Does Disney control the airspace?

[chartle]

I am very interested in what he finds out. These helicopters were definitely under 3000 feet. My DH estimated 300 feet. It was very disruptive to the show. I saw many people looking up constantly. Thanks for anything you can find out. I thought about contacting Disney but not sure who to contact.

There is a general guest info/feedback email or phone number that I'm sure someone will post.

But if they truly were 300 feet I think that may be below the limit that they can safely fly over populated areas particularly a theater with 6,000 people in it.

 

[nchulka]

I the skywriter.

So did my family, we thought is was really cool

 

[davmill]

Interesting debate. I know WDW is pretty much a city unto itself, just don't what kind of concessions the government gives them for the amount of taxes they bring in and pay.

 

[CapnJacksGirl]

So did my family, we thought is was really cool

I guess I was kind of oblivious to it until I took a wide-angle shot in WS a couple of trips ago, apparently while the skywriter was in mid-sentence. In the background of my shot, it said "Jesus Loves"......so I photoshopped it and added "EPCOT" to the end. He's bound to love EPCOT, right? Turned out to be a really cute photo.

 

[goofyernmost]

Maybe Disney filming some promo footage?

That would also be my guess. I doubt if Disney would not have taken some action to get the helicopters out of there, if they didn't know they were going to be there. The filming aspect makes the most sense. It's about time they update some of those promo things.

I know that some find the message annoying, but since I feel that I know what my beliefs are the message is not relevant, but I do enjoy watching the process. It seems like a waste of fuel to me, I doubt anyone ran directly to a church and proclaimed that Jesus wrote in the sky and it was an epiphany, baptize me please, now.

It is quite a few miles outside of Disney property but because of the perspective one gets when looking at such a large space as the sky, it almost looks to be directly overhead.

I don't know if the no "low" flight zone still exists but it did shortly after 9/11. It was confined to MK only and therefore wouldn't have had any impact on DHS. I think it still might be there since I don't remember seeing any of the tourist helicopters flying over MK still.

Common sense tells me that if Disney was not aware of who was operating the helicopters over the show, they would have evacuated or called in for assistance. They should have announce, however, that there would be filming overhead so that people wouldn't think the worst, which people often do. But we all know how "secretive Disney is sometimes.

 

[chartle]

Interesting debate. I know WDW is pretty much a city unto itself, just don't what kind of concessions the government gives them for the amount of taxes they bring in and pay.

Its not really a concession or how much you pay in taxes, WDW like football stadiums and other public areas are labeled something like High Risk Terror Targets or some other not so scary verbiage. Therefore things like no fly zones or restricted air space are automatically given to them and Disney of course doesn't mind since it makes the World quieter.

 

[PrincessRhi]

Those completely and utterly annoying (IMHO) Jesus skywriting is outside that 3 miles or higher than that 3000 foot radius. He just writes REALLY big. And annoying, as previously mentioned.

I don't know, I kind of find it entertaining to figure out what he's writing when he deviates from "Jesus loves you" and "You + Jesus = " since he's not very good at it. Trying to guess what he's putting up there makes for a great drinking game, but only if you are with people who haven't seen it done before.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

WDW is a no fly zone, not controlled by Disney but by other government agencies. Disney has employees that work in partnership with those agencies to maintain a secure space. You may see helicopters and planes from time to time over the parks, these are approved fly overs most of them being miliatary operations. If you are in the parks during peak times (or high threat levels) you will see them more often.

Alot of the spottings that people see of aircraft and helicopters and the sky writer that they just swear are right over them are not they are off property and out of the no fly zone. It is amazing when you have flat land like Floridia how far away something can be and it seem like it's right above you when you don't have other veritical points of interest to compare it to.

FWIW many of you make like this particularly if you are or have served in the military, it's one of my Fav WDW videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4nRH4cX8rw

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Years ago Disney took *Church Station * to court over the fly overs..........Disney lost.......they did not have any control of the air space.

I do know they did have to stay over a certain height, but I dont now what that is.


The reason Church Station is no longing doing fly overs is becuase I think they are out of business?....does anyone know if that is correct?


AKK

 

[It'sWDW4me]

WDW is a no fly zone, not controlled by Disney but by other government agencies. Disney has employees that work in partnership with those agencies to maintain a secure space. You may see helicopters and planes from time to time over the parks, these are approved fly overs most of them being miliatary operations. If you are in the parks during peak times (or high threat levels) you will see them more often.

Alot of the spottings that people see of aircraft and helicopters and the sky writer that they just swear are right over them are not they are off property and out of the no fly zone. It is amazing when you have flat land like Floridia how far away something can be and it seem like it's right above you when you don't have other veritical points of interest to compare it to.

FWIW many of you make like this particularly if you are or have served in the military, it's one of my Fav WDW videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4nRH4cX8rw

Confirming my sap status. I can even shed tears of joy watching a video of the Thunderbirds flying over the castle! And seeing the full-grown air force people excited to greet Chip and Dale... priceless. Thanks for posting it Pirategirl. That video is wonderful!!!

