Disney Drops Mask Mandate in Most Outdoor Areas

Guests wearing protective masks wait outside the Magic Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney W
Gregg Newton/AFP via Getty Images

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Walt Disney World is tweaking its face mask policy.

Starting Thursday, the theme park resort in Florida will allow visitors to chose whether or not to wear face coverings in outdoor lines, outdoor theatres and outdoor attractions. Masks had been required previously.

Face coverings will remain optional in outdoor common areas. They will still be required for visitors age 2 and up at all indoor locations, such as restaurants, theaters and transportation with the exception of ferry boats.

In this handout photo provided by Walt Disney World Resort, guests wear masks at Walt Disney World Resort on June 12, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. All guests two years of age and older will be required to wear an appropriate face covering at all times, except when eating and drinking while dining. Walt Disney World Resort theme parks begin their phased reopening on July 11, 2020. (Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images)

In this handout photo provided by Walt Disney World Resort, a young guest wears a mask at Walt Disney World Resort on June 12, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images)

Disney World closed for two months last year at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened more than a year ago with strict safety guidelines that involved masking, social distancing and crowd limits.

Last spring, Disney World officials started allowing visitors to go without masks in outdoor common areas.

Last month, Disney officials said the company will be requiring all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. who work on site to be fully vaccinated.

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