News Disney mask policy at Walt Disney World theme parks

[ParentsOf4]

A year ago people who were uncomfortable wearing masks were ridiculed, called babies and told to get over themselves. Now the vaccinated people who can’t stop wearing masks despite the CDC’s position that they’re not necessary are demanding that their comfort level be given consideration. Okay.

The difference is those who continue to wear masks after being fully vaccinated are being overly cautious.

Those who didn’t wear masks a year ago were being overly reckless.

I would rather be driving on the road with a bunch of overly cautious drivers than a bunch of overly reckless drivers.

 

[DisneyCane]

You’re making a lot of assumptions. The types of assumptions (it’s only 15 cases) they got us in trouble to begin with.
You’re assuming we have enough vaccination to prevent Autumn and Winter resurgence. But that’s an unknown. UK has seen over a 50% spike despite having a similar vaccination level as the US.
Especially in low vaccination communities, the threat of resurgence remains very real.

It’s important to acknowledge uncertainty and prepare for both the realistic best case and worst case scenarios.

I wouldn't exactly call the increase the UK has had a "spike." As @GoofGoof has pointed out, Israel had a small increase when they pulled back the mitigations after the vaccinations hit a high level.

Even a resurgence in areas of the USA, will not be to a higher level than it was when I calculated the risk of a fully vaccinated person dying from COVID vs. their risk of dying of any cause over the next year of any cause. I am fully vaccinated and don't need to acknowledge any future scenario. All I care about is my current risk. If somehow there was a resurgence that far exceeded the prior high levels which would then make my risk significant, I will react at that point.

If I considered worst case scenarios for the future like you do I'd need some heavy medication to keep me out of a deep depression.

 

[GhostHostLady]

Why is this another damn mask effectiveness thread? Can we reserve this one for actual updates at WDW? Some of us have vacations planned.

Thank you!! We have a trip coming up in just two weeks and I keep coming here for any updates and have to scroll for pages and pages trying to find anything relevant to WDW.

 

[Incomudro]

Again.. go back to my analysis. IF there is wide community spread, the risk is not infinitesimal. If community spread is low, the risk does become infinitesimal.

Time for people to start worrying about what's really going to kill them.
Like that heart attack they've been hurtling towards.
Time to mitigate those risk factors.

 

[havoc315]

I wouldn't exactly call the increase the UK has had a "spike."

Everything is relative. Yes, definitely a spike:

7-day rolling average was 2200 as of May 15th, in just 3 weeks, the 7-day rolling average is now 4785. (My 50% spike estimate was based on old data... the spike has gotten much worse over the last few days).
So in just a little over 3 weeks, at 117% spike.

Yes, a 117% increase is definitely a spike. And it's still rising. (So 117% is the minimum size of the spike, but may get much larger).

In just the last week:
May 31st, rolling average: 3346 cases. June 6, rolling average: 4785. So a 43% increase in just the last week!

And the current UK spike still hasn't peaked.

In context, yesterday, the UK reported 5341 new cases... They have been over 5,000 per day, for the last several days. (Equivalent of about 20,000 in the US)... Up until this last week, they didn't have a day with over 5,000 cases since mid-late March.
So the resurgence has pushed them back to where they were in March.
If the US were to have a similar resurgence -- we were at 55,000-60,000 cases per day in mid to late March.

Israel is looking like our best case scenario. While the UK is looking like a warning light, that our current level of vaccination doesn't necessarily fully put us out of the woods.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

The difference is those who continue to wear masks after being fully vaccinated are being overly cautious.

Those who didn’t wear masks a year ago were being overly reckless.

I would rather be driving on the road with a bunch of overly cautious drivers than a bunch of overly reckless drivers.

Also, unvaccinated people not wearing masks indoors in public aren't following CDC guidelines, so people complaining about them breaking the rules aren't disagreeing with science or expectations. The only reason most places aren't policing masks is because it is unrealistic to expect retail employees to question every customer that walks into the store to verify their vaccination status - and even if they did, it's not like they could hire enough employees to follow each unvaccinated customer around to make sure they don't break the rules. We all knew this would happen when the rules started changing in each state, but the only question was whether or not it would generate more demand for the vaccines from people who were on the fence. I'm sure it has for some people who felt like they weren't at risk as long as everyone wore masks, but now they're faced with the fact that there could be sick people walking around in stores without a mask and they feel like their odds of getting in and out without catching the virus just took a hit so they'll make an appointment to get their shot (or shots, depending on which one they get). Hopefully it gets us where we need to be. I don't think NJ is hitting its goal of 70% of adults vaccinated by June 30, though (we were at 57% a couple days ago, so getting another 13% of adults vaccinated in under a month seems unlikely now that demand is on a downward trajectory and the 6 state-run megasites are all starting to shut down). Maybe July 30 is a more realistic target now.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Don't forget legionnaires disease.

disney/universal has installed standing pools of chilled water as “entertainment”??

