No more smoking or vaping in the parks

[MLA95]

I would not say boycott. What you can do it send an Email with valid solutions to make everyone happy.

What I would like is for Disney to implement the ban beginning 6 months from the notice. This way smokers are not 100% tied into their reservation and most likely would not have their airfare booked. They can then chose if a Disney vacation is right for them or choose to go elsewhere.

My vacation is not until August, but my ADRs are done, airfare purchased and tix to H2O Glow and MNSSHP. If I were a smoker, Im pretty much stuck going to Disney whether I liked it or not. I got a package so the rest could be refunded, but I would still be at a $1500+ dollar loss. Thats a lot less than people who may have purchased their park tickets separately.

I also saw someone mention they did it in anticipation of the Star Wars crowd. My response to that is then Disney should have announced the ban, effective 05/01, last November.

My point exactly! Unfair to spring this on people with a 1 month notice!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I also saw someone mention they did it in anticipation of the Star Wars crowd. My response to that is then Disney should have announced the ban, effective 05/01, last November.

But how would they have known when Star Wars was opening up back in May 2018 just so they could give 1 year's notice?

Disney doesn't often give ample notices anyways to basically all of their changes. Sometimes you get more than others. I've never been a huge fan of that myself but I do know it is what it is.

I will also say 1 thing that can actually be negative with announcing these types of changes way way too early is that people forget about it. You can easily remind people a ton that Toy Story Land is coming, or that Star Wars is coming because those are anticipated things. Parking fees at their resort, dogs being allowed at resorts (though for some that was a welcome addition but still enough negative press to not want to constantly remind people), these smoking/stroller and ice adjustments, etc.

Wouldn't it still annoy you if you found out about it, forgot about it, then went about planning a trip only to be like "say what!?" where was that mentioned, it waas that long ago!? Well how come I haven't heard about it!? well you get the picture lol.

 

[Sandeep1]

That is rude. To you it’s disgusting, your opinion!

Yes it is my opinion and I'm giving it.

 

[Sandeep1]

I would not say boycott. What you can do it send an Email with valid solutions to make everyone happy.

What I would like is for Disney to implement the ban beginning 6 months from the notice. This way smokers are not 100% tied into their reservation and most likely would not have their airfare booked. They can then chose if a Disney vacation is right for them or choose to go elsewhere.

My vacation is not until August, but my ADRs are done, airfare purchased and tix to H2O Glow and MNSSHP. If I were a smoker, Im pretty much stuck going to Disney whether I liked it or not. I got a package so the rest could be refunded, but I would still be at a $1500+ dollar loss. Thats a lot less than people who may have purchased their park tickets separately.

I also saw someone mention they did it in anticipation of the Star Wars crowd. My response to that is then Disney should have announced the ban, effective 05/01, last November.

Unless Disney doesn't care. I mean, if they're going to lose smokers anyway in the long-term, why would they want to give smokers a way out in the short-term?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Exactly. And even then, I think it took time for the message to spread, with places with a high percentage of smokers resisting the change. My husband started smoking in the mid-80s, and at that point, his high school still had a courtyard where students could step out to smoke at lunch. Teachers could also smoke in the teachers' lounge. Things like that send a lot clearer message to kids about what is and isn't acceptable behaviour than a surgeon general's statement. Was he told, as a child/teen, that smoking was bad for his health? Yeah. Health class with the chain-smoking gym teacher is something he and his friends have told jokes about even all these years later. And his (smoker) father and (smoker) grandmother both discouraged him from taking up the habit because of the price (and also let him bum cigarettes when he was out). The message may have been out there, but it certainly wasn't the clear and consistent message kids get today.

Yeah it was out there but with the Tobacco Industry also out in full force and holding a lot of power..well it was like coming up against a wall that couldn't come crumbling down for a long time. When notices became very prevelant and anti-smoking advertising as well as hard hits against target advertising to youths it was because the Tobacco Industry's power was waning and people were able to see so much more of the health consequences and risks involved.

TBH knowing my family members they would have smoked and drank anyways lol. But for many others they may not have. Even as gross as they can be I actually appreciate how candid the TRUTH anti-smoking ads were/have been. Unfortunately the campaign of "be the last generation to smoke" may not actually happen with vaping around.

