News Disney mask policy at Walt Disney World theme parks

[Parker in NYC]

A week ago I would have totally agreed - I mean, even though we know many people are treating this as "masks off for everyone!", the recommendation is maskless for vaccinated individuals, kids under 12 cannot get the vaccination yet, therefore, all kids should still be wearing masks indoors.

The way things are going, though? Disney could lift all masks and social distancing everywhere right now, and I can't say I'd be surprised - I'm kind of out of "surprised" right now, LOL.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Lil Copter Cap]

First day back in the parks since they reopened last year -- being fully vaccinated + two weeks, I felt comfortable going to see what it's like. My experience saw a large amount of guests being respectful of the mask policies in-queue, during attractions/rides, and in-doors. (Which, in all honesty, was a genuine surprise.)

The major issue that I wasn't expecting had to do with heavy focus on what I'm/guests are doing in-between rides. Most individuals opted for eating--which heavily crowded mobile ordering and food locations. Since entertainment is minimal, attractions are down or closed, meet-and-greets are on pause, it was rather difficult navigating once the 11 AM hour hit (aka heavy guest presence).

Not to be off-topic, but wanted to share the overall experience. Greatly enjoyed the 8 AM - 11 AM hours and seeing guests following mask protocol.

 

[Epcotbob]

I dont see where the argument has to be here. I mean these are the new rules, if you choose to wear a mask, awesome, if you choose to not wear one, awesome. Respect everyones choices around you and move on with your life. If you dont like the new rules, dont go to disney. Its a pretty simple concept to say the least. I see people back and forth, but just respect everyones decision and protect yourself in the way you see fit.

Agreed, I think Disney made a reasonable decision given where we are currently at with Covid.

Yes, it does shift the burden to those who are still concerned about contracting the virus, but there are still options (like N95 masks) for those who wish to visit the parks but are still apprehensive about the current rules.

 

[legwand77]

I expect Disney will shift to no masks indoors by the end of June regardless of metrics

Pretty safe bet, might be by the end of May.

 

[ElvisMickey]

Pretty safe bet, might be by the end of May.

Fingers crossed

 

[Tom P.]

I strongly suspect that virtually all mitigation measures, both indoors and outdoors, will be gone by July 1st nationwide, even at Disney. Things are moving dramatically fast now and I believe we will see, contrary to some more negative predictions, all key metrics (cases, hospitalizations, and deaths) continue to plummet throughout the remainder of May and June while vaccinations continue to steadily increase. Even if there are no plans being considered right now, I think Disney will reverse course by July and remove all restrictions.

 

[disneygeek90]

I understand everyone is getting excited but I think we still need to look at the numbers.

Universal opened last year (to criticism) on June 5 2020. Masks, distancing, all of it. There were 1305 cases announced that day.

Florida had 2791 cases announced today. The vaccine is working but we need more time to let everything relax, and we need more to take the vaccine in general. Hopefully by July we will be in a much better position, but we have a lot of work to do (and approaching holidays) in 6 weeks.

 

[ifan]

The numbers are why people are getting excited

Nationwide US 7 day averages: 1 month ago 70k cases per day. Today. 30k cases per day and falling by 1-2k average daily. If we consider that last year's testing capacity was poor and didn't capture all cases, we are likely approaching all-time low numbers of new cases since March 2020. A month from now we will see extremely low deaths.

If WDW can simultaneously remove restrictions, return to normal life, AND continue to see new cases falling, we all win. I think that is what we are witnessing at the moment based on the numbers. Thank you vaccines!

I'd imagine a good portion of Disney will be back to normal (lines, masks, fireworks, restrictions, entertainment, closed places) by mid-summer, with the schedule being more cast labor dependent than anything related to numbers. It would happen faster if humanly possible, but big changes take time.

 

[legwand77]

I understand everyone is getting excited but I think we still need to look at the numbers.

Universal opened last year (to criticism) on June 5 2020. Masks, distancing, all of it. There were 1305 cases announced that day.

Florida had 2791 cases announced today. The vaccine is working but we need more time to let everything relax, and we need more to take the vaccine in general. Hopefully by July we will be in a much better position, but we have a lot of work to do (and approaching holidays) in 6 weeks.

Testing was not happening at the level it is now. Florida ran 24,425 tests on 6/5/2020. Today Florida ran 73,032 tests, close the 3x as much. % positive was 4.25 on 6/5/2020 and it is 4.5% today. Also in June the majority of tests were older and high risk people with no vaccine. Today the tests are younger and we have a vaccine that works very well. Big Difference.

