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!
Hi Tom! Just to comment that an offer for 2022 for UK, Irlanda (and tiene Europe) will appear in few Hours (05/20). At this time of the year they usually offered de free DDP, but this year…something called dinning Credit, 36 euros PER ROOM per night in value hotel, 62 for moderate and 68 for deluxe…Pretty disapointing and really bad for families, better offers may come but this is named the 50 anniversary offer, so I don’t expect so much for Europe this year…
Hello, on the topic of increasing capacity. I pride myself in planning my family’s Disney trips and utilize this site to help with that process. I had everything planned to a T last year and unfortunately had to cancel due to Covid. I then had to replan the trip adding park passes, eliminating fast passes, and booking limited dining 60 days out. While not the same trip i had planned out last year i was still accepting that with limited capacity and dining reservations accepted, that my family would still have good time. Now with capacity increases in site, i fear that a lot the preplanning i have done a second time may not mean much and that wait times and crowds may be significantly larger. My only hope is that my family and the family we are traveling with have a magical time.
We were in the parks the last couple of days and it was so nice to see everyone’s smiling faces walking around! The cast members seemed less stressed out. At this point they really should just make masks voluntary everywhere because it is definitely more of a “blurred” line of when and when not to wear them now. Most people seemed to be following the rules, but I do think taking them off and putting them back on over and over again is probably not very sanitary. I doubt people are washing their hands before and after handling their masks like they technically should be. Also it seemed the rude obnoxious drunk “world travelers” are back in full
force in the world showcase. (Thank you to the rainbow back pack guy who was rude my 4 year old daughter and I) sorry to post that petty stuff here, but you asked for some “real life” experience in the park and unfortunately that’s part of it. I guess being able to freely walk around eating and drinking does have its pros and cons, unfortunately. Regardless, we thoroughly enjoyed our time this week and had many good conversations with several other awesome guests! Happy to see normalcy returning!
I’ve said this before. It is not up to Disney to protect everyone from a virus. It’s time for them to open up and drop all of the remaining Covid protocols now that there are highly effective vaccines available for people 11 and up. For those that can’t or won’t be vaccinated and still choose to come to a major tourist destination with millions of visitors from around the world, your safety is on you. It’s not up to me ,Disney, or anyone other than you to protect you, and make you feel safe. If that’s not ok, then don’t go there. It’s really that simple.
@mickay
Not looking for an argument. But you totally said someone was wrong. And unfortunately. Your statement is going off of science that was never proven. And in fact the opposite has been proven. There is almost zero, like .004% on asymptomatic spread with the fully vaccinated people. And infection/breakthrough rates amount fully vaccinated people is also less than a fraction of a percent. So just wanted to clear that up. Please don’t spread false info. It’s one of the reasons people are using to not get vaccinated. It’s irresponsible to spread old info and pass it off as current.
With that said, the data I placed above was solely on the Pfizer vaccine abs it was study conducted by the US cdc and NIH. If I had time right now I would post it for you. But you can look up asymptomatic spread amounts vaccinated people. It will ge in the top few results.
Oh Boy, what a thread? Wow. I guess I have a few thoughts on the mask, safety issues expressed at WDW.
First I agree with the poster that said basically, it is time for personal responsibility. WDW or any other park, is not responsible for your personal safety. They make the atmosphere as safe as they can with their limitations. Do you think that masking for covid, and then unmasking, will stop the many, many other viruses and illnesses that are in the parks? There is no way WDW or anywhere else can eliminate all the chances of people not getting a virus. With the thousands of visitors from other countries bringing in their various viruses, etc, and with the thousands of people in the different areas of the US bringing in their illnesses, how can any park guarantee your or your families safety? We always got sick with each visit before covid, even with hand sanitizers, avoiding railings, and distancing (all before covid). At least one of us got a virus with fever, sore throat, aching, or nausea. We went into disney (and universal) knowing that there was a risk of illness. We made that decision to go to Disney.
Now Disney has done all it can and is relaxing it’s restrictions, and will soon get rid of them all. Then people will have to consider their own personal feelings of safety for themselves and loved ones. If they are concerned, then it is on Them to not expose themselves to that risk
, not Disneys, or Universals, or other guests.
