smoking on the balconies

[*Fantasia*]

What if Disney have the policy of smokers only smoke at the parking lot? Would that be too much of a hassle for the smokers to walk out of the room to the parking lot?

It doesn't make any sense to get a NON-smoking room if the folks next door can smoke right outside their balcony and the smoke is breezing your way. Can't Disney have a policy that NON-smoking room cannot have smoking on the balcony. And the smoking room can have smoking in their balcony. But then again, if the NON-smoking room is next to the smoking room, then that would still be a problem.

So what is the solution? Or is there one?

 

[SueEllen]

Non-Smoking refers to the interior of the room--NOT the balcony.


No, I'm not a smoker, and I have asthma and allergies and need a non-smoking ROOM.

The exterior of a building is just that--OUTSIDE. And as much as I dislike smoking, smoking on the balconies is NOT prohibited in a non-smoking room at any of the Disney resorts.

In fact I see people post that smoking is not allowed on the balconies at AKL, but I have to say that the resort says otherwise.

OFFICIAL Disney policy does not prohibit smoking on outdoor balconies at the resorts. In addition the clean air act in FL does not govern outdoor smoking.


This debate comes up from time to time and gets very heated. Please let's try to keep it civilized and do not attack other posters or the thread will be closed.

Sue Ellen

 

[wilso]

My son has some serious allergies/asthma/anaphalactic shock problems, and we carry a shot with us all the time just in case he needs it, but we try like heck to avoid anything that might make him ill. I've learned that I can't trust anyone else to look out for his health. First, they might not care. Second, they might unknowingly harm him. I have to be the diligent one.

If I were the parent of one of these children with severe smoke allergies, I would not take my child to a place where smoke might get anywhere near them. I think it is HIGHLY selfish and irresponsible to run the risk of your child's life just to see a castle.

 

[lindamg]

My husband and I married in our mid-40s. I have never smoked a single cigarette in my entire life. I'm a singer and value my vocal cords! My husband has smoked ever since he was a young teen, as has every member of his family. Love can make you do things you wouldn't dream possible!

My husband does not smoke in our home. We have a large screened in porch that has become his domain. He also doesn't smoke in my car, and won't smoke in his during the few trips I make in his car.

For those of you who ask why a smoker would even want a non-smoking room, we are your answer. This question always troubles me on our frequent trips to Disney. My husband wants to be considerate, but he want even more to be considerate of me! I would be very uncomfortable in a smoking room, so we get non-smoking and he smokes on the balcony or goes outside at the moderates. I have asked CMs every time and have always been told that he can smoke on the balcony, and we've never had anyone complain about us.

I don't know what the answer is - I feel for people who truly have health issues, but for those insisting on their rights, I have rights too, and I will exercise them if I am told that I can.

 

[ckret01]

Threehearts I swear I was thinking the same exact thing.

Now if people can keep their kids from screaming and crying in the resorts because it affects my mental health!! LOL Just kidding : Trying to lighten this very touchy subject...the smokers vs the non-smokers

By the way I am a smoker

 

[floridagirrl2]

I think MOST smokers realize that smoking on the balcony of a non-smoking room will bother the non-smokers in nearby rooms. Some smokers do not realize this, and some do not care. It's not simply a question of what is "allowed" vs. "not allowed." I think an earlier poster nailed it--Disney will tell smokers and non-smokers alike whatever they think they want to hear.

That said--I used to be one of the non-caring smokers. If people were bothered by smoke, I still felt I had the right to smoke. Now that I'm a non-smoker (with an allergy to cigarette smoke, though not life-threatening like some people's allergies), I feel differently. I like to think I'm a more thoughtful person than I was in my 20s!

This is certainly not an issue that can be resolved via debating. Even talking to different CMs will get you different answers!

 

[Disney's Deluxe Princess]

Like lindamg, my DH is a smoker. Every trip, we check with the front desk to see if smoking is allowed on the balcony. We have been told that it is allowed EVERY time. In fact, guest services usually has housekeeping make sure an ashtray is available on our balcony. And guess what? Hold on to your mouse ears for this one, smoking is allowed at the pools too.


