Yet another layer of protection present throughout the park involves disinfecting all handrails, loungers, tabletops, tubes, mats, door handles, and other surfaces several times throughout the day. Rest assured that if you still feel a little uncomfortable and need something wiped down, an employee will happily sanitize the area for you
Electronic Payments
To make all transitions smoother and easily attainable to all guests, Island H2O Live! is encouraging the use of electronic payment as well as encouraging all guests to purchase tickets in advance. This encourages social distancing and makes any necessary contact quick and easy!
Manage Use of Indoor Areas & Communal Spaces
One ultimate layer of support comes from nature itself; sunlight! Security’s Biodefense Research Laboratory states, “sunlight seems to be very detrimental to the virus,” and “within minutes, most of the virus is inactivated on surfaces and in the air in direct sunlight.” So being outside in the sunshine is not only great for your self-care, but it also another way you can combat the virus.
Island H2O live! also has their own COVID-19 response Team on hand!
All staff was trained on safety protocols to ensure that health and safety of guests and fellow employees. This means that there is always a team of supervisors and managers available to respond to COVID-19 concerns from ALL guests or employees.
But how was the experience, you ask?
As a guest myself, my experience was not wholly different from the previous two dozen or so visits over the past year. Upon arrival, we were surprised at the length of the line waiting to get in. This is present due to the mandatory slowdown of the screening and security check. While it was less than perfect to have to wait in line to get in, the staff did a great job of making it as expedient as possible. The line itself was not a place of social distancing whatsoever as it stretched far outside the park and was not controlled by the staff. There were the same blue dots on the ground, silently reminding guests to stand a respectful distance apart but these were largely ignored, especially as the crowd grew.
Once past the checkpoint and onto the park property, those without tickets were placed in a queue to the ticketing window (no distancing here either) and those with passes or pre-purchased tickets were guided to the main entrance. Here, the process has not changed, apart from the staff now wearing masks and offering hand sanitizer to each guest. The blue wrist bands are still in use, albeit sanitized more thoroughly and frequently than in the past. After we received our bands, we were left to our own devices, as it has always been.
Upon searching for our usual seat in Candy Stripe Lane, an area designated for younger children, we noticed that a lot of new signs had been posted. The most frequent were those explaining the new seating and distancing guidelines which included claiming a set of seats by putting the backs up and highlighted the distance between chair clusters. At all the tables, there are now small signs that can be flipped from “Taken” to “Available”. As it was explained to us, the “Taken” side indicates that the table is or has been recently occupied and if there is no one present, will be cleaned by a staff member and flipped to “Available”. The tables themselves had also been moved farther apart to promote a safe distance between parties.
As we walked around the park, it was not uncommon to see an employee wiping down handrails, seats, tables, etc. Literally anything that could be cleaned, was being cleaned continuously. ALL staff members could be seen wearing masks even those life guarding at the swimming areas. And for the most part, all the swimming areas were open and accessible with only a few changes. There are now no tubes on the lazy river or in the wave pool, as these would be shared items that would be near impossible to sanitize regularly or efficiently. The large drop slides are also both closed for the foreseeable future as they are a frequently touched, enclosed environment. Other that these changes, everything was available for guest use.
All in all, it’s clear that the management and staff at Island H2O Live have a plan to keep guests safe and it is being implemented to the best of everyone’s ability. Inherent in the decision to attend a water park, or really any large attraction, during this time MUST be an understanding of risk. No matter how conscientious the staff are or how sanitary the environment is, the other patrons are, more or less, an uncontrollable factor in the equation. While social distancing is possible and well executed from a logistical standpoint while guests are stationary at their chairs, or on a ride, moving from area to area will include getting in closer that the recommended distance from other park goers. Lines are marked at six-foot intervals, but this is largely ignored. I will say though, people were staying 3-4 feet apart instead of the complete crowd crunch that is used to be the ride queues. People on attractions such as the lazy river were, for the most part, polite in their spacing and on pathways whenever possible, kept a healthy distance.
Final thoughts..
This season opening was certainly an odd one for the park. Both patrons and staff alike were finding their footing and learning the best ways to cope with the new rules and precautions. I’d say it was largely a success from a customer’s standpoint as I felt safe and well cared for throughout my visit. This is a strange time to be going out, especially to someplace as generously populated as a water park. But the water was clean, the sun was shining, and I feel like it’s going to be a decent summer for such outdoor activities.
As our day ended, we realized that even though times have changed our experience as a family has not. We are so grateful to ALL the staff who made our first time back to the park such a fun and memorable experience and we cannot wait to go back! Especially this little guy 😉