Disney World Ending Temperature Checks & Universal Also Dropping Distancing
In what appears to be a coordinated move, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort announced within hours of one another the dropping of one health safety measure, while Universal took that a step further with the relaxation of another. In this post, we’ll offer a rundown of the changes, when they’ll occur, and what else might be the on the horizon–and when.
It’s been a whirlwind week on the health safety front. It started with Orange County’s announcement that physical distancing would be relaxed immediately to 3 feet as part of a phased plan with vaccination and positivity metrics that would allow the gradual lifting of all mandates.
Then came the recommendation from the Florida Department of Health that businesses within the county no longer need to perform temperature checks on guests prior to entry. The Orange County Department of Health Director Dr. Raul Pino said too many places are wasting resources on something that “makes no difference.” Based on these county-level recommendations, our expectation was policy changes from Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World in the coming weeks…
The biggest change, effective immediately, comes from Universal Orlando Resort, which issued the following “New Safety Guidelines: Getting Closer to Normal” on its Operations & Safety Updates:
“We’re excited to enhance your Universal experience with the latest safety updates from local health and government officials. There are no more temperature checks upon entry. And Social Distancing between travel parties is now reduced to three feet (1 meter). Still, most of our original safety protocols remain unchanged–from wearing face coverings across our Resort to our ongoing dedication to cleanliness and sanitization.”
For its part, Walt Disney World announced on its “Reopening & Update Experiences” the dropping of one health safety measure: “Since reopening, we have considered guidance from public health authorities, government agencies, and our own team of health and safety experts as we assess and update health and safety measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
“As this guidance continues to evolve, and with the support of local health and government officials, we are making some additional adjustments. Following the advice of the CDC and our local health officials, we will phase out onsite temperature screenings at Walt Disney World Resort for Cast Members beginning May 8 and Guests on May 16.”
Walt Disney World indicates it will “continue to follow the guidance of health and safety leaders going forward and most importantly encourage people to get vaccinated.” This is the second time in only a few days that Walt Disney World has publicly encouraged guests to get vaccinated, which is great to see.
As we pointed out previously, vaccine hesitancy comes in many forms and to varying degrees. Some people are unlikely to be persuaded; many others are simply on the fence, waiting to hear from voices they trust, like friends, family, or even their favorite theme parks. I got the shot because my personal hero, Jason Alexander, did. (Never mind the fact that he was vaccinated after me; that’s neither here nor there.)
In terms of commentary, both of these are solid moves in my view. Temperature checks are one of many things Walt Disney World has been doing in the name of “safety” that we’ve been deriding as “hygiene theater.” They’ve always been a waste of money that was not effective at much of anything except giving guests comfort. Even last year, the consensus was that they offered minor mitigative benefits at best, and an emboldening illusion of safety at worst.
Physical distancing is a bit of a different story. Nevertheless, we need an off-ramp for returning to normal as vaccination rates increase, cases/positivity/hospitalizations/deaths drop, and risk is objectively lower.
Even if you’re exclusively a Walt Disney World fan, Universal Orlando’s changes are noteworthy. As with traditional security, the health protocol plans developed by all Central Florida theme parks have been collaborative in nature. While some diehard fans of both Disney and Universal project their own aspersions and view the companies in an oddly adversarial light, that doesn’t reflect reality.
While competitors, it’s also true that Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando both exist in the same community and engage with one another and the same local leaders. In the past, we’ve seen identical changes and policies rolled out simultaneously at the two resort complexes, including 5 years ago when both (plus SeaWorld) installed enhanced security infrastructure overnight.
There have been some diverging approaches between Universal and Disney on the health safety front, but 95% of their rules and protocol have ended up being identical. This is not coincidence.
The main difference in the last year has been that Universal Orlando has been more nimble and faster moving than Walt Disney World in making changes. They’ve essentially offered a couple of weeks’ sneak peek at policies Disney would later implement. We’d expect the same here with 3′ physical distancing.
On that note, the Walt Disney Company has its fiscal second quarter 2021 financial results webcast on May 13, 2021. A portion of this is usually devoted to forward-looking expectations, with positive changes emphasized to create optimism among investors. That earnings call would present the perfect opportunity for Disney to announce plans to relax physical distancing and increase attendance.
As we’ve pointed out ad nauseam, physical distancing is Disney’s biggest impediment to profitability. Don’t be surprised if CFO Christine McCarthy points to several “tailwinds” for Walt Disney World during the summer travel season, including safely increasing attendance thanks to higher capacity caps.
