Disney Springs Mask Enforcement

[Chi84]

From what I've been reading, people think these masks provide much, much more protection than they actually do. Even the agencies recommending them acknowledge that there is little proof of how much they help, and there are disadvantages to wearing them such as the risk of self-contamination by touching the mask without washing your hands (like constantly raising and lowering masks the way everyone is doing) or wearing a wet or soiled mask. They also can cause difficulty breathing, which may be a more immediate and realistic danger to a person in the Florida heat and humidity than catching Covid-19. I won't go to WDW while masks are required because (1) masks are too uncomfortable and (2) I don't think they do much at all to prevent people from spreading the virus. That said, if Disney has a rule, it should enforce it. My concern is that they will keep the rule and not enforce it instead of just abandoning masks based on their inability to enforce the rule.

 

[KTK]

From what I've been reading, people think these masks provide much, much more protection than they actually do. Even the agencies recommending them acknowledge that there is little proof of how much they help, and there are disadvantages to wearing them such as the risk of self-contamination by touching the mask without washing your hands (like constantly raising and lowering masks the way everyone is doing) or wearing a wet or soiled mask. They also can cause difficulty breathing, which may be a more immediate and realistic danger to a person in the Florida heat and humidity than catching Covid-19. I won't go to WDW while masks are required because (1) masks are too uncomfortable and (2) I don't think they do much at all to prevent people from spreading the virus. That said, if Disney has a rule, it should enforce it. My concern is that they will keep the rule and not enforce it instead of just abandoning masks based on their inability to enforce the rule.

A recent study from the medical journal, Lancet, concerning face coverings/masks showed the risk of contracting covid-19 without a mask is 17.4%. Wearing a facial covering/mask, the risk drops to 3.2%. So as much as they are not the most desirable thing to be wearing, they do help prevent the spread.

 

[WondersOfLife]

So, I went to Disney Springs yesterday and didn’t feel fully safe. All the cast members I saw were wearing masks, but there was a lot of guests not wearing them and I didn’t see any cast members enforcing mask wearing. I felt safe around cast members but not other guests. I’d expect Disney to enforce this but I don’t know if they fully are. Anyone else notice this? I attached some pics.

Just like I said About universal.. it wasn’t so much the Karens as much as it was the Richards not wearing masks.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Uni's are also smoking areas!

Not the Fear Factor and Sinbad theaters.

 

[thomas998]

So, I went to Disney Springs yesterday and didn’t feel fully safe. All the cast members I saw were wearing masks, but there was a lot of guests not wearing them and I didn’t see any cast members enforcing mask wearing. I felt safe around cast members but not other guests. I’d expect Disney to enforce this but I don’t know if they fully are. Anyone else notice this? I attached some pics.

This shouldn't be a shock to anyone. Disney never enforces any rules that might cause people to get upset and spend less money. They don't care about line jumpers, they aren't going to care about maskless people either. The whole thing is simply safety theater and they only said they were going to require guests to wear them so that the state would approve their reopening plan. But it was never going to be enforced. That is pretty much what you can expect in the parks as well. So if you don't feel safe in a place like that don't go. And if you think people wearing a homemade mask is going to protect you then you might want to go take a refresher course on viruses and just what is required to stop them when it comes to filters because Billy handmade mask made out of a sock isn't going to do squat for Billy or anyone else.

 

[Chi84]

A recent study from the medical journal, Lancet, concerning face coverings/masks showed the risk of contracting covid-19 without a mask is 17.4%. Wearing a facial covering/mask, the risk drops to 3.2%. So as much as they are not the most desirable thing to be wearing, they do help prevent the spread.

Did they study Etsy masks worn pulled down around the neck or hanging off one ear?

 

[robhedin]

You should not be going to Disney Springs or any other public place if you feel unsafe around people who aren't wearing masks.

(This is not a defense against people who aren't wearing masks. I personally think masks are stupid, but if a place has a mask policy, you should follow the rules or just not go.)

