Many restaurants around Disney World have reopened, including some big fan-favorites like ‘Ohana, Boma, and more.
Inside Boma
Some of the restaurants offer exclusively indoor seating. Others might have outdoor seating or some combination of the two. The situation with COVID-19 and Disney’s own health and safety policies have changed over the past several months when it comes to many things, including dining. That made us wonder whether our readers feel comfortable dining indoors in Disney World right now. So, we went straight to the source and asked them. Here’s what they had to say.
Overview
Before we get into the results of our reader poll, we want to go over the current situation with dining in Disney World and other factors that some might be considering when determining if they feel comfortable dining indoors.
Right now, masks are required for all guests ages 2 and up indoors at Disney World, including in restaurants, except when actively eating or drinking while stationary. Masks are not required in outdoor areas, however.
©Disney
In terms of distancing, physical distancing has been reduced at many areas throughout Disney World, including at many restaurants. You can see in the photo below how all of the tables at Boma were prepared for use.
Boma
We did see some tables at the reopened Tokyo Dining marked as unavailable for use for health and safety reasons.
Some Tables Marked
But, from a general standpoint distancing between tables has been reduced or is no longer in place at most Disney restaurants.
Trail’s End
Also, while some former buffets are now family-style meals, select buffets have returned to Disney World or are set to return to Disney World soon.
When it comes to COVID-19, the situation with the pandemic has changed over the past several months. Recently, Florida reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases. The Delta variant in particular has become a large issue of concern throughout the United States.
Mask signage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
According to Click Orlando, Orange County health officials have indicated that some of their morgues at their hospitals have hit capacity. Dr. Raul Pino, from the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, indicated that the increase in deaths was expected due to the surge of COVID-19 cases in the county.
But, AdventHealth officials have said they “believe they are starting to see a decline in new COVID-19 cases.” As of some of the most recent COVID-19 reports from Florida, there have been 151,760 new cases reported during the past week. Florida also reported 389 new virus-related deaths from the past week, though it appears more deaths have been added to the state’s overall total.
Health and Safety Reminders on the Map
Why would COVID-19 cause some to be cautious about indoor dining? According to the CDC, available data indicates “that it is much more common for the virus that causes COVID-19 to spread through close contact with a person who has COVID-19 than through airborne transmission. There is evidence that under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 seem to have infected others who were more than 6 feet away. This is called airborne transmission. These transmissions occurred in indoor spaces with inadequate ventilation. In general, being outdoors and in spaces with good ventilation reduces the risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.”
©CDC
That’s just a look at some of the things guests may be thinking about when they’re considering their comfort level eating indoors in Disney World. Now, let’s take a look at what our readers had to say about the situation.
The Poll
We reached out to you all — our fabulous DFB readers — via Instagram recently to ask whether you all feel comfortable eating indoors in Disney World and…
The Poll Results
…the majority of our readers said they did feel comfortable, but a fairly good chunk said they were not comfortable. Overall, it broke down to 66% (25,809) who said they did feel comfortable eating indoors, while 34% (13,505) said they did not feel comfortable eating indoors in Disney World right now.
No
One of our readers reached out and said they were in Disney World right now and mentioned how social distancing has been reduced or essentially eliminated at most locations. They noted that this is what made them feel uncomfortable dining indoors.
Yes
Another reader reached out and said they did feel comfortable, so long as guests wear their masks when they stand up and are moving around the indoor restaurant space. Keep in mind that masks are required indoors (including in restaurants) at all times except when actively eating or drinking while stationary.
‘Ohana dining room
And that’s a look at what thousands of our fans had to say. Keep in mind that there are a variety of restaurants and seating options at those restaurants in Disney World, so you can certainly limit your dining to the spots and areas you feel comfortable with.
What do you think? Do you feel comfortable dining indoors in Disney World right now? Let us know in the comments below.
Click here to get a first look at the reopening of Tokyo Dining in Disney World!
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Do you feel comfortable dining indoors in Disney World right now? Tell us in the comments.
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Unfortunately, Disney doesn’t space 6 feet for dining anymore.
We were at WDW last week. I was fin with all of the indoor dining facilities. Outdoors, not so much. Example being Casey’s in the MK. Outdoor tables & chairs very close together. Wasn’t really happy with that.
We don’t have an issue eating inside or outside. We are vaccinated, and we are not going to live our lives in fear. Why should I wear a mask? Vaccines work. If I do get sick, I may not notice it or my illness could be lessoned or brief. We need to stop living in fear. We cannot control everything. New reports are out now that people who generated immunity from having the disease are more protected than people who never had it and were vaccinated. There are individuals who want that information suppressed. Keep moving forward Disney (follow your founder).
