Will Universal go maskless with the governors new announcement?

[Julie Amber]

Disney World has said that they don't plan on going maskless any time soon even though the governor of Florida isn't requiring them any more. Do you think Universal will lax up on their mask rules?

 

[J'aime Paris]

Probably not. They've had good success keeping the parks open, and avoiding bad press.
Sad but true.....If Universal were to lax on the mask policy, the media would be all over their "bad practices".

 

[Allison]

No.

 

[BorderTenny]

There was never a statewide mask mandate in FL. Orange county still has one.

 

[tony67]

Even if it was allowed in Orange County I dont think Universal would do it yet.
When they do it it will probably be phased in as well.
So first make optional Outside and Socially distanced - but required indoors and in line for example.

I dont think they would just drop it 100% - especially since they are getting decent attendance on the weekends already - and can phase in more capacity as they see fit.

Hopefully Disney will stop with the reservation system and allow park hopping - if I had a Disney AP I would be a very unhappy camper

 

[kbelle8995]

If I go I will be wearing a mask regardless. Everytime I go down there lately, I come back with a wretched cold. And the county can make their own rules, they are not required to follow the states directives.

 

[Tormania]

While I personally wish they would drop it as I would be perfectly happy going without a mask, I don't see USO dropping mask requirements anytime soon, nor WDW either. I actually think they will require them until at least summer 2021. They will be the last places to lift the requirements.

 

[Walt4ever]

Disney World has said that they don't plan on going maskless any time soon even though the governor of Florida isn't requiring them any more. Do you think Universal will lax up on their mask rules?

Places like FunSpot will drop it as soon as possible. Their attendance went down when the county added the requirement. The governor's order takes all the teeth out of anything the county does as well.

I see Legoland being first to drop it of the bigger places. They opened at the beginning of June with them only being recommended. They only became mandatory a month later when Polk County issued an order. They are already more lax than anyone else, with under 8 not required to wear one, and they grant ADA exceptions. By some reports, their attendance also went down after the mandate, as they were quite busy in June. That initial bump may have been people anxious to get out, and the decrease just a coincidence with the mandate, but who knows. After 4 months of operations, no issues.

SeaWorld and Busch Gardens will most likely be the next of the big places to switch to recommended. Universal would be next, but they have a tough decision to make. If they go to recommended instead of mandatory, they can save money on enforcement, and more importantly, have a stronger argument in California -- "We are open with no restrictions in Florida, why can't we open WITH restrictions in California?". They won't really lose any attendance to speak of by switching to recommended in Orlando, and will most likely have an attendance gain.

Disney is in the same boat. If they have mega restrictions in Florida, then they don't have as strong of an argument in California for opening. As an AP, the lack of park hopping is a definite negative. Our passes expire in mid October and without park hopping, it's definitely more of a decision this year whether we renew. I do think it won't be an "off switch" type thing when they do reduce requirements. I think it may be that they raise the lower age range of the mandatory - let the little ones in without one, then must wear indoors, before just being recommended. In addition to trying to get Cali opened (which, imho, is their own fault as Bob Iger was on the state re-opening panel, was all for the shut downs, and only switched gears when SeaWorld did a workaround qualifying to re-open as a zoo), shareholders cannot be happy.

 

[puffkin]

We were down end of July and had an amazing trip, even with masks in the heat. We upgraded to AP's on that trip and are heading back Halloween weekend. A big part of why we are going back is that we felt very safe there with the precautions in place. While I am comfortable with the easing up of some rules here or there, I would NOT be comfortable with a widespread drop of the masking requirement at this point. Some outdoor areas, I probably would feel fine, but with higher crowds and congestion in the parks, it seems like keeping the masks a bit longer would be prudent.

 

[Disxuni]

The Orange county mandate remains and as for the governor he simply stated he's banning mask fines for individuals who refuse to wear a mask.

That being said I doubt that Universal will be changing anything any time soon in terms of operations. They want to keep us safe, want to keep in operation, and worked hard to place a lot of markers, arranged U-rest places, changed / adjusted a lot of shows, and ect. I finally went recently for the first time since the beginning of the year and I felt extremely safe the entire time. Considering the amount of work they done to change things and uncertainty of how this will work out it would be unwise for them to go back so suddenly, especially due to it being an "unprecedented time".

 

[GatorChris]

Probably not. They've had good success keeping the parks open, and avoiding bad press.
Sad but true.....If Universal were to lax on the mask policy, the media would be all over their "bad practices".

This. Good'ol media...there to destroy anyone who might make them a few advertising dollars.

I don't see them "unmasking" Universal. But I think this may mean attractions that were shut down may begin to open. Hopeful! I'll be there in two weeks!

 

[snowpack]

Out of all the precautions, the one I am not looking forward to is the mask. But honestly it is probably the one that protects us the most.

 

[jdrum3]

My understanding is "theme parks" are not listed in phase 3, they are a separate entity and full capacity/reopening would be a phase 4 situation. Parks had to submit reopening plans separate from regular businesses and would have to submit some kind of new plan to relax those restrictions.

 

[Monykalyn]

My understanding is "theme parks" are not listed in phase 3, they are a separate entity and full capacity/reopening would be a phase 4 situation. Parks had to submit reopening plans separate from regular businesses and would have to submit some kind of new plan to relax those restrictions.

Not per local press-phase three means theme parks could go full capacity "with social distancing" whatever that means lol.

It seems most businesses caught off guard with announcement.

Personally would LOVE for masks to only be required inside-inside shops, queues, shows, rides etc. but keep capacity somewhat limited to allow spacing outside. Wear in queues and keep some distance too (maybe down to 3 feet with masks). No need to space out on outdoor rides either-that never made sense to me-like a viral cloud is just waiting hanging without being moved by air currents caused by ride on Hulk, RRR, Hagrids but somehow a water ride is ok?? Zero science or logic there!