Yep. We each need to assess the risks and take appropriate precautions to make sure we each feel safe. That may mean not going places. Especially add if you fall into a high risk category due to age or pre-existing conditions.

For the record, I'm also not a fan of masks, but still wore one at Kennedy Space Center, City Walk, and Disney Springs because they each required it. It's like going to someone's home- if you want to go there, abide by their rules.

 

[eliza61nyc]

were you able to practice social distancing. While I always carry my mask when I am outside walking I usually do not have it own as I am able to social distance from other people.

how crowded was it?

 

[robhedin]

A recent study from the medical journal, Lancet, concerning face coverings/masks showed the risk of contracting covid-19 without a mask is 17.4%. Wearing a facial covering/mask, the risk drops to 3.2%. So as much as they are not the most desirable thing to be wearing, they do help prevent the spread.

This isn't exactly correct.

Your 17.4% number is correct, but the study is explicitly referring to medical grade masks, not the masks typically worn by most people today. See:

This is from the study in the Lancet from June 1 entitled: "Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis" and can be found here: https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736(20)31142-9

There is no data that I'm aware of that quantifies how well the inexpensive cloth masks work to prevent the transmission of disease, but everything I've read/talked to healthcare professionals about generally agree that the primary function of the cloth masks is to reduce liquid spray when speaking/coughing/etc because your mouth is covered. It may help some, but the actual amount has not been quantified.

 

[Prince-1]

If you're so fearful that you'll only go to a place if it's 100% mask-compliant, you shouldn't go anywhere at all.

Missed the point completely.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Places that have a mask rule should do their best to enforce them. It's really that simple.

and outside of checking when they walk through how would you do that?? follow every guest around??

 

[robhedin]

were you able to practice social distancing. While I always carry my mask when I am outside walking I usually do not have it own as I am able to social distance from other people.

how crowded was it?

Was not crowded at all. World of Disney was a walk in the 3 times I went; same with every other store. People were somewhat keeping their distance, except when shopping-- they seemed to have little problem bunching up to look at the same thing.

To give you an idea of the emptiness, this was the inside of the LEGO store...

You stand behind the blue lines on the ground and ask questions, a staff member will handle the merchandise and show it to you but you don't touch anything.

I expect it's mostly locals at present, so it may get more busy as the parks open.

 

[Prince-1]

and outside of checking when they walk through how would you do that?? follow every guest around??

Could care less how they do it. If you have a policy designed to protect people from catching a virus that has killed over 112,000 people then they should do their best to enforce it. I know people will go without but if managers and cast members don't say anything then don't promote safety precautions that some people actually expect to see.

 

[robhedin]

and outside of checking when they walk through how would you do that?? follow every guest around??

No, not at all.

On the other hand, I saw several people not wearing a mask walk within a few feet of multiple security personnel as well as what appeared to be more managerial staff. If they want to truly enforce masks to be worn, I'd expect those people to stop the person an say something, potentially having them escorted out if they didn't comply.

If people see things being enforced, they're more likely to follow the rules. The converse is also true.

I did see staff "enforcing" the rule at City Walk -- two cast were up on a balcony with a loud speaker and would say things like "don't forget your mask should cover both your mouth and nose!" when they saw someone not wearing a mask. I saw people ignore it and keep walking; one 50's-ish lady without a mask just looked over at them, smiled, and kept walking. Now to get through the entrance she had to wear a mask, so she took it off in the 150 ft that she had walked.

 

[thomas998]

A recent study from the medical journal, Lancet, concerning face coverings/masks showed the risk of contracting covid-19 without a mask is 17.4%. Wearing a facial covering/mask, the risk drops to 3.2%. So as much as they are not the most desirable thing to be wearing, they do help prevent the spread.

