New Disney policy

[pjweaver]

Disney World has again removed smoking areas from the parks, this time at MK. There are now two, one at each end of the park. Full disclosure, I smoke, but I try to be the considerate one. By taking away secluded areas I feel there will be an increase in people breaking the rules and trying to hide it. The spot by Frontierland was poorly placed, but as they remove designated areas the parks will tempt people to light up any place they think is out of the way.

I would love to hear Pete's take on this.

 

[disneysteve]

I don't smoke and can't stand being around it. I understand them wanting to provide a place for smokers to smoke but I do wish they'd make them farther from public areas. I honestly don't know where the smoking sections are currently but I know at least at some point, they were way too close to common areas. I've often wondered if they couldn't create a space backstage, just behind a building or on the other side of a wall. It would be more convenient for the smokers and more removed from everyone else.

 

[Rhie]

Good. This is better for everyone. And as far as it causing illicit smoking in the park, the evidence suggests otherwise. People are strange creatures. You can make cigarettes more expensive than a college textbook, put pictures of diseased lungs everywhere, have public shaming campaigns and people don't care and will just continue to smoke. Make it inconvenient, though, and people quit the next day.

 

[Shanti]

Disney World has again removed smoking areas from the parks, this time at MK. There are now two, one at each end of the park.

Agree that this will be too restrictive. I don't smoke, but my elderly, mobility-challenged mother does, so I'd mapped out smoking areas for her on our trip this January. There were only a few & out of the way. That worked for us & others. No need to make it even more restrictive or punitive.

 

[Hunterr]

Its crazy how many smoking spots there used to be.
I quit 7 years ago, but i have a distinct memory of me being in an actual smoking area, and these people sat in the area by me and then looked at me in disgust when the smoke flew their way.

The me now would have been like "uh, its the damn smoking section. You see the ashtrays and sign here, right??"
Ugh. People, man.

But yes, i guess its better.

 

[disneysteve]

i have a distinct memory of me being in an actual smoking area, and these people sat in the area by me and then looked at me in disgust when the smoke flew their way.

The me now would have been like "uh, its the damn smoking section. You see the ashtrays and sign here, right??"

Not to start up the whole smoking/anti-smoking thing but this was exactly the problem all along. They (and I don't just mean Disney but all businesses, restaurants, etc.) would do nothing at all to separate the smoking and non-smoking sections. You could literally be sitting in the non-smoking section and have the person right next to you be in the smoking section. It was ludicrous.

Thankfully, for us non-smokers, as smoking has become less and less socially acceptable, they've done a better job isolating the rare smoking sections.

So pjweaver, where are the new MK smoking areas?

And Hunterr, congrats on quitting!

 

[SA mom]

I wonder if Disney sees fewer people using those areas or if Disney is just trying to free up more usable space.

 

[disneysteve]

I wonder if Disney sees fewer people using those areas or if Disney is just trying to free up more usable space.

Americans are certainly smoking less and less. However, Disney gets plenty of foreign guests and smoking in many other countries is still quite rampant.

I also see more people using e-cigs. What is Disney's policy on those? I know a lot of places around here ban them just the same as smoking. I don't recall noticing anyone using them last time we were there though I'm sure people must have been.

 

[Boski]

Americans are certainly smoking less and less. However, Disney gets plenty of foreign guests and smoking in many other countries is still quite rampant.

I also see more people using e-cigs. What is Disney's policy on those? I know a lot of places around here ban them just the same as smoking. I don't recall noticing anyone using them last time we were there though I'm sure people must have been.

I think Disney's policy is for e-cig users to utilize the smoking areas to vape. Someone should confirm that because I believe I read it on these boards so who knows if it is true or not.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Last year at DHS we were sitting outside on the chairs eating lunch from ABC commissary and people were smoking there in our face it was horrid. There was nowhere else to sit and I did not realise it was a smoking area. I think it should be further away from food areas.

 

[Hunterr]

People vape anywhere. They think its not annoying to non smokers, but it is. I don't want water vapor from your body in my face.
It looks cool as hell, though. Not gonna lie. If i was a still a smoker, I'd probably be all over it, haha.

But yes, At least back a few years, they didn't do the best with clearly making a smoking section as a smoking section.
Now, they kind of hide it behind an obscure area with lots of plants or stuff around.

One of my favorite smoking areas in epcot was in China. They little garden area outside the red building had a few benches for smoking and it was a nice scenery.
But in terms of other guests, they would just see a nice shaded bench and you'd feel guilty around them.

 

[GAN]

The spot by Frontierland was poorly placed, but as they remove designated areas the parks will tempt people to light up any place they think is out of the way.

Is that the area overlooking Tom Sawyer Island? I'm not a smoker -but if someone is smoking, I usually just move. The thing with the Frontierland area is that it is a secluded area ...so if you're not a smoker, it's(or was)one less area to get away and relax.

 

[OKW Lover]

I also see more people using e-cigs. What is Disney's policy on those?

Officially they are supposed to be in the DSA

 

[disneysteve]

Many workplaces, schools, hospitals, and other places have created smoke-free campuses meaning not only can't you smoke in the building but you can't smoke anywhere on property, not even in your own car. Do you think Disney is moving toward going totally smoke-free? I certainly hope so but I wonder how well it would work. At home, after work you go home where you can smoke. At Disney, if the entire property is smoke-free, there would be nowhere you could smoke unless you had a car to drive off property (which most guests don't).

 

[Pkltm]

Agree that this will be too restrictive. I don't smoke, but my elderly, mobility-challenged mother does, so I'd mapped out smoking areas for her on our trip this January. There were only a few & out of the way. That worked for us & others. No need to make it even more restrictive or punitive.

While I am sure that this will be more restrictive to some, it is to the benefit of many, I would expect to see them cut down in all the parks. I know that my family will appreciate clearer air, especially as DD is allergic.

 

[rteetz]

Many workplaces, schools, hospitals, and other places have created smoke-free campuses meaning not only can't you smoke in the building but you can't smoke anywhere on property, not even in your own car. Do you think Disney is moving toward going totally smoke-free? I certainly hope so but I wonder how well it would work. At home, after work you go home where you can smoke. At Disney, if the entire property is smoke-free, there would be nowhere you could smoke unless you had a car to drive off property (which most guests don't).

I don't think they can with the amount of foreign visitors they get.

 

[pjweaver]

Currently MK has one between splash mountain and Tom Sawyer and one on the back path between space mountain and fantasyland. Both are out of the way and you would really be hard pressed to pass through them by accident.

I will agree with removing the ones behind the castle or off the hub at adventureland, they were too close to the main stream of travel. I remember Pete talking about his stay at the Contemporary and smoking on the balcony. That isn't something I would do, yet I've sen people do it. If WDW provides out of the way areas to smoke or vape in a higher there wouldn't be these masses of people at one spot and non smokers wouldn't notice. For fun throw in a few fans to direct the smoke over to the outside of the park.

 

[Lisann]

I don't smoke and detest it, but I have no problem with smoking areas, as long as they are as out of the main flow areas as possible.

 

[lubob]

The area by the bridge going over to adventure land was gross . The smoke smell was all across the bridge. The smoking area should be away from the public some were. Glad disney did this. !

 

[*NikkiBell*]

The smoking area by the entrance to Adventureland was an absolute pet peeve of mind. When they first moved it there, I was livid. Who wanted to be welcome to the land by a cloud of smoke! It was horrible. I'm so glad it is now gone.