When Walt Disney World reopened last month, they put into place several rules and regulations to help keep guests safe and healthy while they visited the theme parks. And while a vast majority of these rules are still in effect, Disney has been slowly updating its policies and rules over the past few weeks. If you’re planning on visiting Walt Disney World in the next few months, here are all the changes you need to know about
1.Disney extends flexible cancellation dates
Walt Disney World recently updated its temporary cancellation and modification policy to include all arrivals through the end of 2020. That means that if plans change after booking, any Disney-imposed change and cancellation fees will be waived up to the date of check-in for reservations with arrivals through December 31, 2020.
2. Guests can now eat inside theme parks after hours
Several weeks ago Walt Disney World cut hours across its parks, but guests still looking to grab a bite to eat at a few select locations can now stay in the parks longer now that a new policy allows guests to stay in the park past closure with a valid dining reservation. Right now, locations offering late dining include Be Our Guest which will seat guests until 7 PM (Magic Kingdom will now close at 6 PM) and Oga’s Cantina will seat Guests until 8 PM (Disney’s Hollywood Studios will now close at 7 PM).
3. Mask policy tightened
Though masks are required for guests in all parts of the theme parks (except in rest areas and when dining) Disney has tightened its theme park health and safety guidelines this week to clarify that while guests can remove their face covering while actively eating or drinking, they should be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing. This will hopefully stop guests from roaming around the park with their masks removed while eating.
4. Certain mask types are now banned
Because there are a wide variety of face coverings available (and some seem to be more effective than others at preventing the spread of COVID-19), Disney has once again tightened its mask-wearing policy, to officially ban masks with breathing valves and/or holes. With this new addition, that means the following types of face coverings are all banned now:
- Neck gaiters
- Open-chin triangle bandanas
- Face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind
5. Temperature screenings expanded to resort restaurants
Though temperature screenings at the theme park gates have been a fixture of the “new normal” Walt Disney World experience since its very first phases Disney has announced that it has now expanded temperature screenings to guests dining in table-service restaurants at Disney Resorts, effective immediately. According to the official Walt Disney World website guests dining in table-service restaurants at Disney Resort hotels will undergo a temperature screening prior to entering the location, and if a guests’ temperature falls outside the acceptable range, they will not be allowed to enter.
Though we’ve already seen a lot of changes to Walt Disney World policies a month into their reopening, we’d guess that more changes will be coming in the weeks and months to come as the resort continues to adapt to the changing conditions in central Florida.
As always, while this situation is evolving, all travelers should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
Theme Park Tourist COVID-19 Complete Coverage: Will Disneyland Open at all in 2020? There Still May be a Chance I 2 Universal Hotels Closing Indefinitely Starting Next Week I Walt Disney World Adds On-Site COVID Testing, Live Shows to Return Soon I The 23 Major Theme Park Projects Now Officially Cancelled, Delayed or Slimmed Down (August 12, 2020) I Walt Disney World Annual Passholders Face Low Availability as Parks Remain Empty I SeaWorld San Antonio and Aquatica Park are Extending Days Due To Demand I Survey Reveals Guests Don’t Really Want to Go to Theme Parks in 2020, Masks Continue to Be Divisive I Disney Slashes Park Hours for Fall
