Masks at WDW in 2021

[TinkB278]

Don’t lie to yourself thinking you are safe when wearing a mask either. Both my children are in health care and both got the virus while wearing a mask. My neighbor just got the virus when the only place she had been in two weeks was to physical therapy, and she and the therapist both wore masks. And my friend’s son decided to get married at the courthouse to protect her since she has health conditions. Well you guessed it, the JP had covid unknowingly and the four of them all got it. So if you want be be totally safe then I wouldn’t go to a theme park with thousands of people masks or not.

I think this is the big thing. You pretty much need to go into your Disney trip assuming you will catch Covid. If you are at risk might want to evaluate going based on that possibility.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

holy cow I just checked their website and it’s true! I’m so excited now lol

Plus a Universal season pass will cost us less than 4 days at Disney. So mask rules for 2 year olds and pricing considerations is why we are staying at Ft. Wilderness, yet going to Universal this fall.

 

[nancipants]

My son turns 2 next December. I am hoping the mask mandate goes away by then (because then hopefully we will no longer be worrying about COVID!), but if not, we will have to avoid Disney until he is able to wear a mask. That is on me, NOT Disney. It will be sad since it is the one place local we can go where I feel safe because they actually enforce their guidelines. But they make the rules and I will follow them.

I'm more worried about the cruise we have booked for December in which he'll turn two while on board. I don't mind wearing a mask onboard, but he might not comply. Again, that will be on me, and we will probably reschedule.

 

[Jmljasmine]

I live in the Midwest in a liberal city and our health directive only requires masks on 5 and older in public spaces which I believe is reasonable.

Same in VA. I try with my 3 year old to be respectful but thankful the rules are 5 and over because it falls off her face really easy. My almost 2 year old keeps trying to pull the mask off my face so I have no doubt she will be unsuccessful keeping on on.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Same in VA. I try with my 3 year old to be respectful but thankful the rules are 5 and over because it falls off her face really easy. My almost 2 year old keeps trying to pull the mask off my face so I have no doubt she will be unsuccessful keeping on on.

I have seen young toddlers crying because of mother or dad wearing a mask. they were that upset with parent, guessing parent did not wear around child before. something else to think about

 

[Jmljasmine]

I have seen young toddlers crying because of mother or dad wearing a mask. they were that upset with parent, guessing parent did not wear around child before. something else to think about

Yes, mine did that when the pandemic started. She is very use to seeing me in a mask but still tries to take it off.

 

[bmcd1998]

As I’ve noted several times, I’ve been trying to plan a first trip for my two year old. We were originally booked for September 2021 as I felt that was a pretty safe bet as far as Covid being on its way out the door. However, I realized my two year old will not leave a mask on and panic-canceled the trip assuming masks would be around through the entire year. However I just read the below article and he doesn’t seem to think masks will be required into the fall. It’s hard to know what to think or believe anymore. Any thoughts on his assumptions?
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/when-will-disney-world-stop-requiring-face-masks/

Won't be back till masks go away. By most estimates, "everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get a vaccine" by summer. If that is true I'm hoping Disney will lift the mandates by late Fall 2021. More than happy to wear one now as it supposedly protects others. Not going to wear one to protect people who refuse to get the vaccine, and as a Disney shareholder I hope they see that a fully vaccinated country will allow them to maximize the profit from the 50th anniversary.

 

[Jmljasmine]

Won't be back till masks go away. By most estimates, "everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get a vaccine" by summer. If that is true I'm hoping Disney will lift the mandates by late Fall 2021. More than happy to wear one now as it supposedly protects others. Not going to wear one to protect people who refuse to get the vaccine, and as a Disney shareholder I hope they see that a fully vaccinated country will allow them to maximize the profit from the 50th anniversary.

In my neck of the woods there is no way everyone who wants a vaccine will get one by summer. My parents are over 65 and while on a list, it looks like it's still going to be quite a while for them. Who knows when we'll have enough for my husband to qualify. And as for kids, they aren't approved to get them as studies are still in the works. While I'd like mask to be gone in the parks, I highly doubt it will be before the 50th starts. Maybe before it ends...

 

[KrazeeK120]

Won't be back till masks go away. By most estimates, "everyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get a vaccine" by summer. If that is true I'm hoping Disney will lift the mandates by late Fall 2021. More than happy to wear one now as it supposedly protects others. Not going to wear one to protect people who refuse to get the vaccine, and as a Disney shareholder I hope they see that a fully vaccinated country will allow them to maximize the profit from the 50th anniversary.

Most ADULTS will be able to get a vaccine by end of summer. We don’t know as of now when kids will be able to get vaccinated. We’re a long way off from being a fully vaccinated country.

 

[QueenQueso]

We're planning for September 2021 and hoping that the restrictions are lessened by then, but to be safe and not waste money, DH is going to stay home with our youngest. He turns 3 over the summer so he'd be required to not only wear the mask, but also have his own park tickets, so if we ended up having to keep him back at the resort or only do partial days with him, that's a lot of money wasted. He does wear his mask pretty well. I have been having him wear it the whole time, even before his 2nd birthday, but his longest time wearing it has probably been 20 to 30 minutes.

 

[bigbadbuff]

In my neck of the woods there is no way everyone who wants a vaccine will get one by summer. My parents are over 65 and while on a list, it looks like it's still going to be quite a while for them. Who knows when we'll have enough for my husband to qualify. And as for kids, they aren't approved to get them as studies are still in the works. While I'd like mask to be gone in the parks, I highly doubt it will be before the 50th starts. Maybe before it ends...

