How bad is it really?

[BeachPrincess]

We have been several times with no issues at all with rude CM's. During our December trip, we had lunch reservations at Mama Melrose one day and while waiting on them to call us, we stepped away to an area where we were not anywhere near other people. My husband pulled his mask down and a cast member politely asked him to pull it back up. We were a little surprised because there are areas where you can "rest" from the mask and we weren't close to anyone but at the same time felt good about Disney's policies about it. It made us feel safer while there.

 

[Dakota731]

Some of it may depend on what part of the country you’re from. Where we live we did everything all summer like amusement parks, festivals, etc anything that is outside masks weren’t required. So I know masks will be an adjustment for us.
And another thing is the heat of summer in Florida may cause normally pleasant people to sometimes get a little cranky - employees and guests alike! But I’m sure we will all survive

 

[StageTek]

Imagine for a moment what it must be like for CM's. CM's are being asked to not only do their traditional job but to be constantly aware of guests mask use.

I makes me feel bad that people are saying cast members are walking around yelling at kids. And I know that's what some people are saying. I'm so happy to read the comments here that we have all experienced polite, professional CM's.

I had one of my best trips to The World a few months ago despite much of the "magic" gone. I really admire those cast members.

 

[DeeBee3]

Some of it may depend on what part of the country you’re from. Where we live we did everything all summer like amusement parks, festivals, etc anything that is outside masks weren’t required. So I know masks will be an adjustment for us.
And another thing is the heat of summer in Florida may cause normally pleasant people to sometimes get a little cranky - employees and guests alike! But I’m sure we will all survive

I would completely agree with this - here in NY, things are open but at limited capacity and mask mandates are statewide. So, going to Disney would be no different. In fact, it would be a treat! However, if I lived in a more "open" state I could see how it would be quite the adjustment.

 

[MomOTwins]

I’ve overheard a fair number of families fuming about how ridiculous it is that their 4-year old be expected to keep their mask above their nose. My 4-year old did just fine in August. I suspect most kids could do just fine if their parents bought them masks thay fit appropriately (snugly) and stopped going around saying how “impossible” it is to wear masks.

I wish Disney CMs would be considerably more strict than they are to be honest. It’s not rocket science: wear a mask or don’t go.

 

[Heather07438]

If you feel like Universal is going to be a better fit for your family, by all means choose Universal. They are different parks with somewhat different atmospheres and demographics. I don't mean that in a bad way necessarily. Universal has always been a bit more lax than WDW from way before 2020 ever happened.

If you do decide to take the plunge and visit WDW, it may help to consider a CM's perspective. Don't take their reminders as personal criticism. Part of their task is to ensure guests are complying to spacing and masking. Don't expect them to know you've been a good mask wearer up to the time your mask slipped. If they see it down they're supposed to say something. No offense to be taken.

Don't make masks the focus of your trip and it won't be. That's going to be important at either park.

 

[olwyngdh]

I forgot to put my mask back on after a snack at Festival of the arts--i had hung it on the handle of my scooter and left it there when I started moving. The Castmember who saw me said "Ma'am, your scooter doesn't need a mask" and laughed--I felt terrible and put it right on. We did not see any castmember being mean about it at all in 8 days in the parks. They seemed to approach interactions about masks as a shared experience and with good humor.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

CM's do walk around and enforce the masking rule. (this is a GOOD thing) If the mask is not over your nose and your mouth, they will remind you that it needs to cover your nose. They are not walking around yelling at kids. If a kid doesn't have the mask on properly, the CM will point it out to the child or to the parent. No yelling.

Just be aware, if you are on a ride that takes your picture, make sure your mask is on and on correctly, if it's not, you will not be allowed to purchase the picture. It will not show up in your memory maker.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

CM's do walk around and enforce the masking rule. (this is a GOOD thing) If the mask is not over your nose and your mouth, they will remind you that it needs to cover your nose. They are not walking around yelling at kids. If a kid doesn't have the mask on properly, the CM will point it out to the child or to the parent. No yelling.

Just be aware, if you are on a ride that takes your picture, make sure your mask is on and on correctly, if it's not, you will not be allowed to purchase the picture. It will not show up in your memory maker.

I read that also ruins the picture for everyone else. No one in that vehicle will be able to see the picture in their memory maker.
I wish there were people reminding people here, in regular life, to keep their masks covering their noses. I see so many people wearing masks below the nose, it has to be intentional. And I am quite sure cast members are not YELLING at kids. As others have stated, it is the ones who want to break the rules who are angry. People willing to abide by the rules say thank you for the reminder when they forget to put their mask back on.

