Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida would move to Phase 3 of reopening, which removes all penalties or fines for refusing to wear masks and specifically states that theme parks can return to normal operations, with no mandatory regulations or attendance caps. In response, many wondered if Walt Disney World would be easing restrictions on attendance, park hopping, mask usage, etc. since it was now legal to do so.
However, In an interview with CNBC, Disney CEO Bob Chapek stated that the Walt Disney World theme parks were still capped at 25% capacity and will remain at that level until CDC guidelines change. In addition, it looks like current limits when it comes to park hopping will stay in place, and mask requirements are tightening due to additional crowding and some issues with compliance, posting signs around the theme parks advising guests that those not wearing masks will be removed from the park. Though nothing has been officially announced, we expect FastPass+ to continue to be unavailable for the foreseeable future.
Though there has been some criticism leveled at Disney with regards to social distancing measures (especially during character cavalcades, where guests often stand shoulder to shoulder) it looks like Walt Disney World is looking to continue playing it safe with regard to COVID-19 safety procedures, which is probably a good thing since California government officials will be touring the Florida parks in an effort to help set similar procedures for theme parks on the West Coast.
Do you think Disney is making the right choice here by continuing to enforce masks and capacity caps? Or would you like to see these parks get back to normal?