If you are really that upset and sickly over the smoke, go inside until they are finished. My DH is out there for 5 minutes tops. This will hardly ruin your vacation. If someone directly next to us is out there, he won't light up. In all of our 15 trips, only ONCE has someone been sitting out on the balcony next to us the same time we were. Contrary to the popular belief of some Disers, most people do not spend their entire vacation on that balcony.

 

[CaliforniaDreamer]

From a smoking thread on DIS from May 2004. These were the final two posts. Both posters are smokers, btw:

ontariodisneywoman
DIS Veteran

Registered: Apr 2004
Location: Ontario
Posts: 141

I just got off the phone with A Guest Service Representative at WDW. I had sent an email asking what the policy was about smoking at resorts. Well the email I received back was just telling me the policy about smoking at the parks. So I again emailed and stated that I understood that policy but did not understand the Resort Smoking Policy. They then contacted me by phone rather than email.
Rachelle (Guest Service CM) told me that due to the Clean-Air act in Florida all indoor common areas are smoke free. ie. Restaurants, lobby, hallways, washrooms, (.. you get the picture).
and that " you are allowed to smoke in all areas outside, not enclosed " . This means No enclosed Balconies.
So, if all of you Smokers who are not Rude are assigned a non smoking room- Lets be polite! Ask for a smoking optional room instead- If one is not available let your CM know that you don't want to infringe on anyone else's rights to clean air!
You may even get an upgrade like I did the last time I was put in a non smoking room and voiced my concern, politely about infringing on other guests rights to clean air (after I was told to smoke outside my room)!

__________________
stinkerbelle asked:

wait - can you elaborate on that?

you mean a balcony is considered an 'enclosed' place?

i thought 'enclosed' meant 4 walls and a roof. (Not discrediting what you learned from the CM - just need clarification.)

ontariodisneywoman
DIS Veteran

Registered: Apr 2004
Location: Ontario
Posts: 141

That is what she said..
I thought the same thing and asked her about it. She said because the balcony (a non smoking building specifically is what we were talking about) was partially enclosed that according to policy it would be considered non smoking- she did say that they rarely enforce the non smoking policy on balconies unless another guest has a concern.
I didn't ask about the smoking optional building (just because the original thread inspiration was about a non smoking building).
****

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Originally posted by Threehearts
I have asked this question before and never received an answer, so I will try again. How do all these parents and children function outside of WDW non-smoking areas(on the street at home) without having multiple trips to the hospital? I am a non-smoker and live in the DC area and I never know when someone will light up around me on the street or if I would be exposed to, I think the words used here were 'chemical remnants.' There is a risk everywhere that you might have an accidental exposure to smoke or its afteraffects and I'm just not sure how this works for the highly allergic. Do you stay at home and have others do your shopping? How about travel outside of WDW where the hoteliers are not nearly as concerned about smoke as the ones at WDW? People frequently smoke cigarettes in parking lots. If "just one exposure" to smoke sends someone to the emergency room, it would follow that you must be a prisoner in your own home. I am not being sarcastic nor questioning those with life-threatening allergies, I am just wondering how you survive the average day. Threehearts

Fair question. Let's see.

Home...........no one smokes.

School...........we homeschool. No one smokes.

Shopping........You can't smoke there.

Restaurants.......You can't smoke there.

Church........Uuuhhhh.

Swimming lessons at the YMCA......you can't smoke there.

Soccer on Saturdays...........I'm wondering if you can't here either, even though it is outside, because I have never seen anyone light up and we've been in soccer for 5 years.

Bookstore.........you can't smoke there

Library...............you can't smoke there.

I think you get the idea. I don't think I live a sheltered life.....just a smoke-free one.

Oh, and I think NY law includes no smoking within 25 feet of a non smoking building or near windows, air vents.

Get ready people. Like it or not, this is the future for Florida.(actually I guess it's already there, just not enforced at Disney all of the time)

 

[Disney's Deluxe Princess]

- she did say that they rarely enforce the non smoking policy on balconies unless another guest has a concern.

Exactly. Most people won't voice a concern because chances are, this is a problem you won't have to deal with. Besides that, the hotels themselves are saying that it is ok. So, in my book, it is allowed.

