Was anyone here at WDW on 9/11/01?

[Disneyliscious]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread (still not done with it yet) but this has made me see things differently.

I have noticed a common and absolute denominator in all the stories of people who were at a Disney Park on 9/11 - Disney handled it well.

Escorting people out of the parks (by the thousands no less) in less than an hour, busses waiting, characters at the hotels to distract the children, refreshments provided to those who wanted them, free day passes handed out without question, additional security when the parks re-opened - the list goes on.

Can you imagine the training, planning, and communication that had to happen to pull all this off?

I don't really mind paying $100 a day for a park now. Because I know in a serious situation Disney IS prepared.

Thank you all for sharing these stories.

 

[mmafan]

 

[tinkerhon]

The terrorism thread got me wondering --
Were you or anyone you know working or vacationing at Walt Disney World on Sept. 11th?
What was it like?
I remember watching the coverage on TV and the buildings coming down on live TV, but it seemed to go from bad to worse for me that afternoon when I saw the crawl at the bottom of the screen say--Walt Disney World has closed. WDW never closes--even for hurricane warnings. Imagine coming off a ride and being told you need to leave the park without having seen or heard the news of what was going on?

I remember some message boards saying how empty the parks were the week, even the month following that day.
I am ashamed to admit I thought how cool it would be to be down there at the time and have the place mostly to yourself. I know...awful and selfish.
It must have been strangely empty though.....

We were there a few weeks later--- we needed it ! On 9/11, I was working at my current company on Water Street in Manhattan, and we saw the planes hit from one of our office windows- we were trapped in our bldg for hours, and had to walk over the bridge to get home--- It was a day no one will ever forget, thats for certain !

 

[bjam12]

Thoughts from Cast members:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-hill/what-was-it-like-at-walt-_b_952645.html

 

[dfb]

I have noticed a common and absolute denominator in all the stories of people who were at a Disney Park on 9/11 - Disney handled it well.

I wasn't there during 9/11. I took a "Keys to the Kingdom" tour in 2009. The topic of park closing and 9/11 came up during the tour. The tour guide described what had happened. It was obvious that he was very proud of how Disney handled the situation and how important their training played a role in the process. Many of the CM's did not know why the park was closing until afterwards. They just got their orders to evacuate and did so as calm and efficiently as possible.

"Job well done" to Disney and the CMs for what they did to comfort the folks during that difficult time. Good job to Disney for the special offers they make available to emergency service and military folks who are there to help protect us everyday!

Never forget those who perished during the attacks of 9/11 or those heros who saved countless lives that day.

 

[momx2]

Wow!! I have never seen this thread before. My, my ex-DH and my 3 1/2 yr. old daughter were there. It was our first trip and we had left our 6 month home with grandparents.

We weren't in the parks because that was a planned down day for us. I believe it was a Tuesday. I remember talking to my dad on the phone, hanging up, beginning to put on make-up and he called me back and asked if the tv was on. It was.... I had it on SoapNet because we didn't get that channel. He said turn it to the news. It was like he couldn't even say the words to tell me what was happening, but really no one knew.

I just wanted to start the 12 hour drive home right then to get my baby. I had an huge desire to be with my whole family. My ex-DH and dad talked me out of it.

The next day we had reservations for lunch at Cinderella's castle at noon. I remember being so apprehensive about going. The news had said that WDW was a potential target.

I'll never forget that day or that trip. The parks were not very busy anyway the days prior, but they were even more empty the two days after.

 

[MHSweb79]

We weren't there but had a trip scheduled that year for October 1. We were going with another family and waffled about whether to go, so when they decided to cancel we did also. We all agreed if we didn't have the kids it would have been different, but it just didn't seem worth the risk, no matter how unlikely.

I do remember that Disney refunded EVERYTHING, no questions asked, but Delta refused to give anything so we ate the $600 loss on airfare. For what it's worth, we've never flown Delta again, but we've been to Disney dozens of times since then!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Bumping up this thread in honor of 9/11.

Thanks for bumping this thread -- I missed it the first time around.

Well, we arrived at the Disneyland Hotel a few hours later, and when we stepped into the lobby, almost all the characters were there. I was taken aback when they rushed up to my kiddos for hugs.
...

The next day the park re-opened, and we were just about the only people there. Again the personal attention was amazing and the characters were very "huggy" that day. We all needed the comfort. Disney put on an amazing patriotic tribute at the flag pole with music and a moment of silence. Afterwards, several people who were visiting from different countries (the UK, Japan, Canada, and South Africa) came up to my family to express their condolences. They wanted to let "America" know how sorry they were for what happened, and felt that by sharing their feelings (and tears) with us, they could somehow do that.

I just loved reading all of this.


