Smoking in the parks

[jerseygirl17]

I just need to share something with everyone that really bothered me on our trip . I was with my DH and DD (who is 5) and we were waiting in line to go on Snow White's Scary Adventure and this guy behind us was smoking. I explained (in a nice tone) that there were designated areas to smoke and he said "why, I need a cigarette now and I'm not going to walk around and find a place to smoke, blah, blah, blah"

Well, what really bothers me is that I am a smoker and I took the time to look on the map to find these areas along with many other smokers and this idiot continued to smoke in line with little kids around and he probably just threw his cigarette on the ground with no guilty conscience. I hope that if other people see smokers not in the designated areas that they speak up and say something. Disney is too beautiful to have butts laying all over the ground and also to have the common courtesy for children and non-smokers. Thanx for reading, I just had to vent.

 

[moinab]

When we were waiting for the opening show in front of MK last Saturday, a guy lit up a cigarette with dozens of small children (including my 2) close by. DH said something to him, but the guy gave him attitude. DH really wanted to handle the situation himself, but thought better of making a scene and went to fetch a CM, who handled it very professionally. The worst part was, the guys daughter was begging him to stop because she knew he wasn't supposed to be smoking there. I was so angry because this was the first time in 4 tries that we were able to catch the opening show, and this totally sucked the magic out of it.

Earlier this year, I spoke up to a woman who was smoking while walking in AK, headed into Dinoland. The path was very crowded, and we were stuck behind her. She was holding her cigarette down low, right in my DS's face.

ITA about the disgusting butts lying around all over the ground. I'm forever trying to prevent my 13 month old DD from picking them up.

 

[momof2inPA]

I have told smokers, politely, about the designated smoking areas. What bothers me is I have never seen a CM tell a smoker to move to a smoking area unless a patron has specifically asked a CM to do so. Many times, I have seen CM's walk right by smokers in the wrong areas and say nothing.

 

[itsmetigress]

whats worse is when you tell a cm and they do NOTHING...i was walking out of <im drawing a blank> the resturant near star tours and the guy was right outside the door where everyone had to walk through his smoke...i told a cm standing by star tours that the guy over there just lit up a ciggaret and he just gave me this blank look like what am i suposed to do about it?..i was like are you going to say something to him and ask him to go to the smoking area???? he just stood there!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

That is so obnoxious.

I mean, really. My boyfriend smokes, and on our last trip, last month, he actually moved away from a small child who entered a smoking area because the boy wanted to look at something that was there, and he didn't want to blow smoke on him. The boy's mother seemed *shocked* that any smoker could be kind enough to not blow smoke at her small child.

It's pretty sad that there are people out there so oblivious to other people, esp. children that they would think it is okay to light up in a line for a ride at DisneyWorld. The smoking areas are not that hard to find if you look for them, and my boyfriend didn't have any problem with them. Some of them are harder to find than others, most of them are pretty spots you otherwise wouldn't notice.

If the guy needed to smoke that badly , he should have left the line.

If I were a CM , I would have tossed him out of the park if he refused to comply with the rules.

 

[TLinden16]

I went to Disney with a smoker once, and by the end of the week, she started just lighting up whenever she felt like it. I kept on telling her that she was being really rude, and she just didn't care. She was going on and on about how she paid good money for the vacation, and she was going to do what she wants when she wants.

She has been bugging me to go to Disney with her again, and I keep on making excuses not to go because I don't want to deal with her inconsiderate smoking again (not to mention the twice hourly stops for butt breaks--as a non-smoker, that's valuable park time for me a park commando like me

Please don't take this as a bash on smokers. I have nothing against smokers as long as they are considerate of others. There are lots of folks out there with allergies, asthma, and other health problems that can be set off by cigerette smoke.

Karen

 

[eeyore0062]

Karen,
Maybe you should tell her the truth as to why you don't want to visit WDW with her... that may open her eyes to the fact that what she was doing was rude and inconsiderate.

Yes, there are designated smoking areas for a reason. Not everyone enjoys being subjected to 2nd hand smoke, I know that I don't, and I have no trouble whatsoever it letting someone know it (politely, of course) and if that does no good, I let a CM know, and stick with that CM until he/she does something about it. I just wish they would designate smoking areas in DTD. I love that place, but hate to visit, because it seems it is a smoker's paradise. Almost everyone there is smoking, and holding it at a child's face level.

Oh well, end of rant!

 

[BonnieA]

I have seen a few CM's confront smoking patrons. They have always been polite to them. One of the smokers just listened, nodded, looked in the direction of the smoking area and when the CM left, continued smoking where they were. The other confrontation was on a bench outside the safari ride, the CM went up to they guy who after being told of his error, stopped smoking immediately. All of us in the surrounding benches were pleased.
I also saw a group being led by a CM to a special illuminations viewing area. They were all dressed up, many of them smoking as they walked. Do special guests have special privileges? That doesn't seem fair. At least they should have waited until they got to their reserved area and puffed among themselves.

 

[eeyore0062]

No, special guests don't have special priveledges. They likely were told, but chose to ignore.

 

[DizBelle]

For a lot of people, it's all about THEM. THEY do what THEY want without consideration for how it affects others.

