Will WDW lift mask mandate?

[Eric Smith]

Just kind of meant that in a generic sense, nothing specific. Endless bickering by those who love Disney makes me worried about those without our same reverence for the parks, that’s all.

When we were there in December, mask compliance was really good. We had some entitled women drinking in front of us in the frozen line, but once we got to where it crossed in front of Akershus, the CM made them stop. The bigger thing we noticed was people not abiding by the distancing markers in line. Most of that was just the fact that they weren't paying attention to it.

 

[JakeAZ]

Everyone who thinks like this misses the point. This country is built on civil liberties and self determination. The worst of this pandemic is over, the numbers tell us that. It is NOW time for the individual to make up their own minds. I just do not understand the thinking of so many that after over 200 years of fighting for individual freedoms we are now willing to throw them out. Be careful for what you wish for, the next liberty they go after could be something much worse.

It's a dumb piece of cloth. You won't have to wear it forever. In fact, you can keep to yourself and never have to wear it. But sometimes, in a society with other people, we have to do things we don't want to do. That's life.

I just don't understand how this is the hill so many chose to die on. Nobody picks a fight saying "I can drive drunk if I want to. It's my choice. My body, my car"

I hate them too. I hate when I forget it and have to turn the car around. I hate that various ones are all over our house. But I wear it. Not because the government tells me to. Not because a private business tells me to. I wear it because it's literally the least I can do, on a daily basis, to help us, all of us, get back to "normal".

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Just kind of meant that in a generic sense, nothing specific. Endless bickering by those who love Disney makes me worried about those without our same reverence for the parks, that’s all.

Long after COVID is a bad memory in the rearview mirror, you will always be able to count on endless bickering on the DIS no matter what the topic.

 

[DisneyElite4]

We are veering OT again, and I don’t want to see this thread get shutdown.

So when do you think WDW will lift mask mandates? I still think Spring 2022, though of course I hope that I am wrong.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We are veering OT again, and I don’t want to see this thread get shutdown.

So when do you think WDW will lift mask mandates? I still think Spring 2022, though of course I hope that I am wrong.

If it gets shut down another one will pop up right in its place. If you search the word "mask" for thread titles there are pages and pages of these threads. I'm not sure why we are still having the conversation one year later.

They will drop them when they want to. Speculation threads lead to the same discussion over and over and over.

 

[mrsap]

Since this article seems to fit in with the discussion here, thought I’d share...

Why Can’t All Disney Guests Just Follow the Rules?

 

[Eric Smith]

We are veering OT again, and I don’t want to see this thread get shutdown.

So when do you think WDW will lift mask mandates? I still think Spring 2022, though of course I hope that I am wrong.

Go through the last 15 pages. There has been plenty of discussion on that topic.

 

[helloconnie]

Disagree fully with this. I am 100% willing to wear a mask until everyone who wants a vaccine is able to get one. I am 100% NOT willing to wear a mask indefinitely to protect those who choose NOT to get vaccinated. Once a vaccine is available and you refuse it, that's on you! (and I don't mean you specifically, I mean the collective "you")

I don't disagree. But I think Disney will continue to follow the CDC Guidelines and I don't see the CDC lifting the mask mandate anytime soon.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

yep. If you can tell me one time in history that Disney WASN'T about making the almighty dollar, you might change my mind.

They are certainly thinking about the almighty dollar. This is no doubt why we see them behaving on the more cautious end of the spectrum as they have been since last July compared to some of their counterparts. If they felt it was financially beneficial for the company to play as fast and loose with precautions as Florida would have let them, I’m sure it would have happened. No doubt in my mind money is also the real reason many things have not returned yet, as it is not worth it financially to do so despite that most if not all could be done in a Covid safe way.

It’s just funny to think of mask sales as this massive golden goose that they won’t let go of. I can’t imagine that is even a small consideration when it comes to dropping masks.

 

[DisneyElite4]

Go through the last 15 pages. There has been plenty of discussion on that topic.

I have been following the entire time. There’s also been plenty of discussion veering into topics we aren’t supposed to discuss on the DIS,

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I don't disagree. But I think Disney will continue to follow the CDC Guidelines and I don't see the CDC lifting the mask mandate anytime soon.

The following of CDC guidelines have been discussed a lot on this thread. My opinion - Disney follows the ones that are convenient (masks) while ignoring many others (social distancing, travel avoidance, etc). So I'm not sure they will necessarily wait for CDC to lift the mask mandate.

 

[Marthasor]

It's a dumb piece of cloth. You won't have to wear it forever. In fact, you can keep to yourself and never have to wear it. But sometimes, in a society with other people, we have to do things we don't want to do. That's life.

I just don't understand how this is the hill so many chose to die on. Nobody picks a fight saying "I can drive drunk if I want to. It's my choice. My body, my car"

I hate them too. I hate when I forget it and have to turn the car around. I hate that various ones are all over our house. But I wear it. Not because the government tells me to. Not because a private business tells me to. I wear it because it's literally the least I can do, on a daily basis, to help us, all of us, get back to "normal".

Seriously. I'm not seeing a lot of threads wondering when the shirt-and-shoes mandates will be lifted. I mean, come on, it's been almost 50 years since WDW put that in place. I want to walk around MK shirtless and shoeless - you know, civil liberties and all that . . .