Thinking today about those who were lost. We will never forget.

 

[Goofyuk]

It's amazing to me as a non-American how much P.R. has gone into the September 1tth Attacks in the U.S.A. For those involved it was a huge event and had a large impact on their friends/family.

However due to constant publicity and people pushing it for political or commercial gain, there now seems to be an attitude that this attack was unique or that a country being attacked by terrorists is rare. The only two things unusual about this particular incident is that a large scale attack was somewhat successful (I say somewhat because even if we assume the affected areas were the targets, then only three out of four hit target and really if you had 4 aeroplanes to damage U.S.A there are far smarter targets) and it was the first large attack by a foreign country in the U.S.A. for a long time.

There were about 50 terrorist attacks in 2001. These attacks affected the people involved as well. However the world moved on. Yet because there's money to be made this one particular attack still gets hugely disproportional coverage compared to pretty much every other event.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It's amazing to me as a non-American how much P.R. has gone into the September 1tth Attacks in the U.S.A. For those involved it was a huge event and had a large impact on their friends/family.

However due to constant publicity and people pushing it for political or commercial gain, there now seems to be an attitude that this attack was unique or that a country being attacked by terrorists is rare. The only two things unusual about this particular incident is that a large scale attack was somewhat successful (I say somewhat because even if we assume the affected areas were the targets, then only three out of four hit target and really if you had 4 aeroplanes to damage U.S.A there are far smarter targets) and it was the first large attack by a foreign country in the U.S.A. for a long time.

There were about 50 terrorist attacks in 2001. These attacks affected the people involved as well. However the world moved on. Yet because there's money to be made this one particular attack still gets hugely disproportional coverage compared to pretty much every other event.

I disagree with just about every statement in this post.

I'll refrain from a point by point debate, especially on this day, and just say that I am focused on remembering those lost, and that only by remembering can we hope to prevent.

 

[DopeyDame]

It's amazing to me as a non-American how much P.R. has gone into the September 1tth Attacks in the U.S.A. For those involved it was a huge event and had a large impact on their friends/family.

However due to constant publicity and people pushing it for political or commercial gain, there now seems to be an attitude that this attack was unique or that a country being attacked by terrorists is rare. The only two things unusual about this particular incident is that a large scale attack was somewhat successful (I say somewhat because even if we assume the affected areas were the targets, then only three out of four hit target and really if you had 4 aeroplanes to damage U.S.A there are far smarter targets) and it was the first large attack by a foreign country in the U.S.A. for a long time.

There were about 50 terrorist attacks in 2001. These attacks affected the people involved as well. However the world moved on. Yet because there's money to be made this one particular attack still gets hugely disproportional coverage compared to pretty much every other event.

That's the thing: For Americans, 9/11 WAS (is!) unique. I'm not a big fan of the concept of manifest destiny, but the reality is that our geography has given us an enormous blessing of peace and, realistically, a little niavite. Other than Perl Harbor - which is as far away from most Americans as Europe is - the US escaped WW I and WWII without shots being fired on its shore. Throughout the cold war, as Eastern Europe and Asia were undergoing all sorts of military aggression, the closest the US got to a hot war was concern about Cuba. That's not to dismiss the incredibly loss and contributions by US soldiers around the world, of course! But that's different than an air raid on London or an evacuation of Saigon.

So yeah, a foreign attack on US soil is unique and left quite an impact on Americans. I imagine Israelis and Palestinians think we're soft and silly and are probably a little bitter considering they live under a constant threat of terrorism. I realize the Brits have had more terrorist attacks on their island than we have on ours (although none as deadly, as far as I know). I completely accept that the REASON it's unique is because of a very blessed and easy last century for Americans.

So you're right, globally, terrorist attacks aren't that rare. But for us, here in America, 9/11 was (God willing!) a unique and rare event that we won't forget. And I don't think it really has anything to do with PR and commercial gain.

 

[Lorelei528]

It's amazing to me as a non-American how much P.R. has gone into the September 1tth Attacks in the U.S.A. For those involved it was a huge event and had a large impact on their friends/family.
However due to constant publicity and people pushing it for political or commercial gain, there now seems to be an attitude that this attack was unique or that a country being attacked by terrorists is rare. The only two things unusual about this particular incident is that a large scale attack was somewhat successful (I say somewhat because even if we assume the affected areas were the targets, then only three out of four hit target and really if you had 4 aeroplanes to damage U.S.A there are far smarter targets) and it was the first large attack by a foreign country in the U.S.A. for a long time.
There were about 50 terrorist attacks in 2001. These attacks affected the people involved as well. However the world moved on. Yet because there's money to be made this one particular attack still gets hugely disproportional coverage compared to pretty much every other event.

