Disneyland Drops Shuttle Mask Requirement

ANAHEIM, CA — Disneyland no longer requires customers to wear face masks on its shuttles.

As Orange County Patch previously reported, Disneyland officials announced in February that face masks would be optional for vaccinated guests when visiting any outdoor or indoor attraction, restaurant or store. That change came after California's statewide mandate expired.

But even though masks weren't required at most sections of the park, they were still required for all guests riding in any enclosed park transportation like buses, monorails and the Disney Skyliner gondolas.

That requirement ended this week, though Disney noted state health officials still strongly recommend that all guests be fully vaccinated or obtain a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the park, and they still recommend that all guests "wear face coverings when indoors and in enclosed transportation."

Notably, Disney's website said face-coverings are required for all guests ages 2 and older — regardless of vaccination status — in certain indoor health settings, such as in First Aid.

The move comes a week after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs was no longer in effect, and that it would not enforce the order.

"CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time," the agency said on its website.

The CDC said it asked the Justice Department to appeal a federal judge's ruling that voided the mask mandate for public transportation. A spokesman for the department said a notice of appeal was filed, saying wearing a mask "remains necessary to protect the public health."

California is averaging about 4,970 coronavirus cases per day, an increase of 46 percent over the last two weeks. However, the state is seeing a daily average of 1,265 COVID-19 hospitalizations, down 10 percent over the last two weeks.