California theme park association hoping to 'mitigate' screaming when amusements, thrill rides reopen

The California Amusement Park Association (CAPA), an industry trade group representing Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood, among others, is currently advising its members' parks to adjust the seat-loading patterns on their rides to “mitigate the effect of shouting” when the parks are allowed to reopen beginning April 1.

The recommendation is just one of many issued by CAPA in response to the California Department of Health’s "Blueprint for a Safer Economy," which was last updated March 16. As outlined by the updated Blueprint, California’s activities and sectors will be allowed to reopen based on their risk criteria for stemming the spread of coronavirus — one of which includes the ability to "limit activities that are known to cause increased spread (e.g. singing, shouting, heavy breathing)," or activities that take place in louder environments that can cause guests to raise their voices. In hoping to meet this criteria, CAPA instructed its members to modify their seating configurations, though that’s something most U.S. amusement parks are already doing in order to comply with recommended social-distancing protocol.