Disney World News: July Hours, Wait Times, Face Mask Rule Relaxation Reaction
We’re back with another Walt Disney World news roundup. This one covers the “aftermath” of the bombshell Friday news that face masks would no longer be required outdoors, more park hours for summer, additional dining options returning, physical distancing wait time dynamics, and more.
Let’s start with an update on new park hours as Walt Disney World approaches what’s likely to be a busy summer travel season. All four theme parks, Disney Springs, and Blizzard Beach have had hours for another week added to the DisneyWorld.com park hours calendar. Added dates are the week of July 25-31, 2021. Here are that week’s hours:
- Magic Kingdom: 9 am to 9 pm
- EPCOT: 11 am to 9 pm
- Hollywood Studios: 9 am to 7 pm
- Animal Kingdom: 8 am to 6 pm
- Blizzard Beach: 11 am to 6 pm
- Disney Springs: 10 am to 10 pm (11 pm on weekends)
Keep in mind that Walt Disney World’s normal practice is to release boilerplate hours before extending those based on attendance and hotel occupancy projections. These are simply placeholder or “lorem ipsum” Walt Disney World hours–the minimum hours the parks will be open for those dates. We would expect an hour or two could be added to many of those closing times, and perhaps some of the opening hours–especially if this summer is as busy as predicted…
Speaking of hour changes, Kali River Rapids now begins operating at 9 am, which is an hour after Animal Kingdom opens. This change currently lasts through July 2021. No reason was given for this change, but it’s presumably a cost-savings measure. It’s not like Kali River Rapids sees less demand in summer.
As covered in our 1-Day Animal Kingdom Itinerary, the vast majority of rope drop guests head directly to Pandora, resulting in low waits for the first 90 minutes of the day everywhere else. We honestly wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple more attractions open later at Animal Kingdom.
On the topic of attraction wait time dynamics, we’re starting to see the first fruits of reduced physical distancing on attractions. Waits for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror plunged on Saturday as the attraction began loading every row (not experiencing downtime with the elevator shafts undoubtedly helped, too).
Other attractions have also reduced guest spacing, including theaters. There’s still no party mixing and many rides are still loading every other row, including Splash Mountain. Look for further gradual reductions to on-ride guest spacing coupled with the removal of plexiglass barriers. This should at least partially offset increased attendance.
Next, Walt Disney World has announced that this summer, the Market at Ale & Compass in Yacht Club Resort will sell exclusive Disney Cruise Line merchandise. More notably, DCL themed treats available on the restaurant side of the market, including a blueberry cream cheese trifle, Mickey-shaped rice crispy treat and lemon tart with raspberry mousse. Adults can also take an excursion to the Ale & Compass Lounge or Martha’s Vineyard for the Pirate’s Nest specialty drink.
As we noted the last time Disney announced something like this, there’s already a place to buy Disney Cruise Line merchandise in Orlando: Disney’s Character Warehouse Outlet. That’s usually where unsold DCL merchandise ends up, and often for 70% off.
While fairly minor snack stands, Terra Treats at Animal Kingdom has reopened, and Dino Diner will return on June 13, 2021.
More significantly, Fairfax Fare at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has reopened with a new menu. I’m personally looking forward to the California BLTA Hot Dog. On the other hand, Sarah is now regretting her commitment to try “all things plant-based,” as that unfortunate decision has put her on a collision course with the Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad.
Finally, some thoughts on the aftermath of Walt Disney World’s huge policy change, ending its outdoor face mask rule over the weekend. Now that face coverings have been optional in most outdoor settings at Walt Disney World for a couple days, we thought it’d be worthwhile to return with some commentary and feedback.
As regular readers know, we get a lot of feedback about face mask rules on this blog from a variety of perspectives. In counting the comments on blog posts and social media, we found that over 95% of our readers in support of this change. Even assuming some selection bias in who speaks up and who stays silent, that’s an overwhelming majority.
