Mask Rule Relaxed for Photos at Disney World
It’s time for another in-park face mask update from Magic Kingdom! As covered in our Guide to Face Masks at Walt Disney World, there was a significant rule relaxation this week: “You may temporarily remove your face covering while actively eating, drinking or taking an outdoor photo, but you must be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distancing during this time.”
This means that guests can take selfies and other photos at their resort, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, or wherever else so long as they’re appropriately distanced from other people. At the time the rule change was announced, we were pretty confident it would also apply to PhotoPass spots, and we’re happy to confirm that in does!
What it does not apply to is walk-around YouTube videos, on-ride photos, those jumping self-timer photos the kids seem to love these days, or anything else involving the intersection of motion and photography. Wanting to see how all of this would play out in practice, and whether the various doomsday predictions would come to fruition, we headed out to Magic Kingdom and spent considerable time vainly taking photos of ourselves…for research.
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 (excluding ones that were hard to gauge because they might’ve been sarcastic), we found 96% 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 more of a mixed bag. Most of those who were opposed to the change were concerned about it being a slippery slope or another loophole that guests would exploit. This, in turn, could cause more headaches for Cast Members. Those are valid concerns.
Indirectly, we’ve even heard of some Cast Members voicing this fear. That’s understandable, as there are tens of thousands of Cast Members, so you will find a diversity of opinions on literally every conceivable topic. Statistically speaking, there are almost certainly Cast Members who will tell you the earth is flat and Godzilla is better than King Kong. Our direct experience in talking to them is that most Cast Members believe the earth is round, King Kong is superior, and that relaxing the face mask rule for outdoor physically distanced photos is a pragmatic move.
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. As we’ve seen since reopening, those guests have not been particularly successful, as Cast Members quickly “remind” them of the rule.
My view is that the greater “risk” is Walt Disney World being absolutely unyielding and maintaining policies that have no impact on safety or transmission—but do lead to lower guest satisfaction, are a huge burden for Cast Members to enforce, and ultimately lead to burn-out. (High turnover in the roles dealing with this has been a problem for months.)
At this point, reasonable rules are better for ensuring compliance than heavy-handed ones. As more people are vaccinated, fewer guests are going to accept strict rules without pushback—especially as face mask mandates are going away pretty much everywhere else. Walt Disney World needs to comport with guest expectations, at least to some degree, if they want to maintain a high degree of compliance.
Since the Cinderella Castle Christmas projections debuted last November, we’ve been saying that Cast Members around the Central Plaza were fighting a losing battle. Even with roughly a dozen Incredi-Crew Cast Members on “patrol” around the castle, they can’t be everywhere at once.
The scenario that played out time and time again was guests dropping their masks for a quick photo and Cast Members rushing over to tell them about the rule–which the guests obviously already knew about since they were calculated about getting the photo–after it was too late.
Regardless of what you think of the face mask rules, there has been an unpleasant tension in the air resulting from this. We spend a lot of time around Cinderella Castle, and that has been our consistent observation. If you talk to anyone who has actually been in the parks for a considerable amount of time in the last several months, they’d likely corroborate that.
Our experience yesterday was totally different. Like night and day.
We spent over two hours on Main Street, around the Central Plaza, on Liberty Square Bridge, and directly behind Cinderella Castle. The vast majority of that time was spent in the Hub or Central Plaza.
Totally anecdotal, but we did not spot a single guest trying to exploit the rules. There were actually a lot of guests leaving their masks on for photos, until PhotoPass Cast Members politely indicated that they could remove them for photos (word is still getting out). Everyone we saw removed their mask after being distanced from the Cast Member, and put it back on before moving again.
In practice, literally the only downside to this rule change is that lines for photos move slower because it takes the Cast Member time to explain that guests can remove masks for photos, and then it takes time for guests to take them off and put them back on. That’s it.
There are a few upsides. There’s the obvious one of having photos that look normal.
Back when this all started, we made a point of getting several mask photos of us thinking that down the road, they will be some of our few fond memories of an otherwise miserable year. That’s still an option if you feel the same. After doing this for almost a year, we are very pleased to have regular photos again.
