tentaguasu
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2002
I've seen a few threads here and there wondering about masking in the parks. My family had questions and concerns, too, so I thought I'd share my experience. I'll do it in Q&A form, just to organize my ideas.
TLDR: Did wearing masks significantly impact the fun of Disney?
The short answer is "no." We had a blast and would be comfortable doing Disney in a mask again. I worried that it would rob some of the joy of the trip - everything from feeling overwhelmed in the hot, humid conditions to not being able to smell Pirates of the Caribbean. But we had a blast. I would 100% do Disney with a mask again.
Let's put it this way - it rained off and on the last day of our trip. That was a bigger inconvenience than the masks were. In other words, I'd pick a sunny day at Disney wearing a mask over a rainy day at Disney without a mask. (And I'd be happy to do Disney in the rain).
That said, everyone has a different experience or feeling. What I say below was my experience, your mileage my vary.
What was the weather like?
We started the week mid-80s and ended the second week in the mid-90s. Obviously, the hotter it got, the worse masking was, but it wasn't really that bad at any point, IMO. Both my wife and I agreed that masks didn't make us feel hotter overall, though of course that part of your face is going to get hot and sweaty. Maybe think of it this way - let's say it's really hot and humid and you have to wear those thick tennis wristbands. Your wrists are going to get hot and sweaty, and it's a huge relief to pull them off. But it's not like your overall body temperature is going to shoot up due to having your wrists covered up.
What about breathing?
My wife struggled a bit more, I was mostly fine. But she got used to it and agreed that it was still a great time. I've heard that it's a lot about training your body to be OK with a mask. I can't confirm this scientifically (both because I don't know for sure, but also because I don't want to run afoul of forum rules), but I've heard that your body immediately reacts negatively to a mask because, basically, it doesn't feel right. It suggests to your body that you're not able to breath freely, and all of the natural "freak out" mechanisms kick in. But once your body figures out that it's not actually in trouble, it stops caring so much. I have to use masks for work, as did my younger son for school. Both of us were fine on day 1. My wife was unused to masks, so she struggled for the first few days, but was more adapted as the trip went on. In short, I'd spend time "practicing" with a mask for long periods of time before going.
What about, uh, sweat?
Prodigious. Lots of sweat. But that doesn't bother me too much personally. I'd hold my breath, take of the mask for a moment, wipe away sweat, refit the mask, and breath again. I changed masks once or twice a day.
Were you using a mask the whole time?
Mostly. We would drop the mask when we were outside and not around many people. We wore it religiously 100% of the time when in lines, on rides, or in crowded areas. We'd rest a bit by taking them off when crowds were thin or by stealing off to a quiet corner to rest a bit. We'd re-mask if crowds were getting denser. (I'd just pull my mask down and keep it around my neck.) Also, our mask usage was strongest when indoors in AC, so that helps.
What about eating?
100% outdoors. We always ate outdoors and always tried to say distant from people. I'd say 20% of the time we were at a table with another table nearby, 50% of the time were were at a table with at least an empty table between and 30% of the time we were able to find a place that was at least 20 feet from anyone else. There are more findable "dead spots" than you'd think if you're focused on finding them.
So overall mask usage?
Probably 70% of the day, give or take, sometimes hours at a time.
What kind of masks did you use?
I was full bore, N95 super sealed mask. We're very serious about masking, so this was as close to "hospital grade, no gap" masking as you're going to get without a professional fit. I won't post specifics here to avoid breaking any rules, but I can DM you the specific type I used if you're interested. My wife hates the N95 because of the head straps, so she used a well fitted Korean KN95.
What's that wheelchair thing?!
My wife has some physical limitations, and I'm a cheapskate, so I rented a wheelchair and pushed her through the parks. So I was not only wearing a tightly fitted N95 mask, I was pushing a person in a wheelchair all day. According my my son's Apple watch, we did about 11 miles a day, and I pushed her the whole way for 7 days. So just saying that it's doable.
What kind of physical shape are you in?
