Does Disney ever do anything to commemorate Sept. 11?

[BelleBete]

Yes they do. We were there in 2009. There was a special ceremony during the "Flag Retreat Ceremony". This takes place about 5:30 PM in town square at the Magic Kingdom. It was definately a special ceremony. There were red, white & blue flower arrangements placed around a small podium. The Voices Of Liberty from Epcot's American Adventure sang several songs. There was a brief narration & a veteran assisted Disney's color guard to lower the flag. Total was about 15-20 mins for the whole thing. It was not the usual Flag Retreat, definately something special for Sept. 11th.

Bit it was hard ti find out about. I think we had asked at the concierge desk at Yacht Club & were originally told there would not be any special ceremony anywhere at the parks. Luckily, one of the 5 cast members working at the time knew about this special flag lowering ceremony.

We will be there this Sept 11th also & I intend to be at the Flag retreat. I am betting they will do another special ceremony.



Edit to add: They even passed out small American Flags to everyone gathered around the area before the ceremony began. I still have it. It was a very moving event. Many people were wiping away the tears.

THANK YOU! I will rearrange my itinerary (wasn't originally going to be in MK that day because of Night of Joy) so I can be there.

 

[CdnCarrie]

What park were you in? Like I said earlier, I am sure they will do something. I don't think they'll stop everything, that would be too much, I think. But it will probably be hard to find out what & where. The Flag Retreat ceremony was very moving. And it was a respectful, understated way to acknowledge the day. BTW, I think they referred to it as a "Patriot's Day" ceremony.

MK. Just outside POTC. We all stopped and they announced a 2 minute silence. Not sure what happened if you were ON the ride. We happened to be between rides at the time.

 

[focusondisney]

I believe they actually do the flag retreat every day, not just on 9/11, and veterans can volunteer to be a part of the ceremony.

Yes, they do the flag retreat every day. But this was an enhanced ceremony. There was a podium with a narrator, large red, white & blue flower arrangements & patriotic songs sung by the Voices Of Liberty, the singers from the American Adventure at Epcot. And the narrator specifically talked about it being "Patriot's Day". There was a good sized crowd, probably 150 at least. And as I said, they handed out American flags to the crowd ahead of the ceremony.

THANK YOU! I will rearrange my itinerary (wasn't originally going to be in MK that day because of Night of Joy) so I can be there.

Sept 11th is a Sunday this year. I believe Night of Joy is only Friday & Saturday. So shouldn't interfere. I plan on being there, too. It was very moving. I saw a few grown men wiping away tears. I think we took video; I'll try to look for it & see exactly what else I'm forgetting.

 

[LaurenT]

My dad makes a point of flying on 9/11...

 

[eliza61]

Absolutely agree with that. It would be easy to start wanting to commemorate every single thing that ever happened, but that really wouldn't be a good idea. Everyone needs to move on from tragedies and focus on the future not dwell in the past. Disney is indeed a fantasy destination. Focusing on sad and catastrophic events would not be a wise choice.

Every individual can make their own choices about how to remember a traumatic event, many people do go to Disney so they can spend a few hours not thinking about things like that.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

We were there on the 1st anniversary and they stopped everything and did 2 minutes of silence. Not sure why they won't do that on the 10th anniversary.

This was actually a national 2 minute moment of silence for the 1 year anniversary. I remember memos going out in company I work for at the time in customer service that told our employees to place all of our customers on hold to observe the 2 minute moment of silence as well as had recordings on our IVR about honoring the 2 minutes of silence. At the time it was one of the largest customer service companies in the US, and most companies complied with the request. We were at Disney that day I actually don't remember where we were when the moment of silence took place but I do remember seeing it on TV (could have been a recording later, its been a long time ago) so we must have still been in the room.

 

[purple figment]

We were there last December during Pearl Harbor day and they had the U.S. flag at half mast. When I noticed it we were waiting in line for the monorail at the CR, and since we never know what is going on in the outside world while at Disney, I thought something major happened. I asked the monorail CM about it and he said it had to do with honoring Pearl Harbor. Then this past September we were there (on 9/11) and the flags were again at half mast (this was at the CR again), so not sure if all of Disney does this or just at the CR .

We had the same experience at the Boardwalk Inn on Pearl Harbor Day last December. We, too, saw the flag at half staff and asked a CM if something had happened and he replied that it was to commemorate Pearl Harbor Day.

 

[focusondisney]

I got a chance to find our video. I am sorry I said we were there in 2009 but it was 2007. Wow time sure flies!

But other than that, my memory was good! The Flag Retreat started at 5PM. The Town Square was roped off before that & there were cast members surrounding the square, blocking the enterances. There was a podium, the red white & blue flower arrangements on the ground & a small riser for the chorus. The flag was also at half staff all day.

An announcer welcomed the crowd to this "very special flag retreat ceremony".

The Voices of Liberty from Epcot sang "This Land is Your Land" & Proud To Be An American". The MK Marching Band played "America The Beautiful" & "My Country Tis of Thee".

The announcer talked about Walt Disney World & the nation recognizing Patriot's Day. He mentioned the events of Sept 11th & asked for a moment of silence. (I don't know if everthing stopped in the whole park, but they did all around town square.) He went on to talk about honoring the memory of those lost & that we reflect on the events of that day. He also spoke about reflecting on the meaning & ideals of our nation.

