Orange County Ending All Physical Distancing & Mask Mandates on June 5
Mayor Jerry Demings held his “State of the County” press conference during which he announced that Orange County will enter the third and final phase of the reopening plan for returning to normalcy, totally dropping face mask mandates, physical distancing, and all other protocol on Saturday, June 5, 2021. This paves the way for a similar end to health safety rules at Walt Disney World, which calls Orange County, Florida home.
Let’s start with a brief recap of Mayor Demings’ reopening plan. Orange County first announced this three phased plan to gradually lift all health safety measures just over a month ago. At that point, physical distancing was immediately reduced from 6 to 3 feet in all settings. Universal and Walt Disney World quickly followed suit and announced their own reductions to physical distancing.
Orange County then hit phase 2 in mid-May, which resulted in the outdoor face mask mandate being lifted. Within hours of that Friday afternoon press conference, both Universal and Walt Disney World followed suit, announcing that masks would be optional outdoors for guests starting the very next day. You can probably already see where we’re going with this…
Last Friday, heading into Memorial Day weekend, Universal Orlando effectively dropping its face mask rule. Universal announced that face coverings are no longer required for fully vaccinated guests, indoors or outdoors. Universal further stated that it would not require proof of vaccination, essentially ending enforcement of the face mask rule.
At that point, Orange County had not yet announced phase 3 of its reopening plan, so Universal’s announcement might’ve seemed premature. However, the county actually had already qualified for the third phase, but had chosen not to announce it–and actually cancelled its health briefing for the first time in 64 weeks.
Then on June 2, Mayor Jerry Demings held a press conference, which we assumed was to announce the final milestone in Orange County’s plan. However, he instead said that the county would qualify for phase 3 after the 14-day rolling positivity rate has been 5% or below for 14 consecutive days (so 14 days twice, for some reason).
That double 14 requirement was not previously contemplated by executive order or the reopening plan, but whatever. The positivity rate’s drop clearly outpaced vaccine uptake forecasts. It’s understandable that Orange County would inch the plan back a bit given that the county is lagging behind nationwide vaccination goals.
Moving forward to this morning’s “State of the County” event, Mayor Demings revealed that Orange County would enter the third and final phase of its reopening plan as of Saturday. This comes as 55% of Orange County’s population age 16 or older has received at least one dose and the county’s test positivity is 4.5% as of this week.
As a reminder, the third phase is reached when 70% of the population age 16 or older has received their first dose of the vaccine or Orange County’s 14-day rolling positivity rate is 5% or below. The third phase of this plan means that the face mask mandate is lifted indoors for everyone (without regard to vaccination status), physical distancing is dropped, and no other health safety rules remain in effect.
This comes at a time when Florida’s case numbers continue to fall. The state’s average daily case numbers have dropped 43% in the last two weeks, with 8 new cases per day for every 100,000 people. Deaths and hospitalizations are also down dramatically.
The story is similar throughout the United States, with every important metric at its lowest level since March of last year. While the pace of vaccinations has slowed in recent weeks, approximately 63% of adult Americans have received at least one shot.
The United States has set a goal of getting at least one shot into the arms of 70% of adults by July 4. At the nation’s current pace, that’ll be reached–but just barely. In addition to that, credible estimates from the CDC and other health agencies put those who have been infected at 30-40% of the population.
Between vaccinations and natural immunity, the United States is already in a solid position–hence the current decrease. By the start of July 2021, between 70% and 75% of the entire population–not just adults–will have some form and degree of immunity based on conservative math of the above numbers. It’s likely there will still be some localized flare ups this summer and winter in areas of the South and other pockets of the United States where vaccine numbers are lagging far behind, but that does not include Orange County.
With that said, as we’ve pointed out countless times now, Orange County’s rules are significant as they establish the earliest possible timeframe for Walt Disney World to relax or lift its own health safety protocol. This means Disney can now drop all health safety protocol, ending the indoor face mask rules as well as all physical distancing, which means attendance caps could also increase as of June 5, 2021.