...I mean...I could see Slap-O doing it....”raise per guess spending”....but don’t know if Comcast is down?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Everything is relative. Yes, definitely a spike:

7-day rolling average was 2200 as of May 15th, in just 3 weeks, the 7-day rolling average is now 4785. (My 50% spike estimate was based on old data... the spike has gotten much worse over the last few days).
So in just a little over 3 weeks, at 117% spike.

Yes, a 117% increase is definitely a spike. And it's still rising. (So 117% is the minimum size of the spike, but may get much larger).

In just the last week:
May 31st, rolling average: 3346 cases. June 6, rolling average: 4785. So a 43% increase in just the last week!

And the current UK spike still hasn't peaked.

In context, yesterday, the UK reported 5341 new cases... They have been over 5,000 per day, for the last several days. (Equivalent of about 20,000 in the US)... Up until this last week, they didn't have a day with over 5,000 cases since mid-late March.
So the resurgence has pushed them back to where they were in March.
If the US were to have a similar resurgence -- we were at 55,000-60,000 cases per day in mid to late March.

Israel is looking like our best case scenario. While the UK is looking like a warning light, that our current level of vaccination doesn't necessarily fully put us out of the woods.

nothing is a “spike” to him....

remember Florida had it “figured out” around may 15th last year (its in the posts)....

the 2.2 million cases and 32,000 deaths since don’t qualify as a “spike” either.

and children can’t get sick and only old people suffered.

 

[Chi84]

The difference is those who continue to wear masks after being fully vaccinated are being overly cautious.

Those who didn’t wear masks a year ago were being overly reckless.

I would rather be driving on the road with a bunch of overly cautious drivers than a bunch of overly reckless drivers.

I wasn't talking at all about anti-maskers or people who refused to wear masks - just those who expressed any level of discomfort or difficulty wearing them. They were flat-out called liars, told they were afraid of "a piece of cloth" and treated to lectures about oxygen levels and how wearing a mask was the same as wearing pants. I suspect much of that reaction was caused by fear that any acknowledgement of mask-wearing being difficult for some would be interpreted as an okay to stop wearing masks. Doesn't make it okay though, and I suspect those who were dishing it out feel differently when it's their own discomfort being dismissed.

 

[GoofGoof]

I’m not sure how we call the end of that graph a spike. It could be the start of a spike (red line below), it could be the start of a plateau (yellow line below) or it could be noise (green line below). We need to wait a few weeks to see where things go.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Just home from the grocery store. Still 100% mask usage here, even though mask mandates are long gone, the stores merely "encourage masks for the unvaccinated," and our local vaccination rates are soaring. It's part of our common experience.

Same here in PA/NJ.

After PA dropped the mask mandate a few weeks ago, I've only seen 1 person in a store without one.
In NJ, I haven't seen anyone in stores without them. However, we did have someone enter my workplace (an office) without one.

I think its just so confusing. Most places still have individual signs saying whether they are/aren't required or recommended. Then you have companies like my workplace that allow vaccinated employees to be mask-less but still require mask for all visitors.
Its too many rules to keep up with each business so its just easier to keep a mask on.

I don't wear one at work for the most part, however, we any of my colleagues approach me, I put the mask on. I plan to do the same when we head to WDW in a few weeks. Just seems respectful to put a mask on when interacting with a CM.

 

[Parker in NYC]

More mask mandates loosening and no surprise lipstick sales are increasing!

Truth!

 

[Smooth]

A word about water fountains

Ask Well: What Diseases Can You Get from a Water Fountain?

Public drinking water fountains are less germy — and less risky — than most people might think.

well.blogs.nytimes.com

 

[legwand77]

You’re making a lot of assumptions. The types of assumptions (it’s only 15 cases) they got us in trouble to begin with.
You’re assuming we have enough vaccination to prevent Autumn and Winter resurgence. But that’s an unknown. UK has seen over a 50% spike despite having a similar vaccination level as the US.
Especially in low vaccination communities, the threat of resurgence remains very real.

