9/11 Notification

[YCFAN]

Just curious....was anyone in the parks on 9/11/2000? I heard that they closed the parks that day. I was just wondering how they informed the people there without causing some sort of panic. Did they announce something over the loud speakers or what?

 

[Bob Slydell]

It was 9/11/2001, not 2000.

 

[YCFAN]

I'm sorry, you're absolutely right. My apologies. I have a son that was born in 2000 and I'm so use to putting 2000 on forms and stuff that I hurriedly make that mistake alot. Please forgive me. He was lucky enough to have one year of his life before he had to live in this world of terror.

 

[Jungle Skipper]

yes they did close the parks down after it happened...I was working there at the time....I left the Jungle and was sent to the Contemporary to play with kids and try and help keep a lighthearted mood at the resorts...it really wasnt ever lighthearted, but we tried to be there for our guests...thats a day Iwould rather never see again, all that sadness at WDW...

Jungle Josh

 

[YCFAN]

Jungle Skipper : Did they make some sort of announcement or did people just hear about it and start leaving the parks. I just wondered how they kept everything orderly. It was awful no matter where you were. A dark day in our history. I remember mostly being ticked off for all our children's sake that they would never know the sense of security we had felt in the past whether it was warranted or not, at least we had felt it.

 

[hydster]

We were at DL and just as we were going to walk into the gates they closed it down as a precaution and sent us all away. Since DL isn't like WDW we were not staying on DL property so we didn't get any "pixie dust" type stuff from Disney BUT we were due to fly out that next day 9-12-01 and they let us into the park for free every day after that until we were able to get a flight out 4 days later. I thought that was pretty cool of them to do something like that. DL was empty before 9-11 and really empty for the 4 days afterwards. It was hard to be away from home but if I had to be anywhere during that time DL was the place to be since it is truly the happiest place on earth and it sure helped us during the days we were stuck there.

Heidi

 

[YCFAN]

Thank you for your response hydster . My husband was in France on business and couldn't get back into the country for a few days. That was an awful feeling. It was nice of Disney to do what they could to make the situation as easy as possible.

 

[hydster]

I forgot to mention that they very calmly and orderly informed us that they were not opening the park that day as a precaution and they did it very quietly and respectfully as well. THe lines were non-existant (one of the reasons we go right after Labor Day) and so it was easier for them to just explain it to you as you were walking up to the gate to go inside. They did close off the entrance gates to new people walking up but they were very tactful and respectful of the situation and explained to us that we would be able to go to the ticket window the next day (if it was open) and they would give us a "refund" for that day so we could come in the next day for no cost. They ended up giving us comp passes as long as we showed them our airline tickets showing that we were booked on a flight but couldn't get out. It was really somber and orderly going back out to our hotel on the street but they handled it well. Trying to figure out what to do for the rest of that day was the hardest part....3 small kids and NOTHING open. We spent the day at the beach trying to figure out how in the world we were ever going to get home and if we were going to just have to get a one way rental and drive the 16 hours back to Utah or if we were going to see about flying home. The hotel we stayed at also gave us a break on the suite and only charged us for 2 nights out of the 4 that we had to stay which I thought was cool. OYE I can't imagine the fear of having your spouse gone overseas no less at that time...how scary!

Heidi

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

We were at MK that day--my 40th birthday, btw--and I was waiting outside BTMRR with the baby while dh was on the ride with the bigger kids. I saw the CM at the entrance to the ride turning people away from the ride. I thought there was a problem with the ride so I walked over and asked. She informed me that the parks were closing "due to circumstances beyond their control". When pressed for details, she just said we should go back to our hotel and turn on the news.

When my family exited the ride, I met them and told them what the CM said. We headed toward the exit, thru Adventureland. Lots of people were still laughing and smiling and heading *away* from the exit. We were almost out of Adventureland when they announced over the loudspeakers that the parks were closing. By the time we got to Main St., it was wall-to-wall people, but everyone was calm. Confused, puzzled, but calm. CMs at the exit turnstyles gave everyone one day park passes as they left.

I didn't hear what had actually happened until we were walking down the exit ramp from the monorail at the TTC and some guy was walking next to me talking on his cell phone. I asked him what had happened and he told me.

We heard more details on the car radio as we drove back to our villa at the Disney Institute, then watched tv all afternoon at the villa.

We had planned to go out to dinner somewhere for my birthday, and since the restaurants at the hotels were still open, we ended up going to Juan and Only's at the Dolphin for dinner. It was completely deserted.

They did open the parks the next day; we were there until 9/22 and I've never seen the parks anywhere near as empty as they were that trip.