You might want to look at that study, it's the June 1 article and if you look at it doesn't apply to the masks worn at Disney by guests that made them at home, the study was based on data from past experience by health care worker dealing with SARS and MERS not with Covid-19 which they specifically state was not tested. In short the study is conjecture based on other viruses which may or may not be more or less infectious than Covid-19. It was also further slanted because some of the study data was based on people wearing respirators not masks. They basically generalized the results to simply state masks help when the masks in the studies were a whole lot better than the ones you'll ever see at Disney. So don't think people running around wearing sock masks is going to give you much protection they aren't.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

Was not crowded at all. World of Disney was a walk in the 3 times I went; same with every other store. People were somewhat keeping their distance, except when shopping-- they seemed to have little problem bunching up to look at the same thing.

To give you an idea of the emptiness, this was the inside of the LEGO store...
View attachment 476001
You stand behind the blue lines on the ground and ask questions, a staff member will handle the merchandise and show it to you but you don't touch anything.

I expect it's mostly locals at present, so it may get more busy as the parks open.

Why isn’t the LEGO store like this when I’m there?
There‘s always all those darn kids in the way!

 

[thomas998]

Could care less how they do it. If you have a policy designed to protect people from catching a virus that has killed over 112,000 people then they should do their best to enforce it. I know people will go without but if managers and cast members don't say anything then don't promote safety precautions that some people actually expect to see.

Just remember alcohol in the US kills almost 90,000 every year and you don't see the government or anyone else acting even remotely as concerned about alcohol. In the end when people get used to the deaths for the virus the world will go on as normal and it will just be another cause of death no greater or worse than cancer from smoking or being hit by a drunk driver.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Could care less how they do it. If you have a policy designed to protect people from catching a virus that has killed over 112,000 people then they should do their best to enforce it. I know people will go without but if managers and cast members don't say anything then don't promote safety precautions that some people actually expect to see.

But you're assuming from one snapshot in time that they aren't enforcing it to the best of their ability.
The policy is to decrease the chance of spread, nothing will protect you once you walk out your door.
Nor should it be anyone but each individuals responsibility IMO.
It's a virus, it spreads.
Disney could hire half the population of Orlando to try and make sure everyone is masked up 24/7, they can hire some type of undercover mask patrol and you would still get folks who peel them off.

Now personally from the pictures I see nothing to enforce. One guy is walking with his spouse with no one around him so clearly the probability of enough virus load to get some one sick is low. He has it around his ear which tells me he has enough common sense to put it back on if he can't maintain social distance. So there's nothing to police

 

[eliza61nyc]

No, not at all.

On the other hand, I saw several people not wearing a mask walk within a few feet of multiple security personnel as well as what appeared to be more managerial staff. If they want to truly enforce masks to be worn, I'd expect those people to stop the person an say something, potentially having them escorted out if they didn't comply.

If people see things being enforced, they're more likely to follow the rules. The converse is also true.

I did see staff "enforcing" the rule at City Walk -- two cast were up on a balcony with a loud speaker and would say things like "don't forget your mask should cover both your mouth and nose!" when they saw someone not wearing a mask. I saw people ignore it and keep walking; one 50's-ish lady without a mask just looked over at them, smiled, and kept walking. Now to get through the entrance she had to wear a mask, so she took it off in the 150 ft that she had walked.

So I guess I like a bit of common sense in these scenarios. What's the purpose of the mask?? To slow the spread of covid 19. Social distancing is another way to do that. The guy you took a picture on the bench By himself has zero chance of infecting anyone. There is no one to infect.
I absolutely do the same thing, I always have a mask with me but if I am walking down the street and there is no one in sight I pull it down.
I guess I just see a manager going up to him demanding he put his mask on as being a you know what.
Just my opinion,

 

[Prince-1]

Just remember alcohol in the US kills almost 90,000 every year and you don't see the government or anyone else acting even remotely as concerned about alcohol. In the end when people get used to the deaths for the virus the world will go on as normal and it will just be another cause of death no greater or worse than cancer from smoking or being hit by a drunk driver.

And it's just like the flu lol!! Oh brother!!