Of course, what’s good for the theme park operators is not always what’s good for the guests. It’s a given that Universal Orlando will raise its attendance limits as a result of this move. What’s not clear is how this will impact physical distancing on attractions, and whether the two increases will be proportionate to one another.
Our guess is that they will not. While most rides are not operating at or close to 100% efficiency, distancing on many attractions already has been reduced significantly since last summer. It’s unlikely ride efficiency can be increased right now to a sufficient degree to offset the attendance uptick.
Our expectation is that the length of lines will decrease, posted wait times will remain more or less unchanged, and actual wait times (which are often ~75% of posted wait times) will elevate slightly. It’s also entirely possible that many weekdays demand will be more of a limiting factor on attendance going forward than the park capacity caps.
One way reduced physical distancing would be mutually beneficial to park operators and guests is at restaurants. Decreasing table spacing and seating more people could relieve some of the burden on dining reservations, so long as those restaurants are sufficiently staffed to fill more tables (which may not be the case). Thus, whether this change is a net positive or negative for guests will depend in large part upon when you visit, what you do, etc.
Ultimately, regardless of whether or when Walt Disney World officially reduces physical distancing to three feet, that has become the de facto standard for most guests. One of the things we’ve stressed repeatedly is the importance of a pragmatic approach to health safety protocol, and the need for both health officials and businesses to comport with public expectations. Again, being fully vaccinated is effectively the end of this for most people, and they’ll behave accordingly without regard to what some marker on the ground says.
At some point, some of these measures and rules amount to Walt Disney World trying to swim upstream. In our view, that point has been reached with trying to enforce 6′ physical distancing. Making 3′ the official rule now would be advantageous for both Walt Disney World and guests, and should facilitate the return of more substantive offerings and be a big stride towards normalcy. It would also likely mean higher wait times in the short term, but that’s totally worth it for us as this is the roadblock for many other positive changes and the return of things we’re anxiously awaiting.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Any predictions on if or when Walt Disney World will reduce physical distancing? Would you view that move as a net positive or negative in returning to normal? Thoughts on both Universal and Disney dropping temperature checks? Do you think they were doing any good, or are viewed as a hassle at this point? Please keep the comments civil. This is not the place for arguing about efficacy, politics, and so forth—all such comments will be deleted, irrespective of perspective. You are not going to change anyone’s mind via the comments section on this blog, nor are you going to change Disney’s rules or public policy. If you wish to contest this, rather than yelling into the internet abyss, have your voice heard in a meaningful way by contacting Disney or your local elected officials.
Tom. I respect you changing along with CDC changing. What we felt months ago evolves as vaccine numbers change. Disney does need to eliminate masks soon to get people back. At least no more masks outside. If people feel unsafe, it’s their prerogative to wait. I know staff all has the option to vaccinate and it is easily available, so no longer an excuse for masks. If they don’t want the vaccine, their choice to work or personally wear a mask.
Hi Becky S,
I’m not Tom’s defender but I think you need not be upset with him. He really does his research and backs everything up with connections to scientific reports.
If his POV has changed it’s only been with time following the science.
He has spoken about their personal feelings of safety now that he and Sarah have been vaccinated but I think he partly does so to encourage his readers to get vaccinated without preaching to them.
My wife is a teacher (NY) as well as you (an admirable profession – my thanks to both of you) and quite awhile ago it was announced that students in school only needed to be 3 feet apart.
Just got back from a week in Disney World. I recommend waiting till masks are gone. Social distancing was actually not an issue (kinda nice). Lack of characters was very disappointing.
Thanks for the good news Tom.
I had supposed that when the time came Universal would move faster and that’s the case again. Disney is much more deliberate. So no temp checks for CM’s but the guests wait a week. Makes no sense. That said Temp checks were never a hassle and took up about 9 seconds of my time at WDW. Nine seconds, NO exaggeration. Between opening and Jan 3rd I went into the parks some 40 times and I walked up, got zapped and continued walking. Granted I was not there at rope drop. No problem but being married to a school teacher I’m well aware that parents who don’t want their feverish child staying home give them Tylenol (Acetaminophen). The temp checks may have been theater but I love a good show.
The true bonus will be Disney’s huge monetary saving. Please use wisely.
As for distancing, 3 feet can only help.
I still stand by my prediction, by October 1st no masks outdoors, many daytime and nighttime shows back, more restaurants/seating open and the tech challenged (me) still needing a miracle to get on ROTR!
