what happened on 9/11 at disneyworld

[peaches00]

My son is doing report on 9/11 and i was wondering if any dis members were there that day and what happened at the parks and hotels. did they close? any info is appreciated.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

My son is doing report on 9/11 and i was wondering if any dis members were there that day and what happened at the parks and hotels. did they close? any info is appreciated.

I googled "what happened at Disney WOrld on 09/11/2001" and got a quite a few hits. Here is a blurb from the Examiner.

Immediately following the 9/11 attacks, Disney World's theme parks ushered guests out of their restaurants, rides, and shops. In an effort to avoid panic, Disney cast members did not inform guests why the parks were closing.

I also found a link to a thread here on the DISBoards. I didn't read the whole thing, but it could provide some valuable insight

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=93010

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Here is a great article telling what happened that day. .

09/11/2007 article

 

[Sassagoula Billy]

It's still painful to think about, nearly 10 years later, but one thing I was sure of that day. The only place I wanted to be was at the Magic Kingdom, sitting on a bench, as far away as I could be from the event itself.

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

Sucky *** day. I had just given birth to my son and DH was at work (NYPD) and I couldn't reach him for hours. I did speak to him at one point but didn't see him again until that Friday. Disney was the furthest thing from my mind.

I'm glad they cleared out the parks for everyone's safety. I wonder what the people at the hotels did?

 

[lala3291]

Here is a great article telling what happened that day. .

09/11/2007 article

Wow, very interesting article. Thank you for sharing.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

It was very interesting to read that article. I was in DLR on 9/11 last year and will be in WDW for the 10th anniversary (also DHs birthday) next year.

 

[Kris-PA]

I was there the week after 9/11. I seriously considered cancelling because we were nervous to fly. But since it was pre-paid, we went ahead with the trip. The parks were empty.

 

[tinka-belle]

Based on reports I had from clients who were there:

On site guests were confined to hotels after the parks closed. Most found out the details by watching the news on TV, some heard from relatives by cell phone (the few who could get calls through). Characters and/or some entertainment was brought to the resorts to keep the kids occupied. I think one of them said Disney movies were offered too, similar to what they do when parks are closed for hurricanes.

I had other clients actually in the air on 9/11 to start their WDW trip. Early flight so they were closer to Orlando airport when all flights were grounded and were allowed to continue to Orlando. Met at the plane by security (or airport workers) who ushered them to Mears vans direct to the resorts to check in. Were told nothing until they landed and the pilot told them of the national emergency. They spent the day at the pool.

All clients couldn't say enough about how well Disney handled the situation. Since flights were grounded for several days, Disney (as well as the travel agents) assited in finding lodging for extra nights or car rentals for people to get home.


After 9/11: Parks and resorts were pretty empty for months, travel vendors, including Disney, allowed cancellations and full refunds. In October we get notice of special TA discount rates for WDW (resorts and destinations know most TAs might travel before the public is ready to). DH and I take Disney up on their offer and spend Thanksgiving at AKL. The parks and resorts that weekend were busier than expected. Room rates were down for the holiday and the parking lots were jammed with drive in guests since few people wanted to fly.

 

[sam_gordon]

My family and I were at Disney. Went to AK for breakfast then tried to make our way back to the Safari. Got to the entrance and were simply told the ride was closed and to go to the front of the park. Had no idea what had happened.

As we walked to the front of the park, heard people talking about the towers coming down. Figured it was embellishment (you know how rumors spread). We were each given one day park passes on our way out.

Needless to say the bus lines were jammed. I've got a picture of that somewhere. When we finally got on a bus back to our resort (Poly), the driver said he was in on his day off. I dont' remember if he said he was called in or just came in on his own. According to him every bus that could be put into service was.

At the Poly, we turned ont he TV, watched some coverage, then took DD(then 3) to the pool. After about an hour, a 'Florida Storm' came through forcing us back to our rooms for more TV coverage.

We called and got dinner reservations at O'hana. When the storm finally died out and we went to the lobby for dinner, Micky, Goofy, and Genie were all there for pictures, autographs, general mayhem.

The parks opened the next day with bag checks.

