Masks optional at WDW starting 6/15/21

[Jennasis]

Anyways...

My next trip isn't until September and then another in November. Does anybody feel that we need to take masks just "in case" Disney springs a mask requirement on us with little warning? They wouldn't do that... right??

Mask will be coming with us to WDW for the rest of our lives. We will wear them when packed like sardines on public transport or for parades and fireworks. It's not just Covid...I don't want a cold or the flu or norovirus or anything else. This last year has opened my eyes to the effectiveness of mask wearing and disease mitigation. First year of my life I didnt get so much as a sniffle. So we will mask up in crowds and wash hands like a surgeon frequently and enjoy the parks.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Anyways...

My next trip isn't until September and then another in November. Does anybody feel that we need to take masks just "in case" Disney springs a mask requirement on us with little warning? They wouldn't do that... right??

I would take them until there’s no more requirement on transportation. You’ll still need them for planes, busses and monorails. Once that’s over I will not be bringing them anywhere with me. I don’t use them at home at all either.

 

[annadreamsofdisneyworld]

Mask will be coming with us to WDW for the rest of our lives. We will wear them when packed like sardines on public transport or for parades and fireworks. It's not just Covid...I don't want a cold or the flu or norovirus or anything else. This last year has opened my eyes to the effectiveness of mask wearing and disease mitigation. First year of my life I didnt get so much as a sniffle. So we will mask up in crowds and wash hands like a surgeon frequently and enjoy the parks.

I'm not sure if ill bring them to the parks, but I might keep wearing them on planes and at doctor's offices/urgent cares/hospitals, especially in the winter.

 

[Remy is Up]

I know, and it's not the policy I have a problem with. My work has the same policy, but they can actually verify if someone is vaccinated or not.

That is a completely different conversation. But it does effect Disney policy.. Disney in Florida is bound by state law which says businesses, schools, etc may not demand proof of vaccination. So they remove the mask requirement, as they have,, and it becomes the choice of the individual as to whether or not they go. You assume the risk.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Anyways...

My next trip isn't until September and then another in November. Does anybody feel that we need to take masks just "in case" Disney springs a mask requirement on us with little warning? They wouldn't do that... right??

If you're flying or will be taking public transport right now it's through September 13th that requirement stands and it can always be extended. I don't know when your trip in September is.

I'd just keep some on hand in your home because I don't think any of us know how the fall will shape up. It's not just at Disney for trips it's the getting there too. Luckily masks don't take up too much room in a suitcase

 

[Jennasis]

MY DW and I though about doing this but wonder if it will weaken our immune system overtime. We think of it along the lines that kid's get sick all the time at daycare but develop a robust immune system that then benefit from in the future. I would love to see long term studies on this to see it it makes sense or not.

I don't know what is wrong or not but with the way my luck goes I would do this and then in my retirement years be getting sick from every little bug out there. lol

I work outdoors on a farm...manure and mud and all kinds of stuff for days. Not worried. Lol

 

[westie55]

For those who have visited in the past couple of days, what percentage of adults are you seeing masked indoors? What percentage of children are you seeing masked indoors? Are cast members asking children under 12 to mask indoors, since obviously they are not vaccinated?

 

[Remy is Up]

For those who have visited in the past couple of days, what percentage of adults are you seeing masked indoors? What percentage of children are you seeing masked indoors? Are cast members asking children under 12 to mask indoors, since obviously they are not vaccinated?

20% or less
And no on the kid question

 

[RobDoc]

For those who are accepting the https://www.disboards.com/threads/policy-on-covid-related-discussions.3840343/ thread pinned at the top of this forum - Thank You!

For those who have missed (or ignored) that thread - you have been warned.

For those predicting the closure of this thread or offering memes - such posts are off-topic and will be removed.

 

[Pyotr]

For those who have visited in the past couple of days, what percentage of adults are you seeing masked indoors? What percentage of children are you seeing masked indoors? Are cast members asking children under 12 to mask indoors, since obviously they are not vaccinated?

I was at Magic Kingdom and Wilderness lodge today. Maybe 10% of adults and 5% of children were masked indoors or on rides.

 

[Pyotr]

I took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom in the morning. Masks were not required and no one really had them on. I took the monorail back. When being loaded, we were told to have our masks on. I’d say 50% of the people in my monorail car didn’t have them on.

