At Disney World, smiles won’t be hidden for much longer

Associated Press

Updated: Apr 7, 2021 / 11:06 AM CDT

RETRANSMISSION TO CORRECT THE MOST RECENT SET OF LAYOFFS INCLUDE PARKS, EXPERIENCES AND PRODUCTS – FILE – In this Thursday, July 2, 2020, file photo, cars drive under a sign greeting visitors near the entrance to Walt Disney World, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The Walt Disney Co. is announcing plans to lay off 4,000 more employees laRgely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has been limiting attendance at its parks and changing protocols to allow for social distancing. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — At Walt Disney World, the smiles won’t have to be hidden for much longer.

Starting Thursday, visitors to the theme park resort will be able to remove their masks temporarily for outdoor photos, the company said on its website.

The change tweaks a requirement that all workers and visitors age 2 and up wear masks except when they are actively eating or drinking, provided they are socially distanced and not moving about. The mask mandate includes those who already have been vaccinated.

Workers and visitors have been required to wear masks, get temperature checks upon arriving and follow social distancing markers while in line ever since the Florida theme park resort reopened last summer after closing for more than two months because of the pandemic.