Face Masks Required Again For All Walt Disney World Guests

ORLANDO, FL — With COVID-19 cases surging in Florida, Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando has updated its face mask policy.

Once again, all guests ages 2 and older, whether they’re vaccinated or unvaccinated, are required to wear masks indoors and while riding Disney transportation, including buses, the monorail and the Disney Skyliner, according to the Disney website. Masks will remain optional when in outdoor common areas.

The theme park previously relaxed its mask policy in the spring when the number of COVID-19 cases were decreasing in Florida. In May, Disney dropped its mask requirements for everyone in outdoor areas. Then, in June, the park made masks optional indoors for fully vaccinated visitors.

With Disney’s latest mask policy update, other theme parks in the area, Universal Orlando and Sea World, haven’t announced any changes to their own policies yet. Both parks currently don’t require masks for vaccinated guests.

Disney’s updated face covering policy comes days after new guidelines on masks were released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and after Orange County declared a state of emergency.

Orange County reported more than 5,000 new cases and a 15.6 percent new case positivity rate from July 16-22, according to the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report.

Under this emergency order, county employees will be required to get their first shot of the coronavirus vaccine by Aug. 31 and could be disciplined — possibly even fired — if they don’t, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Employees and visitors at county buildings will be required to wear masks, as well.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings asked business owners to adopt their own face mask and social distancing policies. He also urged county residents and visitors to wear masks indoors.

An executive order that was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May and went into effect July 1 has restricted emergency orders issued by Florida municipalities.

These emergency orders “must be limited in duration, applicability and scope in order to reduce any infringement on individual rights or liberties to the greatest extent possible,” according to the governor’s order. The governor can also invalidate any municipality’s emergency order at any time.

A second executive order from DeSantis also nullified all existing COVID-19 related emergency orders put in place by Florida’s counties, cities, towns and villages. This struck down all mask mandates and other COVID restrictions put in place by these municipalities and waived any fees for breaking these rules.