It’s important to acknowledge uncertainty and prepare for both the realistic best case and worst case scenarios.

UK just today opened up vaccines to under <30, so not quite the same vaccination level, over 50% of 12-30 are fully vaccinated in the US, not the case in the UK

 

[DisneyCane]

Same here in PA/NJ.

After PA dropped the mask mandate a few weeks ago, I've only seen 1 person in a store without one.
In NJ, I haven't seen anyone in stores without them. However, we did have someone enter my workplace (an office) without one.

I think its just so confusing. Most places still have individual signs saying whether they are/aren't required or recommended. Then you have companies like my workplace that allow vaccinated employees to be mask-less but still require mask for all visitors.
Its too many rules to keep up with each business so its just easier to keep a mask on.

I don't wear one at work for the most part, however, we any of my colleagues approach me, I put the mask on. I plan to do the same when we head to WDW in a few weeks. Just seems respectful to put a mask on when interacting with a CM.

I don't see how it is "respectful" for somebody who is fully vaccinated to put on a mask when approaching a CM outdoors (the only place they aren't required at WDW). The CDC has concluded that outdoors is extremely low risk for the unvaccinated.

I really don't get how something that was science based before vaccines were available is morphing into a virtue signaling exercise.

I can understand somebody who still feels safer masking when they don't have to but to do it to show respect just doesn't compute but that's just my opinion.

 

[peter11435]

I don't see how it is "respectful" for somebody who is fully vaccinated to put on a mask when approaching a CM outdoors (the only place they aren't required at WDW). The CDC has concluded that outdoors is extremely low risk for the unvaccinated.

I really don't get how something that was science based before vaccines were available is morphing into a virtue signaling exercise.

I can understand somebody who still feels safer masking when they don't have to but to do it to show respect just doesn't compute but that's just my opinion.

The cast member doesn’t know who is and is not vaccinated. So when you approach a CM without a mask they don’t know if you are vaccinated or not.

 

[GoofGoof]

I don't see how it is "respectful" for somebody who is fully vaccinated to put on a mask when approaching a CM outdoors (the only place they aren't required at WDW). The CDC has concluded that outdoors is extremely low risk for the unvaccinated.

I really don't get how something that was science based before vaccines were available is morphing into a virtue signaling exercise.

I can understand somebody who still feels safer masking when they don't have to but to do it to show respect just doesn't compute but that's just my opinion.

Where I live we are now just 1 week past 6 weeks since the vaccines opened to everyone. If you are a young and healthy grocery store employee who didn’t jump the line and got their shot just a week or a little more after becoming eligible you may not be fully immune yet. Those workers don’t know now if an unmasked person is vaccinated or not. So even if I am fully vaccinated and no threat to them they don’t know that so keeping my mask on eliminates any anxiety they could have over my vaccination status. That’s why some people I know feel it’s being respectful. In a few more weeks that ship will have sailed. This is also why some people thought the CDC move was premature and that they should have waited until a few weeks past when anyone who wanted a vaccine would have gotten one and would be fully immune. Basically a week or 2 from now. In PA the mask mandates will be dropped for everyone by the end of June and then there’s really no issue with masks being dropped.

In FL you guys are probably already at that point since the vaccines opened to everyone earlier.

 

[disneygeek90]

Hey all! I'm so, so sorry to ask this! I'm a little lost in this thread. With Florida dropping the mandate does anyone have an idea when Disney will drop their indoor mask policy? Right now with all these changes it's really hard to predict Disney's next move. Any thoughts? I'm sorry if this has been discussed already.

No news at the moment but we haven't had much warning for a lot of the changes so far. As you say, the situation is very fluid but for now it's masks in inside areas.

FWIW, after seeing the incredibly low compliance at Universal yesterday, I'm not sure if that's something Disney wants to open the door to right now.

 

[Chi84]

The cast member doesn’t know who is and is not vaccinated. So when you approach a CM without a mask they don’t know if you are vaccinated or not.

That would be an excellent reason to allow vaccinated CMs to stop wearing masks. I suspect the delays right now are at least partially based on negotiations with the unions.

 

[zakattack99]

here now:

outdoors is like 90% mask off, 10% on

indoors: 90 on, 10 off

in resort general areas I’ve noticed just a hand full of guests going maskless in areas where supposedly required

Are CM enforcing the masking indoors when you see those without? Just curious as I have read in the past Disney was very strict about masking just wondering if you are seeing the same now.