Disneyland Dropping Mask Rule for Vaccinated
Disneyland will end its face mask rule for fully vaccinated guests on June 15, 2021! This post offers details on the quick dropping of pretty much all health safety protocol, what else has changed, exceptions to the new rules, our commentary, and quick answers to frequently asked questions.
This comes as Walt Disney World is poised to end its indoor face mask rule for fully vaccinated guests on the same day. In our post covering that change announcement, we speculated that the timing could be related to California’s reopening. However, we ultimately dismissed that as unlikely, writing “we highly doubt that is the case and do not expect identical rules to debut at Disneyland Resort on that date.” Whoops!
Anyway, rather than following Walt Disney World’s gradual rule relaxation approach, Disneyland is ripping off the bandaid all at once. That’s probably less a deliberate decision and more a consequence of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy tiered reopening plan, which wouldn’t allow such an approach. California is retiring its Blueprint tomorrow, paving the way for the following announcement from Disneyland…
“As more people are vaccinated and the nation is turning the corner on this pandemic, we are encouraged that COVID-19 health and safety guidelines set forth by the CDC and state and local officials are being adjusted and eased.
Keeping with our thoughtful approach to health and safety measures, and taking into consideration these new recommendations, we are making some changes for Guests, effective June 15, 2021 in conjunction with the reopening of California’s economy.”
“We are excited to welcome out-of-state Guests beginning June 15, 2021 at which time we will discontinue the requirement for on-site temperature checks. The state has removed the physical distancing requirements with respect to Guests, so we will allow Guests to self-determine distancing.
Starting June 15, face coverings will no longer be required for fully vaccinated Guests both indoors and outdoors. Guests (ages 2 and up) who are not fully vaccinated must continue wearing face coverings indoors, except when dining.”
“While Guests will not be required to show proof of vaccination, vaccinated Guests will self-attest that they are in compliance prior to entry.
In addition, all Guests will need to attest that they are aware of the State of California’s strong recommendation that guests be fully vaccinated or receive a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the theme parks when making their Disneyland Resort theme park reservations.”
“When the Toy Story parking lot reopens on June 18, all Guests (ages 2 and up) regardless of vaccination status will be required to wear an appropriate face covering while on the bus transportation from the lot to the parks.
As we continue to welcome Guests back to our parks, we will continue to do so through our reservation system, which was implemented due to capacity limits when the parks reopened.”
OUR COMMENTARY, PREDICTIONS & ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS
Why won’t Disneyland be verifying whether mask-less guests are fully vaccinated?
Virtually no businesses anywhere are differentiating between vaccinated and unvaccinated guests beyond the honor system policy. It’s simply not worth the hassle and headache. This is true even in California, which has taken a dramatically different approach to reopening than Florida.
Putting the burden of verifying vaccination status on Cast Members would be asking a lot at a time when there’s already a labor shortage and frontline employees everywhere are at about their wits’ end. This would lead to guests getting confrontational and a host of other issues that Disney probably wants to avoid.
What does it mean that guests will need to “self-attest that they are in compliance prior to entry” at Disneyland?
Probably no different than the online checkbox guests had to click when making theme park reservations prior to June 15, 2021 that guests were California residents.
At that time, Disneyland stated: “Be sure you have proof of California residency with you as only California residents may visit the parks at this time. You may be asked to show such proof of residency, as necessary.” To our knowledge, this was never verified in-person at the gates. None of our friends who visited reported having their IDs checked.
Given all of the above, it’s our strong suspicion that self-attestation of vaccination to go mask-less will be a similar scenario, with whatever “verification” (air quotes) there is occurring online. Our guess is that upon arrival at the parks, at most, there will be new signage or an overhead spiel in the Esplanade indicating that “by entering Disneyland or Disney California Adventure, guests attest that they are aware of [insert new policy language].”
It seems highly unlikely that guests will be put on the spot and asked anything upon arrival at the parks.
If my kids are under age 12, and thus cannot possibly be vaccinated, will they be required to wear masks?