Another upside is that a lot of the signage that previously graced every single trash can has been removed. There are still a lot of these signs, but all of the ‘photo and face mask’ signs (which was about half of them) are gone. Also roughly cut in half are the constant overhead announcements about mask rules.
The other really big upside is that the vibe is so much better on Main Street, in the Hub, and around Cinderella Castle. Gone is the tension that you could cut with a knife. No stand offs between Cast Members and guests. Literally the only interactions we heard were the good kind: why Hercules is an underrated movie (agreed), that the Orioles are great (are they, though?), and “I like your shirt/dress” (circumstantial).
During that time, we stopped at about a dozen different PhotoPass photographers.
Quick advice on that front for those purchasing Memory Maker…
First, stop at a lot of photographers. Maybe it’s just because I have high standards as a photographer, but I find that about half the images are unusable.
That’s not a knock on the PhotoPass Cast Members–there are countless reasons for this, from us blinking to poor lighting conditions to image artifacts and more. PhotoPass photographers are firing off a quick series of photos without reviewing them.
Second, refresh the PhotoPass image library in My Disney Experience as you go. Not all photos will appear immediately, but many/most will.
From that, you can see what you like or dislike about the photos, and also make adjustments to how you’re posing, what angles are most flattering, and which direction in the park the lighting is currently good or bad. (Despite taking thousands of us over the years, I still have no clue what to do with my hands when posing and no amount of ‘adjustments’ have helped with that.)
Finally, you’ll be able to see which Magic Shots you’ve acquired and what you still “need.”
We are frequent PhotoPass users, and a couple of the Magic Shots or image frames we received yesterday were new-to-me. (Mercifully, no Olaf snow shots yesterday. Our existing library of 348 of those will have to suffice for now.)
It’ll be interesting to see how the face mask rule evolves from here. A few months ago, Disney CEO Bob Chapek stated that Walt Disney World could have some level of physical distancing and mask-wearing for the remainder of 2021, but called vaccine availability a game-changer. Most other sites emphasized the “remainder of 2021” part of that, saying it meant face mask rules in full force until 2022. We disagreed, emphasizing the some level and game-changer parts. Even before that, I was bullish in my predictions for Walt Disney World relaxing physical distancing and face mask rules–pointing out that it’s a business decision as much as a health safety one.
That remains my perspective, and I think a further relaxation of the rules outdoors is the next logical step. Rules erring on the side of caution were understandable when Walt Disney World first reopened, but a lot has changed since. Among many other things, we now know so much more about the nature of transmission, and how incredibly unlikely it is outside. Study after study has confirmed this, with none contradicting it–the science is settled. If Walt Disney World is following the science while also trying to enforce realistic rules that comport with guest expectations, we can probably expect further relaxation of the outdoor mask rules in the coming months.
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 are your thoughts on the relaxed face mask rule for photos at Walt Disney World? Concerned this is a slippery slope that creates a loophole, or think it’s a step in the right direction? Are you hoping Disney further relaxes rules this summer and fall, or do you want the current health safety protocol to remain in place until 2022 when the pediatric vaccine is widely available? Does this make you more likely to purchase Memory Maker or take a trip to Walt Disney World in the coming months? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!
Just came back from Disney World with my daughter. As much as I wish I did not have to wear a mask, I looked at the brighter side. We have many, many pictures of us in Disney. As my daughter said, it will remind us of our trip to Disney during the pandemic. My daughter is a mask-maker. She made us matching masks — all Disney themed. Actually, it was fun. We brought two masks with us everyday, and in-between dried out the masks with the blowers in the bathrooms. We also noted that most people, including very young children, adhered to the face mask policy. Looking forward to going to Disney again.
I’m so glad to see your smiling faces again! ☺
Our family has been so excited to have maskless photos for the remainder of our Disney vacation! One photographer in Hollywood Studios told us he hadn’t photographed smiling faces in such a long time and was very happy to see them again.
1. Godzilla is better than King Kong. I will fight you on this. Compare:
(a) Godzilla has been spotted off the coast of Hokkaido. Terrifying.
(b) Wet gorilla has been spotted off the coast of Hokkaido. Silly.
