Mask Mandate Extended, Here’s How Long Masks Will Be Required on Disney Transportation

The federal mask mandate requiring face coverings while on public transportation and while in healthcare settings was just extended, and we’ve got the details for what this means if you are visiting Walt Disney World into early 2022.

The mandate was previously set to expire on January 18, 2022, which would have removed the requirement in public transportation and left the decision to mask up to individual cities or just individual travelers. The federal government has just made the decision to extend the expiration date for this mandate an additional two months to March 18, 2022 due to the increasing cases of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant.

At the Walt Disney World Resort, this mandate applies to all buses, monorails, watercraft, and the Disney Skyliner. In addition to the transportation mask policy, Walt Disney World has an indoor mask requirement that applies in all indoor locations around the resort, including while on attractions and while posing for photos in the case of indoor character sightings and for the holiday season, Santa photos at Disney Springs (where Santa is greeting Guests inside Once Upon a Toy.) Masks are therefore also required in restaurants whenever Guests are not seated at their tables.

We have seen mask requirements fluctuate since the Walt Disney World Resort reopened last year depending on local and national COVID-19 case counts as well as guidance from the Center for Disease Control, and expect to see more changes made as we work further through the pandemic.

Where the transportation mask mandate is issued on a federal level, along with healthcare settings and all federal buildings, Walt Disney World has no control over changing this until government policies change. We would note however, that Disney communicates this policy under the umbrella of their indoor mask requirement, and it is possible this is intentional wording in case the federal mandate changes before Disney chooses to remove the policy.

We will keep you updated on any changes to Walt Disney World’s mask policy as we learn more.