(Please note: This post was updated on May 27, 2021.)
The Disney World theme parks have been open for almost 11 months now.
Magic Kingdom
We’ve certainly been busy keeping up with all of the health and safety updates and getting you the best advice for navigating Disney World in the age of the global health crisis. We know a lot of you are wondering if Disney World is safe right now, and that’s a complicated question. To help answer it, we’re taking a look at a question many of you have asked us — if any COVID-19 cases have been traced back to Disney World.
Florida Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings holds regular press conferences to give updates on the current health situation in the county. A common question from reporters at these conferences is, “Can you update us on whether or not there have been any outbreaks traced to any of the theme parks?” We know many of you want to know the same.
EPCOT
The answer from local health officials has remained the same for a while. In an August press conference, Dr. Raul Pino from the Florida Department of Health in Orange County stated, “We keep getting this question from everywhere; that’s the same question that we hear from the state all the time. And the answer is no.” So, currently, no cases have been definitively traced to the Orlando theme parks.
NEWS! Masks No Longer Required Outdoors in Disney World. Click Here For More Info.
Of course, that’s not the end of things. Pino also noted they have seen the occasional case that has some reference to one of the Orlando theme parks (i.e. someone who is diagnosed was “there last week.”), but they are actively looking for a case that they can specifically trace back as having originated at an Orlando theme park and have not found it.
Tree of Life
“The parks are taking great measures,” Pino noted, “and they have gone to great lengths to be able to open, and to prevent transmission. But it’s also the whole thing of an open space, I think is making a difference.” He attributed the fact that no cases have been found due to the capacity limitations and health and safety measures in place.
Click Here to Read About the Most Recent Capacity Increase in Disney World
Disney World
Still, it is possible that people have gotten sick at Disney World (or the other Orlando theme parks), and the cases were not able to be traced back. You do still run the risk of getting sick in Disney World — even with all of the health measures.
Click Here to See What Disney’s CEO Has Said About the CDC’s Updated Mask Rules
The fact that Disney World hasn’t been sourced as an outbreak in the months it has been reopened may be a testament to the health efforts in the park. When in doubt about Disney World’s safety, it’s still best to stay home.
Stay tuned to DFB for the latest updates.
Is Disney World safe? Click here for our thoughts!
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Not surprised since they reopened but if they were tracing back in Jan/Feb I bet that would be different! I got very sick after our 1 day visit at Epcot back at the end of January when WDW packed people in the parks like sardines. If It wasn’t so hot we’d be there now, probably safer than our local stores & restaurants .
I’m sorry, I feel given the whole situation, this is highly irresponsible. We already know that people have done incredibly stupid things and have very ignorant beliefs re this killer virus. What on Earth possessed you to come out with this is beyond me?!
I should quickly day, I like n respect you n love your work, until this. You’ve essentially given those ignorants permission and ammunition to not wear a mask, wash hands, socially distance and follow directions from cast members. So very sad to see this bc no one KNOWS if they got it from the theme parks or not. Some people lie, mislead, don’t report, and on n on. Please, this type of thing is the last thing we need right now.
Keep bringing us the rest of Disney. Tyvm
Seriously? Because my friend was in hospital for 46 days with the virus after a 3 day visit to Universal Studios.
There is no definitive way to answer that. People can have it but be asymptomatic and it get passed along to someone else. It also has an up to 2 week incubation period. So again you cannot prove yes or no
How can this be? Florida called back 900 cases in Florida just today. Your playing politics with people’s lives so you can make a buck. Is money so important to the Corp officers that you need to lie about the facts.
Disney will never know if there is a 1 ,000 people in the park one day ! it can take 20 days for some one to now !It will never be able to blame Disney World !
We’re going early October and here’s our plan for being safe:
Wash our hands. Wash them a lot!
Use our hand sanitizer — a lot. We are packing 6 travel size ones.
Use the Park’s hand sanitizer before and after each ride.
Use our face mask designated for that day.
Wash our face mask when we retire to our vacation “home” for the night”.
Let our just-washed (with soap and water) face mask dry on a towel overnight.
Use our 2nd face mask for the next day; and our 3rd face mask for the day after that. Then repeat the cycle on day 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Have a great vacation and social distance like we were home in NJ.
