Welcome to a series we’re calling “Disney World’s Return to Normal“. As we continue to keep a close eye on the operations around Walt Disney World, we are noticing some policies are relaxed or discontinued as Disney World returns to normal. It has been more than a year since the Disney Parks around the world were closed, and as more and more Americans are vaccinated, we’ll see Disney start to relax policies around the theme parks and resorts. We’ll continue to update you on Disney World’s return to normal via a series of articles.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney World has maintained strict safety protocols as it related to wearing a face covering in the theme parks and resorts. Basically, the rule was always that you had to keep your face covering on for everything except swimming and actively eating and drinking while stationary and physically distanced.
Now, as Disney World slowly starts to relax some of their safety measures, guests are able to take their face masks off for photos. This only applies to outdoor photos, and guests must ensure that they remain physically distanced from others.
While we don’t think that this indicates and imminent end to face coverings, it is still a significant step in potentially allowing guests to remove their face masks in outdoor settings.
Even Disney PhotoPass photographers are encouraging guests to take off their face coverings for photos. In our experience in the theme parks, a typical interaction with a PhotoPass Cast Member involves them asking you to keep your face masks on until you are in position to take the photo. Once the PhotoPass Cast Member ensures that you are stationary and physically distanced from others, they will let you know it is safe to take your mask off for the photos. When the photographer is finished, they will instruct you to put your mask back on before leaving the photo area to either collect your belongings or carry on with your day.
We’ve seen longer lines for Disney PhotoPass photographers since the change in policy last month, and we sure are happy to see smiling faces return to Walt Disney World in a responsible manner.
In the absence of Disney PhotoPass Cast Members, Cast Members who are part of the “Incredi-crew” still wander popular photo ops throughout the theme parks to ensure that guests who are taking selfies are remaining physically distanced and stationary.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!