 

[HashberryOTG]

Has anyone noticed any changes to spacing in restaurants? I'd love for them to be able to get more diners in (staffing permitting ofc).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Has anyone noticed any changes to spacing in restaurants? I'd love for them to be able to get more diners in (staffing permitting ofc).

I saw on another thread that availability for July and August varied and some thought it was still social distancing at play for availability being difficult to come by.

 

[OregonDisDad]

Most people cite that Disney will adjust their policies if it hurts their bottom line and that is totally true, but most people overestimate just what those policies are and very few policy adjustments or add on costs are met with reversals or abandonment at least since my time on the DIS and boy there have been some doozy of ones lol. An observation of low percentage of mask wearing does not translate into dollars lost or gained for that matter. Patrons have been going to WDW with mask requirements as evidenced by post after post after post of capacity being reached, feeling of crowdedness, etc. As with most decisions Disney makes if you stop going someone will take your place. Circle of life and all

For the purposes of this thread however this may mean those who were planning on going have adjustments to make. If I only needed to wear a mask for transportation I probably would choose certain masks to bring with me since I wouldn't be wearing it all day long with me being fully vaccinated I have that option now with Disney's adjustment (and I'm a rule follower so if I wasn't fully vaccinated I would be abiding by their policy). When we flew in March to Vegas I double masked for the plane (was not vaccinated then) but may not do that now (a mask is still required for plane travel), the amount of disposable masks I bring less than before if I don't need to be swapping it out every few hours due to heat, humidity or getting the mask wet, etc. And being aware of the policy allows me to know my expectations of observations. I would have done the same if I had gone a different week to Vegas (a few weeks prior to us going occupancy allowed was lower and restaurants had to require reservations) and I can tell you people still went to Vegas even when masks were required, even when casinos had occupancy limits, even when gambling was social distanced, etc. In fact Vegas was a spring break destination this year.

I’m at WDW now. Virtually no masks anywhere, and it is great!!! I didn’t even bring one with me to the parks or Disney Springs today.

Cast members are still required to wear masks, but I see some removing them (saw a security officer in the park carrying his in his hand today). I also note that a good number of cast members seem to be covering their mouths, but not noses with the masks. So many, in fact, that I was wondering if there was a policy change that I was not aware of. lol

Was in Vegas for Spring break too, and was glad to see many people without masks. I didn’t wear one at all while outside, but still had to put it on when entering most businesses. Outside of Vegas, that seemed to fall away too. Still, the a sense of masks was nothing compared to what I’m seeing here in Disney now.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’m at WDW now. Virtually no masks anywhere, and it is great!!! I didn’t even bring one with me to the parks or Disney Springs today.

Cast members are still required to wear masks, but I see some removing them (saw a security officer in the park carrying his in his hand today). I also note that a good number of cast members seem to be covering their mouths, but not noses with the masks. So many, in fact, that I was wondering if there was a policy change that I was not aware of. lol

Was in Vegas for Spring break too, and was glad to see many people without masks. I didn’t wear one at all while outside, but still had to put it on when entering most businesses. Outside of Vegas, that seemed to fall away too. Still, the a sense of masks was nothing compared to what I’m seeing here in Disney now.

The conversation wasn't about it being great or not. It was about Disney losing money. You were at Disney presumably before the mask adjustment of yesterday so they didn't lose your money; you wanted to be there enough to go. Clearly people came knowing what Disney's policy was at the time of them going on the trip (regardless of whether they would abide by it or not) so Disney didn't lose money there either. And there doesn't seem to be any prior or present evidence to support that money would have been lost in the near future regarding a mask requirement even if people wish that were the case. I do think Disney adjusts when it hurts their bottom line I think people overestimate what that is. I think the MK tents are about the only decision I've seen them reverse quickly. But there are way too many other things I could name that just haven't made a dent enough to Disney to cave to guest pressure here in this situation.

*removed vegas stuff/off topic

 

[Liquidice]

Have been at WDW since last week, the change over has been incredible, it has gone from nearly 80% of people following mask mandates while indoors to virtually everyone being maskless indoors - word travels fast!

Was at MK yesterday and HS today. We've been mostly wearing masks while indoors, just to play it safe since my children aren't vaccinated but it is so easy to fall back into normalcy and forget to put them on or leave them in the stroller now ... kind of funny how quickly you go back to being comfortable with the way things were.

On most rides there are no more social distancing markers, and even the ones with the markers are being completely ignored now. I got to unfortunately smell someone's BO in front of my today while waiting in line - certainly a negative aspect of returning to normal LOL!