Next he introduced an Honorary Color Guard from the Orlando Navy Operational Support Center & the Retired Chaplain (a WDW guest) assisting in the Flag Ceremony. And asked to honor & remember all Armed Forces, Police, Fire & EMTs for there daily sacrifices.

The Marching Band played The Star Spangled Banner and the crowd, chorus & band sang God Bless America as the flag was lowered. And the ceremony concluded with the recessional. The whole thing was about 25 mins.

I know it was longer ago than I thought, but I still feel they will do something special to honor the 10th anniversary.

 

[CTmommyx3]

that is great they honor special days in history. so many lives lost on those days.
weird it is called patriots day, i grew up in MA and Patriots Day is a state holiday in April usually around like the 18th or so

 

[focusondisney]

that is great they honor special days in history. so many lives lost on those days.
weird it is called patriots day, i grew up in MA and Patriots Day is a state holiday in April usually around like the 18th or so

I think that was the first time I heard it called that, too. But I just checked my kitchen calandar & it also calls it Patriot Day. Don't know if it is an official title given by the government or what.

 

[BelleBete]

I got a chance to find our video. I am sorry I said we were there in 2009 but it was 2007. Wow time sure flies!

But other than that, my memory was good! The Flag Retreat started at 5PM. The Town Square was roped off before that & there were cast members surrounding the square, blocking the enterances. There was a podium, the red white & blue flower arrangements on the ground & a small riser for the chorus. The flag was also at half staff all day.

An announcer welcomed the crowd to this "very special flag retreat ceremony".

The Voices of Liberty from Epcot sang "This Land is Your Land" & Proud To Be An American". The MK Marching Band played "America The Beautiful" & "My Country Tis of Thee".

The announcer talked about Walt Disney World & the nation recognizing Patriot's Day. He mentioned the events of Sept 11th & asked for a moment of silence. (I don't know if everthing stopped in the whole park, but they did all around town square.) He went on to talk about honoring the memory of those lost & that we reflect on the events of that day. He also spoke about reflecting on the meaning & ideals of our nation.

Next he introduced an Honorary Color Guard from the Orlando Navy Operational Support Center & the Retired Chaplain (a WDW guest) assisting in the Flag Ceremony. And asked to honor & remember all Armed Forces, Police, Fire & EMTs for there daily sacrifices.

The Marching Band played The Star Spangled Banner and the crowd, chorus & band sang God Bless America as the flag was lowered. And the ceremony concluded with the recessional. The whole thing was about 25 mins.

Thanks so much for the detailed info! This sounds like a very tasteful and moving way to acknowledge the day for those who choose to do so. I plan on being there for the flag ceremony in Sept. (even if they don't repeat the above events I think it would be a nice thing to do). I might also try and ask a few CM's about the flag ceremony/any other events when I'm there, but like you said, I'm sure it's not something everyone is aware of.

Oh, and I think I first started seeing the "Patriot's Day" title back in...'03 or '04 on calendars and the like. I never hear hear people refer to it as such though.

 

[focusondisney]

You're welcome! I'll be there too. I just wish Disney would make sure guests are aware of something like that. Hardly any cast members seemed aware of the special ceremony.

The same trip, I had read (on theDis) that the space Shuttle astrounats would be at Epcot. Again, no one at guest services at Yacht club or the International Gateway had any info. Luckily, my DH & I just happened to see a sign (in Epcot) that announced their appearance the next day. A plaque honoring Krista McCauliff (the teacher who died on Challenger) was being dedicated at Mission Space. There was lots of media there & TV coverage. The astronauts also marched on Main St at the 3 o'clock parade.


Yet we had a hard time finding all this out. I think Disney likes to keep things a secret, so they can provide "magic/ surprize moments". Great, but if I had gotten home & found out I missed something like seeing the astronauts, I'd have been more than a little upset.

At least let guest services have the info, so if a guest asks, they get the right info.

Sorry for the rant!!

 

[BelleBete]

Rant away! Yes either they like to 'surprise' the guests...or there's just not a good chain of information from organizers to the various CM's. There are a lot of events to keep track of, and I could understand how your average CM might not know *everything* You're right though, you'd think guest services would be able to stay on top of these sorts of things, esp. when the astronauts roll in! Also, with the flag ceremony they might not have spread the word as much because, as some people pointed out here, Disney is an escape??

Good thing there's the Dis! Maybe at each guest services desk they should just have a place for people to search this lovely site

 

[CTmommyx3]

http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com/whentogo/events/patriots_day.html
wonder if MA will change what they call it? ever since remember we had Patriots day, i never knew it was not a holiday everyone had until I was older and moved to CT!!! wondered why the kids had school!

 

[BelleBete]

http://www.newenglandtravelplanner.com/whentogo/events/patriots_day.html
wonder if MA will change what they call it? ever since remember we had Patriots day, i never knew it was not a holiday everyone had until I was older and moved to CT!!! wondered why the kids had school!

I think they'll only be forced to change it (Lexington Day? Paul Revere Day?) if the "patriot's day" title really catches on for Sept. 11. Sounds like a fun holiday though! I'm a sucker for historical re-enactments.