 

[sequoia 14]

We just got back. The CM's definitely will tell an adult if they don't have a mask on or if it is under your nose. There was messaging coming from speakers in the "main street" sections of each park, but I didn't feel it was overbearing. You will hear an announcement to keep a face mask on before every show.

We kept our masks on at indoor dining locations until our drinks/food arrived. We were not asked to put our masks on between bites or even at the end of our meal. We didn't linger though.

I saw CM's tell people they could drink in the extended queues outside an attraction, but that they had to put their mask on whenever they were moving (so that could equate to between sips depending on how the line moved). I took many sips of water quickly in lines---both inside and out. My mask was only off long enough to drink. I never once had a CM say anything to me.

I did miss eating and drinking while moving as I like to be time efficient, but it wasn't a huge deal.

We also have a 3 and 5 year-old. The 3 year-old's mask would slip below their nose from time to time. We would do our best to put it back up, but I'm sure there were times we weren't quick in responding. Only one CM said anything to her (and it was nicely stated). For the most part, they weren't too hard on the littles as long as there is an effort to keep it on.

I had been debating visiting since last summer, but wanted to wait until we were ready to spend all day in masks. It didn't feel too bad to wear one as I knew the rules coming in and we live in a state that mandates masks everywhere so it wasn't anything new for me. Same for my kids as they wear them to school. There were times when wearing the masks was tough during the hottest part of the days though (and this was only early March!). My family doesn't regret coming. We found the magic where we could and were just thankful that the park was open to begin with.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I read that also ruins the picture for everyone else. No one in that vehicle will be able to see the picture in their memory maker.

That's correct. It happened to me in September. My Daughter and I rode Splash, and we saw our picture coming off the ride. My daughter wanted to share it with her friends, so she asked me that night if it had showed up in my account. It had not, which was weird, because all the other pictures from that day were there. The next day, around midday, the picture still wasn't there, so we stopped by a photo center. The CM looked up our picture. and the one guy on the log with us (we were in front row, he was in back row) had taken his mask completely off. He probably figured he was on the ride, he could catch a reprieve, but Disney would not release the picture to me. She explained that because the mask mandate came from the CDC, Disney couldn't release any picture showing people not following the mandate. She gave me a number to call to see if they could crop the guy out of our picture so we could have it. I called, they cropped and I got the picture.

 

[DisneyMama811]

This! The level of rudeness and entitlement (not to mention absolute ignorance) I’ve seen from way too many people who supposedly love Disney has been astounding). This board is pretty good but some of the Facebook forums have completely disgusted me.

I read an article yesterday saying that the police have had to be called due to guests getting aggressive with cast members who were trying to enforce mask rules, it even stated some cast members have been spit on by guests...I was absolutely disgusted. what is wrong with people?

 

[Pats Dragon]

We visited in November. I liked safety enforcement because some people wouldnt otherwise be safe. It is enforced politely but firmly which limits freedom to snack. We were seared in Epcot having a drink and my daughter picked up her phone for a minute and put her drink on the table. She was asked to put a mask on. That was not a problem but the other stuff were problems: Loooong lines for rides, for shops , for counter service, for entrance to parks. Limited entertainment, small menus, uncertainty about "is that restaurant or ride open or not" making it hard to plan. I would not go now if you are going for rides. On the other hand we stayed at the Swan which was amazing without going to the parks and Disney Springs was also fun.

 

[AnnaS]

We just got back again and did not encounter any rude CMs or guests for that matter. There were a few here and there that were told to put the mask up. One bus driver told a parent she needed to have the child's mask up before boarding - all nicely and no attitude or rude comments.

There are though guests here and there who will pull it down while waiting in line to sip or eat something. One man was told no eating while in line. I did see a family - they all took their mask off while in line (inside where no CM could see them) and posed for a picture. There is always someone who is not following their marker and comes up almost behind you while waiting in line. They are oblivious - not paying attention, on their phone, having a conversation, etc. If you turn around and look at the ground/markers, they get the hint right away. All have been great except two women one day. I actually told them to please move up ahead of us. At first they looked at me puzzled and then they got it. As I please, I will be more comfortable if you move up in front of us. Half the ride on Splash Mountain they came up right behind us.

What I found a lot of people do not follow is the marker where there is a long stretch - way more than 6 feet - I don't think they realize why there is a long stretch. It is put there so no one is standing next to you when there is no dividers/plexiglass/plastic separating the lines.

