Walt Disney World Drops Face Mask Requirements For Fully Vaccinated Guests Friday

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL — With COVID-19 numbers falling in Florida, Walt Disney World Resort has updated its face mask policy for theme park guests.

Starting Friday, face coverings will be optional for all fully vaccinated guests in both outdoor and indoor locations, according to the Walt Disney World website.

Those who are not fully vaccinated must continue to wear face masks in all indoor locations, including indoor attractions and theaters.

Face coverings will also still be required for all guests ages 2 and older on enclosed Disney transportation. This includes buses, monorails and the Disney Skyliner.

The current mask policy at the theme park, which is in place through Thursday, requires everyone 2 and older to wear face coverings indoors, whether they’re fully vaccinated or not.

Masks will remain optional for all theme park guests in outdoor locations at the Orlando-area theme park.

The number of new coronavirus cases reported in Florida has dropped drastically in recent weeks. From Feb. 4-10, 103,022 new cases and a 14.3 percent new case positivity rate were reported in the state, according to the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 Weekly Situation Report.

Prior to this, the recent surge — driven by the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus — hit the Sunshine State hard with record numbers of new COVID-19 cases reported weekly and daily. Florida repeatedly reported more than 50,000 to 70,000 cases in a day during the surge, which started picking up in mid-December, and broke its record for the number of cases reported in a single day multiple times. The state's highest single-day number of cases ever came Jan. 8, when 77,075 were reported, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.