It's a mix. I'm in my early 50s, so no spring chicken anymore, but I'm in pretty good shape. I'm overweight, but not by much. Just a bit of a middle-age extra around the midsection. I bike about 20 miles a week and walk another 10, do 12 pushups and curls a day. Just enough to keep a bit of old-man muscle definition. So solid condition, but nothing spectacular.
What else did you do?
We did a few things. We rented a car so we were doing our own transportation. We avoided closed in spaces when possible. So, for instance, we took the ferry to MK rather than the monorail. More wide open, more aired out. We never ate indoors. I decided to pay for Genie+ for the whole trip to reduce the amount of lines I was in. I definitely waited in some for a while (we did RotR twice in end-of-day standby, and Remy twice at rope drop twice), but that helped reduce the times. It was probably overkill, but that was a choice we made.
Was anyone else wearing a mask? Did you feel like a weirdo?
Masks are definitely not common anymore. But they're not invisible either. I'd say maybe 25% of cast members are wearing them and maybe 5% of guests. I did not feel like a weirdo. Then again, I have a pretty low "self consciousness" index. I'm not saying that's a virtue, it's just my nature not to care very much what others think. On the other hand, my two sons are more self-conscious, and neither of them had an issue. One was worried, but after an hour or two in the park, he was fine.
Also, let's be honest, Disney is full of... let's call ourselves "unique" people. I think part of the Disney ethos is "live and let live" and that was my experience.
Did you get any nasty comments? Ugly looks?
Not a single one. That said, I'm a 50+ dude who is 6 feet tall, weighs about 210, is fairly strong looking, and have a natural RBF, so I'm not an obvious easy target, so probably not the person most likely to get a nasty comment. Still, I'd say 99% of people are 100% invested in their own fun. I maybe got a couple of looks here and there, maybe? But really not noticeable. In fact, I'd say I got a few more looks from others wearing masks, kind of a "team mask" solidarity look.
I cannot tell you whether what we did was "safe" (nor would I speculate on that here), but I can say that doing a mask - even a tight fitting one on 95 degree days and pushing a wheelchair for 11 miles a day - was 100% doable and 100% worth it.
Your experience may not match mine, but we had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat.
I hope that helps anyone else who is Covid cautious and uncertain about the mask experience at Disney.
TLDR: Did wearing masks significantly impact the fun of Disney?
The short answer is "no." We had a blast and would be comfortable doing Disney in a mask again. I worried that it would rob some of the joy of the trip - everything from feeling overwhelmed in the hot, humid conditions to not being able to smell Pirates of the Caribbean. But we had a blast. I would 100% do Disney with a mask again.
Let's put it this way - it rained off and on the last day of our trip. That was a bigger inconvenience than the masks were. In other words, I'd pick a sunny day at Disney wearing a mask over a rainy day at Disney without a mask. (And I'd be happy to do Disney in the rain).
That said, everyone has a different experience or feeling. What I say below was my experience, your mileage my vary.
What was the weather like?
We started the week mid-80s and ended the second week in the mid-90s. Obviously, the hotter it got, the worse masking was, but it wasn't really that bad at any point, IMO. Both my wife and I agreed that masks didn't make us feel hotter overall, though of course that part of your face is going to get hot and sweaty. Maybe think of it this way - let's say it's really hot and humid and you have to wear those thick tennis wristbands. Your wrists are going to get hot and sweaty, and it's a huge relief to pull them off. But it's not like your overall body temperature is going to shoot up due to having your wrists covered up.
What about breathing?
My wife struggled a bit more, I was mostly fine. But she got used to it and agreed that it was still a great time. I've heard that it's a lot about training your body to be OK with a mask. I can't confirm this scientifically (both because I don't know for sure, but also because I don't want to run afoul of forum rules), but I've heard that your body immediately reacts negatively to a mask because, basically, it doesn't feel right. It suggests to your body that you're not able to breath freely, and all of the natural "freak out" mechanisms kick in. But once your body figures out that it's not actually in trouble, it stops caring so much. I have to use masks for work, as did my younger son for school. Both of us were fine on day 1. My wife was unused to masks, so she struggled for the first few days, but was more adapted as the trip went on. In short, I'd spend time "practicing" with a mask for long periods of time before going.