Even though it can reasonably be deduced that a small child is unvaccinated, Disneyland probably will not be policing whether they wear masks in light of the above.
Instead, all guests will be required to “self-attest” that they’re either vaccinated or will wear masks as necessary. To recycle a line from our Walt Disney World FAQ, I am expected to “self-attest” with Sarah that I’ll eat vegetables for dinner when she leaves me home alone. But when the cat’s away, the mouse will play. (Or in my case, eat a lot of ice cream!)
Why isn’t ___ back? When might it return?
Disneyland has far fewer “moving part” than Walt Disney World, but the same general constraints apply. Namely, staffing—or a lack thereof is probably the answer to your first question and when more Cast Members have been hired and trained is probably the answer to the second question.
I don’t mean to sound glib. However, a shortage of Cast Members is the single biggest explanation for everything Disneyland is (not) doing for the next few months. After reservations started out slowly, bookings have exploded for Disneyland in the last few weeks, with more reservations being released and capacity increased on a regular basis. If anything, the California parks are already better positioned to scale up reopening efforts on a much faster timeline than Walt Disney World. Heck, Avengers Campus debuted roughly one month after Disney California Adventure reopened. Meanwhile, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure has been sitting, completely finished, for months now…and still won’t open until fall.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on Disneyland essentially ending its face mask rules for the fully vaccinated, with only a few limited exceptions? Do you agree or disagree with the swift relaxation of rules? Surprised by Disney’s rule change? Think Disneyland has more plans to return to normal and scale up entertainment, dining, nighttime spectaculars, and more? Please keep the comments civil. This is not the place for arguing about politics—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.
@Angieline, give it a rest! The sky is not falling, and nobody can rationally call FL gov unhinged vs CA. Every state is different. If you don’t feel safe, then don’t go. This is great news, to be welcomed by all! As Fred said, it’s hard to get people to show up to work. It was bad before last year, but it’s ten times worse now. Labor is in really short supply and it’s a seller’s market. Hopefully the extra payments will end soon all over, because it’s draining revenues at a ridiculous pace.
@Tom
That is exactly what I’ve done for it, too. I have a table-service reservation for lunch each day of my trip to avoid the afternoon crowds, and we can pop offsite for dinner or schedule a mobile order in the morning. I do like the fact that the indoor queues will be back now admittedly, because it’s my first trip to Disneyland and I’d like to see the theming. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that capacity on attraction ramps with capacity in the park, and just go and have a good time…
Things are finally coming together! Flights are booked, we have the VGC booked for October, we have all the tickets we need, we have our park reservations and we are on track for our second vaccine shots next month. Just need the borders to open. (Coming from Canada). Would love to see a Halloween Party and World of Color announcements.
We are taking our first trip to DIsneyland in August. Our son is 13 and fully vaccinated as are we. Our daughter is 10 so she can’t get the vaccine. We will not wear masks outside but inside we will all wear masks because my daughter will have to wear one. Not fair for her to be the only one that has to wear a mask just because she didn’t hit the artificial age requirement for the vaccine. According to the CDC and Dr. Fauci, the outdoor risk is minimal so we feel safe going mask free while walking around. Standing In line and indoors we will all mask up. I think this is one of those situations where everyone just has to do what they are comfortable with. I can’t wait until she can get the vaccine as well.
I was SO happy to hear this news during our drive down from the Bay Area today. We are spending the next 2 days in the parks and it is going to be hot! I was not looking forward to that darn mask. Lol
I also agree it is going to be harder to get reservations. It would seem that a large percentage of us going right now are “Legacy Passholders”. Disneyland AP’s are hardcore fans and we have been missing our “home” all these months. So until everyone runs out of money they will snap up reservations. I think the crowds will depend on how soon they bring passes back and what that program will look like. Most of us won’t be able to visit nearly as often if we have to pay for tickets each time.
Freedom in California? Wow. Did Hell freeze over, too?
The ultra-paranoid who drive around alone with their mask on should probably stay home. To the rest, “adventure is out there!” â˜€ï¸ Enjoy!