2. Are the Orioles great? Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken. Of course! The current incarnation? There are some good young players that may develop. I am being charitable.
3. I hope relaxing of the face mask rules for photos leads to further measured relaxation of all Covid-related protocols and rules. The number of child-aged visitors to the parks would lead me to hope that not all rules are relaxed however, until a pediatric vaccine is widely available.
King Kong represents the best and the worst of humanity. Godzilla is basically a water dinosaur with terrifying powers. Godzilla is arguably cooler, but rooting for him would be the equivalent of cheering for a Komodo dragon in a fight against your father. You may not always agree with him, but King Kong is family.
The Orioles were a great team with great players and an iconic franchise, past tense. The Orioles are not great, present tense.
Tom, care to speculate on when the dining reservations will move back to 180 days? It seems the competition is fierce at 60 days because a lot more families have their act together and are prepared to make reservation choices at that point compared to 180 days. Those on their game at 180 days used to have a big advantage.
LOVE seeing your beautiful faces (smiles) again! Also, I’m jealous of Sarah’s hair. That is all.
Tom, the “Reply” button isn’t working on your blog. I just thought you’d like to know!
I wanted to respond to the person who said she hopes the mask requirement is removed for children. Personally, I think that’s the last thing that would happen with the new UK variant becoming the dominant strain in the US. I’m from the upper Midwest, and we’re having serious issues from the UK variant. It’s more contagious among children, so schools are now having large outbreaks. Things are getting pretty bad in places like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. In Minnesota, they’re now requesting all school children get tested for COVID-19 every 2 weeks. Children obviously visit Disney World in large numbers, and they also cannot be vaccinated. So, unfortunately, I think the dynamics are shifting so that children will become the major spreaders of COVID-19. The last thing Disney will want is a super spreader event at the parks, so I think masks will be a part of Disney World (at least indoors) for the foreseeable future.
“Tom, the ‘Reply’ button isn’t working on your blog. I just thought you’d like to know!”
Yeah, I realized this about a day after making a slew of significant backend changes and updates to the site. I’ve been trying to tweak things to fix it, but so far, no success. 🙁
Was fully planning on cancelling my late July trip, but am reconsidering if they do relax on masks outside. We went the same time last year and I don’t want to do it again with masks outside in 95 degree heat. Also it was planned in conjunction with our first Disney cruise which seems very unlikely to go off. But if they announce this by early June, we may just go ahead and keep our planned visit even without the cruise.
At this time the only thing left “scary” about Covid 19 is its name. That isn’t to say it has been stamped out. It’s a virus. it never will be, but statistically its medical worst is well over.
Go enjoy life. I’m sure we’ll soon be provided with some other apocalyptic situation to worry about.
I love your “getting back to normal” posts, because you do a great job of balancing the science and the case/vaccination rates with the realities of what vacationers want to do on their trips (especially when they’re fully vaccinated).
For many months I was on the “Disney parks will be much closer to back to normal by late summer” train and then I started to back off as Disney stagnated for months on their rules (and tightened masks while dining rules!). But I’m slowly getting back on that train, and Pfizer formally requesting 12-15 year olds be able to get vaccinated is a big step in that direction. I think this outdoor photo rule change is common sense and in the next couple months loosening mask rules further will also be common sense.
We are hoping the mask rule will be relaxed for those with cognitive disabilities. We have a 20 year old son with Down Syndrome who has sensory issues and wearing a mask/shield of any sort is not going to happen. He asks everyday about Disney and for the moment we tell him it’s closed. Just that slight adjustment will make him so happy. Fingers crossed !!!!
Heading to Disney World in May and will be adding the Memory Maker to our reservation today. Also visited in November and there was no one breaking the face mask rules. In fact, it was awesome not having the usual crowd of people. I felt very safe in all WDW parks. The good news is you have a choice to not go to Disney if you are concerned of the virus. More room for us.
Thank you so much for posting about this experience. We’re coming to the World in early May and are so happy that you are able to have mask-less photos now! I hope that they relax the masking rule for outside very soon. With the science very clear on outdoor transmission, I think it’s the clear next step, too.