Elsewhere, it was much more of a mixed bag. Most of those who were opposed to the change were concerned about it being more complicated, or offering a loophole that guests would exploit. This, in turn, could cause more headaches for Cast Members tasked with enforcing the rule in queues or indoors. There was also a lot of frustration about the late hour of the announcement and immediate implementation of the change, blindsiding Cast Members.
While some of those are valid concerns, slippery slope arguments are unpersuasive. Guests who want to find an excuse to break the rules will find an excuse to break the rules. Loopholes already existed, and guests who want to push the envelope have been able to try exploiting those for months.
My view is that the greater risk was Walt Disney World being absolutely unyielding and maintaining policies that have virtually no impact on actual safety (the science on unlikelihood of outdoor transmission has been clear for months–we won’t rehash that yet again, as we’ve been doing so since last July), but do lead to lower guest satisfaction and are burdensome for Cast Members to enforce. Burn-out and high turnover in the roles dealing with this have been problems for months.
There’s a reason that so many cities, states, and businesses dropped their mask mandates and rules following the earlier-than-anticipated new CDC guidance last week. After that, it was simply untenable to maintain and expect service industry workers to enforce these rules; it would amount to swimming upstream against the flow of government advice and public behavior. We’ll never know how the alternative reality of Disney maintaining strict rules in the face of more lax CDC guidance would’ve played out, but it’s safe to say that fewer people would accept the rules without pushback. That’s exactly what’s happening elsewhere.
As we’ve said for months, Walt Disney World needs to comport with guest expectations if they want to maintain a high degree of compliance for the health safety rules. Our bullish predictions about face mask rules being relaxed might now seem prescient, but that’s hardly the case. They were foreseeable if looking at this from a sociological perspective.
Despite what some people might fear, reasonable rules are better for ensuring compliance than heavy-handed ones. This is a well-established principle of public health. My favorite current illustration of this came from a Harvard epidemiologist who spoke with mask skeptics last year. When she explained that masking wasn’t as important outdoors, they became more–not less–willing to wearing face masks indoors.
In a more recent article in The Atlantic advocating for the lifting of outdoor mask rules, that same epidemiologist was baffled by the notion that the best way to get people to wear masks inside is to require that everybody wear one when they’re outside. She offered this analogy: “We don’t recommend condom use when people are enjoying themselves alone to get them to wear condoms with their sexual partners.” Hopefully that doesn’t offend anyone’s sensibilities, but it was too apt not to share.
Reports from readers and friends in the parks this weekend suggest that the rule relaxation has gone well thus far. Whether good or bad, we’d love to hear your accounts in the comments if you’re at Walt Disney World right now. (We aren’t in Florida and won’t be able to do any firsthand reporting until next week.)
In a nutshell, there were instances of Cast Members having to remind guests to put on masks when entering attraction queues, but that hardly “vindicates” the aforementioned fears. The same thing happened consistently with walking and eating or drinking for months, and Cast Members were quick to shut that down.
More notably, there was a reported “mood shift” in the parks, with tension between guests and Cast Members dialed down dramatically. There was a night and day difference in demeanor and atmosphere, with better overall rule compliance.
If a lot of this sounds familiar, it’s because this is almost identical to our observations after Walt Disney World relaxed the mask rule for outdoor photos. History repeats itself here, from the initial “sky is falling!” social media outrage to actual consensus among guests to there being fewer reports of actual problems in the parks.
With all of that said, we are sympathetic to those who are not personally ready for this change, have a lower risk tolerance, or are parents of kids under age 12. It has been a difficult and downright traumatic year, and a lot is changing quickly thanks to the highly efficacious vaccines. Many people are going to have a hard time easing back into “normal” situations; it’s going to be a gradual process that requires adjustment, acclimation, and time. We can extend a little courtesy and compassion as everyone’s circumstances and comfort levels are different.
Moreover, the United States is going from unprecedented collective action and societal efforts to one of personal responsibility where, as the CDC Director said, “your health is in your hands.” It is not going to be easy for a lot of people, and we should all be understanding of that. (Certainly, no one should be shamed or given the side-eye for continuing to wear a mask if they so desire.) Where the problem arises is when people have the expectation that policy or rule-making revolve around their individual feelings of discomfort, rather than a science-based assessment of actual risk.
