Questions about masking? I wore an N95 mask for 7 days in 90 degree heat while pushing a wheelchair - here's what I learned.

[FeliciaB23]

Thank you for sharing! My Mom (Who will be 70) and I (I will be 31) are going in November and are just hoping for the best. We both plan to mask every day with KN95s or double mask with a blue surgical + cloth mask over. We both wear a mask for hours at a time for work so it does not bother us in the slightest (Though, obviously mask free is more comfortable lol). This certainly gives us hope!

 

[KPeterso]

Thank you for your post. And I do agree with it. My Mom and I were at WDW in September and fully masked indoors and out with no issues at all. She did have the scooter there. We also go to Disneyland a lot and I do push the wheelchair there. And we are still masking almost all the time. Mostly drop for a few minutes at a time when away from others or eating (and at DL that is mostly outdoors). We are definitely in the minority with our masks, but my Mom is still recovering from major surgery at the end of Feb and coughing would be very painful for her if she got Covid. We will be wearing the masks at WDW in September again for sure!

 

[Polychrome]

I can promise you no one here cares what anyone else chooses to do in regards to masking

I was commenting that I was glad to hear the OP didn't have any push back at the parks on their masking choice as that was a concern for my upcoming trip

 

[Mrs.AMC]

I was commenting that I was glad to hear the OP didn't have any push back at the parks on their masking choice as that was a concern for my upcoming trip

?ok I was stating that as someone in the parks at the moment, along with many prior trips, no one cares what others are doing

 

[Polychrome]

?ok I was stating that as someone in the parks at the moment, along with many prior trips, no one cares what others are doing

ohhhhh, I didn't realize you were in the parks when you said "here" ! Lucky you ! Hope you had or are still having a great time

 

[Mrs.AMC]

ohhhhh, I didn't realize you were in the parks when you said "here" ! Lucky you ! Hope you had or are still having a great time

Ah. Yes. I can see how that is easily misunderstood

 

[fla4fun]

I was commenting that I was glad to hear the OP didn't have any push back at the parks on their masking choice as that was a concern for my upcoming trip

I was there three weeks ago, and masked except when eating and drinking, and no one commented one way or the other to me about my wearing one.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

More power to you. I fully support those who want to mask. There are many reasons you may want/need to.

We won’t be wearing masks.

Fortunately we are healthy and that’s what vaccinations and boosters are for anyway. (Which we all had)

We were in the parks last summer, right towards the start of our vacation when they re-implemented the mask mandate for indoor spaces. It was a downer but it did not make or break our vacation. We still had an amazing time.

Looking forward to our trip in July without them.
Dan

Yup, if some still want to wear masks and they don't bother them that's great. But for us yes they do ruin the experience and make it far less enjoyable.

 

[randumb0]

KF94's are more comfortable in my opinion

 

[mmouse37]

Me too! Tested negative before each flight and then the morning of my first day back to work I tested positive. Womp womp.

I'd like to add I don't necessarily "blame" the parks, beyond it would have been nice to have a lot more people masked indoors and in very tight quarters. But I understood the risk getting on a full airplane x2 and spending my days with hacking children and adults.

It was May 12-15 and was already rescheduled because of Omicron in January. I just wasn't sure what good postponing the trip AGAIN a couple months would do. I was as safe as I could possibly make myself and unfortunately I got sick.

How are you feeling...did you get really sick? If the vaccines do what are supposed to you should not get too sick, hopefully.

MJ

 

[snowwhite84]

We were there last week and masked religiously as well. We are pretty Covid safe. I would say we were in the EXTREME minority, I saw very few masks. And unlike other posters, I have did notice a few nasty looks and eye rolls, which didn’t bother me at all. Also my husband came home with Covid. We understand that’s the chance you take, we are all vaccinated and boosted. Will be returning later this summer so it didn’t deter us from future trips!

 

[randumb0]

We were there last week and masked religiously as well. We are pretty Covid safe. I would say we were in the EXTREME minority, I saw very few masks. And unlike other posters, I have did notice a few nasty looks and eye rolls, which didn’t bother me at all. Also my husband came home with Covid. We understand that’s the chance you take, we are all vaccinated and boost

Did you eat inside of the restaurants?

 

[snowwhite84]

Did you eat inside of the restaurants?

We did.

 

[ZerasPride]

Here to report my experience as we just returned from a wonderful trip! First one since 2019. My husband is extremely immune compromised and this was most likely his last trip to the parks because of his disabilities so it was a bittersweet trip. We are DVC so we will return for resort-only vacations and use our DVC for Hilton Head, Vero and Aulani.

Having said all that at the beginning of our trip (May 29-June 6) there were very few wearing masks. We noticed as the week went on more and more wore masks. We masked (KN95) even outside when in crowded areas and only removed the masks for eating in restaurants or if we were outside with no crowds around. Yes, the cast members did try to encourage folks to "fill in all available space" but with very few exceptions we were not packed in like sardines in waiting areas.