I have been predicting this for the past week to all my friends and fam because the perfect storm came to fruition. I’m here working on assignment in the beautiful city of Orange right next to Anaheim and they have been preparing all week for a massive heat wave. It is supposed to be 100 degrees at Disneyland on June 15th! Can you believe it?! THE day that California is opening, it’s 100 degrees! What was Disney to do?? Allow people to stay in their masks and pass out all day? There was no way, they had to make a move – they had no choice, their hands were tied. DL and DCA is all outside and the lines are outside and the masks have to come off in that kind of weather.
This will lead, as it has with the rest of the country, to unvaccinated people unmasking because as one person told me “no one will know I’m not vaccinated and it’s none of their business. My body, my choice.” That choice will lead to a swarm of infections with the new Delta variant, which is more virulent and is causing more hospitalizations. I feel so concerned for children since they are unable to be vaccinated and their unvaccinated parents are not masking them to protect them. (Although our 1.5, 3 and 11 year old grandkids are all masking with no problem. It’s not the kids who are the problem.). This is setting a very dangerous precedent and I know it is pressure from the public and in some states, like Florida, pressure from the unfazed governor and senators. This virus is going to be around a long time unless we choose to mask, even if we are vaccinated, not only to protect ourselves and our loved ones but to protect others. It’s the compassionate, not political thing to do.
To my knowledge as a DLR cast member, staffing issues in most lines of business at the resort, or at least in custodial, foods, retail, and attractions, is not due to not having enough people scheduled, but rather not having enough people show up for their scheduled shifts. Up until May 31, cast could call out sick for however many shifts they wanted and face no consequences, and on May 31, the point system returned with everyone back to zero points. The attendance policy is already incredibly lenient even with the points system (a part timer can miss 71 shifts a year before even triggering a conversation with a manager). I can have half or more of my entire crew call out on any given day, and several locations have had to close early due to almost their entire closing staff calling out. Currently, if you call out of your shifts and just not record it on your unemployment claim, nobody checks it, and you still get the extra $300.
That being said, they are also currently not hiring any new hires for these lines of business either. They’ve made mandatory calls for all their cast and called back their laid off cast, but there should be no new hires. Of course, some have been brought back into new locations, so there is a slight learning curve there.
I was just at Disneyland for the past few days. Mask compliance was generally very good. I felt incredibly safe since there was no indoor queuing allowed, even though the sun/heat made me almost wish for indoor queues at some times during the day! It was very busy, though – walkways were very busy, lines were very long, and it was incredibly hard to find benches or chairs just to sit down and eat a snack (even at off-hours). Distancing was a real hit or miss – sometimes very good, other times essentially nonexistent.
Overall, we had a great time, though. One strange thing is that there are definitely less cast members around. I feel like I used to see them all over the place, but now it is actively difficult to find a cast member when you need help with something. I was planning another visit this summer but without the masking requirements (and a move back to indoor queuing with greater capacity), I’m not sure if I want to any longer. I’m sure many parents and families are debating this choice as well.
I have to be honest, I wish they would have let us know this was their plan earlier because I would’ve cancelled my reservations for this week (we are now past the time we can cancel our Disney hotel resv or we would cancel and do something else). I have a 7 year old who is obviously not vaccinated and we have been so careful over the past year. Now we are going into a situation without distancing or masks and we are supposed to trust thousands of people from all over that if they aren’t wearing masks, they have been vaccinated or had a negative test? I guess I am not at all that trusting. I feel bad for all the kids under 12 who haven’t been vaxxed and are now at unnecessary risk. Yes, kids have a fewer complications but there are some children who become seriously ill. I had hoped they would relax some distancing and masking while outdoors (per cdc) but keep indoor masking where transmission is easier. I was so excited about this trip but now I feel like it’s going to be packed and unsafe for kids:(
I put this on a different post of Tom’s about Disneyland but heads up for those going soon. I hope with all these changes and increases in capacity they fix the mess that is mobile ordering right now!! We went last week and we couldn’t score a table service reservation (no surprise) and mobile ordered with everyone else in the park. It was crazy!! No where to sit because they have less tables available but instead of that keeping people apart it actually just had people hovering over everyone sitting at a table so they could snatch it as soon as it was free. The line to pick up mobile orders really confused me as there weren’t that many people picking up so why was it so slow?? That is because the training video for people filling these orders was apparently swapped for the clip from zootopia of the sloths in the dmv. Seriously google it if you haven’t seen the sloths. This lady nailed it… I’ve never been so tempted to crawl over a counter and grab stuff before!! Ride queues were also a mess but hopefully getting rid of distancing fixes that too. The end of pirates line being at big thunder was insane!! That being said we hit every ride we wanted to in both parks including Spider-Man so it was nice to go before it opens to everyone but I’m jealous of those going tomorrow because I’d LOVE to go without masks!! 😀
Unfortunately, I suspect this is only going to exacerbate restaurant issues. The kitchens are seriously understaffed and it probably doesn’t help that so many Cast Members are new hires, as there’s a learning curve with any job.
