Fireworks ban and Disney

[pilferk]

So does this mean that Disney compliance with the county ordinance would be voluntary?

I mean I have no problem with this. They are experts with fireworks under any conditions.

I don't think fireworks law falls under the exemptions, but I'm not 100% certain.

In reality, it would likely be a moot point since the county seat knows who is paying a princely sum in taxes, and knows what business they're in. They'd likely craft a law that would provide special exemptions to certain types of businesses (like theme parks) or those that operate under special permit.

 

[pilferk]

if that was the case then why do they have "orange county" sheriffs there?

They're often hired to help with security, especially at "special events". Though they can be called (as can the Osceola county sheriffs) if there is some sort of legal matter (tresspass, etc) that needs to be addressed.

Osceola county only covers one small corner of WDW (the All Star Resorts area), while the rest is in Orange county.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I googled fireworks bans in Florida since the OP didn't provide a link to the reference, and I saw that several different counties are issuing bans. However, most were in northern Fl.

NC has had a fireworks ban for individuals for decades. However, Disney is a company that knows how to properly set off fireworks. I'm sure if it is dangerous to the environment, then Disney will not have fireworks.

 

[pilferk]

If the ban is due to drought, then I wouldn't think Disney would be excluded. If it's because they don't want people popping fireworks willy nilly, then it seems like Disney would not be included in the ban.

It would likely depend.

Reedy Creek has it's own fire deparment and a case could be made that, given the controlled environment, you wouldn't be risking/using country resources. In addition, given the environment in which the fireworks are deployed...the risk for fire is much less. You're not deploying them over a minor league ball field, out in someone's back yard, or over a field in the middle of a park.

Honestly, I'd expect an exemption to be written in to the law. The county could surprise me/us, I guess.

All of it's speculation, of course, since there is no law on the books for Orange county.

 

[goofyernmost]

NC has had a fireworks ban for individuals for decades. However, Disney is a company that knows how to properly set off fireworks. I'm sure if it is dangerous to the environment, then Disney will not have fireworks.

Really? I am new to NC but they sell fireworks at WalMart here in Cary.

 

[AndyFL]

A number of years ago we were staying at the Contemporary with a view of the Magic Kingdom. Since it was July 4th weekend we were very excited to be able to see the fireworks from our room, we thought. You guessed it. Because of the fire conditions, all fireworks were cancelled even the planned July 4th fireworks. So Disney is not above the law.

I believe I remember the year you were talking about. Drought conditions were extremely bad in the state and there were some HUGE fires below Lake City. It was so dry and the fires were so strong that I clearly remember news footage of trees on one side of a 4 lane highway igniting purely from the heat generated by the fire on the other side......the tops of the pines literally exploded in balls of fire. We aren't THAT dry yet but we are working on it. Where I live we haven't had rain in over 2 months.

 

[DVC-Don]

..............
Orange county only covers one small corner of WDW (the All Star Resorts area), while the rest is in Osceola county.

It's the other way around.

 

[WDSearcher]

There have been several times over the past decade where fire conditions or drought conditions were such that fireworks bans have been instituted by the state or local counties. Each time a ban has been put in place, Disney has voluntarily adjusted its fireworks schedule to work within the ban, even though they are not required to, based on how the WDW area is governed and run.

Think about it from a PR standpoint. No one else in a five-county area -- including SeaWorld, Universal, etc -- can shoot fireworks except Disney, because they govern themselves. It would cause a great deal of ill will with local residents and government officials. Disney has always been a good community partner, so they gain nothing by capitalizing on the situation.

The interesting thing is that even when Disney announces that fireworks will be cancelled and that wildfire danger or dry weather conditions are the reason, they get all sorts of nasty complaints, people demanding money back, bloggers accusing them of using the wildfires to cut back shows, etc. I'm sure Disney gives away a lot of free room nights and park tickets whenever something like that happens.

 

[tinka-belle]

I have been at WDW twice (several years back, two different summer visits) when there were very dry conditions and some wildfires in Florida where you smell the smoke if the wind was right when you stepped out of your resort in the morning. Once was over the July 4th holiday that I distinctly remember.

Both times WDW fireworks were cancelled due to the fire threat and dry conditions.

So while they may not be subject to county laws, they do monitor conditions and cancel if there might be a problem.

 

[pilferk]

It's the other way around.

You're right...I flip flopped them mentally and I think I carried it through several posts.

I'll edit and fix.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

If the ban is due to drought, then I wouldn't think Disney would be excluded. If it's because they don't want people popping fireworks willy nilly, then it seems like Disney would not be included in the ban.

so i guess the drought doesnt affect disney meaning nothing can burn on disney property

 

[pilferk]

I have been at WDW twice (several years back, two different summer visits) when there were very dry conditions and some wildfires in Florida where you smell the smoke if the wind was right when you stepped out of your resort in the morning. Once was over the July 4th holiday that I distinctly remember.

Both times WDW fireworks were cancelled due to the fire threat and dry conditions.

So while they may not be subject to county laws, they do monitor conditions and cancel if there might be a problem.

Yup, I remember a few of those, too.