Another poster stated what if I get sneezed on by someone without a mask and not knowing if they are vaccinated? Well, that has happend before Covid with people who were surely ill in some way. This is not new. You just have to decide what you consider safe or not.
The rules are changing and you have to decide what to do about it for Yourselves, not others.
If you and your family decide to wear masks, then good for you. But don’t put the responsibility on others. If you want to social distance, then that’s great too. But you must decide on your own personal comfort level and take care of yourself.
You don’t wear a mask to protect yourself, you wear it to protect others. So if you are not vaccinated you should wear a mask. Inside.
@BeckyS
If the only reason you’re not canceling your trip is because your tickets expire in September, please note the value of an UNUSED ticket is never lost. A ticket that has never been used can be traded in toward a new ticket or annual pass forever, even after the expiration date.
Rey Lee, unfortunately you are wrong. If you are vaccinated you can (and many have) still gotten COVID- you just don’t get super sick. Vaccinated people can and HAVE given COVID to others including some who got it from them have died.
That is why in many states those who are fully vaccinated can get together with others who are fully vaccinated. They won’t get super sick.
We were just at Hollywood Studios on Friday (first day of mask change) and Magic Kingdom yesterday. I didn’t notice anyone in the lines that took their masks off – seemed like total compliance to me. I was very happy to walk around the park unmasked and think it made it easier to have the mask on for long periods while waiting in line. It was a hot, muggy day and as we were leaving the park I mentioned to my family (all vaccinated adults) that I wasn’t sure I would have made it with a mask on ALL day long.
Oh, while in lines and transportation, we kept an eye on the 6 ft markings and so did most other people. On transportation, they have marking where you stand and sit to keep everyone socially distanced. The Disney staff did a fantastic job!! As I was going in to one full service restaurant, I forgot to put on my mask, but the cast member politely reminded me to put on my mask so I said “oh thanks, I forgot”.
We had a wonderful time.
@AgentMay: Thanks for the reply! Knowing “feels like” crowds might be the same during spring break as Thanksgiving definitely makes me more confident in going during Thanksgiving. I am really looking forward to Christmas decor! As this is our first trip with kids, I’m more hesitant about crowds. We live near Disneyland and our trips have definitely changed once our kids came along. Unfortunately it is harder to zig as Tom might say with hungry kids, strollers and their expectations. But def worth it!
It really blows may mind the number of people who feel that Disney should be responsible for the health of your families. In my opinion people need to realize that you and only you are responsible for that.
Anyone who is uncomfortable about the risk of going should just stay home. There are lines at Disney and they will continue to get longer as capacity limits are changed and there will be people that will not follow the rules. Disney does their best to enforce the rules they make but the bottom line is that people who are worried about the way the rules are enforced should stay away. It is not up to Disney to decide what risks you are willing to take. It is up to you.
People coming to Florida should also realize that if they intend to go shopping that there are not many stores that are enforcing social distancing. Most stopped that months ago and the day after the CDC changed their ruling many stores stopped the masks all together. They do not ask if you are or are not vaccinated. Very few are wearing masks in grocery stores, target etc. Due to the order that the governor signed they are not allowed to ask those questions.
Bottom line we can not expect any one else to be responsible for protecting us or our children. We each have to decide what risks we are willing to take and we have to realize that none of it will be perfect. If you are worried for yourself or your family it is best not to come.
Apologies if anyone already mentioned this in these comments, but for those planning trips, the posted hours are usually solid a month out out, as opposed to these 10 week or so times.
The Corn Chip Pie at Dino Diner will be the best meal in DinoLand when the stand opens.
“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.” Best sentence ever. And this is coming from a person who has had health-anxiety since I was a child. Thank you!
@ Rey Lee
Some of us have children who can’t be vaccinated. They need to wear their masks, and, even though I’m fully vaccinated, I’m not going to walk around without a mask while they have to wear them. We rarely take our children indoors in public, but, if/when we do, I will be masking along with them. That’s part of being a parent and a role model.