What about, uh, sweat?
Prodigious. Lots of sweat. But that doesn't bother me too much personally. I'd hold my breath, take of the mask for a moment, wipe away sweat, refit the mask, and breath again. I changed masks once or twice a day.
Were you using a mask the whole time?
Mostly. We would drop the mask when we were outside and not around many people. We wore it religiously 100% of the time when in lines, on rides, or in crowded areas. We'd rest a bit by taking them off when crowds were thin or by stealing off to a quiet corner to rest a bit. We'd re-mask if crowds were getting denser. (I'd just pull my mask down and keep it around my neck.) Also, our mask usage was strongest when indoors in AC, so that helps.
What about eating?
100% outdoors. We always ate outdoors and always tried to say distant from people. I'd say 20% of the time we were at a table with another table nearby, 50% of the time were were at a table with at least an empty table between and 30% of the time we were able to find a place that was at least 20 feet from anyone else. There are more findable "dead spots" than you'd think if you're focused on finding them.
So overall mask usage?
Probably 70% of the day, give or take, sometimes hours at a time.
What kind of masks did you use?
I was full bore, N95 super sealed mask. We're very serious about masking, so this was as close to "hospital grade, no gap" masking as you're going to get without a professional fit. I won't post specifics here to avoid breaking any rules, but I can DM you the specific type I used if you're interested. My wife hates the N95 because of the head straps, so she used a well fitted Korean KN95.
What's that wheelchair thing?!
My wife has some physical limitations, and I'm a cheapskate, so I rented a wheelchair and pushed her through the parks. So I was not only wearing a tightly fitted N95 mask, I was pushing a person in a wheelchair all day. According my my son's Apple watch, we did about 11 miles a day, and I pushed her the whole way for 7 days. So just saying that it's doable.
What kind of physical shape are you in?
It's a mix. I'm in my early 50s, so no spring chicken anymore, but I'm in pretty good shape. I'm overweight, but not by much. Just a bit of a middle-age extra around the midsection. I bike about 20 miles a week and walk another 10, do 12 pushups and curls a day. Just enough to keep a bit of old-man muscle definition. So solid condition, but nothing spectacular.
What else did you do?
We did a few things. We rented a car so we were doing our own transportation. We avoided closed in spaces when possible. So, for instance, we took the ferry to MK rather than the monorail. More wide open, more aired out. We never ate indoors. I decided to pay for Genie+ for the whole trip to reduce the amount of lines I was in. I definitely waited in some for a while (we did RotR twice in end-of-day standby, and Remy twice at rope drop twice), but that helped reduce the times. It was probably overkill, but that was a choice we made.
Was anyone else wearing a mask? Did you feel like a weirdo?
Masks are definitely not common anymore. But they're not invisible either. I'd say maybe 25% of cast members are wearing them and maybe 5% of guests. I did not feel like a weirdo. Then again, I have a pretty low "self consciousness" index. I'm not saying that's a virtue, it's just my nature not to care very much what others think. On the other hand, my two sons are more self-conscious, and neither of them had an issue. One was worried, but after an hour or two in the park, he was fine.
Also, let's be honest, Disney is full of... let's call ourselves "unique" people. I think part of the Disney ethos is "live and let live" and that was my experience.
Did you get any nasty comments? Ugly looks?
Not a single one. That said, I'm a 50+ dude who is 6 feet tall, weighs about 210, is fairly strong looking, and have a natural RBF, so I'm not an obvious easy target, so probably not the person most likely to get a nasty comment. Still, I'd say 99% of people are 100% invested in their own fun. I maybe got a couple of looks here and there, maybe? But really not noticeable. In fact, I'd say I got a few more looks from others wearing masks, kind of a "team mask" solidarity look.
I cannot tell you whether what we did was "safe" (nor would I speculate on that here), but I can say that doing a mask - even a tight fitting one on 95 degree days and pushing a wheelchair for 11 miles a day - was 100% doable and 100% worth it.
Your experience may not match mine, but we had a blast and would do it again in a heartbeat.
I hope that helps anyone else who is Covid cautious and uncertain about the mask experience at Disney.