As cases, hospitalizations, and deaths continue to decline and vaccinations continue to increase, we anticipate further rule relaxations this summer at Walt Disney World. However, you shouldn’t expect anything even remotely on par with the pace of last week’s changes again anytime soon–think July at the earliest for the next big health safety protocol changes. In the meantime, the focus of Walt Disney World news should switch gears with more on new and returning substantive offerings. We’ll keep you posted of the details!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this Walt Disney World news? Have you experienced the new outdoor optional face mask policy in the parks? Optimistic about wait times dropping at attractions that are starting to load every row, even as attendance increases? Hoping for more dining options returning in the next couple months? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Though it seems like a knee jerk decision to announce the end of masks effectively immediately, there was really no way else to break the news. Could you imagine how upset you might be if they named the start date for the week after your vacation? Cast members could never enforce that and it would be ridiculous trying to explain why masks are needed one day, but not the next.
We were at Disney World from May 13-16, and was shocked to read the announcement from you guys on Friday night about the relaxed mask rules. I was equally as shocked walking into Animal Kingdom on Saturday morning and finding less than 10% of the people wearing masks outside! News of this change must have traveled fast (either that or everyone in Animal Kingdom that day reads your blog). Based on what we saw over the next 2 days, the entire mood in the park was much more relaxed and pleasant, but we did also notice many guests not wearing masks in outdoor queue lines, and I seldom saw Cast Members correcting them.
Sometimes I feel like I must be crazy because I read and research and somehow end up with opinions that it seems no one else shares – til I come and read your thoughts on it, Tom. So many people talked about feeling bad for CMs and how much “worse” this policy would be but to me it certainly seems like an improvement for them. Constantly telling people to put their masks on while they’re outside is no fun. Reminding them when they enter somewhere is a lot easier, and I think people are more likely to comply when it’s for a shorter period of time and not all day (in the hot sun). I think it was smart of Disney. If they’d stuck to requiring them everywhere people who have been less likely to comply. But now if it seems they’re easing something (and something that many people feel is unnecessary with the low outdoor risk) they are better able to protect people where it matters most (indoors).
Going in June on a 3x rescheduled trip. We go often (1x per year) but the last time we were there was January, 2020.
Vaccinated and fine with wearing a mask indoors, but hoping with increasing crowds, they reinstitute fast pass. Has there been any chatter on that?
I have a trip booked in October and I’m very excited to see Disney changing their protocols as CDC guidance changes. This is my first big Disney trip for 20 years and my first vacation since pre-COVID times, so I will follow whatever rules they have in place. I find the mask rule change encouraging for 2 reasons: 1) I really hope things are more normal at Disney (FP+, more ADRs, etc) by October if COVID cases are trending in the right direction but 2) it gives me confidence that if things change for the worse and CDC guidance changes, Disney will change with that, too.
As a fully vaccinated adult who got the Pfizer shots, it doesn’t seem like I can do more to meaningfully reduce the risk of COVID infection/transmission for myself and others, beyond encouraging every eligible adult to get vaccinated. I understand that there are children and adults who cannot be vaccinated at this time or possibly ever, so I have purchased some buttons to wear proclaiming my vaccinated status so no one feels they need to ask or be worried. I don’t know if anyone will find that reassuring and perhaps it’s a bit silly, but I’m happy to be a walking pro-vaccine billboard 🙂
To Nicole, I’m in agreement with you. To say that there is little risk is probably true, and “no risk”can’t be expected, but if I’m in a que without distancing, and the guy in front of me, maskless, unvaccinated and asymptomatic , sneezes, I’m walking into his sneeze air and breathing it! So no, I will have a mask for the foreseeable future. I don’t expect anyone to live for me, but all those antimaskers are also antivaxers so no thanks. I can wait for Disney. Enjoying everyone else’s vlogs!
Nobody masked in any outdoor queue today in MK or Epcot.
