Topline
Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California are lifting their mask mandate this week and will no longer require vaccinated guests to wear masks indoors, the resorts announced Tuesday, part of a broader nationwide trend of Covid-19 restrictions ending as the number of new cases go down.
Key Facts
Starting Thursday, vaccinated guests will only be required to wear masks at Walt Disney World on Disney transportation like buses and monorails, the resort said on its website, but they won’t have to wear them on rides or in other indoor locations.
Vaccinated Disneyland guests only have to wear masks in “certain indoor settings” like shuttles and First Aid, the resort said on its website.
Unvaccinated Walt Disney World guests are “expect[ed]” to continue wearing masks in all indoor locations, while unvaccinated guests in Disneyland are required to wear masks.
Walt Disney World and Disneyland reimposed its mask mandate at the end of July amid the delta variant surge after initially dropping them in June, though Walt Disney World then loosened theirs in August to no longer require masks outdoors.
The announcement comes after neighboring Florida theme park Universal Orlando Resort dropped its mask mandate on Saturday.
Big Number
16.3%. That’s the 14-day average Covid-19 test positivity rate as of Tuesday in Orange County, Florida, where Walt Disney World is located, according to the county’s health department. Covid-19 cases in Florida have been declining but community transmission in the state and county is still high, which means the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends even vaccinated people should regularly wear masks.
Chief Critics
Mask mandates are being abandoned nationwide as cases have gone down, with even typically cautious Democratic governors in states like New Jersey, New York and California lifting them. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has stood by the agency’s recommendation that Americans continue to mask up, however, and President Joe Biden has said he thinks lifting mask mandates is “premature.”
Key Background
Disney’s theme park Covid-19 restrictions have been closely watched since Walt Disney World reopened in July 2020 amid surging Covid-19 cases in Florida. While Disney theme parks had many Covid-19 precautions in place at the start of the pandemic—such as physical distancing markers, plexiglass dividers between ride seats and canceling all fireworks displays—most have now been lifted. Disney leadership reported on an earnings call last week that crowds at its theme parks have rebounded in recent months, with attendance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 up by “double digits” over the last quarter of 2021—though part of that is due to higher crowds around the holidays. After suffering losses throughout the pandemic as its parks were closed or operating at reduced capacity, the company’s parks division posted near-record earnings of $7.2 billion in the first quarter of 2022, which leadership attributed in part to the higher attendance.
Further Reading
Disney World And Disneyland Reimpose Mask Mandates Amid Covid-19 Delta Variant Spread (Forbes)
Disney World Cashes In By Restocking Viral Popcorn Bucket Fans Waited 6 Hours To Buy (Forbes)
CDC Director Still Recommends Wearing Masks Indoors—These States Are Dropping Their Mandates Anyway (Forbes)
