MASK GUIDELINE UPDATE (July 28, 2021) – As of Friday July 30, masks must be worn by guests and Cast Members indoors regardless of vaccination status. This new mandate applies to shops, restaurants, throughout all attractions and in enclosed transportation vehicles, including shuttles, buses, monorails and at Disney Skyliner.
This is a question that majority of theme park fans won’t even want to be floated let alone considered so soon after the mandated had been finally dropped. It is however, a question that is having to be thought about again as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state of Florida. Orange County Health Department reported the positivity rate as 8% and due to this Orange County mayor Jerry Demmings is asking individuals to wear masks once again indoors and in crowded spaces regardless of vaccination status. This could mean mandatory mask wearing indoors returns to Orlando theme parks in the near future.
This may be a mighty blow for those guests that have been waiting oh so patiently for the mask mandate to be dropped in order to return to the parks this Summer and Fall. However, as a positive, wearing a mask in outdoor areas still isn’t going to be required. The change will be for indoor spaces. Currently at Walt Disney World those who are unvaccinated are still required to wear a mask for indoor spaces anyway.
Mandatory mask wearing has been one of the most contentious issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, this hasn’t ever bothered them but I understand why for a huge amount of fans they have chosen to wait for a time when mandatory mask wearing is not required at Walt Disney World before thinking about returning.
As a reminder, the current guidelines for mask wearing at Walt Disney World include:
- Masks required by ALL on all transportation except ferry boats, including transportation entrances.
Those that are not fully vaccinated are also required to wear masks:
- Upon entering and throughout all attractions
- All indoor theaters, including theater entrances
- All indoor locations, including restaurants, except when actively eating or drinking while stationary
Face coverings are optional for ALL in outdoor common areas as well as pool decks.
Right now, we don’t know whether the mask mandate will be reinstated in Florida but I thought as this issue appears to have been such an important one for our readers and one that they have wanted to engage with that we would gauge current opinion in our new Big Debate…
Vote Now
So, what are your views on whether mandatory mask wearing should be brought back to Walt Disney World?
As of July 19, COVID-19 measures in the UK have been dropped. We no longer legally have to wear masks. However, I know I will continue to do in indoor as well crowded spaces because our COVID-19 cases are rising rapidly which is a major concern to me.
It will be interesting in this debate to see if readers share the same more cautious view and one solely based on the fact that there are more and more COVID-19 cases around. We also have the realization that being fully vaccinated doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t get the virus although it should significantly reduce the risk of you needing hospital treatment.
We usually keep the options quite simple but recently in order to gleen a little more detail on what people think, I have added a few options:
- No Mask wearing at all anywhere in the Resort For ALL guests
- Keep Mask wearing rules the same as they are now
- Bring Back mask Wearing to Indoor locations for ALL
- Bring back mandatory mask wearing for ALL at all times in the Resort
- No Mask wearing at all in the Resort for those guests that are fully vaccinated
CLICK HERE to vote and don’t forget to share this with your friends and family so they can also have their say.
As many readers are quick to say, these polls won’t make any difference Disney will do what Disney wants to do and in this case they will ultimately have to follow the state laws and guidelines. Whereas I understand this view, I also think you can’t underestimate the importance of giving people the opportunity to air their views, this act in itself is vital for people’s mental health especially at a time when life has been so difficult in so many different ways.
Please as always we ask for respect when replying to comments. We are proud that Theme Park Tourist has a great community and know that a lot of younger people also read our site so please refrain from inappropriate and abusive language in comments as they will have to be deleted.
Look out on Theme Park Tourist for our results article which will include a selection of your comments to summarize the main points of the debate.
