Orange County Fl may lift mask mandate by June

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My bet is on a July announcement of being able to walk around OUTSIDE without masks - a voluntary policy. This announcement that would be effective in July - announced in Late May would increase reservations 100 fold. Disney is looking to recoup loses as soon as possible, while still allowing people to be safe -no mask outdoors could be announced now and it would make sense. CDC or no CDC

You dont make an announcement like that 2 months in advance. What happens to the people currently on vacation or have a planned trip between the announcement and it becoming effective in July? You think people with June reservations are going to be ok with knowing that Disney is fine with taking masks away outdoors in July, but not June? 99.9999% chance Disney makes an announcement no more than 5-10 days before allowing you to walk around outdoors without a mask
 
You dont make an announcement like that 2 months in advance. What happens to the people currently on vacation or have a planned trip between the announcement and it becoming effective in July? You think people with June reservations are going to be ok with knowing that Disney is fine with taking masks away outdoors in July, but not June? 99.9999% chance Disney makes an announcement no more than 5-10 days before allowing you to walk around outdoors without a mask
Exactly. Not to mention that CDC guidance and the situation itself can change a lot in a couple months.
 
Exactly. Not to mention that CDC guidance and the situation itself can change a lot in a couple months.
I think people are putting way too much faith in the CDC - Disney obviously takes the CDC guidance into consideration and will follow what it recommends but it isn't bound by the CDC. I also think people are missing the fact that Disney is about making profits, I know this isn't a popular opinion, however, it's the truth. Disney will weigh making up lost revenue vs CDC "guidance" - Disney has a lot of weight on the policies that are implemented in Orange County. I would be willing to be that an "unofficial" announcement is made around Memorial Day about masks, if not sooner. I am not really sure Disney cares when you made your reservation - you have to make an announcement at some point and someone will be effected, like it or not. People with June reservations will have to deal with it - just like those this week who have to take pictures with masks.
 

I think people are putting way too much faith in the CDC - Disney obviously takes the CDC guidance into consideration and will follow what it recommends but it isn't bound by the CDC. I also think people are missing the fact that Disney is about making profits, I know this isn't a popular opinion, however, it's the truth. Disney will weigh making up lost revenue vs CDC "guidance" - Disney has a lot of weight on the policies that are implemented in Orange County. I would be willing to be that an "unofficial" announcement is made around Memorial Day about masks, if not sooner. I am not really sure Disney cares when you made your reservation - you have to make an announcement at some point and someone will be effected, like it or not. People with June reservations will have to deal with it - just like those this week who have to take pictures with masks.

Because they've been quoted on multiple occasions as following CDC guidelines as much as they can.

There's a big difference between announcing rules changes 2 days vs 2 months in advance. I'm in the business world. I get that they are about the money. I know for a fact that Disney has plans to increase attendance as much as they can by this summer, but there's a multitude of reasons that they won't announce that type of thing 2 months out.
 
I think people are putting way too much faith in the CDC - Disney obviously takes the CDC guidance into consideration and will follow what it recommends but it isn't bound by the CDC. I also think people are missing the fact that Disney is about making profits, I know this isn't a popular opinion, however, it's the truth. Disney will weigh making up lost revenue vs CDC "guidance" - Disney has a lot of weight on the policies that are implemented in Orange County. I would be willing to be that an "unofficial" announcement is made around Memorial Day about masks, if not sooner. I am not really sure Disney cares when you made your reservation - you have to make an announcement at some point and someone will be effected, like it or not. People with June reservations will have to deal with it - just like those this week who have to take pictures with masks.

Disney has said over and over that they are following CDC guidance. That’s why.

While they are not bound by the CDC in any way, they are definitely sensitive to the optics of going against CDC guidelines, especially after touting that they are following them. They don’t want those headlines right now - “Disney removes mask mandate, against CDC guidance.”

Sorry, it’s just not going to happen.

I personally don’t see the loosening of the masks for stationary photos as a big deal or any kind of sign that masks will be lifted completely soon. Seems like a logical change since you could already take them off to eat and drink while stationary.

They certainly won’t announce lifting the mask mandate months in advance, either. I think all of a sudden the messaging will just change from masks are required to masks are recommended, maybe a week in advance at the most. I think it will be less than that.

There is still pent up demand for the parks and they know the return depends quite a bit on more people feeling confident traveling again. This has been discussed on investor calls. Vaccinations and driving the numbers way down are the key to building confidence back up about travel. Also to driving down spread enough to lift the mask mandate.

Time will tell.
 
Because they've been quoted on multiple occasions as following CDC guidelines as much as they can.