Now ask them if a cast member, employee, or construction worker on property has tested positive…
Popcorn.
Just like everything else in this Country, The only way We will ever know the Truth is if that information is leaked out by an internal source..
So until then just enjoy the Magic or at least 50% of it…
Let’s see if this comment makes it to post….DFB ?
Because ‘All Comments Matter’
I doubt they are really doing the work to figure this out. Those cases where someone was “in the park a week ago”… are they testing employees and they determining who worked that day and what areas of the park? They don’t want a case traced back so they won’t. They should be testing employees everyday.
If you are doing any traveling right now you are taking a risk. That being said , I was just at Disney world at all 4 parks, MK twice. I was tested before I traveled there and tested after I returned. The ONLY reason I went was the measures and precautions Disney implements and enforces!
Agree with all here. Nothing will be traced to “DisneyWorld” but perhaps “Orange county” instead. Disney will say, no one can prove it came from DW, but seriously, we all KNOW people are showing up with it, having it while there, leaving with it, or getting it while back at home. ( when it becomes a positive for THEIR home state)
A tracing work up is done when people contract covid. So what they are saying is, that people who have covid, are giving answers regarding their whereabouts in the preceding days of their positive covid test and those are not tracing back to Disneyworld. There most definitely non-symptomatic, positive people walking around Disney. Where I work, the patients are all tested when they come in. Yes, there are cases of positive tests on asymptomatic people. Practice the safety measures set in place and you should be pretty darned safe(not 100%). Keep your distance, don’t touch your face until your hands are clean. Mask up, over your nose and mouth. I saw folks disrespecting cast members by pulling off their masks and laughing once the cast member turned away after being told to put their masks on. There are so many places can get covid outside of Disneyworld. Gas stations, stores, airports, etc….it’s hard to pinpoint where one might contract it. Disney is doing a stellar job.
I guess with WDW there’s always somewhere else to blame (airport, transfers, transport etc) it keeps Disney pretty safe. Here we do genomic testing on all our cases so can see what cases are linked and where it’s come from. It’d probably be the only way to definitively know if someone picked it up actually at WDW.
“If you believe it, is not a lie…”
No cases have been traced back to the parks because it’s impossible for the contact tracers to prove it was from the parks.
Pay attention when they go out of their way to use words like “definitively”
anyone going to the parks no matter how hard they try thete, is taking a huge risk for themselves and everyone else. carriers can not even know they are carrying. people can’t sacrifice a vacation till a world health crisis is over? that’s really sad.
there’s people’s lives that have been taken and sacrificed,i don’t want to get it, i don’t want to carry it, i don’t want to give it. i am doing whats right……staying home.
For the past 20 years (pre covid) I have gone to Disney at least twice a year. Every year I come home with some illness, several times with pneumonia, but every year I go back because it’s something I love. I went back to Disney in Sept of 2020 that was the first time in 20 years where I didn’t get sick. Disney is doing an incredible job of keeping park and resort clean and safe for it’s guests.
Life is a daily assessment of the risk you want to take as soon as you get out of bed. COVID isn’t going anywhere it will always be with us. If you don’t want to go to the parks thats fine thats your choice based on the risk you want to take in your life, but don’t bash or berate other people for the choices they want to take in their life based on the risk they are willing to take, for something that the love.
The Florida state government has not release any data for basic information including the most current number of tracers, success rates and other program details. Florida’s Department of Health (FDOH) has not provided any information to anyone including the media.
If people are afraid of germs take precautions or stay go one. This is not the first or last pandemic that we will have. We can’t keep shutting down the world because people are afraid of life. I believe in educating the risks and people need to be responsible and , letting people make their own choices on whether to go or stay home. If you are afraid stay home but let people decide based on their own risks. This is America land of the free home of the brave. I think that has definitely been lost this past year. Stop being afraid of life. What is next. The flu or a cold shuts down the whole country? So sad.
My husband and I tested positive for Covid the day after we returned from Disney. We stayed at the Kadani resort (3/6-3/13). We visited all the parks. The parks were extremely packed. We were under the impression they were not operating at full capacity – but according to the employees they have been packed per normal.