 

[TaraPA]

We were also there on 9-11-01. We didn't thave the TV on in the morning so we had no idea what was going on. We got to DHS around 10am & were sitting in the Indiana Jones show waiting for it to start. It was running late, then a CM came out & announced that the show was cancelled & the park would be closing, would everyone please exit in an orderly manner & head to the front of the park. We actually thought this was part of the show, some people chuckled, a few got up & left, but the majority just sat there. Then another CM in a suit came out & said that due to the circumstances going on in the United States right now, the park was being evacuated & everyone needed to leave. From his demeanor, everyone knew something was wrong. It took awhile to exit the park, but it was all very orderly. They handed out free 1-day park passes as we left. They brought in more busses to accomodate everyone returning to Disney hotels.

On the bus there was a lot of rumor & speculation as to what was going on. Somne people had seen it on the news earlier, some were getting info from friends and family via cell phones, etc.

Back at the resort it was more chaotic. Peopke were crying & demanding to find flights, rental cars, anything Disney could do to get people home. It was packed & crazy. Phone lines were jammed all over. Disney did bring characters into the resorts for entertainment. We just walked around the resort & tried to make the best of it.

The next day the parks re-opened as usual. They were very empty. People were still in the lobby in a state of panic because there were no flights or rental cars to be had anywhere. Tropical Storm Danielle was also on it's way, I forget exactly when it hit, but we had to spend another entire day in our room because of it (parks were open hoewver).

We got out a few days later, once flights were re-opened. The airport was MASS CHAOS, I'll never forget that. Those poor airline employees, people were screaming at them the entire time we were there.

If there are any specific questions your son has feel free to ask!

 

[AprilRenee]

wow! Those articles were hard to read. I definitely teared up a couple of times. I can't believe it's been 9 years. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.

 

[peaches00]

Wow...this is fascinating. Thanks everyone!!!

 

[sammiwa]

We were there as well. We flew in the night of 9/10 and had just gotten into MK. We had seen the news in the morning, but only the first plane and everyone thought it was an accident, so we headed to the park.

About an hour after we arrived they started announcing over the loudspeakers "Disneyworld is now closed, please make your way to the exits". Everyone was asking all around what was going on. We found out from a CM about the attacks and the news slowly made it's way through the crowds.

The parks re-opened the next day, but they were practically empty.

Thankfully we were scheduled to be there for 7 more days so flights were running by that time. Although, we did consider just taking our rental car and heading home.

While it was nice to be somewhere away from the reality in the following days, it was also very difficult to be so far away from family.

 

[Ktharee]

My family and I were there for our first grand gathering experience. It was our second day. We had an early breakfast at Garden Grill (when they still did breakfast). We finished up and were heading to Test Track when we saw this mass exodus happening. I approached a CM and asked what was going on...he said "we are evacuating due to the international incident" I inquired "what international incident" and he said "the Twin Towers and Pentagon are under attack. WDW is on the terrorist hit list and we need everyone to go back to their hotels or home". My heart sank. We are from NY, worked in NYC and had many friends and family in the city at the time. Luckily, we lost none of our near and dear. The entire park closed, the resort hotels were amazing during the whole thing. They brought characters in for meet and greets and had impromptu events. We were at the Contemporary. The parks were open the following days we were there (4 more) but to resort guests only. Everything was a walk on, a literal walk on. While we did enjoy our days for the sake of the kids, we were glued to the TV in the afternoon breaks and evening. It really was the best place to be and I am so thankful my entire family was together that day. My husband particularly, he worked 3 blocks from the World Trade Center and I am sure he would have ventured to help... Best of luck to your son on his report!

 

[Dan Murphy]

As it happened on the DIS......

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=236435

 

[lovealatte]

That was very interesting to read.. such a horrible day in American history that will never be forgotten. thanks for that fascinating tidbit!

 

[jmkjr72]

and the buttons they made to hand out but then decided not to hand them out

 

[mitchfishguard]

our best friends were there, and they were in the then mgm studios. they were simply ushered out very professionally, with the inference to "an incident in one of the parks" they said that they didnt really feel any panic because they werent part of the speculation that must have been rife on the disney transport, as they drove from off-site. it was only back in the hotel where the lobby had cnn news on the t.v. that they knew what was going on. he (mike) said that everybody connected with getting people home were tremendous. being british, he wasnt aware of the enormity of it all as he was , after all, on holiday until he got back to britain. on a footnote, im still horrified and enraged by that day, (im ex-military) and can only marvel at the bravery and unselfishness showed by so many that day.

 

[pampam]

and the buttons they made to hand out but then decided not to hand them out

I hadn't heard of those. What did they say?