Disney World now requires all Cast Members and guests over the age of two to wear face masks inside the parks — but we’ve noticed that there are some folks in the parks who aren’t wearing them! Face characters!
Princesses in Magic Kingdom
While character meet-and-greets and character dining are currently suspended (with the exception of modified character dining experiences at Topolino’s Terrace and Garden Grill), guests are still able to spot and interact with characters in the reopened Disney World parks. Characters have been greeting guests from a distance in the form of short, unscheduled cavalcades, motorcades, and pop-up appearances.
Disney announced these modified character interactions prior to reopening which had us wondering — will the characters be wearing masks as they make their way through the parks? And when we encountered our first character sighting we got our answer — nope.
Merida in Magic Kingdom
We’ve been discussing this amongst ourselves here on the DFB team — is Disney not making characters wear masks because they don’t want to infringe on their particular storyline — and we’ve been hotly debating the pros and cons. We wanted to see what our readers think about the character face mask situation.
So we asked our Instagram followers, “Should Disney face characters be wearing masks?” And the results were super close — of the first 583 respondents, 305 said yes and 278 said no. Here’s a visual breakdown of the results!
Pie Chart of Our Readers’ Responses When Asked If They Think Disney Face Characters Should be Wearing Masks
Let’s take a look at some of the common reasons our readers gave for their responses!
“Yes, Disney Face Characters Should Wear Masks.”
Of those who responded, 52% said they think the characters should wear masks. Many of the readers in this group pointed out the health concerns they have both for guests and Cast Members who could be exposed to harmful airborne particles. “Yes. It’s not okay to compromise one’s health to get a picture.”
Elsa in EPCOT
Others also mentioned that having the characters wear face masks would be a great way for Disney to help make kids feel more comfortable wearing them too. “It would be a good influence for the kids. If Mickey can wear a mask, so can you!”
Pocahontas in Animal Kingdom
And some even pointed out that the characters could receive specially designed masks that tie in their stories. “Themed masks to go with the characters would be adorable and may make people feel safer!”
We asked our readers if they would bring their kids to Disney World right now. Here’s what they said.
“No, Disney Face Characters Shouldn’t Wear Masks.”
On the other hand, 48% said they don’t think the characters should wear masks. Some respondents in this group said they think the social distancing measures are sufficient. “No. You can’t get close [and] they’re not close to other characters [so] there’s no need for a mask.”
Gaston
Others said that they think that wearing face masks would negate the purpose of having the characters since it would separate them from their stories. “No. It doesn’t go with their storylines. Disney doesn’t break the story.”
We asked our readers what it would take for them to feel safe traveling to Disney World again. Here’s what they said.
While the majority of our readers are in favor of Disney face characters wearing masks, the opinion was split pretty closely. And, not too surprisingly, many of the responses we got were quite impassioned. So people do feel pretty strongly both for and against.
Disney has continued to modify the face mask policies for guests, so it’s possible that we could see adjustments for the characters as well.
Did you know you can get a Disney Food Blog face mask?? From Dole Whips to Sonny Eclipse, check out some of our most popular designs!
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Look at a Complete Timeline of Disney World’s Face Mask Policies
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Do you think the Disney face characters should be wearing masks? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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No they shouldn’t they can 6ft distance. Anywhere you can distance it shouldn’t be required for anyone.
I can see it both ways- but I think the social distancing should make it safe enough for these face characters as long as they are able to maintain the distance. I also imaging the cast members have the choice if they feel safe enough to perform as face characters. If not they can still work as character attendants or as characters in full suits. I think about how it would be difficult for children to recognize the face characters if they were in masks. I imagine Disney’s ultimate goal is to safely maintain the magic of seeing your favorite prince or princess in real life. And like you mentioned above, the characters storylines do not include a pandemic. Perhaps Disney should Create a show or movie wherein characters are experiencing the pandemic and have to wear masks- that might help children not be scared to wear their masks in public.
I think this is contradictory. The parks are operating at limited capacity so everyone can socially distance, and no one should have to wear a mask. Why are the characters not having to abide by this if everyone else has to. I’m personally not going to any theme park while masks are required.
I can understand both sides to this point but I honestly believe Disney has gone all out to ensure everyone’s safety (both for guests and cast members). Although I have not been at the parks since their reopening, based on pictures and videos I have been seeing, face characters are socially distancing and/or separated by partitions.