Keep the mask protocol and distancing, and limit attendance for awhile longer, we’re just starting to get out of this. Don’t jump the gun
Tom, I love your blog, but I’ve felt minor annoyance at your change in perspective on park safety since you were able to personally be vaccinated. I’m a teacher and was vaccinated in February. Back then, you were still promoting park safety because you & Sarah couldn’t get the shot. Now that you have yours, it seems like you’re changing your tone. The reason I’m annoyed is because not everyone can be vaccinated yet. It seems like you’re saying, “I’m safe now, so they can take away the safety protocols for the pandemic.” You & Sarah were likely low risk, but you still played it safe until you were vaccinated. Well, think of all the families at Disney World you see every day. Those children are likely low risk, but they deserve the same safety protocols until they can be vaccinated as well.
Next week, it is expected that children 12-15 will be able to get vaccinated. Pfizer said they hope to apply for approval for children ages 2-11 to be vaccinated in September. Until then, I think we need to maintain some of the basic safety protocols. Personally, I feel like 3 feet social distancing is OK for outside, but it does not feel safe for indoors when there are still so many people (children) who aren’t eligible to be vaccinated.
I’m sorry to call you out on this. I just want to remind you how you felt before you got your shot and urge you to remember that this is how people with unvaccinated children still feel.
That’s a fair point, and others probably agree with you but just haven’t voiced the same.
I think it’s also fair to say that I’ve been expressing similar sentiment since last year–well before we were vaccinated–that health officials and businesses need to comport with public expectations and human behavior. Even when things were really bad around the holidays, I pointed out that could and likely would change in a hurry. Fatigue was already setting in then, and it’s worsening now that a majority of the population is vaccinated, has natural immunity, or simply doesn’t care.
That’s what the “swimming upstream” comments are about. It personally won’t bother me if Disney keeps masks through the end of the year; I just think it’ll be a tough task. We’ll work within whatever system Disney devises–just as we did last year prior to being vaccinated when we dined outdoors despite that being fairly difficult due to a lack of options.
Pamala and Mel,
I agree 100 percent! There are millions more people who feel as we do than there are people who are scared to leave their house and want to wear the ridiculous mask everywhere. Disney would be wise to realize this and drop as many restrictions as possible and start getting back to normal sooner rather than later. Otherwise they are going to lose far more customers than they will gain by keeping the restrictions in place.
I will not return until all restrictions of the stupid masks are gone!
I think 3′ was the normal spacing between parties pre-pandemic anyway, if being respectful of one another. Any closer than that to someone you don’t know, and you’re on the verge of invading their “personal” space. I’m so ready to see those line markers go away at Disney!! They were a constant reminder of the pandemic (as if we didn’t get enough coverage from the media) and really put a damper on our spirits. We were created to be socially engaged. I miss humanity so much (no more masks, social distancing, being wary of one another or even downright rude, fear of “touching” someone, etc.) Life in general is a risk. People seem to have forgotten that there are MANY other things out there that are a threat to us besides covid. If I had to choose, I would rather live a short but happy life than a long, lonely, fearful one. There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow!!!!
Trekking far from the ride entrance to find the “end of line” cast member, and then waiting ages in these meandering queues with no shade or fans or other relief from the heat that you find in the “regular” queues has been my least favorite part of post-Covid Disney. Three feet would make that so much better, particularly since it is only going to be getting hotter as summer ramps up. Lookin at you Slinky Dog and Frozen Ever After lines.
We have visited every year since 1984, with the exception of last year. We do not intend to return until all restrictions including masks are lifted
We miss it so much and look so forward to bringing our grandson back. He went at age one 2019.
Biggest wish is for the reinstatement of the fast pass system. The virtual que at the rise of the Resistance was great! Very pleased a few weeks ago of how everyone was wearing their mask.
Was disappointed and could not understand how when ordering on the mobile ap how counter service dining could say “Not available” Wouldn’t it be better to acknowledge your food order and just make it for a later time if they are busy.
I think Disney will move within the next few weeks on the distancing change. I think it will be a net win, as that will kind of force the need for more restaurants and venues to open so they cant keep the crowds somewhat dispersed and meet demand. Disney likes to keep people in the bubble. They won’t want people wandering elsewhere. I also think O’hana will open by summer, as they are asking premium prices for Poly and not a lot of food choices available there without it. I also think they would really want to make a big show of the renovations and having that fan favorite would give it an extra boost. Maybe have Moana on some days make an appearance there to complement the resort changes? I think a lot of change will follow relatively quickly this summer. I am from NY and my state moved at a glacial pace for reopening. We were just notified last week that we are going to be fully open again on May 19th. If NY is able to finally manage it, I know Florida most definitely can too.
