We just returned from 6 nights at WDW, the first night at POP and then 5 at BWV.
We needed 2 rooms at POP and I requested them to be close to a DSA. We got first floor rooms in the 1950s building with a DSA about 50 feet from our door, so that was convenient. At check-in I didnt leave a credit card for room charges since we were only there for one night, so I wasnt asked to sign anything. I really dont think that signature at check-in has anything to do with the smoking policy, its just an authorization to charge the credit card for room charges.
Anyway, the DSA at POP was well used. It was clean except the ashtray was absolutely full of butts. We werent there long enough to see how well it was maintained, but in the short time we were there we met many other people flocking to the same DSA.
At BWV we had a grand villa which was 332 paces and 2 elevator rides to the closest DSA. It was a nice covered DSA with a bench, but again used by many guests. The butts would be removed but an hour later the ashtray would be full again. This particular DSA is located at the door nearest to the Bellevue Lounge on the lake side of the Boardwalk. There are 2 DSAs on the Luna Park side, but they were tucked into the extreme corners, also by doors, and it was windy during our trip so the effect was like being in a wind tunnel. DH said there was another DSA on the other side of the Luna Park pool, along the sidewalk, but I didnt investigate that one since it was along the waterway and would probably have been even windier there. There simply were not enough decent DSA's at the BWV to accommodate the number of smokers staying there, at least at the same time we were there.
One cast member we asked told us that DSAs on the boardwalk itself were located at either end, one outside of Jellyrolls and one outside of ESPN. There were many benches and one ashtray at each site but again it was windy and an unpleasant place to have a cup of coffee and a cigarette, especially after such a long hike to get there. At night both places were also heavily populated by drunks. I had a particularly unhappy encounter with a group of drunken men I mean, knee-crawling drunk at the Jellyrolls DSA.
DSAs in the parks were fewer and harder to find than on our last visit. DH soon reached a point where he wouldnt even go into the parks. He said if he had to look for a DSA too long, he would get out of the traffic area and light up anyway. Fortunately, that didnt happen (mainly because he didnt go to the parks much). At Animal Kingdom I spent 20 minutes looking for a DSA marked on the map in Dinoland and asked three CMs before I actually found it. When I did, I felt like I was going backstage. It was large and had several benches, but still it was SRO despite its size and being so hard to find.
At the DSAs we talked to people who admitted to breaking the rules because the rules have become too strict to follow. Too little accommodation for the smokers is having a reverse effect. I myself still followed the rules, even though it had a negative effect on my vacation and wore both DH and me out legging it to the legal smoking areas. On the positive side, we saved big $$$ by spending so little time doing anything else.
Were finding the DSAs fewer, crowded, and harder to find. It really cut into our park time the last four trips, and we actually cancelled three trips in large part because we dreaded hassling with the smoking issue. We had a good time, but I was ready to leave. No more long stays at Disney for us.
We needed 2 rooms at POP and I requested them to be close to a DSA. We got first floor rooms in the 1950s building with a DSA about 50 feet from our door, so that was convenient. At check-in I didnt leave a credit card for room charges since we were only there for one night, so I wasnt asked to sign anything. I really dont think that signature at check-in has anything to do with the smoking policy, its just an authorization to charge the credit card for room charges.
Anyway, the DSA at POP was well used. It was clean except the ashtray was absolutely full of butts. We werent there long enough to see how well it was maintained, but in the short time we were there we met many other people flocking to the same DSA.
At BWV we had a grand villa which was 332 paces and 2 elevator rides to the closest DSA. It was a nice covered DSA with a bench, but again used by many guests. The butts would be removed but an hour later the ashtray would be full again. This particular DSA is located at the door nearest to the Bellevue Lounge on the lake side of the Boardwalk. There are 2 DSAs on the Luna Park side, but they were tucked into the extreme corners, also by doors, and it was windy during our trip so the effect was like being in a wind tunnel. DH said there was another DSA on the other side of the Luna Park pool, along the sidewalk, but I didnt investigate that one since it was along the waterway and would probably have been even windier there. There simply were not enough decent DSA's at the BWV to accommodate the number of smokers staying there, at least at the same time we were there.
One cast member we asked told us that DSAs on the boardwalk itself were located at either end, one outside of Jellyrolls and one outside of ESPN. There were many benches and one ashtray at each site but again it was windy and an unpleasant place to have a cup of coffee and a cigarette, especially after such a long hike to get there. At night both places were also heavily populated by drunks. I had a particularly unhappy encounter with a group of drunken men I mean, knee-crawling drunk at the Jellyrolls DSA.
DSAs in the parks were fewer and harder to find than on our last visit. DH soon reached a point where he wouldnt even go into the parks. He said if he had to look for a DSA too long, he would get out of the traffic area and light up anyway. Fortunately, that didnt happen (mainly because he didnt go to the parks much). At Animal Kingdom I spent 20 minutes looking for a DSA marked on the map in Dinoland and asked three CMs before I actually found it. When I did, I felt like I was going backstage. It was large and had several benches, but still it was SRO despite its size and being so hard to find.
At the DSAs we talked to people who admitted to breaking the rules because the rules have become too strict to follow. Too little accommodation for the smokers is having a reverse effect. I myself still followed the rules, even though it had a negative effect on my vacation and wore both DH and me out legging it to the legal smoking areas. On the positive side, we saved big $$$ by spending so little time doing anything else.
Were finding the DSAs fewer, crowded, and harder to find. It really cut into our park time the last four trips, and we actually cancelled three trips in large part because we dreaded hassling with the smoking issue. We had a good time, but I was ready to leave. No more long stays at Disney for us.
On my last trip, I found myself smoking EVERY time I encountered a DSA, whether I wanted a cigarette or not. And often, at Epcot, between the park entrance and the bus area, in that little nook to the left where the soda machines are? And I was seldom alone there. Nobody could definitively show or explain to me where I could or couldn't smoke outside the actual park.
) and pointed me in the right direction. Well there were at leat 10 others smoking there, but I notice there was no ashtray - just hundreds of cigarette ends on the ground. I may be a smoker, but I'm not a litterbug, so I decided to move along to a different DSA instead. As I was walking away, a CM came up and told all the smokers to put out their cigarettes as it was not a DSA - it had moved, but nobody seemd too sure where to ....(????) It was still like that 10 days later when we walked by. This is the kind of unnecessary confusion through lack of effective signage and communication that gets the rule-abiding smokers into trouble. 
So is the one between Adventureland and Frontierland. There are still smokers that go there now, even though they've moved the two sections to waayy over by Splash Mountain. 
. That happens anywhere and everywhere. 
). I know it involves additional cost and work - but maybe they should consider this before moving the DSAs.......
I thought there would be 1 or 2 dsas on the side (much like at the water parks)
Thanks for posting this info about POP. We are staying there in August and my DFiance is a smoker so now I know what kind of room to request to make it easier on him.