 

[Nickp1983]

Testing was not happening at the level it is now. Florida ran 24,425 tests on 6/52020. Today Florida ran 73,032 tests. % positive was 4.25 on 6/5/2020 and it is 4.5% today. Also in June the majority of tests were older and high risk people with no vaccine. Today the tests are younger and we have a vaccine that works very well. Big Difference.

Yup. It's such apples and oranges at this point. We were talking about rising numbers... uncertainty.... no treatment methods and vaccines were a dream. So much has changed. You cannot compare the numbers because they come from two different worlds.

 

[ParentsOf4]

You couldn't get me to WDW now even with a free club level stay and no-line access to every attraction.

We just finished an awesome maskless 5-night stay at WDW! (Received our second dose a bit more than 4 weeks ago.)

We are greatly looking forward to our next stay in July!

It's really simple. Either you truly believe in the science or you don't. If you truly believe in the science and are fully vaccinated, then going to WDW should be no big deal.

If you are not fully vaccinated, then I suggest you stay away! You are taking a needless risk by going to a crowded WDW.

 

[isman250]

Agreed, I think Disney made a reasonable decision given where we are currently at with Covid.

Yes, it does shift the burden to those who are still concerned about contracting the virus, but there are still options (like N95 masks) for those who wish to visit the parks but are still apprehensive about the current rules.

Totally agree, its something that people complaining Disney relaxed protocols should not be. No one should be forced to do anything they arent comfortable with. People that didnt like the masks for the most part probably stayed away all this time. Now they may want to go again, and people need to respect that on the other side and make a decision like they did to stay home or go, wear a mask or dont.

 

[disneygeek90]

Testing was not happening at the level it is now. Florida ran 24,425 tests on 6/5/2020. Today Florida ran 73,032 tests, close the 3x as much. % positive was 4.25 on 6/5/2020 and it is 4.5% today. Also in June the majority of tests were older and high risk people with no vaccine. Today the tests are younger and we have a vaccine that works very well. Big Difference.

And yet, Florida had the most cases in the US today.

 

[DisneyCane]

And yet, Florida had the most cases in the US today.

Reported cases. I can't speak for other States but when I had to be tested (even though I was fully vaccinated) a couple of weeks ago, I was swabbed on a Thursday, my results came in on the following me Monday and was notified by the Department of Health on Wednesday that they received my test result. We are further down the hill in reality than what the reports say.

 

[bdearl41]

...with social distancing and mask requirements in place.

The numbers lag for several weeks to changes. We won't know the impact on the numbers of basically everyone de-masking until June. The numbers will go up - it's just a question of how much. Basically, they are gambling on the fact that the increase won't overwhelm hospitals at this point.



No one wants to hear that - they just read the headlines that "it seems it is effective against the ones we have found so far" - and don't read that the only data we actually have on that is from very small sample sizes (one study that was touted had like less than 20 total participants). What they have found is that there is a difference on which shot you got - the mRNA ones seem to protect better than the J&J one. But again, this is all very preliminary data - we just don't know.

Personally, my guard isn't going anywhere. It's actually heightened now that we are on the "honor" system - I just don't trust people. It's back to curbside and Amazon for me shopping wise.

I understand everyone is getting excited but I think we still need to look at the numbers.

Universal opened last year (to criticism) on June 5 2020. Masks, distancing, all of it. There were 1305 cases announced that day.

Florida had 2791 cases announced today. The vaccine is working but we need more time to let everything relax, and we need more to take the vaccine in general. Hopefully by July we will be in a much better position, but we have a lot of work to do (and approaching holidays) in 6 weeks.

one thing of note to your really good point though is now the population that can catch or get ill from Covid and furthermore spread it has been dramatically and exponentially reduced. Not saying you’re wrong but also pointing out why current case numbers are Apples and oranges from last summer.

 

[Polkadotdress]

And yet, Florida had the most cases in the US today.

FL has the most cases in the US on most days.

 

[Epcotbob]

Totally agree, its something that people complaining Disney relaxed protocols should not be. No one should be forced to do anything they arent comfortable with. People that didnt like the masks for the most part probably stayed away all this time. Now they may want to go again, and people need to respect that on the other side and make a decision like they did to stay home or go, wear a mask or dont.

Yep, our local stores have pretty much all dropped the mask requirements too so it seems most are in agreement that it was time.

Also, with the FL summer heat I’m sure Disney did not want to continue forcing people to endure that. Again, with N95 masks, there is still a pretty good option for those concerned about contracting the virus, but want to visit Disney, stores, etc. so there really shouldn’t be any issue.

 

[legwand77]

And yet, Florida had the most cases in the US today.

You might want to step away from raw numbers/data

 

[disneygeek90]

You might want to step away from raw numbers/data

Ah, yes. That sounds like a good strategy.

 

[danlb_2000]

FL has the most cases in the US on most days.

... and it's the third most populace state.