That I didn’t like because you are with the same people for 30-60 minutes. A CM was able to assist and give us a solution for a member of our group.
It’s unlikely to transmit the virus outside during brief encounters but prolonged encounters still pose a risk the the immune compromised and those not yet eligible to be vaccinated.
The biggest issue with the sudden change is that people who made plans based on their feelings of comfort and traveled to Disney could have had the rug pulled out from under them upon or after their arrival. I’m with you on science based policy, but I think you’d agree that people’s level of comfort has a lot to do with why they do or do not choose to come. By making such a sudden change you’re betraying that guest’s confidence. This is a change I’m fine with, but it should’ve been announced a few weeks out so that people had time to adjust their plans if they wished to do so.
It’s not a matter of people needing policy based upon their own personal comfort level, it’s about a reasonable expectation that comfort based decisions won’t have the rug pulled out from under them. I think this is something that seems to be getting missed in the discourse.
I found out about Disney’s rule change when I landed in Orlando. I personally chose to still continue on and went to the parks yesterday. Compliance was pretty good with cast members at the entrance occasionally reminding guests at the entrance, and I didn’t see anyone fight them on it. It seemed to be genuine forgetfulness. But I don’t think such a sudden policy change is right.
I can totally empathize with the “advance notice” concern and people being upset that they booked with the expectation of one thing and might end up with another.
However, that has been the reality of visiting since last July. Things are constantly changing in little and big ways–I don’t recall ever using the words “fluidity” and “evolving” more than in the last year. So I think/hope there’s a general understanding that things are in flux, and anyone visiting right now should expect changing circumstances–what’s booked 6 months or even 6 weeks in advance is going to differ from what’s experienced.
Even bigger than that, there’s the practical reality of making a change like this. If it’s announced but not immediately implemented, there’s suddenly a lot more guest resistance in the intervening days–I cannot imagine the headaches that would’ve caused Cast Members. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a “perfect” solution to all of this that makes everyone happy.
Tom, I’ve got to applaud you for the professionalism in which you have researched, reported, and responded to everything that has gone on in the past year as it relates to Disney’s actions and policies in the age of Covid.
Here’s to hoping we can continue to progress as a society and allow our collective consciousness to move on from this pandemic and hopefully to something more positive and uplifting.
Here today at Animal Kingdom. And you hit the nail on the head about everyone rushing to avatar flight of passage. We were able to do everything else with little to no wait before lunch. Then we came back to avatar after lunch when the kiddos were napping and hopped into an 85 minute wait at FOP and only waited for 60 and then we were done for the day and felt we did everything we wanted to. Only compliant in Lion King show. That line set up is a bleep show. But it certainly was not at 30% capacity. It felt full. And I’m concerned for the rest of our trip without fast passes and we won’t get as lucky as we did today. Fast passes need to come back and they need to be transparent with the capacity levels.
We were at Disney two weeks ago. I bought a package of mask holders from Amazon for everyone in my party. They came in different colors and everyone picked their favorite. Turned out to be a good investment (a pkg of twelve holders cost about $10). No more dropped or lost masks, no more masks left in the car or at the room. Your mask was always there, hanging around your neck, ready to be put on again.
I highly recommend these holders now that masks are an on and off thing.
We went to Disney August of 2020 and we were quite upset with how far the cast members went to enforcing the mask rules. In one instance, our 6 year old was CLIMBING INTO THE RIDE VEHICLE (boat ride) and her mask must’ve slipped below her nose and the cast member yelled out for her to put her mask up. My husband let them have it after we got off because they clearly are more concerned about the mask rules than a child SAFELY entering the ride vehicle because they could’ve waited until she was safely seated before yelling out a reminder.
I love Disney but we’re going to Universal this year because my husband doesn’t want to go back.
A Garcia I totally agree with you. Everyone take care of yourself and don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. I also agree with you as far as the children are concerned. I am actually shocked at the number of people begging for an EUA vaccine for their young children. I pray these people will not regret their decisions down the road. Full approval won’t even come until 2023. So many things they have been unable to check simply because their hasn’t been enough time to fully study these effects.