@Max – “No intention of returning until all restrictions are lifted. I want to enjoy the magic properly and I expect a lot of others feel that way too. If people want social distancing and masks on other guests then I’m afraid they should keep away. ” I TOTALLY AGREE!
Finally some real movement back to reality! To all of the Chicken Littles out there still decrying these moves and asserting that we’ll all die, sorry but we’re done with it. Destroying a booming economy for something killing far less than a tenth of a percent of a population is absurd, and always has been. Time to move on. And spare us the “what about the children” stuff. They’ll be fine.
I’ve laughed at the temperature screening the whole time, as we know the infrared units they use are not even close to laboratory accurate, almost all readings are 1-3 degrees low. Seaworld here in TX had thermal cameras in use, which made a lot more sense and didn’t cause delays. The VA hospitals have gone to a thermal scan system, where greeters simply ask if you have had any symptoms and only pull someone aside if they have a hot fever. I’d imagine the phased dropout has something to do with contracts.
Distancing requirements have been a huge hassle for guests and cast alike. And as Tom said, it’s been killing profitability. I agree that it’s been really nice to not have sweaty, swearing whiners complaining about how much they’ve spent to be there right in your face in every line. It’s just part of the normal experience at every tourist destination around the world! End capacity restrictions now, and reopen the other restaurants and resorts.
Agreed that there is definitely collusion between these business adversaries. There are some real dirtbags out there, and one or more might take advantage if one of the big guys doesn’t keep up security with the others, even if it is largely just theatrical moves.
Amy “The difference between Disney and classrooms is that schools have a stable cohort of students from the same locality that can easily be screened and tracked….”
I have to respectfully disagree with your very well said response. If anything being in the same cohort makes it more dangerous. unto 80% of all transmitted cases are within small groups. All studies conducted on settings like restaurants and larger social gatherings have come back that overall they are safer environments because people have their guards up and that your not around the same person for the extended amount of time for transmission to happen. While Covid is highly communicable its not 100% and its not you get coughed on once and you catch it. I agree we still need safe guards in place, and we will not just flip a light switch one day. But study after study has shown the exact opposite of what everyone was told early on. Even if it wasn’t, the difference is we now have vaccines and treatments.
No where in the country will hold out until kids get vaccinated, it can take years to get that. Even very strict states like PA, just announced its vaccine rate based on eligible people, not the whole population. Covid should not be a hugely feared thing with kids. Honestly, all my kids had it from a stupid workplace infection. None of them showed a sign. Did they spread it to adults, probably, we weren’t notified at first and they were around their teaches and such. But today, with vaccines in supply, if a child (who will almost 100% be unaffected) passes it to an adult, then shame on the adult for not getting vaccinated. I will caveat that, if an adult cannot get vaccinated for a health reason, they should know how to take care of themselves at this point, as they would have immunity from any vaccinated viruses.
In the end, all I’m saying is the science that everyone was told to follow has changed. Now we have to to start listening to the current science, and stop fearing it.
I understand Max’s viewpoint. We were there two weeks ago and WDW isn’t the same. Lacking the shows was a bigger disappointment than I foresaw, and wearing masks really isn’t fun. We did see people already spacing closer together, and noticed masks being worn poorly. The hardest thing was not being able to enjoy the parks without the reminders and things like empty restaurants, difficulty getting reservations and fewer options in the parks for impulsivity. We enjoy the livelier atmosphere of the pre-COVID world. Currently, it seems you are more locked in to a schedule.
I’m fine with reducing or removing distance markers from outside lines but for indoor lines I’d like to see the distance markers remain – purely for my comfort of not having people breathing down my neck and pushing and shoving. It also stops spread of colds and fluetc
We visit Disney and Universal annually (we are in the UK) but even if we could visit this fall as we always do, we wouldn’t. No intention of returning until all restrictions are lifted. I want to enjoy the magic properly and I expect a lot of others feel that way too. If people want social distancing and masks on other guests then I’m afraid they should keep away. Disney need to keep making quick progress with getting back to how it always was. They are losing some loyal customers and a heck of a lot of money.
My trip is in January 2022 to celebrate my 50th birthday, my hopes is that as more and more restaurant restrictions are starting to lift DDP will be back!
Also hoping for a chance to meet you Tom, as you are one of 2 bloggers I follow on Disney!