You’re right that the virus isn’t as dangerous to children as it is to adults. In the US, when it comes to adults, 1 in 56 who test positive die from COVID-19. In the US, when it comes to children, 1 in 115 who test positive are hospitalized from COVID-19. So, it’s not as dangerous for kids as it is for adults, but it’s still a serious risk. There were 13,000 American children hospitalized for COVID-19 last year, more than the number of kids who are hospitalized with the flu in a typical year. I get my kids flu shots to protect them from the flu. Right now, I can’t get them a COVID shot to protect them from COVID. So, we rely on the people around us doing the right thing (getting vaccinated and wearing masks).
When it comes down to it though, even if you don’t care about the babies & children who will be hospitalized (or the immuno-compromised adults who don’t build full protection from the vaccine), the masking in queues and indoors at Disney is still a rule. If you won’t follow their rules, then don’t go to their parks. It’s pretty simple.
@CJ – I agree with you. We tend to go to WDW every couple years. I have a trip planned for right after Memorial Day with my child who isn’t old enough to get vaccinated yet. I wouldn’t have normally planned this trip during the pandemic, but we were originally booked for 2020 when the pandemic hit. Now we have tickets that expire in September. I think having a sudden change in rules makes things difficult. Like you said, it pulls the rug out from underneath us.
I know there will always be SOME risk when we go out and about, but we planned this trip because everyone was talking about what a great job Disney does with masks and social distancing. I decided the safety measures made me feel safe enough to go. Once Disney started relaxing some of its rules, people seemed to stop following all of their COVID protocols. There were suddenly endless trip reports of people refusing to keep social distance in lines and people eating and drinking in lines.
Being honest here, I’m not worried about walking around outdoors without masks. In fact, being able to walk around with a Mickey ice cream bar will be nice. However, I’m worried about being in lines next to people who won’t keep space or won’t keep their masks up. These are people we will be next to for 20, 30, 40, 50 minutes at a time. I really hope Disney just starts kicking those people out of queues. Mask down? Leave the line. That keeps everyone else safe, and the rule breakers will learn not to break the rules.
I know people are saying that no trip will be 100% safe. I get that. But that doesn’t mean I need to accept constant high risk. It’s just frustrating to have the rules change so much when I can’t cancel without losing hundreds of dollars. The last time I was able to cancel my trip for a full refund (minus our tickets, which are fully purchased) was early May. At that time, 6 feet social distancing and full mask use was still a rule. I actually had to read an agreement saying I understood those rules. Now, those rules are suddenly relaxed.
I’m sitting here thinking, what will the rules be like in 2 weeks when it’s time to go?
@Danielle, Thanksgiving week is a busy week, though from our experience over the past 10 years or so working around traditional school calendar times–we’ve been on several spring breaks around the end of March and beginning of April, lots of end of May trips, and Thanksgiving week trips–they’ve all been about the same level of busy. Though it’s never impacted our Disney vacations negatively. We are going at the end of July this year which will be our first time going smack in the middle of summer break. I think some of the best advice I’ve ever heard and agree with is managing your expectations, expect it will be busy and plan the best you can while still being flexible.
Hi Tom! Off topic, but curious what time of year is your recommendation for families tied to a traditional school year? Obviously covid has changed this, but as we move towards normal. Made reservations for the week of Thanksgiving (have only ever been in summer).
Appreciate the pragmatic advice the past year
I don’t really understand why people are so weird about others not wearing a mask. If you’re vaccinated then your fine right isn’t that the whole point. Now if your not vaccinated then you still can’t give it to the vaccinated and obviously the anti vaccinated aren’t to concerned about getting it and a high % won’t even have terrible symptoms. I think we all forget that it’s a minority of people who will be affected by Covid in a deadly way. I say move on, protect yourself appropriately if you’re in the compromised group, but most will be just fine. It honestly floors me on how many people who are vaccinated just go ok I’ll still wear the mask even though they absolutely don’t need to. Just absurd. You get the vaccine but then you still wear a mask think about it it’s ridiculous! I love Disney and glad they’re moving on in a responsible way
We booked our trip a few months back for this June hooing that crowd levels would still be low – risks low – masks in tow. While we are happy that we don’t have to wear masks now outside in the heat, it elevates our concerns about the longer wait times due to increased capacity = less distancing and higher risk of infection. Also, now by pulling the mask up/down, we will be touching our face more now creating a higher risk as well. It’s just too much, too soon without warning. It should have been announced and do feel like the rug has been pulled out from us.