new policy change by Disney

1DisneyNut;2521807 wrote:

I am not advocating for smoking. I am just saying, with so many smokers visiting the parks, why do you want to be picking fights with them all day long every day? Just give them smoking areas or even better, build smoking lounges with air filtration that exhausts out the top of the building and don't worry about it.

I would love an indoor smoking lounge. However, probably a florida law anyway against it. Places where smoking bans have occurred (indoors) will usually only allow it in tobacco shops, maybe some bars, etc. Though Disney might could probably figure out a way (like you can smoke cigars at Sosas).

texas211;2521808 wrote: I would love an indoor smoking lounge. However, probably a florida law anyway against it. Places where smoking bans have occurred (indoors) will usually only allow it in tobacco shops, maybe some bars, etc. Though Disney might could probably figure out a way (like you can smoke cigars at Sosas).

I like the way the one casino here does it (MD Live!) -- They have a smoking lounge that has an open 'back' to allow the smoke to drift (with the help of some decent sized fans) outside and away from the room. They also have a entry 'tunnel' with doors at each end and fans to 'freshen' the people coming out of the lounge into the main casino. It keeps the main casino smoke-free and takes some of the reek off the patrons.

PopPhan;2521810 wrote: I like the way the one casino here does it (MD Live!) -- They have a smoking lounge that has an open 'back' to allow the smoke to drift (with the help of some decent sized fans) outside and away from the room. They also have a entry 'tunnel' with doors at each end and fans to 'freshen' the people coming out of the lounge into the main casino. It keeps the main casino smoke-free and takes some of the reek off the patrons.

Is that in Maryland?

Yes it is. Hanover MD, across (literally) from Arundel Mills Mall. About 10 miles from Columbia, MD. Even less from BWI airport.

PopPhan;2521704 wrote: I certainly hope you are not correct in how smokers will act, but I am afraid you might be correct...and vapers just won't care.

I am (currently) a smoker, but would not THINK of doing something like that. I may waste a good deal of time running out to the 'official' smoking area, or shorten some of my time in an individual park. Figure that if I have to leave the park to get a smoke, I will probably go as long as I feel necessary, go out and have a smoke, then head out to another park, or back to the resort. Luckily, I am not a heavy smoker, so I could possibly go for quite a while before wanting one if I keep busy inside the park.

My problem, and I think you will find this with a lot of smokers, is when I have had a few 'adult' beverages. Alcohol and cigarettes seem to go together for those of us who smoke. BUT, I will find a way to make it work as long as there is a designated smoking area close to the entrances of each park.

We have smokers in our extended family group who would not smoke out of a designated area either. They would also try to tough it out smoke free for as long as possible.

What I see happening is that instead of having lunch or supper in a Disney park, they will take their immediate family outside Disney to eat. Extended family members will then decide if they are also leaving Disney to join them for the meal, or eat separately.

We were at WDW first week of July 2018 and Thanksgiving week 2017 - was not overwhelmed with second hand smoke anywhere in the parks. One of our group is an ex-smoker/severe asthmatic and she'd have let us know about someone smoking out of place.

Meaning only to say, this move by Disney caught us by surprise.

If they ban it from the resorts, I will probably never stay at one again.

i have never smoked, but smoking doesn't bother me. My did smoked for a long time, and a lot of my friends and gf's did as well, i also use to play drums in a lot of bars where smoking was the norm.
That being said we are living in a world where smoking is pretty much fading away. I remember not that long ago where any resturant you went to had a smoking and non-smoking section. i can remember going to a concert and you couldn't see the other side through the thick smoke. Now there's no resturant that has a smoking area and you can see clearly through a stadium w/o the smoke. Heck i remember people saying they would never go to mcdonalds when they banned smoking...but those people still go.
I believe there will be issues at first, but i think people will adapt.

ransam;2521888 wrote: i have never smoked, but smoking doesn't bother me. My did smoked for a long time, and a lot of my friends and gf's did as well, i also use to play drums in a lot of bars where smoking was the norm.
That being said we are living in a world where smoking is pretty much fading away. I remember not that long ago where any resturant you went to had a smoking and non-smoking section. i can remember going to a concert and you couldn't see the other side through the thick smoke. Now there's no resturant that has a smoking area and you can see clearly through a stadium w/o the smoke. Heck i remember people saying they would never go to mcdonalds when they banned smoking...but those people still go.
I believe there will be issues at first, but i think people will adapt.

The difference here is you are talking about restaurants and concerts where people are only there for an hour maybe two. Even at concerts still to this day, there is a smoking area right outside the arena or event space and it is packed with people puffing away. At WDW, people are there all day long. Nicotine is very addictive and smokers aren't going to go all day long without smoking. Many aren't going to go all the way to the exit outside the park and deal with all that hassle.

1DisneyNut;2521920 wrote: The difference here is you are talking about restaurants and concerts where people are only there for an hour maybe two. Even at concerts still to this day, there is a smoking area right outside the arena or event space and it is packed with people puffing away. At WDW, people are there all day long. Nicotine is very addictive and smokers aren't going to go all day long without smoking. Many aren't going to go all the way to the exit outside the park and deal with all that hassle.