But just walking around outside briefly passing people-like at the resort? Let masks be recommended not required there.

I expect both WDW and Uni to be very cautious. Seaworld &/or Legoland may be first to test the phasing out of masks if local ordinances change. AFAIK Orange county didn't have an expiration for mask ordinance.

hey only became mandatory a month later when Polk County issued an order.

I couldn't find a county wide mask ordinance for Polk county-but several cities had one-seems most expire sometime in October.

Will be interesting when we go back over Thanksgiving week...so used to wearing masks now that it'd be a bit weird to NOT wear one

 

[Disxuni]

Health reasons aside, I think to them it's easier to just state masks on at all times. Don't have to remember to pull it on and off, don't use the excuse to play dumb if they know rules, but don't have a mask on, easier in terms of regulating / creating more rules/exceptions to keep track of, ect. I only seen a few people who didn't have their masks on properly and it was only when they were leaving the park and were at a fair distance from me. However, that was just one day and only my experience. I wouldn't necessarily encourage, or think it would be a fair idea even to have them off outside, because while it's safer outside, even if you're outside you have to practice social distancing.

Before even my recent trip, I learned from my trip in July when I went to Cabana that there are plenty of people who don't know what personal space is. We mainly stayed in the hotel room and we did go out to eat a couple of times in safe environments. However, when we attempted to go to the pool that was a different story. It seemed like a free for all since it was the only place that was not required to have a mask. People definitely didn't know what was personal space. I even had a young teen literally touching and holding onto our raft, even after I kept pulling it away from them they kept holding on. Corona side, that is just creepy.

While as a whole Universal is good and safe at regulating people, I've noticed that it seems unless there are markers somewhere, people do not know to stay at a distance. Which is why I'm do glad they have them excessively everywhere. If we didn't have them people would be breathing down your neck.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

TBH, I'm hoping no changes to the policies for at least the next few months. I'm shocked that the governor relaxed the rules for bars and restaurants given the numbers currently. Flu normally picks up starting this time of year, and the expectation is that corona will, too. So I think the governor is moving a little fast.

My work tracks the "gates", as defined by the CDC, for all states and a lot of foreign countries weekly, because we are a global organization and would normally have a large number of employees moving not only between states, but between continents in the normal course of business. FL is still at gate 0, based on their numbers. In KY, we finally made it back to gate 1, and we are still limited to 50% capacity and only just allowed venues to be open until midnite.

I have not changed my Dec and Jan trips to Orlando, bc I expect that the park rules won't change. I think there are a lot of people like me who feel like the parks are safe with precautions, but would not come if those restrictions were to be relaxed. We really need the break these two vacations represent, so I will be very unhappy (and out a lot of money) if the parks decide to unmask and stop the social distancing / reduced capacity.

 

[patster734]

DW and I were discussing this. Because both Disney and Universal are selling masks (and probably making a profit off of it), there’s really no reason to alter the current mask requirements. The same premise as selling ponchos and umbrellas on a rainy day.

 

[ZJ5/9D47]

Personally would LOVE for masks to only be required inside-inside shops, queues, shows, rides etc. but keep capacity somewhat limited to allow spacing outside. Wear in queues and keep some distance too (maybe down to 3 feet with masks). No need to space out on outdoor rides either-that never made sense to me-like a viral cloud is just waiting hanging without being moved by air currents caused by ride on Hulk, RRR, Hagrids but somehow a water ride is ok?? Zero science or logic there!

But just walking around outside briefly passing people-like at the resort? Let masks be recommended not required there.

I expect both WDW and Uni to be very cautious.

Kinda makes me wonder if you have ever been to a theme park before. Have you never had someone sneeze or cough on you with zero attempt to avert their germs from flying in your direction and covering you? Without masks, people will be spreading their covid germs over everything outside which will then be touched by hundreds of guests before the germs have a chance to die off due to exposure. Some guests aren't even social distancing now while maskless outside (eating, drinking). Many will also forget to put their masks back on when going inside. What is "inside" anyways? Are the locker areas inside? There is no door. Do you really want to hear TMs constantly repeating themselves at every entrance and holding up the entrance lines while that one family searches their bag for their masks? Ride entrances aren't even technically inside...there is often a bit of open air before entering the building and does a queue start where there are railings and designated pathways or where the TM is standing 10 feet before the entrance? There will be guests arguing with TMs if these changes were implemented. And all for what? Guests are wearing masks currently just fine and the themed masks are kinda fun.

The 6 foot distance rule often turns into a 3 foot distance rule with larger parties. Having a 3 foot distance rule would effectively get rid of social distancing in lines entirely.

Uni has also already moved to filling every row for coasters, just not seating strangers next to one another in the same row. The original distancing was probably more out of caution and making people feel safer to start coming back...understandable during a pandemic.

I don't understand how you expect Uni to be very cautious and then suggest chucking pretty much all social distancing and mask wearing. You realize that there is covid in the parks, right? There just aren't documented outbreaks because only TMs are being tracked (I'm guessing they are).

 

[johnkerryP]

Kinda makes me wonder if you have ever been to a theme park before. Have you never had someone sneeze or cough on you with zero attempt to avert their germs from flying in your direction and covering you? .....

I agree with you on all of this. You simply can't have grey area rules - people have already been known to stretch them. It is nice in theory, but in execution you'll always have people stretch them to their advantage, and not even with ill intent or anything - We just don't have that innate community-centered culture. We need tight guardrails to stay open, because people are already attempting to loosely following them as is.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Why would they?
You don't fix what isn't broken. Masks work at keeping the spread to a lesser degree and so far there has been no super spreader contact linked to Florida Amusement Parks. Masks help keep it that way.