Theme Parks Take Measures to Keep Visitors Cool; Park Operators Hope to Fight Lower Visitor Numbers Due to Brutal Heat
Each facility's operators are racking their brains for ideas to counteract the severe heat that might keep guests away.
More splash on Splash Mountain
Starting this month, Tokyo Disneyland, in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, will increase the water flow on its popular 'Splash Mountain' ride, causing more spray than usual when the ride plunges into an area resembling the basin of a waterfall. This summer-only initiative reportedly features the 'largest flow volume ever,' which will cause water to splash like a shower not only on passengers but also on spectators nearby.
On Tuesday the park held a summer parade, with mist spraying in time to the music, and visitors cheered when water was sprayed toward them along the way.
'I got more water than I expected, and it cooled me down quite a bit,' said a 46-year-old part-time worker from Kobe who came with her family.
Extended evening hours
Universal Studios Japan, in Osaka, began giving away salt candy to visitors for the first time on Tuesday. The park has also extended its opening hours into the evening to encourage visitors to come after the heat has subsided.
'People have begun to avoid going out in summer. We need to take serious measures to prevent people from getting heatstroke,' a USJ spokesman said.
At Yomiuriland, an amusement park on the border of Inagi, Tokyo, and Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, all 42 gondolas of the observation wheel 'Sky-Go-LAND,' which opened in October, are equipped with air conditioning, allowing visitors to enjoy the view comfortably even in summer. Its predecessor did not have air conditioning. All three free rest areas in the park have also been equipped with air conditioning.
Impact of heatwave
The number of visitors to Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea from April to September last year was 12.2 million, 300,000 fewer than the same period the previous year. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the average temperature in Tokyo from July to September last year was 28.1 C, 2.8 degrees higher than the average for that period. That heatwave is believed to have been one of the reasons for the decline in visitor numbers.
According to the agency, this summer is also expected to be hotter than average nationwide. 'In recent years, extreme heat has had a negative impact on visitor numbers at many outdoor leisure facilities. How to keep visitors comfortable during the summer has become an important question for management,' said Chiaki Kato of Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co.
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