Anyways, why are some of you getting so upset over a problem that hasn't occured in your life yet? Geez, if someone's smoking is an issue for you, by all means, complain to the hotel. Don't sit here and ponder whether it is permitted or not. You won't find any 2 answers the same.

 

[RoLaren]

How about travel outside of WDW where the hoteliers are not nearly as concerned about smoke as the ones at WDW? People frequently smoke cigarettes in parking lots. If "just one exposure" to smoke sends someone to the emergency room, it would follow that you must be a prisoner in your own home. I am not being sarcastic nor questioning those with life-threatening allergies, I am just wondering how you survive the average day.

I'll venture an answer to this.

I don't travel in general due to these and other health issues. WDW is our "big trip" once a year. We visit (nonsmoking) relatives out of state generally every-other year (in between they come here). They have a cat. That means we have to stay at a hotel (non-smoking room) because I can't be around animal fur/dander.

How do I survive the 'average' day? With a lot of medication, planning, and hope. That's how and it's not fun. Eventually, I believe WDW will decide to make some buildings all smoking and some non-smoking. Some resort buildings already are supposed to be all non smoking rooms. They already made all the clubs and restaurants non-smoking, and as Mom of sleepy etc. pointed out, there are more and more regulations going into effect every day.

I respect the right of smokers to smoke, but not more than my right to breathe. If I'm guaranteed a non-smoking room at WDW for medical reasons, then you can bet if the person in the next room lights up indoors or out and I can smell it, I will be calling the front desk to ask to be moved to another room.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Amen.

 

[wilso]

I've got news for the non-smokers staying in their non-smoking rooms.

There is no such thing. People have smoked in that room.

Very often groups travel together, and want to stay together. Some smoke. Hotels don't tell them to go somewhere else. They give them ashtrays.

Sometimes the reservation staff doesn't record a smoking request, and the person gets put into a non-smoking room. They don't tell them to pack up and move. They send them an ashtray.

This is why smokers are very often checked into smoking rooms without ashtrays. Hotels err on the side of caution re: placing ashtrays.

It is routine practice IN ALL HOTELS to lie to the guests, assuring them that they are on a non-smoking floor, and smoking is never permitted.

The truth is that the folks running the hotel don't care. They know you won't be able to tell. It's just a little game they play to keep you happy, or blissfully ignorant. Same deal with the rental car places.

And sometimes people smoke funny cigarettes in the rooms. It's harder to get the stink out, but they do that, too.

Hotels don't care what guests do in the rooms, as long as they pay for it.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Anyways, why are some of you getting so upset over a problem that hasn't occured in your life yet? Geez, if someone's smoking is an issue for you, by all means, complain to the hotel. Don't sit here and ponder whether it is permitted or not. You won't find any 2 answers the same. [/B]

Well, first of all, I'm not upset. Really. When it happens, I deal with it, one way or another. Like for years we didn't frequent our local Bob Evans because the smoking tables were right next to the non smoking tables, seperated by a curtain, and ceiling fans above the smoking section(which blew the smoke EVERYWHERE! like what braniac thought of that one). Now, we can go there because the law said they couldn't do that anymore. Was that a bummer that we couldn't go there?? Yeah. But we dealt with it.

And, it has "occured in my life". Wilderness Lodge, balcony view of the castle. Watching the fireworks one night. We were on the sixth floor, I think. You know how WL has those balconies that have walls on either side of them, at least on the upper floors?? Well, I start smelling smoke and it's blowing right in on me. I try to lean over on each side, without being noticed (which was practically impossible) to see where it is coming from. I don't see anyone. I think I hear someone on one of the other balconies, but I don't know which one. You can't see the balconies below you or above you. So I just go inside my room to watch the rest. I dealt with it. Was it a bummer?? Yes. But what was I supposed to do.......call the front desk, say, I think someone is smoking on the south side of the building, could you get them to stop??

That is why my one post was just a simple thank you to all the smokers who stay in non smoking rooms and don't smoke on their balconies. They must be very courteous people and you don't run into that too much these days.

Five minutes at breakfast time is not going to bother me. But during my special "DH and Me only trip at Christmas time", watching fireworks at night, it kinda did. Not to the point it ruined my vacation or anything.

