I still have my fastpass from 9/11/01!! Just sharing

[Disneyfun1]

Since today is the anniversary of 9/11, just wanted to share that up on my wall, i still have my fast pass from test track from 9/11/01. it is from 8:44 am, and from what i remember, that was 2 mins before the wtc was first hit.

it is strange to have it.

I remember we went on universerse of energy after getting it, and hearing an elderly couple behind us say something about a plane hitting a building. we didnt think anything of it. they didnt say wtc or anything more. Later, about 1045, we wanted to go to world showcase. it was still roped off. even after 11, it was stil closed and no one knew why. then my cell phone started ringing like crazy since everyone i know was on the west coast and it was only 8 am there. they started telling us the stories and then the word spread.

shortly afterwards, we were told ws would not open and we had to evacuate the park. we went back to the grand floridian and watched in amazement the events of the day.

i remember the next day being really strange to be in wdw, the mood, etc.

ill never forget where i was on 9/11.

 

[isyt]

I was in MGM that day and hubby worked at 7 World Trade so it good we weren't there but bad not to be at home because we felt so far away.

 

[Dan Murphy]

 

[Blueberry]

I have my parking pass that says 9/11/01 in a frame on the wall here over my computer, along with the daily schedule for that week from MK, and a photo we bought on Splash that says 9:10am (when we had no idea what was going on)...Memories that will always be with us and kept forever in tribute.

 

[mla2177]

It's amazing how vivid the memory of that day was! I wasn't in WDW, but I was at work and saw the second plane hit on live TV. I will never forget the look on everyone's faces!!!!!!I can't imagine how the people felt that were right there watching!!!

 

[Vivianne]

We were at a hotel in Kissimee on our vacation. We had the tv on getting ready for the day. I lived and worked for many years in New York and know the area well. My impression initially was that it was an accident because I remember an incident in the mid 80's where an Argentinian plane almost hit one of the WTC towers due to the pilot not understanding English clearly when communicating with the air-traffic controller. Fortunately, he got the message and recovered in time.

When I saw the second plane hit the second tower I knew it was not an accident. It was a somber time wherever we went during that day. The following Saturday, I remember some people were scared to fly and some chose to drive back home.

 

[blondeheroine]

I can't imagine what it must have been like being at WDW that day. That is one day that even the magic of Disney couldn't keep out the harsh realities of the world outside.

I was at home, recovering from surgery. I had slept in the recliner in the living room and my mom had went for a routine visit across the street to see our neighbor (best friends and all that). I had worked in NYC and it's a very special city to me. So when my Mom came running back in the house and flipped on the television, I had no idea what was going on. Until I saw the first tower had been hit.

And I didn't stop crying off and on for a month or more after. I'll never forget the pain of that day.

 

[seashoreCM]

Nice souvenirs to put in your Disney scrapbook. Yes I say that fast passes may be sold as souvenirs despite the words "not for sale" on them.

I was thinking that Disney should not have closed down, until I realized that Disney was a more than possible target for an(other) attack.

(Back on 9/11/01) I was attending a seminar when, during a break, someone mentioned,

(1) A little plane hit the World Trade Center
(2) Correction it was a big plane
(3) A plane hit the other World Trade Center tower

I asked the seminar leader to turn off the TV and go on with the seminar, which he did. We turned on the TV during the lunch break but turned it off again to finish the seminar in the afternoon. Only when going home and finding the toll booths closed (just drive on through) did I realize the seriousness of the situation. The next day I left the TV on while doing other things (such as read and post messages on these boards) and they were playing the same video clips over and over.

 

[qtwns]

My husband was at a conference at the "Swolphin." I had been so jealous that he was going to WDW and I wasn't. However, it took him and a bunch if other men a while to find a rental car to drive home (they had all flown down and of course couldn't fly back) -- just and 8 hour drive, but it was not a great road trip.

 

[despina]

Wasnt at WDW, I was home, the kids just got off to school. I worked for AA for 12 years. My friend from AA called right after it happened, the whole reservation office she was in stopped working, sobbing and yelling in the back ground. I cried.

 

[sbpuckett]

I was not at disney either, but it's definitely one of the few days that I remember specifically where I was and what I was doing. I was teaching HS English in VA (in the middle of all the military bases) and was on my planning period. I had walked into the office to check my mailbox and looked up at the TV to see what everyone was staring at. I saw a plane drive through the tower and honestly didn't think much of it at first. I assumed it was an accident and (hate to admit this) didn't realize that those buildings were office buildings and there were actually people in there. Not until I got back into my office area and saw the second plane hit the second tower did it occur to me that it was something major. I remember my principal wouldn't let us tell the kids what had happened (many of them had military parents) or even have the TV's on. When school was finally out I drove to the babysitters and picked up my DS (1) and got him home and sat stunned in front of the TV for the majority of the evening. The feelings that went along with those days are something I hope my children will never have to experience first hand.

 

[mandy200587]

I wasn't at disney but mine is a very vivid memory. It was our county's first full day of classes because of budget problems. I was in drama class and he just had turned the tv on it just was weird the first day of school. It's a day that never will be forgotten.

 

[Kycha]

I was at work when I heard about the first plane hitting the WTC. I assumed it was probably a small plane with mechanical problems. Then I heard about the second plane. This time I thought they must be having some thick fog up there. I don't know where my head was. We are only a couple hundred miles south of New York and our weather was picture perfect. I guess my mind couldn't accept the fact that this might be deliberate. I soon realized it was. I had already told my boss that I would be leaving early, I wasn't feeling well.