It’ll thus be interesting to see what, if anything, Walt Disney World does with Orange County lifting its indoor face mask mandate and other health rules. It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point that Disney will be further relaxing its rules at some point this summer. (It’s worth noting that Walt Disney World already could’ve increased attendance to a greater degree than has occurred–they presumably have not due to a lack of staffing.)
Although unrelated to Orange County’s dropping of mask mandates, Walt Disney World changed its policy for Cast Members earlier this week. Cast Members who have outdoor roles and are able to maintain six feet or more of physical distancing from guests will no longer be required to wear face masks.
This includes many backstage positions, plus some on-stage ones including parking lot attendants, lifeguards, horticulturists, custodial, construction, maintenance, and some other Cast Members. However, they will still be required to have a face mask and put it on whenever they come into contact with guests or venture indoors. (Presumably, this same rule applies to all Cast Members when backstage, and not just those in the aforementioned ‘select positions.’)
Previously, my best guess as to when Walt Disney World would drop its been mask rules would’ve been “after Independence Day.” However, the return to normalcy in the United States has accelerated to a greater degree than I anticipated. At this point, it seems unlikely that Walt Disney World will hold out more than for a couple more weeks, rather than another full month.
With shifting consumer sentiment, comfort levels continuing to increase, and other businesses dropping their rules en masse, it’s unlikely Walt Disney World will maintain its current rules for several more months. It would amount to swimming upstream against the flow of health guidance, human behavior, and policies at other businesses. Over-burdened frontline Cast Members cannot be expected to indefinitely enforce health rules.
Even with Disney’s reputation for cautiousness and being a family-friendly brand, another big/final change before July 2021 now feels likely. Not only would enforcing rules in place nowhere else cause more friction between guests and Cast Members, but lifting the rule would free up workers at already short-staffed parks to be relocated to other positions. (That might seem trivial, but almost everything Disney is doing right now is dictated by staffing levels–from Park Pass distribution to restaurant capacity.)
On a related note, if you’re wondering how health safety protocol is actually going in the parks, check out our new Physical Distancing & Face Mask Rule Relaxation Report. This details our on-the-ground observations and photos from the last several days at Walt Disney World. The official rules are only one part of the equation–more important is guest behavior and adherence to those rules.
All things considered, our expectation is that Walt Disney World announces it’ll follow this new guidance from Orange County as soon as this afternoon or as late as the next 2-3 weeks. It wouldn’t surprise us if Disney departed from past precedent, and didn’t change its policies immediately.
In this scenario, holding out just a little longer might be a savvy move. That’s especially true if Disney wants to strike that delicate balance between those who are eager to ditch the masks and parents who are understandably apprehensive about their kids under age 12. As cases continue to fall (and community risk for the unvaccinated along with it), comfort levels will continue to increase.
Ultimately, that’s just our guess. As always, none of this should be construed to mean Walt Disney World will or won’t lift its indoor face mask and other health rules now that Orange County has done so. Simply put, this is what paves the way for Walt Disney World to follow suit as early as Saturday, which they have done fairly consistently in the past.
We strongly suspect Walt Disney World will follow the lead of Orange County–albeit perhaps with more delay this go-round. Regardless, another face mask change is inevitably on the horizon for Walt Disney World, likely in the next couple of weeks and almost certainly before Independence Day. (Unlike last time, we didn’t hear any rumors of one beforehand this time.) We will be closely monitoring DisneyWorld.com’s “Know Before You Go” page for rule changes throughout the day and will keep you posted! Whenever Walt Disney World does relax its face mask rule again, expect it to read similarly to Universal’s newly-modified policy.