 

[luvsJack]

It was in the 1960s that warnings were put on labels in the U.S. for cigarettes and health consequences. In 1966 the label read: "Caution: cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health" in the U.S. The health risk were known in the 1950s but lobbying in the U.S. prevented much stronger action especially with respects to the labels even though some states tried and failed to make the labels stronger.

In 1964 the U.S. Surgeon General had this statement:

• A cause of lung cancer and laryngeal cancer in men
• A probable cause of lung cancer in women
• The most important cause of chronic bronchitis

The Tobacco Industry held immense clout for a very long time. The health risks were known though and the packages were labeled though less labeling in the U.S. compared to other countries but of course if you have a label saying one thing and the Tobacco Industry saying another thing and you're bombarded with the image of smoking you may be less inclined to think it really is adverse to your health. Now in terms of addictiveness I haven't looked into that if that was very well presented in the past.

Now other countries did have stronger more specific labels while the U.S. continued to have the original one vastly due to the Tobacco Industry's stronghold.

But to your point I don't think the general public paid much attention to it until the mid-to-late '80s with it ramping up more and more over time especially as the Tobacco Industry began losing power. The warning labels have become more specific overtime as well.

All that being said I don't know the history in Canada.

The addiction wasn’t talked about. Even those from organizations teaching kids not to smoke didn’t talk about the addiction.

But even with the health risks that we knew about, schools had smoking areas in the 70’s and early 80’s. Dh’s jr high had a “tobacco area”. My high school had the “smoking tree” that is infamous in school history. Kids didn’t see the threats of health risks as real when the school was allowing us to do it. I remember going on school trips in high school. Cigarette machines were everywhere. We could just walk up and buy them. I don’t even know if there was a minimum age back then.

Yes we were told the health risks but most of us figured we would just stop when we got tired of it or before it made us sick. And then we found out it wasn’t that easy.

We had many many mixed messages about smoking back then.

 

[Colleen27]

. Unfortunately the campaign of "be the last generation to smoke" may not actually happen with vaping around.

That puzzles me so totally. I mean, I sort of get the appeal of vaping. I smoked cloves sometimes when I was younger because I liked the taste, and some of the vape liquids I've smelled from my kids' friends make me think they're similar. But with a million nicotine-free choices, what inspires teens to seek out the addictive varieties? (That's a mostly rhetorical question. My kids have explained that the nic-hit is a sort of buzz of its own, but still... knowing how addictive it is and how hard a habit it is to break, I can't imagine why they'd choose that particular buzz.).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The addiction wasn’t talked about. Even those from organizations teaching kids not to smoke didn’t talk about the addiction.

But even with the health risks that we knew about, schools had smoking areas in the 70’s and early 80’s. Dh’s jr high had a “tobacco area”. My high school had the “smoking tree” that is infamous in school history. Kids didn’t see the threats of health risks as real when the school was allowing us to do it. I remember going on school trips in high school. Cigarette machines were everywhere. We could just walk up and buy them. I don’t even know if there was a minimum age back then.

Yes we were told the health risks but most of us figured we would just stop when we got tired of it or before it made us sick. And then we found out it wasn’t that easy.

We had many many mixed messages about smoking back then.

Yeah addictive properties of it is a big component IMO.

Even when my best friend started smoking around 16/17 she would tell me "oh I can quit anytime I want"...yeah ok..it's been nearly 15 years. And she was well aware of the addictive properties when she started so I would imagine it would be a lot harder to even fathom it way back when if it wasn't really discussed.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That puzzles me so totally. I mean, I sort of get the appeal of vaping. I smoked cloves sometimes when I was younger because I liked the taste, and some of the vape liquids I've smelled from my kids' friends make me think they're similar. But with a million nicotine-free choices, what inspires teens to seek out the addictive varieties? (That's a mostly rhetorical question. My kids have explained that the nic-hit is a sort of buzz of its own, but still... knowing how addictive it is and how hard a habit it is to break, I can't imagine why they'd choose that particular buzz.).