You should not allow the misinformation from beautiful gorgeous to be spread. In fact, the CDC says the opposite.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0806-vaccination-protection.html
We felt safe in most restaurants last week. There was spacing in many of them, some tables had signs they weren’t being used. We also saw how well CMs cleaned tables & chairs after a guest left – they actually sprayed & wiped!
I felt safe in 2 of the 3 indoor places I ate at. Everyone wore masks until they sat down and were stationary. People wore them to the bathroom, moving around etc.
But one place (Tusker House) had small kids running around maskless and a dad wandering around maskless looking for an outlet. The Manager had to come over because the waiter was worried about his tip for enforcing the rule. I gave our waiter a good tip as their bad behavior was not his fault.
And Beautiful Georgoeus – so happy you are vaccinated but you can be a carrier to a non vaxxed child. If everyone vaxxed like you we wouldn’t be in this situation. Don’t be mad a people for enforcing what the science IS not what it should be.
@joe many Doctor’s and scientist will say you are incorrect:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dr-makary-says-natural-immunity-is-more-effective-then-vaccine-immunity/ar-AAMX3sM
I agree with beautiful gorgeous let follow in the footsteps of Walt and work to be civil and respect every view point.
The bottom line really is that some people will be vaccinated and some will not. Each and every person should be making their own decision on how safe they feel and what they are willing to do. You can not make someone get vaccinated and Disney is not and will not be checking vaccination status. You have to do what you feel is right for you and your family. Having a vaccination doesn’t really mean you will not get covid. My husband and I both vaccinated and both got covid 6 weeks after our second dose. You will be close to people in Disney both inside and out and don’t count on your vaccine and your mask to protect you because they might but in our case they did not. We have still been back many times since and will continue to go and we will not be concerned about what anyone else does or doesn’t too. Just a personal choice. If you are worried about your unvaccinated children I would say stay home.
I do not feel like I need to dine inside of a restaurant 1 the virus is air born 2 expensive . I went to Disney in July I had not even think about it we had a villa and had food there did not even think of going to a restaurant .Disney prices are to much for my family 5 years ago I pick out 3 places to eat budget money for that purpose .
We were in Disney World two weeks ago and as a previous reader said, two out of three of the restaurants we visited were OK and had some sort of social distancing. However the smaller of the three, the Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom, did not. People were seated at every table and extremely close to each other. We were seated at a small table in between two other families. There was less than 2 feet between us on either side. I sat there 60 seconds with my mask on and finally got up because I felt so uncomfortable. I spoke to the manager and told him we were leaving because there was no social distancing and we did not feel safe. He was very sympathetic and told us that we would not be charged the $10 p/p fee. We ended up eating at Cosmic Rays where ironically there was way more social distancing and precautions taken to keep people at least 6 feet apart. Frankly, I was really alarmed at how Disney has dropped so many health and safety standards recently especially since Florida has one of the worst COVID infection rates in the country. However, again, as another reader said, we did all of our PPE, and wore our masks even outside in the heat if we felt the crowds were too heavy. We cannot rely on others to do the right thing. We must protect ourselves and make the decisions that protect us. It’s not about fear, it’s about common sense. Wherever we felt the crowds were too heavy at Disney we just moved to another area or we wore our mask and social distanced ourselves whether it was inside or outside. By taking these precautions we were able to enjoy ourselves and stay safe. We also self tested ourselves before we went to Disney World to make sure we were not asymptomatic even though we both are completely vaccinated. We also self-tested ourselves while we were there again. We bought the OTC COVID test with us from home. No way did I want to be asymptomatic in Disney World and make anyone else sick. So thank God we tested negative both times. I feel that we have to act like responsible adults, not assume anything, follow the science and use common sense to protect ourselves and protect others.
I know this is a blog and everyone has a right to voice their own opinion. The majority of these comments are people who are vaccinated getting upset about people who aren’t vaccinated.
Sakafa you were bringing science into the equation. The problem there is that there isn’t enough scientific data or research to say anything good or bad about this whole mess.
You want people to get vaccinated to make those who are feel better and less fearful and having no regards about how scared those who aren’t vaccinated get vaccinated. There has been people out there who have died or has had complications from getting the shot. People have tried to warn and speak about it on social media. It doesn’t get out there because of fact checkers or they just don’t want people to know.
As for the his blog it would be nice to just hear about what’s going on with Disney like new changes, prices, tickets, food especially the food. Instead of stirring up the pot. We go to Disney for the magic. We don’t need fear in our heads about is it safe to eat inside or outside.
As long as the positivity rates are high, I am not comfortable removing my mask and eating indoors anywhere. I am vaccinated but am also aware that I could pick up the virus and pass it along to others, especially children who cannot be vaccinated yet. I don’t live in fear, I live in consideration of others.