Ok, well, I was not in WDW on 9/11. I was there a couple of months later when a plane crashed here in NY. We were in Biergarten when we found out and it made me sick to my stomach to be so far from home when something like that happens.
The parks themselves were fine by then, (Nov. 2001)...

I worked across the street from the Empire State Building at the time and I will not take the time or opportunity now to describe that day or the days after. I will say, my building was evacuated not once, but twice and the it was the scariest day of my life. NO trains were leaving the city. NO one had anywhere to go if you didn't live in Manhattan.

The reason I quoted the above post is...at the time I was with my boyfriend who was from Dublin Ireland. When we first realized it was a terrorist attack, I called him immediately in his office. He was poo-pooing at what happened saying terrorist acts happen (or used to happen) all the time at home. Dublin and Ireland and the north of Ireland were very scary places to be in in the 70 and 80's (days of Bobby Sands hunger strikers)...etc.

Anyway....he finally realized how serious the situation was and I will never forget finding him in a sea of people outside Grand Central Station and the look on his face. Our train was actually the first train they allowed out of Grand Central Station that day. We lived (I still do) in the Bronx.

Just because there are terrorist attacks almost every day around the world (and have been since the 70's or earlier). OH! And also, I went to Syracuse University and I knew a number of students who perished on Pan Am 103 so I have previous experience with terrorist attacks directly affecting me, doesn't mean you know what it was like to be in NYC that day. It doesn't mean you smelled the burning ashes the next day when walking around and could feel the smoke sting your eyes.

Really your post is so unwelcome on a thread such as this. The DIS is not supposed to be a political place. Do not judge any American or any other person who chooses to mourn and remember this fateful day in American history. Show some respect.

And yes, I also knew one of the NYFD who went in to save people and never made it out.

 

[SoScary'09]

We were on our way to Disneyland on 9/11/01. We woke up that morning on the top floor of the Excalibur Hotel in Las Vegas (we drive from Salt Lake) to the awful news on TV. I went downstairs to see what was going on, and they advised us to vacate the top floors because other threats had apparently been issued, and not all aircraft had been accounted for at that point. We quickly packed and hustled the kids to the car and headed for the desert.

We heard on the car radio that Disneyland had been closed and we didn't know what to do. I could only get through to Disney Dining (all other Dis numbers had a busy signal) and the CM told me to come on ahead, as the hotels were still open, and they would do their best to take care of us.

Well, we arrived at the Disneyland Hotel a few hours later, and when we stepped into the lobby, almost all the characters were there. I was taken aback when they rushed up to my kiddos for hugs. I almost think it was a relief for those CMs in costume to have children to focus on for awhile. My youngest was 9 months and thank goodness not afraid at all of the costumed characters. Minnie just reached for him and he squealed and squished her nose. She and Mickey played peek-a-boo with him and it was so sweet. My son was busy with Woody and Buzz and they were apparently fighting off the evil Zurg throughout the lobby. Cinderella came up and took my dd's hand and asked if she could take the kids to a room (one of the convention rooms off the lobby) where they had Disney movies going and free lemonade and cookies. Of course my dd (7 at the time) was thrilled!

While my kids were busy with the characters, we checked in at the front desk. They told us they could not be sure the park would re-open at all during our week long stay, but that we should know something soon. They also informed us that another conference room was open to adults with complimentary refreshments and banks of TVs with the news on so that we could watch without our kids being there.

I went to check the kids and then another CM let me know that Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee would be out by the pool and the kids could come and play games with them. They also told us that the ESPN Zone was open to all hotel guests and that all the arcade games and climbing wall were free, as well as unlimited sodas for everyone. The arcade games at the hotels were also free.

We later went to eat at Goofy's Kitchen, and I could not believe how kind and attentive the characters were. We were almost the only people in the hotel, since all airplanes had been grounded, nobody else was arriving, and those who couldn't leave had checked out for other accomodations that were less expensive, since they didn't know when they'd be able to fly out of LA. Locals were all staying home, so that left us. All the characters came and SAT DOWN with us while we ate our meal. Jasmine and Aladdin took my kids up to the buffet and helped them refill their plates and spent over 20 minutes just chatting with us. It brought tears to my eyes to watch them with the kids. You could tell that there was a sadness in the air, but they worked so hard to make the day happy for my kids. The hugs they gave all of us when we left were extra special that day.

The next day the park re-opened, and we were just about the only people there. Again the personal attention was amazing and the characters were very "huggy" that day. We all needed the comfort. Disney put on an amazing patriotic tribute at the flag pole with music and a moment of silence. Afterwards, several people who were visiting from different countries (the UK, Japan, Canada, and South Africa) came up to my family to express their condolences. They wanted to let "America" know how sorry they were for what happened, and felt that by sharing their feelings (and tears) with us, they could somehow do that. I was so appreciative of their thoughtfulness and support for the US. It really touched me and we all shared tears together. Then Mickey came over and hugged each one of us. I was a freaking mess after that!