 

[goofyernmost]

WDW is a no fly zone, not controlled by Disney but by other government agencies. Disney has employees that work in partnership with those agencies to maintain a secure space. You may see helicopters and planes from time to time over the parks, these are approved fly overs most of them being miliatary operations. If you are in the parks during peak times (or high threat levels) you will see them more often.

Alot of the spottings that people see of aircraft and helicopters and the sky writer that they just swear are right over them are not they are off property and out of the no fly zone. It is amazing when you have flat land like Floridia how far away something can be and it seem like it's right above you when you don't have other veritical points of interest to compare it to.

FWIW many of you make like this particularly if you are or have served in the military, it's one of my Fav WDW videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4nRH4cX8rw

Again, the helicopters, that you see all day, are indeed over Disney property. They fly directly over Epcot, DHS, AK, Typhoon Lagoon and others. They, at the time that I took the ride, were not allowed within 3 miles of MK (ONLY)

Look in the upper right hand corner of this picture -vvv- you will see the familiar A frame of the Contemporary Resort. The pilot told us this as close as he was allowed to get to MK.

 

[thedonduck]

WDW is a no fly zone, not controlled by Disney but by other government agencies.

I just wanted to reiterate that WDW is NOT a "no fly zone". It is a restricted air space, but planes may fly through (they must be in contact with ATC at MCO though!!!). I don't want people being worried if/when they see air craft in the area. I specifically asked my DH (who is an ATC at MCO) what the regulations were and it is under 3,000 ft must maintain contact with ATC within 5 miles of WDW (he believes they use MK as the center, but is unsure because it's just a "circle" on their radar).

 

[mom2rtk]

Confirming my sap status. I can even shed tears of joy watching a video of the Thunderbirds flying over the castle! And seeing the full-grown air force people excited to greet Chip and Dale... priceless. Thanks for posting it Pirategirl. That video is wonderful!!!

I'm right there with you! I usually don't stop to watch linked videos, but watched this one. LOVED it! Thanks for posting Pirategirl!

But man, if Anastasia couldn't find a husband on that day..... I might have to give up on her!

 

[thedonduck]

Again, the helicopters, that you see all day, are indeed over Disney property. They fly directly over Epcot, DHS, AK, Typhoon Lagoon and others. They, at the time that I took the ride, were not allowed within 3 miles of MK (ONLY)

Look in the upper right hand corner of this picture -vvv- you will see the familiar A frame of the Contemporary Resort. The pilot told us this as close as he was allowed to get to MK.

I might be missing something, but I do not see any MK property...I see the Swan/Dolphin property which is NOT by MK. Am I missing the picture?

 

[kmacht]

I'm a pilot and have overflown disney before (with permission). For clarification there is a TFR (temporary flight restriction) that has a 3 mile radius prohibiting flights below 3000 feet unless the aircraft has permission from Air Traffic Control, is Law Enforcement, Department of Defense, or is an Air Ambulance. Most likely those helicopters were part of something Disney was doing that night and were in contact with ATC.

Also to clarify, the flight restriction has absolutley nothing to do with the safety of the park guests. A typical small airplane flys around 120miles per hour. The restriction is only for a 3 mile radius. It would take a grand total of 90 seconds for an aircraft to break into the restricted zone and be at the center of Disney. There is very little if anything anybody could do in a minute and a half to try and stop that plane if the pilot was determined to cause harm.

What the flight restrictions are really about are the banner towing and sightseeing operations. Disney does not want people towing banners and messages over their parks all day interupting their guests or advertising competitors. They have worked a deal with the FAA under the guise of safety to force planes to be higher and further away so that most banners would be unreadable and most sightseeing operations would be too far away for it to be worth the it.

Keith

 

[kmacht]

Forgot to add. For those of you who still think it is for safety then you might also want to consider that the same restrictions are not in place for Universal or Seaworld. You can fly at 1000' right over the center of those if you want.

Keith

 

[goofyernmost]

I might be missing something, but I do not see any MK property...I see the Swan/Dolphin property which is NOT by MK. Am I missing the picture?

I think you need to re-read the post. You do realize that Swan/Dolphin and Epcot and DHS are on Disney Property don't you?

Just to repeat...we were NOT allowed to get more than 3 miles from the MK Park at the time. Everything else was fine. These picture were taken in 2004.

 

[ols386]

We were at Fantasmic last night and a helicopter hovered over the theater through the entire show. There were 2 of them at the beginning with one on each side. One of them left part way through the show but the other stayed. It was very distracting and with safety issues these days it made me very nervous. I don't know if this is someone offering fireworks viewing from the sky or something that Disney was doing but we found it a little disconcerting. Has anyone else seen this?

I can see why that would be distracting and annoying.

 

[Trooper Alex 412]

I don't think tDisney is that powerful, haha.

 

[PrincessRhi]

I think you need to re-read the post. You do realize that Swan/Dolphin and Epcot and DHS are on Disney Property don't you?

Just to repeat...we were NOT allowed to get more than 3 miles from the MK Park at the time. Everything else was fine. These picture were taken in 2004.

I think the previous poster thinks you're calling the S/D the Contemporary. It's hard to see it in your picture.