But, back to the thread question - when will WDW lift their mask mandate? Who knows? They are a private business and if they want to require masks, they can do so. My guess is they will wait for CDC guidance. With the newest guidelines released yesterday for fully vaccinated people, it seems we are closer, every day, to getting back to some sort of normalcy. Until then, I will do what I always do and that is abide by park rules and enjoy the parks within the guidelines set by the Disney company.

 

[whiporee]

Do you think that if Orange County drops the mandate before the CDC issues mask-free guidelines, does WDW comply with Orange County, or does it wait until the CDC gives the all clear? And then what happens first: the reduction of social distancing (and therefore increased attendance) or the elimination of the mask mandate?

I don't think they can do one without the other.

But if one were going to go first, I think it would be the masks. It makes less sense than reducing social distancing, because SD is, IMO, throttling attendance. But I still think if they had to make a choice, I think they'd lose the masks first

One thing that has become apparent to me is that masks are a reinforce the idea that, for lack of a better term, everything still sucks. They aren't as big a hassle as I thought they'd be, and I've adjusted to wearing them the same way most everyone else has. But they still are a negative image and a negative reminder of how bad things are. For the "Happiest Place on Earth," losing the masks would be an important symbol both onsite and in their customer recruitment. So I think as soon as WDW can get rid of the mask mandate, they will. As soon as they get any clearance to do so from anyone, I think they'll take it before they do anything else.

 

[Eric Smith]

Do you think that if Orange County drops the mandate before the CDC issues mask-free guidelines, does WDW comply with Orange County, or does it wait until the CDC gives the all clear? And then what happens first: the reduction of social distancing (and therefore increased attendance) or the elimination of the mask mandate?

I don't think they can do one without the other.

But if one were going to go first, I think it would be the masks. It makes less sense than reducing social distancing, because SD is, IMO, throttling attendance. But I still think if they had to make a choice, I think they'd lose the masks first

One thing that has become apparent to me is that masks are a reinforce the idea that, for lack of a better term, everything still sucks. They aren't as big a hassle as I thought they'd be, and I've adjusted to wearing them the same way most everyone else has. But they still are a negative image and a negative reminder of how bad things are. For the "Happiest Place on Earth," losing the masks would be an important symbol both onsite and in their customer recruitment. So I think as soon as WDW can get rid of the mask mandate, they will. As soon as they get any clearance to do so from anyone, I think they'll take it before they do anything else.

I think it will go the opposite route. I think the masks will be the last thing to go. As you said, requiring masks doesn't affect capacity at the parks. Social Distancing limits the capacity of the park. I think Disney will want to reduce or eliminate distancing first because that will allow them to sell more tickets. It looks like they're going to be at or near capacity for about the next month for Spring Break based on what the park pass calendar looks like right now. That would tell me that masks are not keeping so many people away that they can't hit their reduced capacity during high travel periods.

 

[disneydentist]

Disney will drop the mask mandate when their legal department feels the financial benefits outweigh the risks. DCL was sued this weeks by families claiming they caught Covid during the last cruise before the shutdown. Disney has no desire to spend money on lawsuits that can be avoided.

 

[DebbieB]

Disney will drop the mask mandate when their legal department feels the financial benefits outweigh the risks. DCL was sued this weeks by families claiming they caught Covid during the last cruise before the shutdown. Disney has no desire to spend money on lawsuits that can be avoided.

Another item to consider is the agreement with the CM union. They would have to sign off on any changes.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

As far as I remember, Disney’s precautions including mandates and capacity limits that are in place came before any mandates or requirements from the state or the county, and in some cases were above and beyond what has ever been required. I think anything that changes in terms of requirements is just fuel for these kinds of discussions, but in reality is not going to be what drives change. Much if not all what they’re doing is because of internal decisions. When Disney feels it is no longer beneficial to have Covid precautions in place, then they go. Some Florida parks have NEVER had some of the measures Disney has, hasn’t changed their course yet I don’t expect it to.

I will be absolutely shocked if they lift masks before distancing is further lifted. They have already moved from the more robust distancing that was going on when they opened. Masks are a last line of defence, 6 feet especially indoors can be somewhat arbitrary and is dependant on other factors, and masks do not impact their operations even close to the impact distancing has.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I think that would be a coincident. Disney won't wait until the 50th if CDC suggests dropping mask mandate sooner nor do I think Disney will jump the gun if CDC is still suggesting masks October 1.

I'd be shocked. Using your logic coverage for lung cancer would be limited for smokers. Coverage for a variety of conditions would be limited for the morbidly obese etc.
Requiring vaccinations, probably not going to happen, is more likely then
Exclusions from health insurance

Nope - you can get all of those things without doing anything unhealthy. A decision not to take the Covid vaccine is a decision to get infected, IMO.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Not only with other vaccinated people. Also unvaccinated but low risk.

That is what I said.

 

[buttersnix]

So in essence, it's not a vaccine at all. I think the word "vaccine" leads people to believe that it prevents one from getting Covid. The Polio vaccine is a vaccine. You don't get it and then possibly get less severe symptoms of Polio. This feels like a band-aid.

There are two studies now that show it greatly reduces the chances of you getting it and both were done within two weeks of getting the vaccine, so the vaccine will build after that and increase in effectiveness. Also, they have found that there is little to no spread among asymptomatic cases, so even if you do test positive after vaccination with no symptoms you also are not likely to spread it. From the CDC website “In this cluster of COVID-19 cases, little to no transmission occurred from asymptomatic case-patients.”