We are at Disney right now and indoor dining is not great. Not distancing the tables and masks of guests go off as soon as they sit down. Not just when actively eating or drinking. Often on rides you see guests with noses out. It is hotter than Hades, but noses out is like not wearing a mask. With a child who can not be vaccinated due to age, it is a bummer people can’t just comply for the good of those children.
Am not comfortable at all w indoor ding anywhere including WDW…but do eat outdoors w some appropriate distance between tables…
No, I do not feel comfortable eating inside now! I have plans for November for DW but if the Covid/Delta numbers remain high, I will cancel.
Thank you, DFB, for providing the Guiding Principles from the CDC in regards to dining. Apparently most of your Instagram followers choose to believe the one doctor out ten thousand who says what they want to hear, or they are turning a deaf ear to the CDC guidelines. However, I do respect that people don’t want to live in fear either. So it is a conundrum for all of us. I do think that even if you are vaccinated, you should wear a mask to protect our children and babies who cannot yet get vaccinated. At LEAST do that.
Hey, Mr. Right, I agree with Mr. Joe in regards to the misinformation that was posted by “beautiful gorgeous says.” And like Joe, no way will I ever respect the viewpoint of someone who is purposefully spewing misinformation and outright lies, especially when their viewpoint can lead to long-term health issues and even death for other people. By the way, you need to start paying attention to what real epidemiologists are saying about COVID & the variants and not what physicians such as the one mentioned in your post are claiming. Do better.
To the folks at the Disney Food Blog, thank you for sharing your survey’s results. I didn’t get the opportunity to vote in the survey, but I found the results interesting nonetheless. Please keep up the good work. And stay healthy & safe.
I read all these comments and I just wonder why such fearful people would even go to Disney. It seems like everyone is so worried about what everyone else is doing instead of enjoying themselves and that tells me they really shouldn’t be at Disney. Disney has their rules for restaurants. We all know what they are. We all know that the tables may not be distanced as much as you want. We know there will be people who will and won’t follow the rules. It just blows my mind that so many people think they can go to someplace like Disney with thousands of people and think they really have control of what others will do and are so judgemental of others. Everyone should realize by now that you only have control of one person.. yourself so bottom line if all these things are so distasteful to you and so upsetting it is probably better if you just stay home because people are not going to change for you. Take care of yourself, take care of your family in the way you want and don’t frequent places where you absolutely know there will be people that aren’t doing it your way. Take responsibility for yourself because it is not going to change. I am not being nasty I am just trying to alleviate you of the stress you will feel in Disney. I have been going 1-2 times a week since covid began and things are not changing.
Why do people need to ever go out, you know leave your home. Everything one needs can be delivered to your home. You can video talk with whomever you want, without being with them. I have received the second Jab over six months ago. I not only wear 1 face covering but 4, when I’m in my own home. I do not want to take a chance with passing COVID-19 any any variations to my plants.
I think we should all stay home. Not because of COVID-19, but everything else that may end or affect our lives. I have come up with 132, 349 different ways I could have things effect my life in a very negative way. I’m sure I missed a boat load of other things.
I had taken our family on our annual trip to WDW in early May. Yes, we ate out/dined in. Yes we are all fine. Including, a person who travel with us, who has been battling many health issues for years. And she is a okay/fine. We also had gone last August/September. Granted that was a beautiful time, so few people. And so short a wait for attractions. We ate then at sit down restaurants. Do I consider us lucky. NO! I prefer to look at us as living. And living is what I will continue to do. In whatever way I feel is best for me and my family. It is called being an American and having Freedom of Choice.
Please do what is right for you and your family. I will not judge you. And I ask for the same in return.
By the way. I will be doing a guys only trip in November to My Laughing Place. The combatants will be myself and my 8 year old grandson. This will be his first time viewing the Holiday Lights.
Stay safe.
We were at Disney last week did not think one time about being worried about eating indoors. If some feels unsafe they have every right to wear a mask. I would like to see the indoor mask mandate be lifted park wide.
I feel very comfortable eating indoors and outdoors at Disney. I disagree with the mask mandate. I am vaccinated and the vaccine works, therefore I do not need a mask. If others do not want to be vaccinated, that is their choice, however I do not feel threatened by being with them, as again, I am vaccinated.
Well apparently DFB thinks my post is too harsh for sensitive people to read, and won’t post it. Truth is they don’t want truth be known, just apart of keeping us in the dark and shackled.
All I have to say is I feel sorry for you all and your children who now are living in such fear you can’t move about life normal and have fun without the security blanket of a mask and a vaccine that you really know nothing about. Just look at what they’ve done to us. Not to long ago we were normal and free. We knew what expression was, what people looked like, we actually smile at each other and were not afraid. Shame and Sad.
Beaux, I just hadn’t gotten to your comment yet.