Anyone over 65 anywhere in the country should have access in the next 4-8 weeks. Those under 65 with higher risk conditions, 4-12 weeks. 'Anyone who wants one', 12-20 weeks. Those are conservative based on the tremendous increase in production from Pfizer/Moderna/J&J (and Novavax will likely be available in the next 3 months as well). The doses will be there, how well will the states handle, we'll see. IMO when we reach the 'anyone can get one' stage Disney will add some elbow room and then start shifting away from enforced safety protocols to recommended.

 

[Walt4ever]

Are you itching to get out of the house?
universal is 3 and up for masks.
LEGOLAND is 8 and up.
they also have characters you can meet at adistance, which the kids love!

I was going to suggest LEGOLAND as well for anyone with little ones. The park is completely aimed at 12 & under. The little ones will have a blast. They have a waterpark and hotel as well, with resort package deals. Masks are only required indoors, and then only 8 and up. And fyi - it's far from a hotbed of infections. It re-opened early last summer, with no masks required at first (Polk County added requirement later) and hasn't had any issues whatsoever. It is just as safe as anywhere else.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I think until it's safe for both employees and guests to be maskless, masks will be required.

 

[Jmljasmine]

Anyone over 65 anywhere in the country should have access in the next 4-8 weeks. Those under 65 with higher risk conditions, 4-12 weeks. 'Anyone who wants one', 12-20 weeks. Those are conservative based on the tremendous increase in production from Pfizer/Moderna/J&J (and Novavax will likely be available in the next 3 months as well). The doses will be there, how well will the states handle, we'll see. IMO when we reach the 'anyone can get one' stage Disney will add some elbow room and then start shifting away from enforced safety protocols to recommended.

That's the problem though. The states. Just because the vaccines exist doesn't mean they are accessable. My parents for example know many younger and healthy people who have gotten them (not healthcare workers) in their area yet keep being told they still have to wait despite being over 65. Partly because they aren't in the big city and the more rural locations aren't getting allocated any by the state. My mother in law (over 70) also wants one but can't even though she is more urban because she lives in a middle income area and the state is choosing to send all theirs to the low socioeconomic or very high socioeconomic areas. I'm not sure Disney will relax things just because vaccine numbers are there with states doing such a bad job getting them into arms. That second step has to be more successful on a national level.

 

[Dakota731]

but splitting the check will not get you out of auto tip if 6 or more. they will just split the auto tip

I think until it's safe for both employees and guests to be maskless, masks will be required.

My friend who owns a large, busy restaurant that has stayed open most of the year said his employees have never gotten covid from guests, but he had several cases where his servers hang out together after work and have caught it. Same thing happened in the beach town where we have a place - 20 somethings that go to each other’s apartments to drink after work in groups and end up getting covid. And you’re never going to prevent that with young people who party together after hours.

 

[Jmljasmine]

I was going to suggest LEGOLAND as well for anyone with little ones. The park is completely aimed at 12 & under. The little ones will have a blast. They have a waterpark and hotel as well, with resort package deals. Masks are only required indoors, and then only 8 and up. And fyi - it's far from a hotbed of infections. It re-opened early last summer, with no masks required at first (Polk County added requirement later) and hasn't had any issues whatsoever. It is just as safe as anywhere else.

I may need to look into Legoland in the future. I feel a ton of the recent Disney decisions have been to benefit those without small kids. Seems like they are changing their target audience.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

I may need to look into Legoland in the future. I feel a ton of the recent Disney decisions have been to benefit those without small kids. Seems like they are changing their target audience.

Legoland has cheap season passes, but are only open 10 to 5. However, it looks like all their on-site rooms sleep 5, so there is a plus for bigger families. We haven't been there yet, but are planning 2 days later this yr.

We are hoping the mask requirement will be gone by September so we can use our tickets. On our April trip, we are going to Legoland, as well as Seaworld. If my 2 yr old doesn't do well with masks at Seaworld (which is way cheaper for our family) we won't attempt to use our Disney tickets until she is closer to 3. I feel like I am setting myself up for disappointment if I believe masks will not be a requirement at Disney in September.

 

[Kewilli79]

Plus a Universal season pass will cost us less than 4 days at Disney. So mask rules for 2 year olds and pricing considerations is why we are staying at Ft. Wilderness, yet going to Universal this fall.

We did the exact same thing. We stayed at Fort Wilderness, but went to Legoland. Legoland only requires masks on rides and in indoor areas.

 

[HappilyEverAfter80]

I completely agree it is such a fun age! I don’t want to miss out on experiencing Disney with him while he’s this little. I also agree that an older two year old would probably do way better with the mask. I understand they want to keep everyone safe but it’s just so unreasonable to expect a two year old to be able to comply.
I think being a parent of a really little child during these times is kind of sad, I feel like we’re missing out on a lot.

To be honest it’s not just being a parent of a very young child that you feel like you’re missing out on a lot. My older kid was 10 when we last went to Disney end of 2019 and if we can’t go again til later in 2022 he will be 13! A teen? I feel like we are missing on so much that we could be doing before he hits secondary school. He’s very “young” for his age but to me I feel like it’s the last few years of childhood travels with my baby. Now, actual baby I feel like I’m missing out on the fun milestones, our son had traveled so much by the time he was 2 and here we are in a constant lockdown. Most 1-2 year olds have been in lockdown all or most of their life! Except it affects the parents more, whereas the older kids it’s the kids too. Parents of older teens will say that it’s the last couple of years before their kids turn 18 and graduate and also missing out on those “last” together family trips. It just sucks for everyone, all ages are affected. I definitely agree with you.
We hope to go December 2021 if USA/Canada restrictions are lifted, and at this point we are expecting masks but I hope they won’t be to the same extent as now.
I honestly don’t feel like we’ll know til Fall.

 

[Blondie58]

Woo hoo - no masks in Texas!!! Wonder when FL will follow???