Masks Are Coming Back To The Disney Theme Parks

Yes, friends, it's true. You may wish that this was one of those clickbait-y headlines, but it's no lie: face masks are once again going to be required at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland, starting on Friday, July 30. There's no fun spin on this news, and nothing terribly clever to note at the top. Consider this a sign that whatever the "new normal" is, it still includes face masks.

If you haven't been keeping up with the news...well, first of all, you should be keeping up with the news. The point is, the COVID-19 pandemic never really left, as much as those of us who have been fully vaccinated for months may wish to think so. (Think of the pandemic as a horror-movie villain like Michael Myers, who you think is dead and just when you let your guard down, he rises back up to attack.) Though the Disney parks just last month had loosened their mask policies, they're reversing back due to rising COVID cases nationwide, thanks in no small part to a) the persistent Delta variant and b) the unwillingness of too many people to get vaccinated.

For now, the face mask requirement at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland is limited to indoors, but as you know if you've visited the theme parks (or if you just imagine what it's like for a minute to do so), a lot of the experiences at these parks are indoors, from dining to many attractions. So if you're over the age of 2 (and it's safe to assume that if you're reading this sentence, you are), get your face masks clean and ready, because you need them again.

This isn't a terribly fun story to write up, but if there's a takeaway here, it must be this: the only way to get back to something truly, genuinely approaching normal in this country is to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. That's it. Some of you are already vaccinated. Good for you! Some of you are waiting for that push to do it. Well, consider this your push. It's free. There are lots of appointments available nationwide. Get vaccinated. If it annoys you to learn that Disney is making you wear face masks indoors again, well...it's because too many people are unvaccinated. So get used to this new abnormal. (And also: give the Disney Cast Members who enforce this policy a break. They've got it hard enough as it is.)