I know this subject, and others, is a heated topic. But don't you think if we just thought a little bit about the other person, and not get our knickers in a bunch about "our rights", we'd be better off? I'm not pointing to anyone in particular, just in general, as a society.

Sorry. Pollyanna will go home now.

 

[floridagirrl2]

Originally posted by wilso

It is routine practice IN ALL HOTELS to lie to the guests, assuring them that they are on a non-smoking floor, and smoking is never permitted.

The truth is that the folks running the hotel don't care. They know you won't be able to tell. [/B]

I'm sure this is true for some hotels (I've stayed in non-smoking rooms that smelled like smoke) but not all. Because I CAN tell, and I can assure you, most other non-smokers CAN tell if a room they're staying in has been smoked in.

 

[wilso]

Nope. All of 'em. The Ritz, Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, Holiday Inn, and even Disney.

The only difference between a smoking room and a non-smoking room is the ashtray. No matter what the hotel folk tell you. That's why sometimes smokers have no ashtray, and non-smokers sometimes end up with ashtrays in their room. Although less often on the latter. The housekeepers are constantly reminded to be careful with ashtrays. (If only they were constantly reminded to say, change the sheets!)

There are no hotels that turn away groups for smoking. It never happens. Ever, ever, ever.

And reservationists are notorious for putting in the wrong info.

All the rooms get smoked in sometimes.

It's so rampant that it isn't even a joke. When staff are out of view of guests, they don't even laugh about people coming down and complaining that they're in the wrong kind of room.

Things that are uncommon, like, "I cut my foot on glass in the tub." or "My kid has a rash from all the chlorine in the pool." or "My room is overrun with ants." That kind of stuff gets mentioned, even joked about.

Not smoking issues. It is just that common.

If you travel routinely, i'll bet you dollars to doughnuts you've stayed in a room people were smoking in.

 

[floridagirrl2]

I'm guessing you must be a smoker if you think non-smokers can't tell that rooms have been smoked in.

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by floridagirrl2
most other non-smokers CAN tell if a room they're staying in has been smoked in.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

originally posted by floridagirl2 "most non-smokers CAN tell if a room they're staying has been smoked in..."

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by wilso
I've got news for the non-smokers staying in their non-smoking rooms.

There is no such thing. People have smoked in that room.

Very often groups travel together, and want to stay together. Some smoke. Hotels don't tell them to go somewhere else. They give them ashtrays.

Sometimes the reservation staff doesn't record a smoking request, and the person gets put into a non-smoking room. They don't tell them to pack up and move. They send them an ashtray.

This is why smokers are very often checked into smoking rooms without ashtrays. Hotels err on the side of caution re: placing ashtrays.

It is routine practice IN ALL HOTELS to lie to the guests, assuring them that they are on a non-smoking floor, and smoking is never permitted.

The truth is that the folks running the hotel don't care. They know you won't be able to tell. It's just a little game they play to keep you happy, or blissfully ignorant. Same deal with the rental car places.

And sometimes people smoke funny cigarettes in the rooms. It's harder to get the stink out, but they do that, too.

Hotels don't care what guests do in the rooms, as long as they pay for it.

Tell that to my 9yo who ended up using her rescue inhaler ONE minute after entering the room at the dophin - a non- smoking room on a non-smoking floor.

The bellhop with our things was white with fear and recognized immediately that the room REAKED of smoke. He immediately took our things to the hallway, while I attended to my 9yo and 7yo and got them out of the room. He said this was designated as the non-smoking floor and there were no ashtrays by the elevators and no smoking signs on the balcony. He was wonderfull and escorted us back to the front desk to affirm that in fact the non-smoking room we were assigned to was NASTY.

The CM's were wonderfull and I think it was partly due to the bellhops concern and first hand experience rather than mine as I was upset at this point. We checked our bags and sat outside for a few minutes to get dd calmed down and breathing properly and when we returned the front desk had a wonderful "truly" non-smoking room for us.

I think we can deal with balcony smoking and although its not ideal we willl forfit the use of ours if a neighbor wants to smoke. If the smoke penetrates our room we will have a problem at night as there is no place else to go at that point with two young kids.

As for the parks or other places, if someone is smoking we can choose to move to another place and avoid the smoke. In our resort room especially at night we don't have that option.

TJ