UPDATE: Walt Disney World has issued the following statement via text message to WDWNT:
“There is no truth to this rumor.”
Jacquee Wahler, Vice President, Communications – Walt Disney World Resort
With Walt Disney World reopening this week in the midst of a secondary surge of COVID-19 cases across Florida, all eyes have been on the outlets covering the parks—from fans planning out their next trips, to the general public, curious about the masses flocking to a theme park in the midst of a pandemic. As you’ve seen throughout our extensive coverage, we’ve shown you just about every aspect about going to Disney in these unprecedented times.
There’s Cast Members spraying down attraction vehicles, characters roaming on boats or greeting from rooftops, and oh—everyone’s wearing face masks. In the case of Cast Members, they’re required to wear face shields on top of that whenever physical distancing isn’t possible. With thousands of Cast Members still furloughed or returning to work under difficult conditions, all were allowed to reserve a date for Cast Member previews earlier this week. A handful of them were caught overcrowding the entrance to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in a now-viral reposted photo:
We’ve been informed by several Cast that the employees in this photo have since been identified and reportedly either reprimanded or terminated by management. Cast Members are expected to “lead by example”, and many guests expressed having qualms about the reopenings after seeing this scene at the reopening previews. We were in the park the very day that viral photo was taken, and saw no such crowding anywhere in the park throughout the duration of the preview. The way the entrance is set up for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, there is a hand sanitizer dispenser at the entrance, and many have to briefly stop for it to dispense. The attraction had been closed due to weather conditions earlier, and had just reopened in this very moment. However, no such context was given when this photo was reposted, which unfortunately furthered the guest uproar. There was also no follow-up in terms of how quickly this crowd was dispersed after the photo was taken.
Despite our misgivings about indoor mask-free “Relaxation Stations”, our observations on the reopening so far have been fairly positive, with mask enforcement throughout and pretty much all guests and Cast Members observing physical distancing rules. Every attraction (with the exception of Splash Mountain) was practically a walk-on, with large, expansive walkways virtually empty given the limited capacity for previews.
Whether theme parks should reopen is a very divisive topic right now, especially given the rising rate of COVID-19 cases across Florida, which has resulted in an extension of the current State of Emergency. Tomorrow, the Magic Kingdom will reopen to the general public (at least, the ones with Disney Park Pass reservations) for the first time in months. Cast Members will be there, face shields and all, to welcome them back.
Featured Image: (C) Matthew Cooper Photography – www.thetimethespace.com
I hope the sanitizer stations have been restocked often and will continue to be….. Too many times at grocery stores, the dispensers are empty.
Different company but When I went to Universal over the 4th of July weekend they were always full and had employees checking regularly so hopefully Disney can follow suit
That’s good. I bring my own sanitizer to the parks and keep it in my car when I’m out shopping so I can sanitize once I get out of the store, but it’s good to have it ready for people when they enter/exit an attraction in a theme park.
Don’t care! @disneyworld shut up and take my money!
bring your own… why should the world supply you and your needs?
I always bring my own. Thinking of everyone though.
Because you’re paying $150 to get in, and $20 for a hotdog.
Guess we can get rid of TP in the bathroom as well. Bring your own TP, leeches!
Hahahha
Bc carrying a little bottle of santizer is far easier than having to carry toilet paper? And it’s far cheaper for you to supply your own instead of Dland installing sanitizer stations everywhere for a temporary issue?
Honestly if people are that worried about the pandemic why are you doing to theme parks lol.
What part of this makes you think it’s temporary?
I really love Disney, as does my entire family. However with the local hospitals being over capacity in serious ways, during a major pandemic, it seems foolish at the very least for reopening to have taken place at this time.
Yes
I agree
Omg soooo what???!???? They are adults. They can make their own decisions
If that’s the case then why even bother having a government? Speed limits….pointless. We’re all adults.
Obviously they can make discussions just not good ones. While these people are at Disney which I love greatly, my husband and I are working in the ICU to try and save lives of people making their own decisions
So what you’re saying is, you wouldn’t have a job without people making decisions.
I totally agree
Everybody has to stop complaining and relax these places can’t stay closed forever if you don’t want to go then stay home stop being so negative life must go on I can’t wait to go to Disney and have a great time.
Oh yeah, let’s relax while a poorly managed pandemic destroys our entire country. I mean gotta have Disney even if it means stacking up the overflow of dead bodies in the streets!
Enjoy the chance to die than, and don’t forget to brink the kids. Idiot
But the children they bring are not adults..
Obviously, they can’t make good ones. And individual bad choices affect us all right now. Get a clue.