Hookah used to be popular, like a fad really because it didn't seem to last too long, then it switched to vaping.

I get it sorta when people use it as a way to help cessation but I honestly haven't met anyone who has successfully stopped cigarette smoking AND the stopped vaping. I'm sure there are people out there though.

I even know a few people who never smoked a day in their life who picked up vaping and now do that. My husband's coworker is one of those though to be honest I don't know that he uses nicotine versions.

In my mind though vaping is basically the new way to look cool just like for other people smoking cigarettes was the way to look cool, or it's used to increase social appearance just like cigarettes were used.

Coincidence for sure but I just saw a commercial for vaping. While they had a warning about containing nicotine and its addictive properties in the beginning of the commercial it was all cool, smooth, commercial and ended with "the perfect puff is here"

 

[DISNEY1975]

But how would they have known when Star Wars was opening up back in May 2018 just so they could give 1 year's notice?

Disney doesn't often give ample notices anyways to basically all of their changes. Sometimes you get more than others. I've never been a huge fan of that myself but I do know it is what it is.

I will also say 1 thing that can actually be negative with announcing these types of changes way way too early is that people forget about it. You can easily remind people a ton that Toy Story Land is coming, or that Star Wars is coming because those are anticipated things. Parking fees at their resort, dogs being allowed at resorts (though for some that was a welcome addition but still enough negative press to not want to constantly remind people), these smoking/stroller and ice adjustments, etc.

Wouldn't it still annoy you if you found out about it, forgot about it, then went about planning a trip only to be like "say what!?" where was that mentioned, it waas that long ago!? Well how come I haven't heard about it!? well you get the picture lol.

I didnt say a year. I just think it should have been before someone 180 when plans really get into motion. Even if they didnt have an EXACT date, they knew it was going to open in 2019. In that case they could have said last June effective 01/01/19 no more smoking areas in the parks.

Unless Disney doesn't care. I mean, if they're going to lose smokers anyway in the long-term, why would they want to give smokers a way out in the short-term?

If they knew they wanted to do this effective 05/01, they should have announced it earlier. All Im saying it its a bit unfair to posket someones hard earned money and change an experience they thought they purchased. Although this is a smoking thread, same goes for the strollers. Im sure some purchased the wagons or larger strollers for their trip next month..two months from now and now they cant use them. Those things are expensive. Now it will mean they either have to push 2 strollers or pay extra to rent etc..

As for the resort parking, they stated anyone who BOOKS a reservation after 03/21/2018 will be charged the fee. People who already booked were not charged. People who did not want to pay had the choice to not book. Nobody who had their vacation planned arrived a month later to a big bill at checkout. I jumped on it and booked a room only on 03/20/18, then modified to a package in June for 08 2019.....no parking charge for me Why? Because I knew beforehand!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I didnt say a year. I just think it should have been before someone 180 when plans really get into motion. Even if they didnt have an EXACT date, they knew it was going to open in 2019. In that case they could have said last June effective 01/01/19 no more smoking areas in the parks.

You're right I read your comment wrong my apologies.

Honestly though I don't think it's reasonable to expect Disney to annouce this well in advance for the reasons I mentioned and for Star Wars. You still wouldn't help the person who booked their onsite stay even if you give 6 months notice. 6 months is just when you can book ADRs and the Boards is the only place I've even seen people mention ADRs. You can book an onsite stay 499 days in advance over the phone.

DLR SWGE was rumored to be sometime in June...but no one knew it would only be 1 ride with the other ride being delayed so Disney can be sure they get it right (paraphrasing their press release on why the second ride isn't opening when the land is opening) but really that normally means issues with the ride/wanting to get it perfect so it doesn't have too many issues when it opens. For WDW I heard anywhere between very late October to December to even next year 2020 though I believe most thought November or December.

I think they waited til they had firmed up information and could wait til the furor of their announcement for the opening date died down a bit. But FWIW I do completely understand wishing they would announce things in general longer in advance.

 

[mummabear]

You don’t have to mean about it. You don’t know
me, so don’t judge.

Dont need to know you to judge your choice to smoke.

Not everyone is told, younger people yes but 30-40 years ago you were not told that.

