Will Disney Soon Be Moving To Regular Capacity?

[yulilin3]

They won’t remove the mask mandate because guests wearing masks protect their workers. I can’t imagine how that would go over with the workers if they took away the mandate

Correct, this is part of the union standards that were agreed upon before reopening

 

[Donald-Duck-QUACK-TASTIC]

Correct, this is part of the union standards that were agreed upon before reopening

I'm curious what re-evaluation terms were set for that. I imagine every 3-6 months.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't expect full capacity till Q1 next year. Also fireworks will likely be back by spring or possibly once a week at MK much sooner.

It is my opinion that if they lift the mask mandate and simply recommend it, which I believe is their next step, likely by end of Q1 next year, they will have a huge influx of visitors. Anecdotal but I know many people waiting till masks aren't required to visit. But most the people I know are in their 30s and not concerned with the virus anymore than they're concerned with getting the flu or getting in a car accident. I respect people who are fearful for whatever reason and I hope they stay safe and healthy.

Life is full of risks. Life must go on.

The challenge with making them "recommended" vs "mandated" is that wearing the mask isn't really to protect you, it is to help protect others so unless everyone does it, there isn't as much benefit. If it was just for yourself then it would make more sense to leave it up to the individual

What I could see potentially in the future, as we start getting treatment/vaccine roll out is have more "break areas" or maybe even not require masks when outside and social distancing is largely able to happen - things like that. But I think for anything inside masks will be mandated for a long time

 

[Alicefan]

Disney won’t move to recommended masks until after there is an effective vaccine. Disney will be one of the last places in the country to have mandatory masks. Especially since there have been little to no issues with people actually being there wearing the masks. Yes it may be keeping a portion of travelers away (for whatever reasons) but the majority of travelers have done just fine with them. Disney won’t want the optics of moving to a recommended mask situation. And frankly, if they did, I wouldn’t be going anymore.

That's just it. You won't go, but someone waiting until they don't have to wear a mask will. It's going to be a back and forth for sure. They won't go on like this forever.

 

[Eric Smith]

That's just it. You won't go, but someone waiting until they don't have to wear a mask will. It's going to be a back and forth for sure. They won't go on like this forever.

Disney isn't going to put their cast members and guests at risk by repealing the mask rules any time soon. It would be an irresponsible move and would likely cause an outbreak that could be directly linked to Disney World which would be a disaster for the company.

 

[skeeter31]

The early reopening of Universal, which according to some insiders caught Disney of guard, shows us that Dis will likely follow Universal.

The optics won't be bad for Disney if Universal does it first. And I imagine Universal will lift their mask requirement shortly after the county allows it. I could still see them keeping it required for any indoor theater though.

We will likely not have a vaccine available to the healthy 45 yr old and under masses for a few years. Eventually we'll just have to accept the risks and move on. Some clearly already have. Disney can't afford to wait years for a widely available vaccine (few business in their industries can).

Guess we'll see what happens.

Disney was not caught off guard by Universal’s opening announcement. And Disney isn’t going to be forced to do something because Universal does it.

 

[skeeter31]

That's just it. You won't go, but someone waiting until they don't have to wear a mask will. It's going to be a back and forth for sure. They won't go on like this forever.

The main issue with the “mandatory vs recommended” argument is that it’s flawed from the get go. For a place like WDW, there really isn’t a such thing as recommended mask wearing. If they move to recommended, that just means people are then free to not have to wear masks. It’s the same as basically saying masks no longer have to be worn by anyone. And with the agreement with the CM union, that just will not happen. And frankly, I don’t think Disney wants the type of people who would want to walk around a theme park for 8 hours a day right now without a mask to come to the park. And yes, I know that’s going to be taken wrong by some people and some will take offense to it. But Disney doesn’t want to put their CMs or other paying guests at risk for the few that will want to walk around without a mask.

And I’m in no way a fan of mask. I don’t think there is a single person that loves masks and wants to walk around in the Florida heat with them on. They suck. They’re hot, sticky, wet, and overall disgusting. But we realize that we have to wear them to protect others right now.