They're generally a pretty good corporate citizen when it comes to that type of stuff. I know they've done similar stuff with water use, too.

I doubt they'd want the bad PR associated with NOT adjusting their shows.

 

[chartle]

Really? I am new to NC but they sell fireworks at WalMart here in Cary.

Like PA, NC may have loosened the laws a bit to allow a category of fire works called safe and sane.

http://www.fireworksland.com/html/safeandsane.html

For years it was only sparklers, snakes, poppers and maybe smoke bombs.

Here you still can't buy or use firecrackers of any size, bottle rockets, mortar shells, etc. AKA "the good stuff"

I just bought a collection of FWs from Sams Club that fit that category.

One other thing about the law is that they can only sell them certain times of the year.

The "law" about banning firework "displays" is not really a law its a governing authority exercising its right to temporary ban these displays.

Its part of the permit that places like WDW and Kings Island and Pyrotechnica, the ones that do our local show, get. The permit would say you can do a show if meet these requirements and at any time we can suspend or revoke this permit.

 

[photo_chick]

I know Disney is in Orange Country but I was reading the news this morning and see there is a ban on fireworks in Osceola County (so far). If they extend the ban to Orange would that mean no fireworks at Disney. I mean a ban is a ban.

Where I'm at (hot, dry Texas) a ban on fireworks, which happens like every other year, normally does not include professional shows. Here the bans are more for the ground variety of roman candles and bottle rockets like we shoot off at home that fly into a neighboring pasture and start a fire. The professional fireworks usually burn out before they come down to the ground.

 

[dmccarty]

Correct, they don't give guns to rent-a-cops.

When I lived in FLA, security guards, could in fact, be issued revolvers. I would be surprised if the law has been changed to prevent this. I do not remember the specifics anymore but the guard had to have some classes, training and was limited to a .38 caliber revolver.

My guess has always been that CM's searching Guests entering the park have no legal standing per say. They are just CMs compared to an actual "Security Guard"(Whatever the legal term was/is). But that is just a guess.

The deputy in the green uniform is a different story.

Later,
Dan

 

[WDSearcher]

so i guess the drought doesnt affect disney meaning nothing can burn on disney property

I get that you're trying to be sarcastic and maybe say something negative about Disney and how they must feel they are better than everyone else, blah, blah, blah. So ... I'll post this bit again, since you seem to have either skipped reading it or you have not read it yet:

There have been several times over the past decade where fire conditions or drought conditions were such that fireworks bans have been instituted by the state or local counties. Each time a ban has been put in place, Disney has voluntarily adjusted its fireworks schedule to work within the ban, even though they are not required to, based on how the WDW area is governed and run.

Think about it from a PR standpoint. No one else in a five-county area -- including SeaWorld, Universal, etc -- can shoot fireworks except Disney, because they govern themselves. It would cause a great deal of ill will with local residents and government officials. Disney has always been a good community partner, so they gain nothing by capitalizing on the situation.

The interesting thing is that even when Disney announces that fireworks will be cancelled and that wildfire danger or dry weather conditions are the reason, they get all sorts of nasty complaints, people demanding money back, bloggers accusing them of using the wildfires to cut back shows, etc. I'm sure Disney gives away a lot of free room nights and park tickets whenever something like that happens.

So ... as you can see ... Disney does follow the posted bans for dry conditions, drought, fire danger, etc.

 

[chartle]

When I lived in FLA, security guards, could in fact, be issued revolvers. I would be surprised if the law has been changed to prevent this. I do not remember the specifics anymore but the guard had to have some classes, training and was limited to a .38 caliber revolver.

My guess has always been that CM's searching Guests entering the park have no legal standing per say. They are just CMs compared to an actual "Security Guard"(Whatever the legal term was/is). But that is just a guess.

The deputy in the green uniform is a different story.

Later,
Dan

I have read that at one time WDW had its own police force like some Universities or transit systems have there own Police Force with all the powers of a "regular" police force like arrests and carrying firearms.

I think something happened at a road stop and WDW decided to not have a police force and hire Orange County as there "police force".

ETA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Safety_and_Security#Walt_Disney_World_Resort

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The Epcot fireworks all go off over the Lagoon, so there is no chance of any fire there.

As far as MK is concerned, they have sprinklers that are permanently installed in the fireworks area, and they do actually run them before and during a show, unless there has been recent heavy rain and no need for them.

 

[chartle]

The Epcot fireworks all go off over the Lagoon, so there is no chance of any fire there.

As far as MK is concerned, they have sprinklers that are permanently installed in the fireworks area, and they do actually run them before and during a show, unless there has been recent heavy rain and no need for them.

What about the area between where they are shot off from, Floridian Way and the Castle.

There is a lot of woods between the two.

http://goo.gl/maps/4zMq

 

[Alesia]

A number of years ago we were staying at the Contemporary with a view of the Magic Kingdom. Since it was July 4th weekend we were very excited to be able to see the fireworks from our room, we thought. You guessed it. Because of the fire conditions, all fireworks were cancelled even the planned July 4th fireworks. So Disney is not above the law.

Was it in 1998? We were there on our honeymoon and there were no fireworks for the entire week we were there.