It’s the two year old mask rule I am *praying* is relaxed next. Even just bumping it up to age five. I can not imagine making two year olds comply in the summer heat, some of whom aren’t even potty trained yet
Obviously, we don’t have a dog in that fight, but it shocked me when Disney lowered the age from 3 to 2. My outsider perspective is that kids can adjust to rules better than adults give them credit, but that requires them comprehending what they’re being told in the first place. To me, that seems really tough at age 2.
But again, what do I know.
I know what I’m doing this weekend. I need new family pictures–badly. That was why we got photopass as locals. Going to pick out coordinating outfits now…
I have taken a lot of steps to keep my family protected during the pandemic, including keeping our kids at virtual school for the remainder of the year. My point is simply that I take the pandemic seriously! That said, I would be OK with no masks outdoors, as long as it’s not crowded conditions.
There ARE some rare cases where people have contracted the virus outdoors, but it’s only happened with close, extended contact (and it’s still very rare). Thinking back to how crowded Main Street can be after the fireworks, I think an acceptable rule might be: No facemasks required outdoors when social distancing is practiced. If you board something like a boat, safari car, or a parking tram (when those come back), or sit in an outdoor theater closet to others (when Fantasmic comes back), masks might need to still be required just because people can’t space out and may be close together for a period of time.
One additional thing I worry about regarding a change in policy like that is Disney trying to get people to put their masks BACK ON when people come inside. It’s one thing to ensure people are wearing them throughout the parks. That battle is mostly “Don’t take your mask OFF.” It’s another to basically have to say, “You have to put your mask ON to enter.” I think that will invite some push back, and there will need to be sufficient cast member presence at building entrances to ensure that happens. Will cast members be stationed outside every bathroom entrance, for example?
I suspect that if Fantasmic returns this year, it’ll have some degree of physical distancing. Fireworks are trickier, at least in Magic Kingdom, but at least that can be mitigated by guests if they so desire by avoiding Main Street and watching from New Fantasyland or even way back by the train station.
Restrooms are the only building I can think of that don’t have a Cast Member stationed outside. Everywhere else–queues, gift shops, restrooms–all are staffed.
There comes a point where some degree of risk is tolerated. In reality, Walt Disney World is already at that point and has been since last summer by allowing indoor dining. As I’ve said countless times before, I would take literally any outdoor scenario (masked or unmasked) over indoor dining. So if that’s the acceptable risk threshold for Disney, there’s a lot of room for mask rule loosening.
I am so glad to see this – I found it disappointing when I visited a few months ago that we were not permitted to take distanced, outdoor, self-timed photos without our masks. It’s unique to catch a mask shot to capture this time, but I don’t want to look back at alll my photos from a trip and see masks all the time. I think as soon as this is over and we get back to normal, the last thing I’ll want to see is reminders of a painful year.
I’m happy to see that things are progressing towards more normal! I agree with your sentiments that people are more willing to adhere to the relaxed guidelines. I’m really hoping to see it relax to no masks outdoors (social distance strictly enforced) Being able to take it off outside when walking to the next area would really be so helpful in tolerating all day wear!
“Being able to take it off outside when walking to the next area would really be so helpful in tolerating all day wear!”
Totally agree. While I don’t think wearing masks outside is as bad as some have made it out to be, I still *much* prefer not wearing a mask outdoors, and don’t mind it nearly as much in the air-conditioning.
I hope this change means good things for Disneyland. I’m not going until December, but it would be nice to get pictures without a mask! And I totally agree that the guests who were trying to get around the rules are going to regardless of what the rules are. Relaxing the mask policy for photos isn’t going to change that.
I do quite like my mask photos from WDW in October though, since they’re very different from previous years. 😛
The wrinkle with Disneyland is that there’s still the mask mandate in California, and Newsom has said that’ll remain in place after the June 15 reopening.
If things go well, I’d fully expect that mandate to be gone there long before fall, but you never know…
i’m glad you didn’t see any loophole exploiters. count me in the camp of “slippery slope” and having the best interest of CMs at heart. i hope as word gets out that people adhere to the current rules and don’t start causing problems down the road. we all want normal back. loophole exploiters don’t help us get there.