There's a big difference between announcing rules changes 2 days vs 2 months in advance. I'm in the business world. I get that they are about the money. I know for a fact that Disney has plans to increase attendance as much as they can by this summer, but there's a multitude of reasons that they won't announce that type of thing 2 months out.
I'll give you that they won't make an announcement 2 months in advance but it will be weeks prior to it taking effect - Disney will want to give people a chance to re-book. I would not be surprised to see this coordinated with the Summer discount announcement. Disney will be looking to increase capacity and resort occupancy in late May (and there are 3 more resorts that are slated to open).
 
Life for CMs is tough enough without Disney saying that they’ll be ending the mask rule in two months but visitors coming prior to that just have to deal with it. It’s not happening that way.
I didn't mean 2 months in advance - I meant the announcement will be made prior to July 4th and will be way in advance of 5 days.
 
Based solely on the fact that Disney is offering an incentive through the end of September for CMs to get their vaccines, I would not expect them to reduce their mask requirements for guests very much until at least October. I don’t know if the unions had stipulations in place for mask requirements before and after vaccine availability or not, but it would make sense if they did. I have always felt there would still be restrictions in place through the 50th anniversary weekend, since there may be increased crowds at that time.
 
Disney has said over and over that they are following CDC guidance. That’s why.

While they are not bound by the CDC in any way, they are definitely sensitive to the optics of going against CDC guidelines, especially after touting that they are following them. They don’t want those headlines right now - “Disney removes mask mandate, against CDC guidance.”

Sorry, it’s just not going to happen.

I personally don’t see the loosening of the masks for stationary photos as a big deal or any kind of sign that masks will be lifted completely soon. Seems like a logical change since you could already take them off to eat and drink while stationary.

They certainly won’t announce lifting the mask mandate months in advance, either. I think all of a sudden the messaging will just change from masks are required to masks are recommended, maybe a week in advance at the most. I think it will be less than that.

There is still pent up demand for the parks and they know the return depends quite a bit on more people feeling confident traveling again. This has been discussed on investor calls. Vaccinations and driving the numbers way down are the key to building confidence back up about travel. Also to driving down spread enough to lift the mask mandate.

Time will tell.
I disagree. The messaging from Bob C may have some believing that Disney won't go against CDC guidelines, however, it's the share holders who make the ultimate decisions, CDC guidance or not. Disney has been bleeding money since the shutdown, and the first opportunity they have to recoup it, they are going to take it. The allowing mask to be removed for pictures was a strategic move by Disney and signals where they are headed, and head quickly. The numbers are down and confidence really hasn't been an issue for WDW, people are coming and more will come when they lift the outside mask mandate. Profits drive Disney and getting as close to normal for the 50th is Disney's goal.
 
I'll give you that they won't make an announcement 2 months in advance but it will be weeks prior to it taking effect - Disney will want to give people a chance to re-book. I would not be surprised to see this coordinated with the Summer discount announcement. Disney will be looking to increase capacity and resort occupancy in late May (and there are 3 more resorts that are slated to open).

Why would they want people to rebook? They don’t. They’d want people to come when they planned and more people to book for after the masks are lifted. That’s one reason why they won’t announce it early. They definitely don’t want people rebooking.
 
Based solely on the fact that Disney is offering an incentive through the end of September for CMs to get their vaccines, I would not expect them to reduce their mask requirements for guests very much until at least October. I don’t know if the unions had stipulations in place for mask requirements before and after vaccine availability or not, but it would make sense if they did. I have always felt there would still be restrictions in place through the 50th anniversary weekend, since there may be increased crowds at that time.
I think Disney will use July 4th as a test of crowds for a loosened mask mandate. Gearing up for the 50th is key for Disney now and getting numbers back on property is a priority.
 
Why would they want people to rebook? They don’t. They’d want people to come when they planned and more people to book for after the masks are lifted. That’s one reason why they won’t announce it early. They definitely don’t want people rebooking.
Why would they want people to rebook? They don’t. They’d want people to come when they planned and more people to book for after the masks are lifted. That’s one reason why they won’t announce it early. They definitely don’t want people rebooking.
They will give people an opportunity to re-book if situations change - and they will at some point, like it or not - it will be a small amount of people who would choose to re-book anyway. The change is coming soon - I still think people are missing Disney's motivation here...and it's not the guest's feelings.
 
I think Disney will use July 4th as a test of crowds for a loosened mask mandate. Gearing up for the 50th is key for Disney now and getting numbers back on property is a priority.

Could be, but I see capacity as an either /or right now. If you keep masks and distancing, you can increase capacity because the vaccine is reducing the risk. If you get rid of the masks and/or the spacing, you have to keep the capacity lower to get the same effect. I think Disney would rather increase capacity than get rid of the restrictions. But that is just my opinion.