Plus, I don’t think Disney would be doing the advertising they‘re doing right now if they were getting ready to remove the mask requirement. Their current commercial, which is a Christmas commercial, clearly has masks front and center, meaning masks are here at least through the end of the year. Plus, Disney keeps pumping out new masks designs on ShopDisney (some new ones just dropped today). All these signs point to masks being here for a long time.

I‘m not a betting man in any form, but this is something I feel extremely confident betting on. There is just no way Disney removes the mask requirement before there is an effective vaccine. They will be one of the last places in the country that will remove that mandate.

 

[Donald-Duck-QUACK-TASTIC]

Disney was not caught off guard by Universal’s opening announcement. And Disney isn’t going to be forced to do something because Universal does it.

Okay, well that goes against what two separate insiders with long accurate track records said.

 

[Alicefan]

Disney isn't going to put their cast members and guests at risk by repealing the mask rules any time soon. It would be an irresponsible move and would likely cause an outbreak that could be directly linked to Disney World which would be a disaster for the company.

But already, places like Walmart and some of the grocery stores are getting more lax. I noticed the other day that all of the Walmart stores have taken down their one way lines and there is no one under a tent counting how many people are going in. Also both doors are open and they're strangely pumping pop music out into the parking lots...almost feels celebratory. My cousin works for Food Lion says they're not allowed to even ask their customers to put on a mask.

I'm not in the camp of believers that Disney will wait on a vaccine. I mean, these other huge companies have the same responsibility to their employees that Disney has but things are slowly loosening up there. I of course don't know for sure, but it sure feels like a gradual shift is coming. I don't think Disney is worried about the "I won't come if they do this" group. Disney seems to have taken on the mindset that people will come no matter WHAT they do to them. ie; all of these constant price hikes and entertainment cuts. I imagine after all of these layoffs that they kind of feel the same about their workers as well. Let's face it, there is no shortage of people willing to work for Disney.

 

[yulilin3]

But already, places like Walmart and some of the grocery stores are getting more lax. I noticed the other day that all of the Walmart stores have taken down their one way lines and there is no one under a tent counting how many people are going in. Also both doors are open and they're strangely pumping pop music out into the parking lots...almost feels celebratory. My cousin works for Food Lion says they're not allowed to even ask their customers to put on a mask.

I'm not in the camp of believers that Disney will wait on a vaccine. I mean, these other huge companies have the same responsibility to their employees that Disney has but things are slowly loosening up there. I of course don't know for sure, but it sure feels like a gradual shift is coming. I don't think Disney is worried about the "I won't come if they do this" group. Disney seems to have taken on the mindset that people will come no matter WHAT they do to them. ie; all of these constant price hikes and entertainment cuts. I imagine after all of these layoffs that they kind of feel the same about their workers as well. Let's face it, there is no shortage of people willing to work for Disney.

The mask guidelines won't be removed anytime soon. The Unions and Disney agreed to provide all the protection to their CM when they decided to reopen. These guidelines have been set in place after weeks of talks. For them to be reversed it will need weeks of talks again and the Union has not mentioned to their members that they are in talks or not even in the early process of reconsidering backing away from masks.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

They should get rid of temperature checks first. They do nothing and take up room and time.

 

[mattpeto]

They should get rid of temperature checks first. They do nothing and take up room and time.

It doesn't do much.

If someone does have a fever, it just raises a flag if they could be infected with coronavirus, that's how I always interpret the reasoning. It's not great though, I agree.

 

[Krandor]

It doesn't do much.

If someone does have a fever, it just raises a flag if they could be infected with coronavirus, that's how I always interpret the reasoning. It's not great though, I agree.

Honestly if somebody has a fever regardless of it is covid or the flu or whatever they shouldn't be going to the parks.

 

[wareagle57]

It doesn't do much.

If someone does have a fever, it just raises a flag if they could be infected with coronavirus, that's how I always interpret the reasoning. It's not great though, I agree.

I think they are more useful for spreading out the arrival of guests than anything. Not sure if that's intentional, but I think it helps alleviate congestion at the touch points. I thought I heard today at Universal that their temp requirement is under 104. Maybe I misheard but that's just crazy. Covid or not, you don't need to be out and about anywhere with a 103 temperature. I'm pretty sure at Disney it's 102 which what they say is likely the threshold temperature for someone showing symptoms of the virus. But whenever I ask to see my reading, it's always a degree or two belong 98.6 and it makes me wonder if they intentionally calibrate them to show lower than your temperature actually is...