A photo/snapshot instance should not be judged as being the overall summary of all areas! This is another fake news photo and the people posting this should be sued for intentionally trying to disgrace the Disney brand.
Not fake news when it is true (PS: Mark Twain was a fake name)
SMH!!! Disney identified the employees so how is the photo fake?!?!
As an employee they are required to social distance, and they didn’t so there are consequences.
What aspect of the article even implied this was generalized to the rest of the park or the actions of cast members? The only one I read was, “many guests expressed having qualms about the reopenings after seeing this scene at the reopening previews”. Which is a legitimate concern if the cast members caught in this photo demonstrate that they aren’t taking Disney’s requirements seriously.
So the Disney Food Blog has progressed from taking pictures of food and throwing it away to taking pictures of cast members and throwing their lives away. Stay classy DFB.
Who cares? Get over it. If you’re worried about getting the virus, put on head-to-toe coverings so you’re safe. Don’t rely on others to do anything to protect your own health. If you’re truly paranoid about getting it, stay home. Let those who want to live live free.
Sure looks like you’re really unclear on the concepts of a pandemic.
Selfish.
You “living free” prevents smart people from living free. Your actions impact MY LIFE and my freedom and my choices. Stop being selfish. You think freedom is all about doing whatever you want whenever you want. You sound like a spoiled child.
This article shouldn’t be highlighting the ridiculousness our governments are pushing upon us in the name of “safety”, it should instead be gaining insight on the ride as the”viral photo” just makes me very curious as to how good this ride must be if such a crowd of employees gathered to get on it.
How do people feel about Disney making their cast members wear masks and face shields? I’m in the medical profession and I know for a fact that these “precautions” are going overboard to the extreme. I have also been an annual passholder for 20 years. I am not renewing it. I’m not going to force my family to cover their face during the entire visit. In the hot humid Florida sun. If masks were so effective and “saves lives” then why would their be a mask free zone? Why would restaurants be open? There is nothing special about the mask free zones. someone getting within 6 feet of someone is not a big deal never has been and shouldn’t be still. How many times has a person walked right up to you and sneezed spewing mucous all over your face? Never. We sneeze into our shirts or elbow. Disney has made their cast members look ridiculous with all these PPEs. Kids aren’t going to want to see that, it’s Scary. After 40+ years visiting and supporting the Walt Disney company, I’m sad, bewildered and just can’t believe my time there has come to an end. I was there the last day they were open. People were together, their families and friends, taking photos, capturing the smiles even with the characters. The smell of pirate water, the smells in Mickey’s philharmagic, the smell of the grass, sea, and orange groves of sourin around the world. The smell of the Alexandria library burning on spaceship earth. And I’ll never forget the mist and smells of Pandora flight of passage. Now..that’s all over. Guests being asked to leave if not wearing a mask. Absolutely horrible. Other theme parks are not practicing these outrageous procedures. These policies need to be reversed. If we stopped listening to the tirades of the local governments and the CDC and questioned the efficacy of all these restrictions; looked up research everyone would see that this is a bunch of balogne. The CDC research includes a maximum of 20 subjects. One study was based on only 1 person. This is not how you complete a study. You need thousands if not more of data points to get an accurate picture of what masks can and can’t do. A journal from the NATIONAL ACADEMIES of PRESS under the title “PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA AND OTHER VIRAL RESPIRATORY DISEASES shows the inefficacy of wearing face coverings. This research was also done in 2010 with no governmental pressure and threats on pushing the use of face coverings. It is a very long paper using proper research / study methods. If you scroll down to the CONCLUSION you’ll see the findings and results. If Disney did their research they could be opening the park just like they have always done. Guests could have a special place a bubble so to speak from the real world. Disney magic has always provided that. But now they have let the crazys influence them and the parks will never ever be the same. I hope to God I’m wrong, but after monitoring news about the parks it’s not looking good. My family and I’m sure there are others are unable to wear face coverings. So we are no longer welcome. My wife and I have immune disorders. We’ve been all over the place and have not been sick at all. I’d get claustrophobic if I had something tied around my face. Deaf people who rely on reading lips, no longer welcome. Since 1955 the Walt Disney Company has kept the founders dream alive, his moral code his ethics and his spirit. But now this new Disney world has lost sight of the most important part of Walt’s mission…” To all who come to this happy place; welcome. Disneyland is your land.” Well, Disneyland Disney world is no longer your land. It’s the land of the masked people who are all hiding from something they can’t fight. All are no longer welcome. This is segregation and degradation to all who come. I hope all Disney fans can rise and revolt and demand a change to this new operating procedure. It’s not fun. I don’t care if someone wears a mask. We are able to make our own choices. They should be optional. If they for some odd reason feel they need a security cloth on their face..fine. If someone can’t do the polite thing and cough or sneeze in their sleeve, then yes wear a diaper on your face. But wearing one all day long will eventually cause respiratory issues which of course doctors are now required to call any type of symptom covid 19 to fuel the rise in cases to support the governments wants. Governments do not care about our safety. It’s beneficial to them that we all drop dead. Then they won’t have to pay out our social security benefits. I do hope someone reads this and spreads it around. The quality of our lives depends on it
Just wondering…. what sort of medical profession are you in? Not being disrespectful or anything just curious since you mentioned.
