Following its COVID-19 related shutdown, Disney World reopened in July. However, since then the park has been tweaking and altering its on-site rules to keep its guests’ experience as efficient, safe and fun as possible. The park has, at times, adjusted its guest capacity limitations, or has become stricter over health and safety protocols. In its latest update to safety protocols, Disney World has announced that rules are becoming more stringent over guests wearing their masks at meal times.
Mask Rules Enhanced At Disney World
It’s pretty obvious that guests can’t wear a mask while they are actually eating or drinking. However, the rules previously said that guests should keep their masks on until they reach their table. This protocol has now been updated.
As noted by Deadline, Disney has updated the policies on its website to inform guests that they need to keep their masks on while seated at the table, unless they are drinking or eating. Basically, this means that guests should keep their masks on while ordering their meal and interacting with the staff, up until their food arrives. Once they have enjoyed their meal, they must put on their masks again.
The rule reads, “Face coverings for each Guest age 2 and up, which must be worn in all public areas and can only be removed while actively eating or drinking. Face coverings must be worn while standing, waiting or sitting in dining locations.”
Without a doubt, many park-goers will be upset over the stricter ruling, but it does make a lot of sense. Naturally, Disney wants their guests’ experience at the parks to be as fun and comfortable as possible. However, it is also important for the park to protect its cast members and food servers, to ensure they can work in a safe environment. Unfortunately, this means limiting interactions with any guests who are not wearing a mask.
Disney Parks facing a huge challenge
As the pandemic continues, it is clear that Disney Parks are experiencing the biggest challenges ever in their history. The company suffered huge losses over the months-long shutdown. Once they reopened, the park staff had to work out a way to reorganize and make changes to many of their most basic procedures, including how people queue in lines with appropriate social distancing.
The parks had to eliminate Fast Passes, due to the dual ride queues. On top of this, many of the hotels in the parks are still unable to open due to capacity issues. Even worse, each time there is a new governmental rule or update in public health findings, park management has to decide how to make appropriate changes and adapt to the situation.
Disneyland is still not open
In California, Disneyland has still not been able to reopen, although there has been some progress. Luckily, whenever the park does reopen, the company will be able to take all it has learned over its experimentation with Disney World to hopefully open up as efficiently as possible.
While it is important that guests have as much fun as possible, it is still necessary to put the rules in place to keep them, and cast members, as safe as possible. The latest change relating to masks is one example of this and it is good to see that Disney is being proactive over the changes.
In the meantime, have fun during your visit to Disney World and please be patient with the rules and regulations. Without them, the parks would have to close again, which is something nobody wants.
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