Wow, I was not expecting this so soon. For a number of reasons I am in “wait and see” mode for a potential trip later this year or early next year. Part of that will probably depend on my little one being vaccinated. Here’s hoping dining venues and menus expand soon.
“Here’s hoping dining venues and menus expand soon.”
It’ll be interesting to see not just how quickly they reopen more locations (so far, so good on that front) but how quickly they can improve efficiency and capacity. I’ve heard from Cast Member friends at Disneyland that there are staffing challenges with servers, cooks, and back of house positions. So basically, the same as WDW.
I was just in a queue at Knott’s where a gentleman behind me was closer to me than anyone has been since the late 90’s, so I’m very interested how matters of personal preferences on physical distancing are to be settled by the guests. I’m able to regulate how much space there is between the person in front of me, but, as they say in the air force, my 6 is vulnerable. Cast Members should not be policing lines, but I’m hoping Disney signage says something like “Please observe personal space while in line” or “Please do not use a stranger’s back as a towel,” something of that nature.
I’ve been very surprised at how quickly this has reverted to normal pretty much everywhere. There are times when I’ve questioned whether I’m just more cognizant of it after the last year of distance, but I really don’t think so.
I guess everyone is eager for some, uh, interpersonal contact.
I’m a Canadian hoping to make my first trip to Disneyland the first week of November. All this news is very promising! I’m fully vaccinated now and Canada is doing well so I’m hopeful!
Woo hoo this is awesome!!! I’m really shocked as we’ve moved at a glacial pace here in California but makes me want to plan a trip for sure!!
Wow, this is a bit of a shock! Not that it happened at all, but that it happened all at once and so quickly. I booked a trip from July 10-15 hoping it would be relatively uncrowded due to lack of AP and remaining Covid protocols, but from everything I’m seeing this looks like it won’t be the case. I’ve even grabbed some hard-to-score dining reservations despite having to jump through crazier than normal hurdles to get them (the new Disneyland policy seems to be ‘release reservations whenever we feel like it’). I was excited about sticking it out and getting those reservations, but if they’re increasing capacity they’ll likely add more tables too making my efforts…well, not in vain, but a lot more work than was needed. Now I’m torn between just going and seeing what it’s like, or postponing until the traditionally off-season September.
I wouldn’t be surprised if reservations become more, not less, difficult to score. I strongly suspect attendance limit increases are going to increase at a faster pace than dining capacity. (We’ve hedged our bets by making one table service restaurant per day–something we never would’ve done at Disneyland previously!)
To answer both of your questions, I think capacity will increase overnight on a lot of attractions, but it probably won’t be instantaneous–it hasn’t been at Walt Disney World.
I’d assume it’ll happen as staffing allows. Where it’s simply a matter of not leaving rows empty, that should happen immediately. But I wouldn’t expect it to be completely smooth-sailing come tomorrow (or even this weekend).
We’ll see!
Did they announce anything about ride capacities? I really hope they increase the capacity on rides. I’m going tomorrow and would love some low wait times!
Do you think rides will be going back up to full capacity with multiple parties on one ride vehicle?