I even had CMs telling us to fill all available space today on Rise of the Resistance as you entered the first pre-show room, wow it is definitely getting back to normal!

I took the friendship boats this morning and the CM announced that masks were optional on the friendship boats and other boats but were mandatory on the monorail, buses and skyliner.

Heat is certainly a lot more bearable without the masks outside (When I was last here in April masks were mandatory everywhere except while taking photographs outside).

BTW- There was a question on dining and spacing - I definitely noticed tables were closer together at different restaurants. For example we ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe - on the 14th, the night before masks were optional and the tables were pretty close together. At Oga's Cantina today every table was being used although they were not putting parties together at the same standing table area like they were pre-pandemic. So I do think restaurant capacity has increased.

All in all - a great trip so far!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

At Oga's Cantina today every table was being used although they were not putting parties together at the same standing table area like they were pre-pandemic. So I do think restaurant capacity has increased.

Oga's was one I was reading about. So what they were doing was filling each table but not putting multiple groups together? What about the booths? When we went in DLR pre-pandemic we were a party of 2 sat at a booth with a I believe 2 other parties (multiple people in each party). Are they keeping the booths just for your party only right now?

 

[Heigh-Ho]

'While we will not require proof of vaccination, we expect Guests who are not fully vaccinated to continue wearing face coverings in all indoor locations, and upon entering and throughout all attractions and transportation.'

Make sure to bring your masks with you if you either are unvaccinated (so not a whole lot has changed for these individuals), will be using Disney's transportation, or feel more comfortable wearing a mask even if you are vaccinated. Don't be like me and be the person who forgets the mask like I have my cell phone charger for the parks!

 

[OregonDisDad]

I figured you'd respond lol. The conversation wasn't about it being great or not. It was about Disney losing money. You were at Disney presumably before the mask adjustment of yesterday so they didn't lose your money; you wanted to be there enough to go. Clearly people came knowing what Disney's policy was at the time of them going on the trip (regardless of whether they would abide by it or not) so Disney didn't lose money there either. And there doesn't seem to be any prior or present evidence to support that money would have been lost in the near future regarding a mask requirement even if people wish that were the case. I do think Disney adjusts when it hurts their bottom line I think people overestimate what that is. I think the MK tents are about the only decision I've seen them reverse quickly. But there are way too many other things I could name that just haven't made a dent enough to Disney to cave to guest pressure here in this situation.

When we were in Vegas early/mid March majority wore them on the Strip outside but some didn't. But they were big on mask compliance within the casinos and restaurants. As well as spacing. We watched the Wynn waterfall show and security came out to remind a couple to put on their masks (and wouldn't leave til they put it on) and that they should be keeping distance (which most everyone did). The only place where distance took a backseat was when Bellagio's flower display opened up and that was because they just randomly opened it up (it wasn't supposed to open for several more days) but mask compliance was good. Vegas adjusted things after we left but masks were still required in many places. Wynn, where we stayed at, actually I think was the first one to remove their requirement on their casino floor (don't quote me on that) but that was like May-ish or so I think?

I’m mainly reporting on what we are seeing on the ground here, and that is a huge shift toward what it was like pre-Covid. We scheduled our trip on fairly short notice, once we saw things moving toward dropping restrictions. I’d guessed that most restrictions would be down by mid-June, so we arrived June 14th. Only one day with masks indoors, and it seemed loosely enforced (in Epcot).

As for reversing the decisions on lifting Covid restrictions, I really don’t see that happening. It could just be the people we chatted with, but we didn’t talk to a single person who thought things were moving too fast. Maybe the parks are full of people who feel a certain way, but they do seem quite full. I’m not sure why Disney would change course when they will eventually end up in the same place.

 

[Liquidice]

Oga's was one I was reading about. So what they were doing was filling each table but not putting multiple groups together? What about the booths? When we went in DLR pre-pandemic we were a party of 2 sat at a booth with a I believe 2 other parties (multiple people in each party). Are they keeping the booths just for your party only right now?

It seems as though it was only 1 party to a booth - I didn't look super carefully to know for sure though, but my experience has been even pre-pandemic that only larger parties (6 or more) were sat in the booths at Oga's in Hollywood Studios - could be wrong though! I've gone multiple times as a party of 2 and 4 and we always are "seated" at the standing tables or the bar.

There were also definitely more seats at the bar itself than previously though!