How bad is the smoking?

[Baklava]

I have respiratory issues and cigarette smoke causes severe and serious asthma attacks. How easy is it to avoid cigarette smoke at the parks and resorts?

 

[whitney250]

I never saw anyone smoking while I was there, so I would guess it's pretty easy to avoid. I have asthma, too, I feel your pain!

 

[ForeverAlice]

I have never noticed it as well but here is a link to the smoking locations in WDW so you know where they are. http://www.wdwinfo.com/tips_for_touring/smokingareas.htm

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Im in the same boat but have never had a problem. As long as people stick to the smoking areas they aren't hard to avoid because they're pretty isolated for the most part. The only real problem area we ran into was the path from Toontown to Tomorrowland so avoid that and you should be okay.

 

[North of Mouse]

I have respiratory issues and cigarette smoke causes severe and serious asthma attacks. How easy is it to avoid cigarette smoke at the parks and resorts?

Some areas are easier to avoid than others. Walking through the gateway entrance from Epcot to the hotels is horrible, impossible to get through there without breathing smoke - worse different times of the day. It's a beautiful, shaded area so lots of smokers congregate there.

Two other areas are (1) going into Adventureland near Aloha Isle (I think), also (2) the path by the Castle going from Sleepy Hollow CS. We are usually overwhelmed with smoke in those areas, and they usually catch us by surprise.

Some are more 'off the beaten path' a little better and not bothersome. Just try to be aware on each park's map where the 'designated smoking areas' are.

Not sure about each resort.

 

[minnie mum]

Smoking is only permitted in designated smoking areas, which are plainly marked on the parks and resort maps. I see very few instances of anyone smoking outside these areas. Use the maps and plan accordingly.

 

[gap2368]

I have respiratory issues and cigarette smoke causes severe and serious asthma attacks. How easy is it to avoid cigarette smoke at the parks and resorts?

I have asthma too along with other health problems and when I have problems with my asthma my other health problems go with it ( I can be sick for months on end) I go to disney about 1 time a month for at lest a few days at the resorts I have not had a problem with it ( I did come back lat about 12 and there were a few people smoking but there were in the smoking section so it is easy to walk around them)

at the MK there is a path behind the speed way that goes from FL to TL that is a smoking path do not go down it at all I would look at a map and were they have smoking areas so you know here to avoid ( or walk very fast while holding your breath) but for the most part you should be fine most people only smoke in designated places

 

[Tiffylv]

.

 

[awalker1015]

I found it worse at the resort than at the parks. We stayed at POFQ and a smoking area was right outside the food court thus we had to walk a big arc to avoid it. But I don't even remember noticing it at any of the parks except Epcot and that was the area from Canada leading back into Future World.

 

[stitchfan75]

A friend of mine went down for the Cheerleading Worlds and she is a smoker. She said the areas were pretty isolated and there was never an issue of a non-smoker wandering in or having to walk through.
She did say at WWS complex the areas were more out in the open so she could see how it would bother people.

 

[bookgirl]

There is a path that runs on the west (?) side of the castle to the hub that is a smoking area. That has been the only place that I have found to be smokey. It's not a very wide path so you are forced to walk through it.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I've had to ask people smoking in the wrong places to move. It hasn't happened as much lately.

 

[jmartinez1895]

the only area that we have had problems with is the one by Aloha isle in Adventureland. my son is sensitive to smoke and he had to wait somewhere else while we got his Dole Whip. it was very windy that day so that may have had something to do with it.

 

[ttintagel]

It's weird, but WDW seems to be one of the few places where I don't see a lot of people smoking outside of smoking areas. As others have noted, it tends to be better in the parks than at the resorts.

 

[Selket]

We stayed at CBR in April and people routinely sat outside the food court area and smoked. These were the outdoor tables for the food court and not the ones by the bar. I have no idea if that's a designated smoking area but smokers seemed to sit there with their breakfast and coffee and smoke.

I'm pointing it out because I too rarely notice smoking at WDW (I'm not allergic) but there I VERY much noticed it every day.

 

[bookgirl]

Disney does tend to put a smoking section somewhere in the outdoor seating areas near food courts/counter service locations at the resorts. Usually not the entire area but at least a chunk. At least from the resorts (all three levels) I've stayed in that seemed to be the case.

I'm a former smoker and I tend to notice the smoke but except for the DS areas I've never seen a lot of it, there is always that one person who is copping a smoke randomly out of an area but not excessively.

 

[philharmagic fan]

On a few occasions we were in a spot in a nonsmoking area where we didn't want to move (halfway through a meal at a QS outdoor seating area in a park, while waiting for a parade or Illuminations) and a smoker has lit up near us. We generally look for a cast member (managers are a good choice for this if you can find one nearby) and ask them to explain the rules to the offending guest. In our experience they've always been discreet and not identified us as the person who reported the rulebreaking.

 

[JennyDrake]

I go to WDW 3-4x/year and like OP, cigarette smoke is literally life threatening for me. I have found the resorts to be MUCH worse than the parks. Yes the areas ARE clearly designated, but they are along the walkways of main thoroughfares. However, you can give them a wide berth. As others have said, avoid the walkway from FLE to TL and you should be fine!

 

[Limes96]

We stayed at CBR in April and people routinely sat outside the food court area and smoked. These were the outdoor tables for the food court and not the ones by the bar. I have no idea if that's a designated smoking area but smokers seemed to sit there with their breakfast and coffee and smoke.

I'm pointing it out because I too rarely notice smoking at WDW (I'm not allergic) but there I VERY much noticed it every day.

We were at CBR Oct. 2014 and noticed smokers smoking outside the designated areas - at a quiet pool and at the bottom of the stairs we used in the Jamaica building.

 

[Baklava]

On a few occasions we were in a spot in a nonsmoking area where we didn't want to move (halfway through a meal at a QS outdoor seating area in a park, while waiting for a parade or Illuminations) and a smoker has lit up near us. We generally look for a cast member (managers are a good choice for this if you can find one nearby) and ask them to explain the rules to the offending guest. In our experience they've always been discreet and not identified us as the person who reported the rulebreaking.

Unfortunately, discreet is not an option for me. It is bad enough that if you light a cigarette next to me I have to either immediately jump up and flee as fast as possible or start gasping for air and turning odd colors. (Which aside from being unpleasant for me, I am told is terrifying for people around me, especially kids.) Socially awkward.