The staff at the Funplex are getting ready to welcome guests once again ahead of the July 2 reopening date.

The amusement and water park had to close earlier this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Water parks have an advantage over other things because chlorinated water – according to the CDC – kills the virus and creates a nice, safe place for people to play and feel more relaxed,” says Funplex director of marketing Amanda Lahn.

The Funplex has locations in Mount Laurel and East Hanover. The staff has spent the last three months creating a plan to safely operate during the pandemic. New practices include spacing guests on rides and in lines, creating a cleaning team and coming up with a way to control capacity.

“You will go online to reserve your ticket ahead of time and pick your date of visit and that will help us to monitor the capacity of the park and make sure everybody is able to stay at a safe 6-foot social distance when they get here,” Lahn says.

But the Funplex isn’t just an outdoor facility. There are indoor attractions like bowling, rides and an arcade. Gov. Phil Murphy says that indoor recreation facilities, along with museums and aquariums, can reopen on July 2 as well, with 25% capacity.

“As much as we would love to just go back to how we were before, I think this will be a process in learning the new operations. We have to rehire an entire staff in about less than a week, so I think this process of staging does help us manage how we operate on a day-to-day basis in this new environment,” says Lahn.

Diggerland, an amusement and water park in Camden County, will also reopen July 2. Storybook Land in Egg Harbor Township will open July 3.