We will likely not have a vaccine available to the healthy 45 yr old and under masses for a few years. Eventually we'll just have to accept the risks and move on. Some clearly already have. Disney can't afford to wait years for a widely available vaccine (few business in their industries can).

Curious if you're basing this on anything? Lots of optimistic news that one could be rushed through for the end of the year, and I don't think we will spare any expenses expediting distribution to the masses. If we are lucky, I think we could start to see high risk people being vaccinated by January or even sooner, with distribution to the majority of the population that wants it by April. That may be a best case, but I certainly don't think it will be years at this point. Either way, masks aren't going anywhere at Disney (or Universal) until it happens for a significant portion of the population.

 

[Alicefan]

Just saw where the Gov just approved 100% capacity for Miami Dolphins games. 65,000 people with no social distancing.

 

[rteetz]

Just saw where the Gov just approved 100% capacity for Miami Dolphins games. 65,000 people with no social distancing.

It was noted that this wasn’t an actual change today but part of him limiting restrictions last week. The Dolphins like Disney have not moved to make any changes. I wouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

 

[Pyotr]

Just saw where the Gov just approved 100% capacity for Miami Dolphins games. 65,000 people with no social distancing.

Are you talking about Florida Phase 3? That was announced two weeks ago.

Have you watched a Dolphins game? They’re lucky to get 25k in the stands.

 

[Eric Smith]

Are you talking about Florida Phase 3? That was announced two weeks ago.

Have you watched a Dolphins game? They’re lucky to get 25k in the stands.

They’re one of the most COVID friendly teams in the league!

 

[andyman8]

That's just it. You won't go, but someone waiting until they don't have to wear a mask will. It's going to be a back and forth for sure. They won't go on like this forever.

Here's all I'll say on this: I think you vastly over-estimate how many people are not going to WDW because of the face covering requirement. Within the Disney fan community (which brings in pennies compared to the "first trip"/"haven't been in 5+ years" crowds), sure there are people who might be waiting for the mask requirement to drop, just like there are fans waiting for the return of fireworks, PH, parades, character meet & greets, longer hours, etc...

However, the vast majority of "typical" WDW Guests are not coming because 1) it is not feasible/possible at the moment (international travel restrictions, financial constraints, cumbersome quarantine requirements, etc...) or 2) they do not feel comfortable doing so. Surveying and polling over the summer showed that almost 3/4 of Americans did not feel comfortable visiting a theme park. Now while that number has likely gone down, conditions have not improved or changed substantially enough for that number to be even remotely close to an area where Disney wouldn't be feeling it. In my opinion, Disney would suffer if that number was just 1/4, let alone three times that. With many states still discouraging non-essential travel and many people harboring serious reservations about air travel and any sort of long-distance travel, many are just not comfortable traveling at the moment. It's not just at WDW but across the industry, "maskless" destinations included. That's not to mention that the stereotype of WDW is packed Christmas crowds. That's not helping either. Many folks probably are not even aware they're seriously reducing capacity, let alone requiring face coverings.

Disney will bring back lots of other offerings and features of the WDW experience before they get rid of the face covering requirement.

Okay, well that goes against what two separate insiders with long accurate track records said.

WDW and UOR (as well as SW) were all talking to each other throughout the closure. WDW absolutely knew what UOR's reopening plans were ahead of the official announcement. Were some CMs/TDO execs surprised that UOR was going to open VB? Surprised yes but not blindsided. I'm not sure what insiders you're referencing but the original source of the "blindsided" rumor was pretty far off on most of his reopening predictions.

 

[Krandor]

It was noted that this wasn’t an actual change today but part of him limiting restrictions last week. The Dolphins like Disney have not moved to make any changes. I wouldn’t expect that to change anytime soon.

Yeah. Just because the government says you can do something doesn't mean businesses will do it. and that applies to a lot of things beyond covid. Government sets the minimum standards and businesses decide what they want to do. As an example. the minimum wage for WDW is above the government minimum wage.