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, honestly, many of the responses we got were impassioned. So people do feel pretty strongly 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!
Do you think the Disney face characters should be wearing masks? Share your thoughts in the comments.