YOU paid a lot of money for your vacation so YOU can do whatever YOU want including smoking in other people's faces. What about all the money I paid for MY vacation that you are ruining by forcing me to breath YOUR foul air??? Further, you are forcing me to deal with your rule-breaking behavior by making me go through the unpleasant experience of having to inform you of the rules and deal with your nasty responses. Or I have to take time out of my precious vacation to fetch a CM to deal with you. Yeah, real nice.

On a positive note - on our trip last month, I don't recall seeing anyone break the smoking rules (YAY!). But it really irks me when I hear about someone who did.

It's not about rules. It's about courtesy. How come some people just don't get it?

 

[SpecialK]

Re: How come some people just don't get it?

How many times have you seen families in the smoking section of a restaurant? If some people won't consider the effects of second-hand smoke on their own children, they're certainly not going to give a thought to other people's children.

I'm a smoker. But I don't smoke in my house (or anyone else's house) or around my kids. That's my choice. Does it mean I sometimes can't smoke when I would like to? Yes- again my choice. Some people aren't willing to deny themselves regardless of the effect their action may have on another.

 

[pnelson]

I agree that smoking in open areas is rude if it's against the rules. However, I would never tell another adult the rules. Why? Because 99% of the time it's going to get their back up and their going to give attitude. Also, it's not my place to go around reminding people (especially adults) of the rules. If it really bothered me, I would either move or tell a CM about it. I have a friend who is always getting in to the face of other adults, strangers, and correcting them when she sees an "injustice". It's just not something I would do.

 

[mikifan]

Sneeking in under DH's acct..shhh, don't tell him!

I am a smoker, DH isn't. What impresses me is I never have to look far for a smoking area at WDW, I usually go while they are on a ride, or doing something else so I don't interfere with anyones play time. I smoke much less on vacation than I usually do at home.

That said..my beef is with Disneyland, there are only 3 smoking areas in their whole Magic Kingdom! (that I found) And the areas were all filthy with hundreds of butts in the ashtrays. Umm..Walt's office has 13 ashtrays in it, I think he would have had more consideration for us smokers!



Mrs. mikifan

 

[DizBelle]

Originally posted by pnelson
I agree that smoking in open areas is rude if it's against the rules. However, I would never tell another adult the rules. Why? Because 99% of the time it's going to get their back up and their going to give attitude. Also, it's not my place to go around reminding people (especially adults) of the rules. If it really bothered me, I would either move or tell a CM about it. I have a friend who is always getting in to the face of other adults, strangers, and correcting them when she sees an "injustice". It's just not something I would do.

I'm kind of with you there. Why bother if it just going to make you miserable. Just walk a little faster to POC to get past it. But, if no one holds them accountable for breaking the rules, they'll just KEEP breaking the rules (even adults - especially adults). And they may escalate to breaking bigger rules that might really hurt someone.

It all comes down to how these people were raised. If they saw their parents break the rules then they think it is ok to break the rules themselves. Then they teach this bad behavior to their children, and so on, and so on.....

 

[jaysue]

Yes it is very unfortunate that some people choose to smoke where they want to at WDW. It is very annoying to non-smokers such as me and my entire family.

With the workplace ban on smoking and restaurants as well I can barely even take a whiff of the stuff.

It is unfortunate that people continue to smoke and impact their own health plus the health of their loved ones and others around them

Maybe it is time to ban smoking entirely in the parks



thanks
jaysue

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I have seen CMs confront smokers before. I vowed not to go again with a smoker--our travel companion could think of nothing but the next cigarette, tried to hide the burning cig in the cup of her hand, woke us up in the middle of the night coughing, jumped up in the am with hand stretched out toward the cigarette pack--it opened my eyes as to how much the almighty cigarette rules these people's lives.

 

[mikifan]

Maybe it is time to ban smoking entirely in the parks

Don't you see your inconsideration for those who smoke & follow the rules is just as bad as those who smoke & don't follow the rules?




Mrs. mikifan

 

[jaysue]

Originally posted by mikifan
Don't you see your inconsideration for those who smoke & follow the rules is just as bad as those who smoke & don't follow the rules?



Mrs. mikifan

Nope, not at all - their smoking impacts other people's health directly

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I think that Disney needs to either enforce the smoking area policy or drop it all together. EPCOT in particular is rife with smokers wandering around with dangling cigarettes. CMs and security pass them by without so much as a glance, let alone intervention.

If there is a controlled smoking policy then enforce it. To have one that is mocked every minute of every day just sets those of us who come to rely on the policy up for disappointment.

Yes, I do wish there were a complete ban on smoking in Disney parks. I hate being caught next to a smoker and smelling not only the stink of tobacco on that person, but when the cigarette is lit, then I end up smelling like it too. Vile.

 

[ncbyrne]

Only once did I go with a smoker. She did smoke only in the designated areas, but where to have the next cigarette was always on her mind. The map was kept handy just for locating smoking areas! The act of smoking and the conversations about it, because she couldn't smoke, whenever, wherever, dominated the entire trip! I wound up making excuses to go in a different direction to avoid having to endure the smoke pit stops! Not the best trip for me. I suppose it isn't fair to smokers, but I would have no problems with a total ban on smoking in WDW public areas.