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
Thoughts on physical distancing, face mask mandates, and other health safety protocol all ending in Orange County, Florida? Think Walt Disney World has more plans to return to normal? Are you hoping that Disney follows Orange County’s lead, or keeps its indoor mask rules in place longer? Please keep the comments civil. This is not the place for arguing about efficacy, politics, and so forth—all such comments will be deleted, irrespective of perspective. You are not going to change anyone’s mind via the comments section on this blog, nor are you going to change Disney’s rules or public policy. If you wish to contest this, rather than yelling into the internet abyss, have your voice heard in a meaningful way by contacting Disney or your local elected officials.
I have a friend who asked me today–she has two small children, both under 10, so can’t be vaccinated. Her dad (the kids’ granddad) died of COVID in December. She has a trip planned for July. If there’s no indoor mask rule, she won’t go, and she asked me if I thought she’d get a refund if she explained why. I said it’s hard to tell since it’s not a rule that’s been announced yet. Is there any precedent? I think the optics would likely be pretty bad if Disney didn’t.
I’m not really interested in debating the rightness or wrongness of her decision. They’re her kids, they lost their granddad to a terrible disease, and I’d be cautious too in her place.
Haha, love the picture with your picture in it. Noice!
@Laura thank you for playing, but you are incorrect. Not only have I worked at WDW and still have friends who do now, I also have a degree based on science and perform design and construction management of healthcare projects in…hospitals…all over the US and Europe too. While I am happy that you actually care about your children and worry about them becoming ill (nobody wants that), the probability of that happening with the cove at a maskless WDW is negligible. In places making poor children wear masks in school, they are performing a grave disservice to those families, and weakening the immune systems of those kids.
Bottom line is that Disney will not place Cast Members in a position to argue with a Guest over just about anything. Anyone who feels the need to argue with CMs or others either pro or anti-mask or just about anything else in a park will be asked firmly but politely to leave.
Disney needs to drop the masks completely, and let the worrisome adults decide whether they are too risk averse to go.
parents of kids not yet eligible to be vaccinated are relying not only on people getting vaccinated who can, but also relying on masks indoors and distancing whenever possible. my kids are not yet vaccinated. i cringe thinking of school in the fall if masks are not mandatory. disney needs to put those parents at ease and keep masks and distancing as much as possible in lines and indoors, since a majority visiting are families with children. becky, you are correct, mrnico, you are not. those of you who have put concerns are rightly justified to be concerned at too much too fast and potentially rethinking plans.
I can’t wait to go in November when hopefully all guidelines are dropped and it’s left to individuals to decide how they want to spend their vacation. It should be the individuals choice to vacation with or without a mask on, wearing all day in and out or when indoors only.
Go on vacation if you feel safe to do so, stay home if you are not. After all the United States of America is still the home of the free right?
Disney is doing what’s right for their company and will continue to do so keeping their reputation in mind but even more important their financial balance sheet. A multi billion dollar company is only going to miss out on financial gain for so long before they push aside lingering guidelines even if that means loosing customers.
@Lisa – That just isn’t true. COVID-19 hospitalization rates among adolescents have been increasing. Also, the severity of COVID cases among adolescents is increasing as well. About 1/3 of those hospitalized require intensive care, and about 5% need to be put on a respirator.
It’s great that overall cases are lower now that so many people are getting vaccinated, but the CDC says that, until they can be vaccinated, our children still rely on the people around them to be masked.
I tend to tread lightly when it comes to the topic of kids under 12. Both because we don’t have kids so I don’t know how I’d react in such a scenario, but also because there are still unknowns on that front. Definitively proclaiming they’re low risk or whatever might very well prove premature. As we all should’ve learned over the last year, good trends can turn bad in a hurry–and vice versa.
With all of that said, I found this to be an interesting thread today from Joseph Allen, which is in direct response to the WaPo article and the “latest” CDC data you’re referencing: https://twitter.com/j_g_allen/status/1400882575304970244
Does this mean fireworks and parades are likely to start up again too? Or is social distancing still in place?
