Orange County mayor expects to lift all mask and social distancing requirements on Friday - potentially clearing the way for Disney to eliminate masks at the Disney World theme parks

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Posted: Wednesday June 2, 2021 4:30pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has this afternoon announced that he is not yet ready to lift all COVID-19 restrictions relating to masks and social distancing - potentially delaying a mask-free Walt Disney World for a few more days.

The majority are no longer wearing masks as they enter the Magic Kingdom

At the end of April, Demings laid out a phased plan to begin to scale back mask and physical distancing requirements as part of a COVID-19 mitigation strategy.

At that time, he announced that when 70% of the population 16+ has received their first dose of the vaccine and/or Orange County's 14-day rolling positivity rate is 5% or below all restrictions will be lifted. The current 14 day positivity rate is just below 5% and has been for 11 days, but the vaccination level remains below 70% at 55.07%. This has not been quite enough for the mayor to drop mask requirements county-wide, but he does expect to hit the target for phase 3 and dropping all requirements on Friday June 4.

Guests entering Disney's Animal Kingdom without masks for the first time in a year

Orange County reached the 50% vaccination level two weeks ago which triggered the county to drop the mask requirement when outdoors, and this quickly prompted Walt Disney World to drop its mask requirement for guests at its theme parks when outdoors. Masks currently remain a requirement when entering attractions and at any indoor space.

'Masks On' sign outside Mouse Gear in Future World at EPCOT

If Disney moves as quickly as it did to follow the Orange County outdoor mask requirement being dropped, we could see a mask free Walt Disney World as soon as this weekend should Orange County move ahead with phase 3 as mentioned today. Disney is yet to make any comment on any changes it will make or when.

Discuss on the Forums

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wdwmagicApr 14, 2022

This thread is going to take a break for a while until any changes are announced at Disney in regard to the last remaining mask requirements on transport.

Andrew CApr 14, 2022

If we are talking about WDW, put the blame on the company for keeping this silly rule in place. For airplanes, put the blame on the feds. When people realize stupid rules are in place and have no impact, they are going to be challenged. That’s just human nature and the reality throughout history. On the other end, when rules tend to make sense, people are more receptive. WDWs transportation rule is illogical. The feds 14 day extension of the public transportation rule at this point is the same. Expect more push back. It’s all about appearances than anything else and more and more people will pick up on that.

Chip ChippersonApr 14, 2022

No, you're not following the rules. You're planning the mask version of holding your finger an in from your siblings face and saying, "I'm not touching you!" And for the record, on my recent flights, the message was that masks had to be replaced between bites/sips, so unless you plan on holding g a drink to your mouth for the entire flight then you're not following the rules - but if you do that, please report back and let us know of how that worked out for you during turbulence.

Club CooloholicApr 14, 2022

I already explained it. It slows things down and makes it harder for the employees. And some might not really want to sit for 3 hours on a flight next to a guy sipping coffee the whole time.

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

I don’t understand why you’re mad at me.

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

There. Fixed the stupid. Now, go create ANOTHER account for me to ignore. :rolleyes:

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

Thanks for understanding

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

Okay.

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

God bless, but no thank you.

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

They are flag carriers for the socially inept and the self-important. They have one job here. It's stupid but they're going to do it.

G00fyDadApr 14, 2022

Just go back to your regular account. Please? For everyone.

Nonsensequitter75Apr 14, 2022

What can I say? I’m so lonely at this stage in my life, that the (virtual) company of people who hate me is better than the alternative, which is no company at all.

DisneyCaneApr 14, 2022

Hence why I asked the poster if they were intending to only experience outdoor attractions with outdoor queues. If yes, then I can at least understand their logic. If no, then the obsession about people not masking on transportation doesn't make any sense.