Hope you don’t live anywhere near me because your medical opinion is ridiculous and completely different from those in the medical field actually saving lives!!!
I am also in healthcare however what I’m seeing in the ICU as an RRT is much different than what you must be experiencing. I’m curious as to what your healthcare role is?
ok Karen
Jess, I agree. Let’s get back to living like normal. For those afraid of the virus, they should take every precaution THEY need to take or stay home! Disney in a hot day with face masks for adults OR kids sounds awful
So selfish. Boo hoo a hot mask on my face all day!!! See how you feel about that mask when you’re deliriously trying to rip out your breathing tube as a virus ravages your body. Yeah, it might not happen to you, but it’s happening to your countrymen’s family and friends.
I truly appreciate your views. I took my granddaughter to disney 3 years ago. The morning we we leaving I got a call that my sister was found dead. We went ahead with Julia’s birthday trip but it was hard staying upbeat and positive knowing that my sisters funeral was awaiting my return. I planned a return visit as a birthday surprise for this year. (JUNE BIRTHDAY) She was turning ten this year. My husband died very unexpectedly in january..difficult of course, but we could still plan the trip. Plenty of time for me to get my tears under control. But then covid. I can not even consider the trip now. Not from fear of covid, but from understanding that a disney trip should be a carefree joyous experience, not an exercise in social distancing and fear… maybe next year…or some simpler way of experiencing the magic of childhood
Your ignorance of how a virus is transmitted is disturbing. If people who think like you work in health care we’re all doomed.
As a Nurse and after reading this, I have trouble imaging you in the health care profession. This sounds kind of mean, but you know the “Magic Kingdom” isn’t really magic, right? 🤔
A journal from the NATIONAL ACADEMIES of PRESS under the title “PREVENTING TRANSMISSION OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA AND OTHER VIRAL RESPIRATORY DISEASES shows the inefficacy of wearing face coverings.
Medical profession? Immune disorder? I get a mask is can feel claustrophobic. I am a medical Frontline worker with an auto immune disorder. However I wear a N95sm fit tested plus a surgery mask 12hrs a day in Florida while at work. Outside of work I still where a filtering mask. How as you stated above can you as someone as a medical professional totally disregard ALL of US. I to enjoy WDW to the fullest it brings back memories. my daughter’s make a wish trip at 4yrs old was there before she passed a year later. I would hope regardless of what any mainstream media is showing we know face covering and social distancing DID flatten the curve. Work together to come back together.
You can find anything to support any argument out there. We don’t have all the answers yet. It’s still a new virus. So for now I think it’s fair that everyone believe what they want. Just stop being stupid about it. Be respectful. Care about others.
Really Disney a reprimand is one thing, termination is ridiculous. Me thinks Disney is taking advantage to thin the employment herd. How did u pick highest paid first to go, I hope at least it was by performance.
I agree Disney is redicaulis fireing people for any stupid reason.Many of good honest and hard working people has been fired and left with no job.
I really wonder how Disney is going to control the crowds in lines. Even before covid people acted stupid in lines whether they were trying to beat the system with cutting etc. So this will be interesting. I just hope they are able to control the social distancing bc some people can be challenging.
Disney is being RECKLESS, pure and simple. They are all too ready to risk people’s LIVES for the almighty dollar.
Have you ever heard of the concept of personal responsibility? They risk their own lives. No one is forcing them to go. Do you need big corporations or government to hold your hand for everything? Literally toddlers with the right to vote.
