Disneyland shortly after 9/11

[JazzyCatsAtDLR]

Did any of you attend Disneyland shortly after the September 11th attacks? If so, what was your experience like? I went in November of that year and remember it being very strange because Disneyland was the emptiest I had/have ever seen it.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

DH and I were there on September 13 (we were supposed to be there on September 12 but with all flights cancelled, we had to find alternate transportation). It was very quiet, I don't think we waited in any lines that whole week. I remember eating off property after being in the parks all day and once again being hit with the realization of what had happened because all the televisions were playing nonstop coverage. It was nice being in Disney and being in the "Disney Bubble".

We ended up buying a 1 day ticket to DCA and that place was a ghost town. There were tons of rare characters out running around the place just looking for people to tale photos with. Again, there were no waits throughout the park.

 

[DisneytheKid]

That would have been such an interesting experience. I remember feeling like you couldn't escape the coverage at the time. It was all around you.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We went to WDW in October--the hotels and flights were super-discounted. Our Downtown Disney area hotel was under $30 a night, including tax. It wasn't totally empty, but we didn't wait in any lines for more than a few minutes either. It seemed like then the staffing and hours had not yet been adjusted to account for the low crowds.

One of the strangest things was at the airport. They had not yet worked out new TSA procedures, and they were "randomly" screening people--taking them out of the line at the gate to look in carryons and such. The security guy came up and asked us if we would be willing to be the ones to be randomly searched for that flight.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Did any of you attend Disneyland shortly after the September 11th attacks? If so, what was your experience like? I went in November of that year and remember it being very strange because Disneyland was the emptiest I had/have ever seen it.

The whole world was a little odd right after 9/11. Why the question so many years later? If your concern is safety, Disneyland is about as safe as a place out in the open can be.

- Dreams

 

[JazzyCatsAtDLR]

The whole world was a little odd right after 9/11. Why the question so many years later? If your concern is safety, Disneyland is about as safe as a place out in the open can be.

- Dreams

Nothing to do with safety. I have been to Disneyland many times since 9/11. I just remember it being a strange experience and was curious if anyone else had experienced anything similar.

 

[MychaelP]

I will never forget how quiet it felt. No planes or helicopters in the sky anywhere. Eerie. Also how they were checking bags, that was the first time they ever did that. Now I don't think they look very closely, plus they don't check jackets.

 

[cats mom]

I don't remember our exact dates, but we went to WDW that September. We flew SW and all 6 of us could have had our own row of seats on the way there if we had wanted. That felt really strange. Everyone kept thanking us for not cancelling our travel plans. The parks were incredibly quiet too, at least until Pres Bush gave his "get down to Disney World in Florida" speech. People listened because it was amazing how different the parks were after that. Our plane wasn't full on the way home, but it wasn't nearly as deserted as it was on the way there.

 

[mello]

We had plane tix for Sept 15, and were thinking we wouldn't be able to fly. It turned out that was the first day they let planes in the air again, and the airports were an absolute madhouse - everyone trying to get out of where they had been stranded. We were rerouted and got to SoCal very late in the day. We were in San Diego (Balboa Park) that Sunday, and there was a big gathering with military bands and things. Then we went to Disneyland the next day, and it was so empty. We walked down Main St. all by ourselves in the morning, and had Mickey and Minnie completely to ourselves. They had set up some folding tables out front to check bags - first time we'd ever seen that. One morning in DCA, there was an act going on outside the train cafe (can't remember the name) and we were the only ones watching it! We stayed for a long time, just so they'd have somebody to perform for! It was so weird. The whole trip was very bittersweet. But it was actually nice to be able to escape the harsh reality of life at that time, and be in a happy place. But there was an element of guilt about that, I guess, too. Just surreal, really.

 

[L2S2C]

I was supposed to be there on 9/11 we woke up and were getting ready to leave when we found out, and stayed home. We went the next day.

 

[Huck]

It was my very first visit to Disneyland. I was five, almost six at the time. My grandpa had payed for my family (Mom, dad, older sister who was eight at the time) to stay for a week in the Grand Californian. It is, to date, the most luxurious experience I've ever had.

As everyone else has mentioned, it was practically empty; it felt like we were the only people there. We could go on any rides we wanted over and over as many times as we wanted without even having to get off and on again since there was no line.

The only time you got a glimpse of other guests was if you just so happened to be crossing a typically high-traffic area like the Central Plaza at the same time as someone or maybe either in the line or at the exit of a popular ride. I remember all of the cast members being extremely happy whenever we came over to talk to them. This makes sense as I'd assume they were a bit lonely.

Overall, I can't say that I picked up on the eeriness of it all since I was so young. I only vaguely remember the actual September 11 attacks and my mom pulling me out of school that day. So luckily for me, that trip is still a good memory, one of my favorite in fact.

I remember the Evil Queen was the first character I met, and I was pretty intimidated.

 

[GQDisneyFan]

Yes, my wife and I went a couple days after 9/11. The park was empty. EVERY ride was a walk-on and by the end of the day we got bored and left early since we had practically ridden every ride that day. Like posters above have said, it was a gloomy feeling that day and it was hard to be joyous because of what had happened, but we tried our best to enjoy the empty park.