Again, overall it was a nice vacation and I am looking forward to a girls trip this fall! To all who have trips planned in the coming days and weeks - enjoy every minute of your trip!

Edit: To echo the poster below me we also carried our own hand sanitizer and used it frequently and I wiped down tables and common touch surfaces at mealtime with Clorox wipes. As is stated below do not rely on Disney's dispensers. When they were not empty, we found their sanitizer to be sticky and grainy if that makes sense. Yuck!

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

I've been to the parks with my family four times post-covid, and none of us have ever gotten Covid. I really do think though if you want to assure yourself of this, you need to do what we did, which is wear kn-95 masks at all times indoors, and if we were in a huge crowd outdoors we'd don them as well. We also carried around anti-bacterial hand wipes (don't rely on the dispensers, they are always empty), and we wiped down everyone's hands after every single ride. We also carried chlorox wipes and wiped down the toilet seats and flushers and door locks when taking our kids into the bathroom. Finally, indoor dining was strictly off limits (which was a real shame because my little ones love character meals). But they just really squeeze you in in those indoor restaurants, that's got to be a very high risk activity compared to almost anything else in the parks. We also avoid outdoor dining where it's close quarters.

Edit: And we don't fly, we drive (from New York).

 

[LiteBrite]

We were there last week, and we both came away with Covid. We left property on Sunday, hubby tested positive Monday morning and I tested positive Wednesday morning. We are both pretty sick, not go to the hospital level, but very miserable.

We are both fully vaxxed and double boosted. We wore our KN95s every time we were indoors, on rides, on buses, and any moment we were outside but in a crowded place.

We also decided not to mask on the Skyliner because we think they are very well ventilated, and we did share cars with others a couple of times.

We only ate outdoors, with 3 exceptions - once we were picking up food from ABC Commissary and it started pouring down rain just as we were heading for the doors with our trays to find a table outside. We caved and ate in the dining room which quickly became very crowded.

The other two times were at Connections Eatery, where we told ourselves it was a big room with high ceilings and we'd be ok.

I'm blaming it on our meal at ABC Commissary, but who really knows. Could have happened at Connections Eatery, or on the Skyliner, or anywhere. I'm just saying, people should be aware how easy it is to catch Covid at WDW right now. We really tried to be vigilant but it wasn't enough.

 

[Ducky0615]

Party of 9 wiped out by COVID this week, if you don’t get it while you’re here just count yourself lucky. It’s obvious many people have it, lots of hardcore coughing and some sneezing. The first day we were here and on the bus a man with a child who looked miserable had two bottles of childrens tylenol, of course it could have been for something else, but the chances are pretty good it was COVID. Even outdoor spaces are crowded enough to get you exposed to someone with it. Fireworks are packed, no personal space on ride lines, so just assume the risk is there.

 

[tentaguasu]

We only ate outdoors, with 3 exceptions - once we were picking up food from ABC Commissary and it started pouring down rain just as we were heading for the doors with our trays to find a table outside. We caved and ate in the dining room which quickly became very crowded.

First, I absolutely hope you feel better soon. I know that at some point Covid will almost certainly get us all - I'm glad I haven't gotten it (to my knowledge) yet. My best to you and your family.

Second - and please know that I'm 100% not blaming you here - but most of the stories I've seen of people getting sick involve some "exception" that the group took. Again, I understand. There are tough choices along the way - I know we weren't 100% perfect either. I had to go to the dentist soon after coming home, and, well, it is what it is. We got lucky with rain situations - but that was one we were pondering too... getting stuck in a very enclosed, packed place with no real options.

Just pointing out that the whole enterprise of being at Disney is sort of a "weakest link" situation. If you're 100% vigilant for 9 out of 10 days, and 50% vigilant one day... I mean, your odds are better, but it only takes one time.

In my family, I wore a really well fitted N95 almost all the time and always indoors. My 25 year old son wore an "OK fitted" KN95 most of the time. In reality, I might as well have been wearing his mask. He was the weakest link - if he got it, I'd almost certainly get it from him back at the hotel.

 

[daisylovesdisney]

Party of 9 wiped out by COVID this week, if you don’t get it while you’re here just count yourself lucky. It’s obvious many people have it, lots of hardcore coughing and some sneezing. The first day we were here and on the bus a man with a child who looked miserable had two bottles of childrens tylenol, of course it could have been for something else, but the chances are pretty good it was COVID. Even outdoor spaces are crowded enough to get you exposed to someone with it. Fireworks are packed, no personal space on ride lines, so just assume the risk is there.

It's really upsetting to hear people go out and about while sick, we'll be doubly careful. We're canceling plans to have any indoor meals after hearing how many people are getting sick while there.