Obviously, the situation changes as time goes on, and if more people get vaccinated we can safely allow more people in while reducing restrictions. But it is easier to keep restrictions in place a few months longer than it is to reinstate them if there is a surge related to Easter travel in a couple weeks, or a surge related to summer travel in a couple months. It would be worse for people to book trips thinking they no longer had to wear masks, only to arrive and find they do have to wear them because the infection rate spiked.

I know everyone would like things to be relaxed right away. I would too. But knowing how seriously Disney takes their PR, I don’t see them doing anything that will open them up to a Covid case that can be tracked back to WDW. They could even go so far as to wait and see what happens when DL opens before making decisions here.
 
In other news . . .
Florida has become the first state to surpass 3,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 variants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
No other state has even 2,000 variant cases and only two (Michigan and Minnesota) have reached 1,000.
The CDC’s latest data shows 3,191 cases of the U.K. (B.1.1.7) strain, up from 2,351 in the previous numbers from the end of last week.
In addition, Florida has found 64 cases of the Brazilian (P.1) variant (up from 55) and 24 cases of the South African (B.1.351) strain (up from 16). FWIW
 
Could be, but I see capacity as an either /or right now. If you keep masks and distancing, you can increase capacity because the vaccine is reducing the risk. If you get rid of the masks and/or the spacing, you have to keep the capacity lower to get the same effect. I think Disney would rather increase capacity than get rid of the restrictions. But that is just my opinion.

Obviously, the situation changes as time goes on, and if more people get vaccinated we can safely allow more people in while reducing restrictions. But it is easier to keep restrictions in place a few months longer than it is to reinstate them if there is a surge related to Easter travel in a couple weeks, or a surge related to summer travel in a couple months. It would be worse for people to book trips thinking they no longer had to wear masks, only to arrive and find they do have to wear them because the infection rate spiked.

I know everyone would like things to be relaxed right away. I would too. But knowing how seriously Disney takes their PR, I don’t see them doing anything that will open them up to a Covid case that can be tracked back to WDW. They could even go so far as to wait and see what happens when DL opens before making decisions here.
I don't agree on WDW waiting to see what happens in CA. We are looking at 2 completely different models in park and crowd attendance. WDW is setting the stage and has been as a leader in how to do things right - yes, they are cautious but this summer is going to be a great testing period for the 50th. Allowing the mask policy to be voluntary, at least for outside, is going a long way to making people feel more comfortable and this is key for the 50th. I think WDW is going to be the leader on this front and not a follower - Florida and CA are way different animals.
 
I don't agree on WDW waiting to see what happens in CA. We are looking at 2 completely different models in park and crowd attendance. WDW is setting the stage and has been as a leader in how to do things right - yes, they are cautious but this summer is going to be a great testing period for the 50th. Allowing the mask policy to be voluntary, at least for outside, is going a long way to making people feel more comfortable and this is key for the 50th. I think WDW is going to be the leader on this front and not a follower - Florida and CA are way different animals.

They are different animals, however, if they have widely different policies when DL opens, there will be a lot of guests that will be upset if there are masks at DL and not at WDW. I don’t expect the policies to be identical, but similar.

At the very least, I expect WDW to let Universal and SW be the guinea pigs when it comes to relaxing mask requirements, so if there are issues they won’t be laid at Disney’s door. That may be a bigger indicator of when restrictions will be relaxed. They have been stricter than both parks throughout the pandemic, and I don’t see them becoming less conservative than them at this point.

I would be happy if masks and spacing were gone by my trip for anniversary weekend, and happy if they would bring back FP and open up all the shows and restaurants. But I am not getting my hopes up yet. I will go either way.
 
They are different animals, however, if they have widely different policies when DL opens, there will be a lot of guests that will be upset if there are masks at DL and not at WDW. I don’t expect the policies to be identical, but similar.

At the very least, I expect WDW to let Universal and SW be the guinea pigs when it comes to relaxing mask requirements, so if there are issues they won’t be laid at Disney’s door. That may be a bigger indicator of when restrictions will be relaxed. They have been stricter than both parks throughout the pandemic, and I don’t see them becoming less conservative than them at this point.

I would be happy if masks and spacing were gone by my trip for anniversary weekend, and happy if they would bring back FP and open up all the shows and restaurants. But I am not getting my hopes up yet. I will go either way.
I hope that those things are back in place for your trip too. It's hard planning a trip without FPs - we will be doing more resort time this summer and less park time - and we will be spending more time at the waterparks (hoping to see Typhoon Lagoon open soon - I think it will be open late May). I do think Florida will take way more risks than CA and thus, Disney will be more willing to loosen restrictions due to the time it has been open already. DL will be playing catchup to WDW, and that is fine.
 
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