Disney World’s safety rules for workers evolve
For years, Disney World’s long written safety rules kept order. Now, reopening in the global pandemic, theme parks are forced to react fast — sometimes within hours — to update procedures meant to protect visitors and employees during the coronavirus pandemic.
The company, union leaders and employees are in regular talks in the early weeks of Disney World’s reopening. Disney is also “actively working with industry groups and research universities to discuss best practices,” said Dr. Pamela Hymel, Disney theme parks’ chief medical officer, in a recent public update.
Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger, in a statement, added, “We are taking a cautious and deliberate approach which allows us to evaluate and adjust along the way, as the situation evolves.”
Already, Disney has toughed the requirements for visitors’ face masks and found solutions for employees who dealt with hot Disney-issued masks, fogged-up face shields or worries about the lack of social distancing in employeeonly areas.
“To Disney’s credit, they are being very responsive,” said theme parks union leader Eric Clinton. “Safety is front and center. Right in your face. It’s really amazing.”
Disney and the union are still negotiating over some new safety issues at certain attractions, said Clinton, whose Unite Here local 362 represents thousands of Disney ride attendants and other employees.
For instance, workers who act as the comedians narrating the Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise want their own microphones so they don’t share equipment, Clinton said.
The company provided employees with their own microphone coverings and has microphone cleaning procedures in place, but Clinton said the union advocates going a step further for extra protection.
Clinton said Disney has already agreed to provide microphones for each guide at Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Coordinator Jessica Lella moves from inside to outside at Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A. area. One moment air conditioning, the next humidity, and then her face shield fogged up so she couldn’t see clearly.
The solution: Hand wipes. Disney now keeps a box of individualized sanitation wipes in a backstage employee area. Workers might keep packets in their pockets to wipe off the condensation on their plastic face shields guarding over their masks.
“You literally wipe it down, and then you’re good,” said Lella, a steward and an executive board member for her union. “It depends on the person. It can last half your shift.”
Employees are the eyes and ears at Disney World. They are on the frontlines, working the rides for hours a day, so they see how visitors behave.
Social distancing markers were clearly marked on the ground in the queue at the children’s ride TriceraTop Spin, but visitors sometimes leaned in over to ask the employee at the console a question. Workers suggested Disney should move the marker near the employee from 6 feet to 10 feet back, to enforce people keeping their distance, Lella said.
Disney’s response: “That’s smart idea,” Lella said.
“It’s nice to feel like we’re doing
athis together. Disney isn’t going to just tell us what to do. It’s more a team effort,” she said.
So far, Lella said she hasn’t dealt with any dramatics blow ups with visitors over the new rules. When she occasionally reminds people to cover their noses with their face masks, it feels like an educational moment, she said.
Not everyone who works at Disney is so complimentary of the safety rules.
Disney Equity performers who provide entertainment throughout the resort still haven’t returned to work yet after its union filed a grievance against the resort. The issue stems from Disney not offering add COVID-19 testing for performers. The Actors’ Equity Association accused Disney of retaliation when the union protested.
Clinton acknowledges he hears some “mixed” feedback from employees, saying the speculation whether Disney is safe is “the most complicated question.”
“There is not a one-size-fitsall,” Clinton said. “Some members are excited to be back.” They felt stir crazy at home during the nearly four months Disney
World parks closed, he said.
Others employees watch the rising numbers of coronavirus cases and are concerned, Clinton said.
Some are “middle ground,” Clinton said. They feel safe at work but fear Disney will be forced to shut down again.
“What I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of Disney employees, I would want to know everything is being done to make sure I’m safe and my union is participating in that,” Clinton said. “We’ve accomplished these two things.”
In a hot Orlando summer, some employees complained of their Disney-issued masks as being too hot hard to breathe through, Clinton said.
Since then, Disney has issued a new, lighter and more form-fitting mask style to employees this month. Some departments, such as Disney parking attendants and bus drivers, already wear them, Clinton said, adding employees will now get five masks, instead of just three.
Clinton outlined other changes at Disney that happened behind the scenes.
Disney modified the computer system where employees check in to receive their work assignments at the start of their shift. Now, workers simply use cards to scan in instead of typing, eliminating an obvious concern in today’s world.
“The more you touch, the less safe it is,” Clinton said.
Disney also tightened its social distancing on employee buses, Clinton said.
It appears a similar evolving approach is happening at Universal Orlando which opened its theme parks on June 5. Since then, Universal clarified and tightened its mask policy to ban face coverings with exhalation valves, mesh material or holes. The parks also expanded guidelines to allow face shields for guests who may be unable to wear a face covering.
“We listen to our guests and team members, who have told us they are very satisfied with how we’ve implemented our new health and safety procedures. But like everything else we do, we are always reviewing our procedures and adjusting them as we see need,” Universal spokesman Tom Schroder said in a statement.