I guess you will see an uptick in purchases of nicotine patches and gums, then. You would be surprised on how many options we smokers actually have. If you can't deal with those options and MUST have a cigarette/cigar/vape, then you will deal with the walk to the designated smoking area.

The bigger question is whether or not, and to what degree, Disney CMs and Security will deal with those breaking the rules.

It is less than 20 years since smoking was allowed everywhere on Disney property and people have adjusted. On my first visit, in 2003, there were ashtray IN the rooms!!! Stayed at Caribbean Beach and right there, in the middle of the table, was a glass ashtray. (Had it had the Caribbean Beach logo, I might have made off with it!! LOL)

Yes, there are those who 'break the rules,' but that happens everywhere. I go to a casino here that has smoking and non-smoking areas of the main floor and it is not uncommon to have someone walk through non-smoking with a lit cigarette, just puffing away. Some people just don't care.

PopPhan;2521922 wrote: I guess you will see an uptick in purchases of nicotine patches and gums, then. You would be surprised on how many options we smokers actually have.

I was actually going to suggest smokers use a patch when in the parks to help ward off nicotine cravings. The only thing is that they should not wear them (or chew nicotine gum) unless they truly intend to cut back on actual smoking, since they would be increasing their nicotine consumption if they did both, obviously.

1DisneyNut;2521807 wrote:
Another thing that I don't even think Disney is thinking about is the fact that other countries and parts of the world don't frown on smoking like is the thing to do here in the US. I have seen parents sitting in the smoking section with their kids that appeared to be around age 13 or 14 who was also smoking before. They were speaking other languages so I was pretty sure they were from other countries. What is Disney going to do when they are ticking foreign guests off who are not accustomed to smoking bans in public? This looks more like another example of agenda pushing to me.

You might be surprised how much stricter the smoking bans are in the rest of the world--the U.S. actually lags behind in this, since there is no national legislation and the federal/state governments leave it up to local municipalities to decide. If there is a foreign guest at WDW that gets ticked off because they can't smoke, it might be because they enjoyed coming to a place that still provided a smoking area in public places, whereas their home country does not.

MNNHFLTX;2521928 wrote: You might be surprised how much stricter the smoking bans are in the rest of the world--the U.S. actually lags behind in this, since there is no national legislation and the federal/state governments leave it up to local municipalities to decide. If there is a foreign guest at WDW that gets ticked off because they can't smoke, it might be because they enjoyed coming to a place that still provided a smoking area in public places, whereas their home country does not.

I am not so sure I agree with your assessment. From everything I have read the past couple of years, the U.S. is now low on the list of percentage of smokers. Many of the European countries are high on the list like Luxembourg, Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Austria, etc. I have literally witnessed a Greek family smoking in one of the smoking areas including their son who appeared to be around age 13 or 14. From what I read recently smoking is typically permitted in public spaces and what smoking bans are in place are pretty much ignored and rarely enforced. So it really depends on the country but most European countries along with China and some others still have a high smoking rate.

I don't know how the ban will turn out and it will be interesting to see. I just think there is going to be a good bit of people ignoring the ban and trying to slip around and smoke and dismissing the CM's when they say something.

I'm no expert, but it seems to me Disney doesn't make a change like this on a whim. I expect there are probably a couple primary factors driving the decision - significant complaints from guests at the park, and perhaps some legal requirements (and I don't know if that's the case or not?). Many states are pushing for more and more smoke-free areas, especially areas that are frequented by children (like a Disney World park). I'm not sure where the state of Florida sits with their legal direction, but a number of states are pushing smokers out of more and more public areas.

I personally hate it when I see smokers walking around the park at WDW, especially since the park is likely at least 50% kids and young adults who are not old enough to even buy smokes. I have no issue with the smoking areas they currently have set aside at the park - and I expect a majority of the smokers are conscientious and use the designated areas. But apparently those areas aren't enough to curb all the smokers ignoring the current rules. So the ban makes the CMs position a bit easier - in theory. I guess we'll see how it plays out.

I really do agree with some of you who have suggested some sort of an indoor smoking lounge (with ventilation) for the smokers. It just seems to make sense, but again - are their legal boundaries there?

1DisneyNut;2521941 wrote: I am not so sure I agree with your assessment. From everything I have read the past couple of years, the U.S. is now low on the list of percentage of smokers. Many of the European countries are high on the list like Luxembourg, Belgium, Greece, Hungary, Austria, etc. I have literally witnessed a Greek family smoking in one of the smoking areas including their son who appeared to be around age 13 or 14. From what I read recently smoking is typically permitted in public spaces and what smoking bans are in place are pretty much ignored and rarely enforced. So it really depends on the country but most European countries along with China and some others still have a high smoking rate.

I speak from personal experience, for Europe anyway, that national smoking bans are very prevalent in most European countries. In some cases this means stepping outside to be able to smoke and in other cases it's banned outright in all public places. Do people still smoke? Of course, the same as they do here in the States. But more people are doing it in the privacy of their home and vehicle now.

I don't doubt your statement about China having high smoking rate, but there have been some national restrictions put into place to try and curb public smoking in China also. My point is that the U.S. is not the only country where smoking in public is discouraged, if not by the government than by businesses like Disney.

I have a feeling Disney is going to be like highschool and people going to the "bathroom" a lot.