No they aren’t being reckless its time to start enjoying life again if you don’t like it keep ur comments to yourself there are alot of happy people ready to go have fun at Disney I have to wear a mask so be it but my family and I are going to have the best time of our lives
Clearly this is an updated photo, giving the fact, some people are actually wearing masks! Something, no nobody did before Covid 19! Just wish Disney would Stop trying advertise their own financial wallets before the health of those who fill their wallets! Why don’t they come up with a virtual, online park? It would probably work better financially, considering many can’t get to their parks because of lock downs, lost jobs, etc. but if they do, make it, an affordable virtual, online park, where a lot of people, especially children who are hospitalized for other reasons other then Covid 19, to enjoy, as though they were there personally. Just saying!! :)
Are you for real? There is no VR that touches on the park experience. Are they going to air-deliver my meals from my favorite restaurant and the scent of Main Street? Can I actually ride an attraction???? No. What a sad world you are promoting. I would rather risk death than live in a world like that. How about people who are scared to go to Disney don’t go and leave it alone for sane people to enjoy???
I don’t understand why the cast member had to be “terminated”, I understand that disney company likes to have a good look or what not but that is a little too extreme to terminate unless, I have missed something on the whole story.
LOL Disney literally values their public image ahead of every other thing in the world.THIS is certainly not new information for anyone.
I was at MK for the passholder preview July 10. I didn’t see any crowding like in the picture here. I rode Mine Train, too. My family and I rode a bunch of other rides. Everyone I saw kept their distance and their masks on.
Reprimanded because they posted a picture of a bunch of idiots? Sounds like the Disney corporation really has their priorities straight
No, the ones crowding, not the photographer.
How has Disney been allowed to reopen in the middle of the spike. Asinine
Our Governor is just as stupid as our President…. Soooo
All those geeks
Why does it matter how quickly it dispersed?!?!?! Social distancing is social distancing and if a public employee doesn’t follow the rules themselves why would anyone expect them to enforce the rules. Obviously this crowd of people doesn’t routinely practice social distancing or they wouldn’t have been standing nearly touching one another!
Kudos to WDW for doing the right thing!!!!
Not surprised it was AJ being boujee again. Way to Go Disney Food Blog. You succeeded
Jess, I too am in med profession. First liner. Your mask comments are unfounded. Most people will find some sort of article that justifies their beliefs I guess. Really scary when a med worker posts no mask promoting it does not matter. I have seen first hand too much death not being compliant with cdc recommendations can bring. You come stand over a 32 yr old man with a family who decided to party July 4th with 50 friends. Five days later…deathly ill on life support. Today…he passed away. Lots of it can’t happen to me people out there. I for one will suffer the aggravation of wearing a mask. A mask alone might not keep me well but it is a line of defense that is easy to do and that along with other common sense measures won’t hurt. Yes, those face shields might look silly but looks better than dead.
Honestly if people aren’t social distancing in a business even if it’s Disney, it should be reported. But all in all the victims here are the employees who have to work in a place where you can’t control if people are or are not wearing masks, or social distancing. Then again it’s all about the mighty dollar. Everyone going to the parks is free to put themselves at risk for pleasure, but please for the safety of cast members stay 6 feet away. They are getting paid to keep a mask on for hours just for you.
Reading the comments, I’m blown away with how many people either don’t see the problems shown in this photo, or the seriousness that Disney is taking on these policies. It’s pretty obvious – absolutely no social distancing and very sparse use of face coverings.
Having worked with Disney in the past, I have high confidence the company made it very clear on the expectations for cast member adherence to the policies and the consequences of not adhering to them.
The Supreme Court has repeated ruled that no one has the right to risk someone else’s health or life. No one has that right. So it isn’t just up to some of us to stay home. Everyone has the responsibility to help protect other’s health and safety, pandemic or otherwise. And if the Constitutional aspect doesn’t convince you, Disney absolutely has the right to set their policies as they desire, as long as they don’t conflict with laws. And they aren’t conflicting with any laws, federal, state, or local.
Attending places like Disneyworld at times like this is asking for trouble. I’m not totally paranoid about things but I certainly do NOT trust my fellow man that I do not know well enough. Sorry folks but this is a disaster waiting to happen.
What did you really expect people??
I can’t believe people are surprised!
There doesn’t need to be any context given about the photo. Coronavirus doesn’t give a crap about context. It just wants your nose and your throat as a host to duplicate the virus!! This moment of stupidity (whatever caused it doesn’t really matter because GOING to a theme park in FLORIDA is incredibly stupid to start with) could infect many, which could lead to further spread of coronavirus and more death. Selfish.
Disney is frequented by Walmart lovin’ people.. No surprise
Save Splash Mountain!
So this was justice? It must take more than five minutes to catch Covid then. Good to know. No matter how big the gathering of people is, regardless of whether or not they’re maintaining six feet, we can rest assured there is no harm associated with mass groups of people in one tiny location.
Disney should reprimend or fire the cast members for buying bag fulls of splash mountain merchandise to sell on ebay. That has been told when you work. So Disney, do not let the cast members get away with it, even annual pass holders.