We are ready to go to Disney with no mask mandates at all. The sooner this happens, the better. Our home state is currently open with no mask mandates and stadiums at full capacity. Kids have been playing sports for months (indoors and out) without masks. Our positive numbers are even lower than Orange County. The latest studies coming out point to masks actually doing more harm than good. My state is proof that removing masks does not increase cases, even in unvaccinated children.
@Becky_S I’m sorry but that’s not a legitimate use of DAS.
@Maria they aren’t going to do that. Far too many would abuse the system out of fear or because they could. It’s already hard enough for people with actual disabilities without adding the coviphobia/scammer factor in.
I agree with many of the other parents who spoke up. With kids under 12, I’m not OK with waiting in lines indoors without masks. We’re at WDW for the rest of the weekend, and I’m hoping Disney doesn’t make any changes. Personally, I think Disney has a good compromise going on where people who hate masks don’t have to wear them outdoors in the heat, and they can walk and eat and drink. However, with masks required indoors, parents feel safer when it comes to standing in lines near others with their unvaccinated kids.
I appreciate the suggestion from a parent to get a DAS pass. That’s what we’ll do if Disney changes their policy so we can wait outside rather than inside near unmasked people. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, though, and that Disney makes the choice to keep kids safe.
No masks was our big tipping point for going or not so this is great! We are hoping this is just the beginning and Christmas offerings are back by December too! Plus fantastic, fireworks, hours, etc. Hoping by fall/winter (or even before if they can get enough cast members) things are back to normal!!
The explosion of DAS passes that would be created for people who cannot wait indoors with unmasked people for an hour or more is likely going to slow the reintroduction of FastPass+ and likely have a negative effect on standby times as opposed to just keeping the mask rule indoors.
Every nervous parent is going to want one. Masking is much easier and consistent to maintain indoors where vaccine status is not known.
Glad to hear this but not surprised we have a Disney/Universal Christmas trip planned for mid-December and was always optimistic that face masks would be optional by then, although I absolutely agree with the other posters that I support anyone who feels more comfortable wearing them and really hope we don’t witness any mask shaming.
Tom do you have any opinion on whether or not they will get rid of park reservations before the end of the year? I already reserved parks for our December days to be safe, and we will go regardless, but it would be nice to have the freedom to go wherever, whenever.
Two thumbs up on all of that! Walt is spinning in his grave seeing what greed is doing to his dream. It’s a shame, really. And yes! Open the parks for longer hours NOW!
Tom, I just want to say that I am a faithful reader and I appreciate the updates you provide. I go nowhere else for my Disney updates as I know that you will update quickly! Thanks for being neutral to both sides of the spectrum. I personally have my opinions on the masks, distancing, etc but I will not push it on anyone. Thanks for not doing that as well.
I will say for us personally we are glad things are getting back to normal as we have a trip planned for our family of 5 this fall.
Keep the updates coming!!
Just wondering when and if Disney has any plans of increasing park hours? Really in my opinion Disney hours STINK! Let’s all be happy with parks being open for an average of 9-13 hours. Disney forces everyone back to the resort to an over crowded pool, because the parks will close as early as 6:00 pm in JULY!!! Also is really Stinks that the little bonus as resort guest and AP holders? We are so very fortunate to get a generous 30 minute early entry to the parks. BIG DEAL!!! Universal is providing much more to their guests vs what we are getting at Disney.
Bob Chapek is greedy!!!
Glad we are leaving tomorrow from WDW with this possible new removal of the mask mandate happening.
I have a 10 year old and am hesitant to have people so near her indoors without a mask, especially when a attraction line maybe 45-60 mins long.
We were happy to remove our masks outdoors but mask less indoors is still a no-no for us. I’ve noticed no more physical distancing in queues at WDW, we’ve been here for 5 days.
Stay safe everyone!
In reply to AB in case you didn’t leave yet. I read through these responses and did not see anything that was negative in the way you suggest. I have not read anything hateful at all .