By the time I left work(around 10am) for the hour long commute on the PA turnpike, both towers had fallen and the pentagon had been hit. The news reports were talking about 8 missing, presumed hijacked planes, 3 of them in the vicinity I would be driving. The turnpike was almost deserted, except occasionally I would see a police cruiser go flying by with lights and sirens. I just kept imagining planes were dropping out of the sky. It was the most surreal experience I have ever had. By the time I made it home, they confirmed that a fourth plane had gone down in a field in western PA.

I most certainly will NEVER FORGET!!

 

[Ashes711]

It's one of those events in history that you will always remember where you were when it happened. My grandma remembers where she was when she heard the world war was starting, my mom remembers where she was when JFK was shot, I remember sitting in Journalism, watching the news when the WTC was hit.

 

[Scraper]

I love the DIS the people here are patriotic and realy seem to care.
I was home and when I thenk about that day I can remember and feel the way I felt.

 

[mom2boystx]

...sitting with 2 yr old letting him watch his morning shows on PBS and then saying 'mommy wants to see what is happening on the today show'. Flipped it over and saw the first tower burning. Then live saw the 2nd one hit...took every breath I had out of me. Then, I felt the kick......I was 8 months pregnant and the little one inside me brought me right back to reality. I started crying and just held my little man so tight...of course he had no idea...one of God's blessings there.

I remember thinking after seeing the day unfold of the world my new baby would come into was totally different as of that day.

I have watched all of the tributes today and cried again with so many, esp those little ones that came along about the same time as my new little guy and they never met their daddy or grandad or grandma, etc.

My prayers are with them all everyday!

 

[goofie4goofy]

I was at work about 5 miles away from the WTC (as the crow flies). I started work at 7:30 and I remember as I was driving to work what a big beautiful day. My Dad was still alive at the time and he and my Mom were going to the city for my Dad's chemo treatment and to get an ok from the Dr. to go to WDW in a week. My parents went to the Dr's office downtown taking public transportation. I was in the office getting coffee when it came on TV and I called my Dh and told him on his way to work. I knew it was not an accident. I could not get a hold of my parents, I thought they were dead. I could not get home because the traffic was horrendus as there was mass exedous from NYC. I knew my parents did not take a car in and I knew they were stranded. All the time I was watching the horror on TV and seeing the huge plumes of smoke outside. My father was very ill and I was helpless.

It turns out that my parents walked from downtown to Penn Station. It took them 6 hours to walk it and then wait for the few trains that were running that day. At the time of the first plane my mother went outside to have a smoke and saw the first plane flying low and hit the building.

Just thinking about the day makes me ill, not because of my parents, from the day itself, the little things I remember. The silence in the skies as there was no commercial planes and then the stark contrast to the boom of F16's. The lonely cars in the train's parking lot waiting for their owners to start them up and drive them home, but they never came home. The horrible stench that hung in the air in the city. The plume of smoke that lasted months drifting past the Statue of Liberty, the highway lanes closed off to all traffic except emergency personnel so they can tow out tons of twisted wreckage. The sadness and the silence. I cried for days.... no weeks, we all did. I still cannot visit the site. Labor Day weekend 2001 my DH and I drove my Dad to Sloane Kettering. We had a few hours to kill so we decided to go to the WTC like a "tourist" after being there so often. We had drinks in Windows, bought clothes and like always amazed at the beautiful simplicity.


My father was allowed to go to WDW. We all went together and WDW was deserted. My father was too sick to really enjoy it but wanted to go to WDW with his grandchildren. It was bittersweet....it was his last trip. He passed away a few months later.

 

[AKLRULZ]

Wow, that is a keepsake for a lifetime. Amazing how in many respects, such as that Fastpass, time stands still.

 

[Lorelai]

...sitting with 2 yr old letting him watch his morning shows on PBS and then saying 'mommy wants to see what is happening on the today show'. Flipped it over and saw the first tower burning. Then live saw the 2nd one hit...took every breath I had out of me. Then, I felt the kick......I was 8 months pregnant and the little one inside me brought me right back to reality. I started crying and just held my little man so tight...of course he had no idea...one of God's blessings there.

I remember thinking after seeing the day unfold of the world my new baby would come into was totally different as of that day.

I have watched all of the tributes today and cried again with so many, esp those little ones that came along about the same time as my new little guy and they never met their daddy or grandad or grandma, etc.

My prayers are with them all everyday!

I too was with my little one. We had just stopped by a little market after putting his big brother on the bus, when the cashier told us that someone just said a small commuter plane hit the WTC. We came home quickly, and I put Nickelodeon on the big tv for him, while I huddled in a different room in front of a tiny tv to see what had happened. I had just found out that I was expecting a few days earlier, so I had similar thoughts to the above poster. My heart was breaking for all those whose husbands/wives/children/parents were in those airplanes, towers or rushing to the towers to help. I just wanted to hold my 2 yr. old. And not let go.

Living in central New Jersey there were many from our area, Morris County, who lost their lives and loved ones. There were members of our school district assigned to follow each bus home that day, so that they could identify students whose parents did not make it home in time for them. They had to locate family or neighbors to wait with the children whose parents couldn't make it out of the city.

A few minutes from our house, there is a high point where you can see the skyline of only the tallest buildings in Manhattan. That day, my husband looked back as he drove home and said that there was just a thick blanket of heavy gray smoke. Our county erected a memorail in that very spot, with wreckage from the towers. It is surrounded by a lovely memorial where loved ones can come and reflect while overlooking the skyline.

 

[momofprincess]

I think that TV has so desensitized us to human suffering...that actually seeing the plane hit the WTC and then watching both towers collapse..it didn't really sink into my brain what had really happened. What upsets me most now about 9/11 is knowing at that moment on TV we saw thousands of people die and we just sort of stared at it like, "huh?"