D.A.R.E started in 1983 so yeah 30 years ago people were being actively told.

Well, I don’t reserve my compassion for those I deem worthy of the almighty dollar. But that’s just me.

I would hope that as many dollars as can be would go to children with leukemia but as for the rest, well until I walk a mile in their shoes, I choose not to judge. I don’t know what got the mom of two young children hooked on heroin but I do know she needs help. Because, ohI don’t know, just seems like the human thing to do.

I am happy to help them quit, but not happy to help keep them going.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I don't think the frequency is the problem. The time/distance is. Between exiting the park, finding the smoking area (which, from the one we've heard about so far, isn't going to be anywhere near the gates)

I don't think we can make any assumptions about the WDW locations based on the DL information. The footprints are so different.

waiting in the bag check/security and turnstile lines again, and catching up with the rest of the party,

I don't see the sense of brining any bags out of there are members of your party staying in the park.

May have, but you know relatively few actually do, right? So heroine addicts are definitely OK, but what about skanky meth heads and mean drunks? Do they deserve health care?

and
You forgot crack addicts.

 

[kaytieeldr]

D.A.R.E started in 1983 so yeah 30 years ago people were being actively told.

"Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is an education program that seeks to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior."

While the program now also includes alcohol, it did not originally.

 

[mummabear]

"Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is an education program that seeks to prevent use of controlled drugs, membership in gangs, and violent behavior."

While the program now also includes alcohol, it did not originally.

It has included smoking since the 80s when I did it

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I know... us low life deplorable people aren’t welcome... where is the compassion or consideration? There is none...we get it trust me...

Here I am encouraging people to exercise their freedom to protest and for that I'm called inconsiderate and accused of lacking compassion. Sheesh. That's the thanks I get.

 

[DISNEY1975]

You're right I read your comment wrong my apologies.

Honestly though I don't think it's reasonable to expect Disney to annouce this well in advance for the reasons I mentioned and for Star Wars. You still wouldn't help the person who booked their onsite stay even if you give 6 months notice. 6 months is just when you can book ADRs and the Boards is the only place I've even seen people mention ADRs. You can book an onsite stay 499 days in advance over the phone.

All rooms and packages are refundable within 30 days of someones trip. If someone booked a year ago, they can get their money back. So yes, technically with the slightly over 1 month notice, someone can cancel their trip, but by now, they would (or should!) have already purchased their flights, made their ADRs, FPs, special event tickets etc... not to mention tell their kids. I just think it would have affected a lot less people if they gave a 6 month notice. Then those probably not eyeball deep into the planning could have cancelled without too much financial loss.

 

[quandrea]

I’m all for this ban. Bottom line is the only thing that belongs in one’s lungs is oxygen. Vaping, smoking...both incredibly stupid. Get it out of the parks and away from me, families and children.

 

[morgan98]

I am 49 (well in less than three weeks) and never in my lifetime, and I have an excellent memory, was smoking every considered to not be harmful.

We had posters up about the dangers of smoking when I was in second grade in 1977.

My grandfather was a smoker, and smoked from the age of 11. He knew is was bad for you but couldn't stop.

My other grandfather smoked and quit cold turkey in 1978, right after my brother was born.

 

[daisy2013]

So you think we should allow heroin addicts to shoot up? I mean have some compassion and consideration for them, they cant help their addiction after all.

I think all drugs should be legal. There are excellent programs in Portugal and Switzerland where they have legalized all drugs and took the money they used to use to prosecute and jail drug addicts and put it into treatment and prevention programs. In Switzerland you can get medical methadone and herion at any amt up to a lethal dose every morning from a clinic and then go to your job. Crime has decreased enormously, parks and other public spaces are cleaner and safer and it costs less than they were spending before. Also the rate of drug addiction has decreased because when people decide they had enough they offer them treatment. Dax Shepard has a great experts on experts podcast about this. I highly recommend it.
But back to the topic at hand, I am glad they banned smoking in the parks. As a child of smokers I hate the smell and as a mother of a child with lung problems and a wife of a husband with asthma it makes it so much nicer for us. Like it or not smoke moves and when your a smoker you likely don’t notice it as much, but others do.