It was quite surreal to experience one of the worst days in our nation's history in the "Happiest Place on Earth", but it is certainly a memory none of my family will forget.

An amazing story. Very eerie and surreal, but still an experience your family won't soon forget.

 

[lilbuddy88]

I was there. I was an intern for WDI working on the Dinorama construction project at animal kingdom. Our secretary had a radio on and told us about a plane crashing into a building. We thought it was probably just a prop plane, then with the second plane crash reality set in. They instructed us to go home and management would contact us that evening.

My mom worked for Delta and my brother is in the military so it was very difficult for me because I couldn't get in touch with anyone. Walt Disney Imagineers were a class act that day making sure 8 college interns (but technically adults) were looked after until they could contact their families.

 

[Aurora0427]

It's amazing to me as a non-American how much P.R. has gone into the September 1tth Attacks in the U.S.A. For those involved it was a huge event and had a large impact on their friends/family.

However due to constant publicity and people pushing it for political or commercial gain, there now seems to be an attitude that this attack was unique or that a country being attacked by terrorists is rare. The only two things unusual about this particular incident is that a large scale attack was somewhat successful (I say somewhat because even if we assume the affected areas were the targets, then only three out of four hit target and really if you had 4 aeroplanes to damage U.S.A there are far smarter targets) and it was the first large attack by a foreign country in the U.S.A. for a long time.

There were about 50 terrorist attacks in 2001. These attacks affected the people involved as well. However the world moved on. Yet because there's money to be made this one particular attack still gets hugely disproportional coverage compared to pretty much every other event.

Pretty tasteless post, especially given today's date, and pretty inaccurate as well.

I've loved reading this thread. God Bless America!

 

[SusieBea]

It's amazing to me as a non-American how much P.R. has gone into the September 1tth Attacks in the U.S.A. For those involved it was a huge event and had a large impact on their friends/family.

However due to constant publicity and people pushing it for political or commercial gain, there now seems to be an attitude that this attack was unique or that a country being attacked by terrorists is rare. The only two things unusual about this particular incident is that a large scale attack was somewhat successful (I say somewhat because even if we assume the affected areas were the targets, then only three out of four hit target and really if you had 4 aeroplanes to damage U.S.A there are far smarter targets) and it was the first large attack by a foreign country in the U.S.A. for a long time.

There were about 50 terrorist attacks in 2001. These attacks affected the people involved as well. However the world moved on. Yet because there's money to be made this one particular attack still gets hugely disproportional coverage compared to pretty much every other event.

I have never responded to anyone in this way before, but I am offended by this. We have had our share of attacks - I hesitate to mention them because I know I will leave many out - Newtown, Oklahoma City, Fort Hood, the Colorado movie theater.... My memory is lacking. I do not live in NYC. I cannot imagine how it affected its citizens. I understand the fear that is slightly under the surface as they live their lives after that day. I feel that fear here in the Midwest as well. I continue to hurt for the families that lost loved ones that day as they imagine what those loved ones experienced. We all became aware of just how vulnerable we are. I imagine there has been money made, but we remember because we never want to forget. May it never happen again!

 

[andeesings]

We were there with my parents. We were in AK, and it was weird, different shows were being canceled and we didnt know why. Then a CM was ushering us out of the park, and when i stopped and asked why, he said that a plane hit the pentagon, both trade centers and 1 went down in "pittsburgh". Now, we are from pittsburgh, so imagine my surprise!!! At first i thought...oh it's just Disney doing something crazy. Then panic set in. The rest of the week it rained, and it was miserable. Howard Stern was on when we got to the car. We were glued to the radio.

I'm from NY-- I was at college. That was an awful day. I'll never forget being inside a NY building that day and my friend listening to Howard Stern- when he started screaming, "Oh my God, oh my God," We ran outside to see the massive cloud of debris from the tower going down, people screaming and crying in the streets. To this day one of the most terrifying days of my life. By some unfortunate happenstance I was also in London for the 7/7 bombings- them evacuating everyone from the tube was a little calmer, but then when the bus got bombed... Oh god. Chaos, again. So awful.

 

[dwaters]

OH! And also, I went to Syracuse University and I knew a number of students who perished on Pan Am 103 so I have previous experience with terrorist attacks directly affecting me..

Hey. Syracuse University Class of 1994 here!

When I got to campus in 1990, the Pan Am 103 attack seemed to fresh in people's minds.

I did the abroad program in London in 1993 and you can be sure those students were on my mind as we flew back to the States.