It's not that much considering the number of people that are in the parks. You will also see someone who forgot to put on their mask and goes back to get it. It has happened to us too. We go a few feet - after getting up from the lounge chair at the pool to leave, use the restroom or as soon as we get up to leave after eating eating,- we stop, and put our mask on. It has not happened where a CM had to tell us to put it on. You know right away.

Many little children have it below their nose or under their chin. Honestly, they are so young - this does not bother me - it might to others. But again, for the most part - I think Disney is doing a great job trying to keep everyone safe. When a guest does not follow it for whatever reason - just do it out of respect for everyone else. They are doing it, do it for them. If one does not want to follow their rules - why are they going? Just to start trouble or see if they can get away with it or aggravate the CMs. We are all hot and tired of wearing it but we do it. I don't get it.

 

[Dug720]

Add to that, the bus drivers are hearing the grumbling and they aren't the cheeriest of people either - sometimes downright rude, definitely not what you would expect at WDW. It's been 7 months since we went but I have not heard that it has improved much.

This. I go solo pretty much every visit I make, and have never had any issues with CMs at Disney (the host at restaurants will often be like "Don't say 'Just me'! Yes, I'm here and it's awesome!!" when they ask if anyone's joining me and I say "No, it's just me.") - even bus drivers. EXCEPT this time. ONE was amazing and felt so bad that the people in front of me had just gotten on the bus and sorted themselves WAY out while he was finishing up from putting a scooter on - then refused to combine into their actual parties so I was the only one left standing there (I actually heard him radio to send a Poly bus immediately - not that it really helped, but I appreciate his effort). Most were fine, but nothing over the top. And one visibly sighed and rolled his eyes when I said "One" (I assume he did for the "One" guy behind me also). I get that they want to move as many people as possible, but we pay the same ticket price per person and we're footing the hotel bill ourselves so we have just as much right to ride the busses as anyone.

 

[Makmak]

I’ve overheard a fair number of families fuming about how ridiculous it is that their 4-year old be expected to keep their mask above their nose. My 4-year old did just fine in August. I suspect most kids could do just fine if their parents bought them masks thay fit appropriately (snugly) and stopped going around saying how “impossible” it is to wear masks.

I wish Disney CMs would be considerably more strict than they are to be honest. It’s not rocket science: wear a mask or don’t go.

I’ve noticed a new trend: People exiting the park on their last day use this to “make a statement” about the mask. This puts CM/TM in a bad situation. We are passholders so we are in all the parks a lot, and saw this first at Universal, a family group was leaving and near minions they were walking without any masks. A TM said they needed to have masks and the Mom looked at him and yelled “Um, that’s a NO....” rolled her eyes and another person said “we are leaving what will they do kick us out” and they all (including children around age 10-12ish) started laughing. I now watch near exits at end of day and have seen this on many other occasions. Many times the family will tell the kids take it off we are leaving, and start discussing how “ridiculous “ it is to mask children. At Disney I’ve seen security called when this happened but not yet at universal. I’m wondering if this will get worse, as pp have said, because more states lifting mandates so they will think it’s not important to wear them at the parks. Watching negative interactions impacts the park experience. The poor CMs......
Edited bc I’m old and typing on a phone haha.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

I went for ten days in Jan and found may cast members walking around with reminder signs. I never heard a cast member actually say anything to anybody. The downside is not the cast members being rude so much, but people walking around with their mask off holding a drink or bottle of water with their masks of, not ACTIVLY drinking, but thinking because they have a drink in their hand its ok not to wear a mask. Also at Epcot during the food festivals people will stand around a table and even though not ACTIVLY eating will go mask less. The center was the worse. There would be nothing on the table but yet people felt it ok to not wear masks. I do realize that there are some bad apples in every barrels, but again I never saw a cast member be rude to anybody. I had a friend who complained because he thought the cast members were being too lax and non confrontational and that too many people were getting away without wearing their masks. I again never saw this either.

 

[thegash35]

This! The level of rudeness and entitlement (not to mention absolute ignorance) I’ve seen from way too many people who supposedly love Disney has been astounding). This board is pretty good but some of the Facebook forums have completely disgusted me.

There's nothing worthwhile on FB at all anymore. Most FB Groups are absolute cesspools.

 

[_19disnA]

I’ve been hearing stories all over social media..........

I wouldn't look for social media to provide any useful information on most topics. It has become a place for people who always want to be angry about something.............such nonsense.............LOL.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I think the perceived rudeness from cast members is more likely people who don't like being told what to do....being told what to do because they are breaking Disney's rules.

I agree.
I heard "reminders" to those that needed to hear them. I never heard screaming.