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As of today, Walt Disney World has reached an agreement with the various unions representing Cast Members on how to protect employees from COVID-19. Read on to see what safety precautions will be taken.
CNBC and the New York Times are reporting that the Service Trades Council Union, which represents thousands of Walt Disney World Cast Members, has come to an agreement with Walt Disney World leadership.
According to the STCU, the measures include various social distancing measures and include mandatory masks for all employees and guests.
Disney recently began selling masks on their shopDisney website, so if you have a trip to the parks coming up, you might want to take a look!
It is not surprising that Disney would require park visitors to practice social distancing and to wear masks to protect other guests and employees from their germs. It remains to be seen whether guests still have confidence visiting the Florida parks when they do open.
It was not immediately clear if guests will be asked to wear masks in the resort hotels.
There will also be plexiglass installed at cash registers and touchless transactions implemented. Guests will also be subject to temperature checks upon entering the parks.
In addition to measures the company will take to protect employees from contracting coronavirus, they also agreed to provide paid sick leave to any employee who becomes infected with COVID-19 to allow them time to appropriately quarantine.
There will also be additional monthly safety meetings conducted to keep Cast Members up to date with best practices. Additional cleaning and sanitizing will also be implemented.
The Service Trades Council Union represents around 43,000 workers at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Disney Springs in Lake Buena Vista, Florida will be opening on May 20, but only third party owned restaurants and shops will be available for the first week. Many of the above measures will also be implemented when Disney Springs reopens.
Disneyland Park in California will remain closed for the foreseeable future and no new information was available regarding steps they have taken to begin welcoming guests again.
Are you surprised that Disney World will require masks? Will that positively or negatively impact your decision to visit when they reopen? Let us know in the comments on Facebook and let’s keep the conversation going in our friendly Facebook crew!
-Rebecca W Davis
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Sandy
Friday 15th of May 2020
Dave you know Disney doesnt care what we think! We complain about the price increases all the time but they just increase more!
Dave
Friday 15th of May 2020
The rules will relax if people tell Disney the reason they’re canceling is the face mask requirement. Hit them where it hurts- their money.
Rebecca Davis
Friday 15th of May 2020
Here’s how I see it: it’s estimated that Disney is losing $30 million a day from having the parks closed.
In order to get the parks opened, they need cast members to come back to work. In order to protect cast members they have agreed to this arrangement with the union.
If I’m a Disney executive, my goal is to get the parks open so I can stop bleeding cash. This gets the parks open. They already know attendance will be down bc of coronavirus. We will see how bad it is with the mask policy in place, but there are a lot of people who appreciate the protection that comes from being in a group of masked people vs unmasked people. So I don’t see them changing it due to loss of revenue. They will lose even more revenue if they aren’t taking steps to make gathering safer.
Thanks for reading! Hopefully this nasty virus is gone soon and we can all resume our regular way of life. Me? I’m ordering a cooling towel mask and soldiering on.
Haley
Friday 15th of May 2020
I have the same question the length of time this agreement is in place. I understand the mask and I understand it’s contagious. What I don’t understand is “use anything for a mask”, it’s not about safety anymore it’s about compliance.
Rebecca Davis
Friday 15th of May 2020
I agree that using just anything won’t do much for the wearer, but even a cloth layer over a guest’s nose and mouth should keep THEIR germs from spraying all over me, and in that will just have to be good enough I suppose.
Thanks for reading. I hope the virus is gone soon or a vaccine is produced next year and we can ditch the masks!
Jason Worgull
Friday 15th of May 2020
Since they are requiring masks, I sure hope they mandate N95 masks, because that is the only face covering that will prevent people from spreading and/or recieving the virus!
Rebecca Davis
Friday 15th of May 2020
The masks they are requiring aren’t meant to protect the wearer, they are meant to keep each person’s germs to themselves. Thanks for reading!
Jason Worgull
Friday 15th of May 2020
Do they say how this will continue or if/when it will be revised? I can understand temporarily, but sure hope this is not a permanent requirement! Not that's its' now, but there comes a point in time when people at "high" risk should be taking extensive measures to protect themselves, while others go back to "normal". I have airline tickets booked for September, but I will surely go somewhere else if this is still required at that time. As a healthcare provider, I wear a mask all day, everyday at work. Being forced to wear a mask my entire vacation is not something I will spend $10K+ to do on vacation. Furthermore, people who are overly concerned with the virus, shouldn't be going to the busiest theme parks in the world anyway!!!