As others have noted, all the characters are social distancing so there’s no need for a mask. And yes, I think it would detract from the magic too.
I don’t see the logic in the six feet rule. Does Covid Drop Dead after six feet?
If the characters are distanced it is not needed plus the customs is thick ! I hope the outer is sprayed with distinfectant ! You can over due it also , wear a mask , and wash hands, germascide ! People are to close because they think it is not true ! Why are people dying from this VIRUS the media is at fault telling people not to use a mask it will not help
! This last weekend day it does work the MASK!
I’ve been thinking that they should have ALL of the characters where masks, even Mickey. Wouldn’t that normalize it for kids. We are really struggling with getting my 3 year old granddaughter to keep a mask on for more than about 5 minutes. I think if all the characters were wearing masks it would be easier to get the kids to wear them.
No face masks for characters. if you don’t feel safe don’t go! The only this this pandemic has done is show how nasty people have become. I work in a retail environment and it’s been brutal. You have a choice don’t go if you don’t like the rules plain and simple.
It appears the princesses and Gaston are socially distanced and that is good. So it’s probably ok. What concerns me is the singers and dancers that go along with Mickey’s Cavalcade. I thought singing was one way to disperse the virus into the air. Seems like maybe they should be wearing one. Maybe I’m overthinking it. I know people are pretty far away from them, but the other character attendants are pretty far away too and they wear them. And they aren’t singing.
Yesterday I Posted……I don’t see the logic in the six foot rule, does Covid die after six feet? The post was flagged for review and does not appear it was posted. So why can others post blatant statements like….No they shouldn’t they can 6ft distance. Anywhere you can distance it shouldn’t be required for anyone. why was my opinion Censored?
No. The masks are not needed for characters. We need to see they’re smiling faces.
Hi, Mike. Just hadn’t gotten to it yet. Thanks for reading! PBS.org has some info about why six feet is recommended by the CDC. You can read about it here if you’re curious.
I do not feel they should wear a mask. They are way past the 6 foot social district.
Personally I feel it should be a choice but I see with so many people in the parks I will wear a mask. Outside of the parks it should be my choice not the government telling me what to do.
There is no reason to have the face characters wear a mask. Disney has taken every precaution, going above and beyond, to ensure the safety of both the guests and their staff. Social distancing is more than adequate to protect from cast members who are not actively coughing their heads off. The last thing we need to start doing is normalizing masks for a generation of young minds. Normal is not “Mickey’s wearing a mask so you can wear a mask”. Normal, is we are all walking around not having to wear a mask and this is what we need to reinforce in our young people.
If someone is so scared of getting infected then they should do the responsible thing and stay home until the world is safe again. Social distancing and hand washing/sanitizing and common sense is enough to beat this virus.
I just read Lane’s comment. I don’t know how to even articulate the absurdity of that statement. Here in the Northeast, the extremely large majority wear masks to protect ourselves and others around us. Nobody likes wearing a mask, but we do it out of respect for the welfare of other people as well as our own. The reality of today’s world is wearing a mask is the new normal….. until there is a safe vaccine. What we ACTUALLY need to do more than ever is reinforce this to our young people. There’s a reason why we’re seeing all of these outbreaks flaring up in colleges and schools in the South. I can’t grasp what he is saying when he states “the last thing is to start normalizing masks for a generation to come”. Are you saying that it’s wrong if young people continue to wear a mask once we have moved past this pandemic? What is the logic behind that? Other parts of the world wear mask every day. Are they not normal? We have seen for 5 months that the US can not and will not social distance. Once the entire US grasps this is a public health issue, maybe we will start to see the infection decline.
Mike:
There is ZERO SCIENCE upon which the “6 foot Rule” is based. Every country, every locality has their own arbitrary unsocial distancing measure. Some European countries use 3 feet, some 1.5 meters, some not at all.
Are there clear masks or ones that match the covered area of the face
No masks at all for anybody unless they won’t to wear one
I can’t wait until the debate is over!!
Hi .i hope when i come in the fall .i am hoping for two things no more maskwearing and to meet and greet the charaters .after the year we had .i want to hug all the charters .its my first time ,I’m 53 and from covid canada,can’t wait till this is over and i will personally be vaccated