This was an encouraging post. As a resident of Ontario, seeing Florida shifting towards what we used to know as normal gives me a much needed boost of hope!
At EPCOT today and most folks are doing a good job of putting on masks (and wearing correctly) when going inside. Less people are putting them on when joining a queue that at least starts outside. I’ve been a strict mask wearer since the beginning but I feel comfortable (and glad to not wear my mask outside as we had been planning. I feel more safe here than I do back home in Target or the grocery store. I’m vaccinated, but it’s probably going to be a long time before I trust people in my hometown enough to not wear a mask inside or even eat out at a restaurant. I appreciate that Disney continues to have servers wear masks.
We were there the day the rule changed, at the end of our vacation. We found we had to be reminded to put masks on before attractions, just because we were so used to walking on rides already having our masks in place and it was a behavior changed we needed to adapt to. We didn’t mean to be forgetful, it’s just natural behavior when you’ve gotten used to wearing masks all the time.
Makes total sense! I’d imagine that sort of friendly reminder that probably elicits a lot of “oh shoot, I’m so sorry–I forgot I wasn’t wearing it!” is much easier to deal with for Cast Members than the previous “why? I’m drinking a beer–how do I do that with a mask on?!” they received when reminding people walking and drinking under the prior rules.
Get a mask chain so it can go around your neck! Easy. I got several on Etsy.
I don’t see what the big deal is regarding children, as they are not usually affected nor show symptoms. Also, just because the CDC or FDA or anyone else states the vaccine is safe here and now, can and do recall those statements years after they find out that they truly aren’t safe for a certain population. I personally do not want to take that chance for my children when they are typically not affected the same way older adults are. I would hate to get down the road a few years later after I had my kids vaccinated, just to find out that they will not be able to have children later in life because of the vaccine they received during development for a disease that probably wouldn’t affect them. Myself and my husband have been vaccinated. However, I cannot rely on a vaccine’s safety for critical growth and development stages in life, that has only had a year of testing. It takes years and even decades to validate the safety of a vaccine. Vaccinate the vulnerable and older populations and let the others carry on and get back to normal. Ditto to Manny’s comment. Thank you Disney!!
StudentMama, I think you didn’t get one point right. Disney is not putting rust in unvaccinated people indoors. Their rules are masks are required by all, vaccinated and unvaccinated when not outside basically.
And Paula and other immunosuppressed individuals. This sucks for you. The whole pandemic sucked for everyone, but you more. I will say this, unfortunately your right and wrong. You will have to wear masks longer, you will have to take increased steps to keep yourself safe. However, you cannot ask everyone to follow your life. Before now you would have been crazy to suggest it. You and only you are the person in charge of keeping yourself safe. I agree it sucks. My mother has been suck in a house for a year, if its two years by the time it winds down, then that’s how it is. She wasn’t at the stores last Monday and will not be out this Monday. But the people wearing masks has nothing to do with it. She’s just taking care of what she needs to do.
I am one of the unspoken minority from your previous posts that felt the lifting of masks outdoors went too far too soon. By not differentiating who can go maskless, which is a nightmare I don’t wish upon anyone, Disney is not following the CDC guidelines. Honor system or not for adults, the recommend for unvaccinated people to wear masks in crowded venues will automatically be broken in children less than 12.
So when you write “ Where the problem arises is when people have the expectation that policy or rule-making revolve around their individual feelings of discomfort, rather than a science-based assessment of actual risk.” It should be noted that the science is not being followed.
Hopefully people will be fine.
Perhaps I’ve missed them, but I’m unaware of any studies that have demonstrated outdoor transmission presents a significant risk for anyone–regardless of age or vaccine status. We’ve shared the studies that reach the opposite conclusion numerous times since last July, which is why we’ve advocated so strongly for outdoor dining since then. From the day of reopening through present, indoor dining has been objectively the highest risk activity at Walt Disney World.
I don’t have links to those studies handy, but here’s a good NYT article that summarizes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/briefing/outdoor-covid-transmission-cdc-number.html