BREAKING NEWS: All WDW resorts smoke-free as of 6/1/07

[crazeedizneefinatic]

Let's see if they actually inforce the ban. I don't know how many times we had to walk through a cloud of smoke to get to our non-smoking rooms when they had designated areas. I have even been in a non-smoking room with burn marks around the sink and a terrible odor. People are going to do what they want to do anyway. How unsafe is it for Disney to force people to try and sneak cigerettes? What a fire hazard, kinda scary to think someone trying to sneak a smoke somewhere. It's up to Disney to make sure the ban stays inforced. Unless they have people patrolling the grounds I highly doubt people will stop smoking on property. It will only cause people to try and hide and smoke in their bathrooms.
I have a problem with people smoking in non smoking rooms. Some people need them for health reasons like Asthma. I think now with the ban we are going to run into alot of smelly rooms and alot of unhappy guests. I don't see a reason to do away with designated area's. They never bothered me. We just kept away. At least some of the courteous smokers would have a place to enjoy and unwind. You are always going to find people who think the rule does not apply to them but now I think people who are diehard smokers will feel the need to sneak. And no I am not a smoker but think everyone is entitled to be if they want to be in the proper areas.

[Hammer]

Just a reminder to all...

The hotel buildings will be smoke free, but as the article states, smoking will still be allowed in designated outdoor areas around the resort. So you will still see smokers at the resorts, but they will be in designated areas. This is perfectly legal under the new rules and how it works at the Swan.

Some things I think WDW needs to do to make this ban successful:

1) Clearly mark the smoking areas with signs in multiple languages Actually, I think this should do be done in the parks as well. On some of the maps, I'm thinking of Epcot World Showcase in particular, it is not easy to find where the smoking area is in a country's pavilion. WDW has many foreign guests, many from countries which do not have smoking laws (for example, most South American countries) so they will need help.

2)Travel agents and event/meeting planners should relay this information to their clients
As they are quickly rolling this out, WDW needs to make sure TAs and Meeting organizers are informed for their clients/conventions. Not all TAs will see this article.
3) The Cast Members must be knowledgable of the rules and enforce them This is the big one. Smokers need to get the same answer from every CM and politely told where the nearest smoking area is located.

This does not change how my sister and I will travel. She will smoke in the designated areas of the resorts and parks, just like she has done in the past, then meet me at our next location. As she and I noticed on our last trip, almost everyone in the smoking area was like her and lived or worked in NYC. Why? Because they are used to going to the designated area to smoke so it did not require a change in their way of doing things. If this rule is adequately enforced, it will become second nature for smokers to go to the designated areas and both groups can learn to co-exist.

[crazeedizneefinatic]

Okay, I spoke too soon. I apologize. I thought they were banning it altogether at the resort. Duh, I should actually read the article next time! LOL. Designated areas are perfect, IF people use them. Hopefully, the CM's will take complaints seriously. I know when we had a non smoking room that someone smoked in we were not taken seriously. The hotel was at capacity and no solutions were given. My husband and son both with asthma suffered. I think signs in different languages would "help" but people are people. Some are courteous and some are not. If that designated area is a bit of a walk for someone who really needs a cigerette, guess where they are going to smoke.

[Funcruiser56]

I just received a email from my TA about this subject. She says that Disney will honor smoking room requests through May but after that nope.
Also if a guest smokes in the room, balcony or patio they will be charged a room recovery cost of $250-500 depending on the resort your at. So this will probably make people think twice about trying it.
She also said that Disneyland resorts went smokefree in 2006.

Bev

[MNNHFLTX]

For anyone interested, there is a related thread in News, Rumors and Imagineering:

Walt Disney World Resort Hotels to Institute Smoke-Free Policy June 1, 2007

[imaprincess!]

Yippee! My lungs are doing the happy dance! I also have asthma and really appreciate this move.

Enforcing a smoke-free policy could be a real plus. The smokers who are having nicotine withdrawal will move much slower than us non-smokers ... we'll beat them to the Fast Pass machines!

[PetefromRI]

First of all let me say that as a smoker,I don't smoke indoors at home or away as I'm aware of the dangers of second hand smoke in a confined area.I also agree that the smell of cig smoke,especially old cig smoke in a room really stinks.We do enjoy a smoke on our patio or balcony in a smoking building but if these are the new rules,we'll abide by them.I never had a problem with the smoking areas in the parks and I hope that they continue to keep them.With that said,let me just explain that smokers are good people,we just have a rotten habit that most of us picked up when we were young and most of us would love to quit.Please don't treat us like criminals.The way I look at it is,I'm addicted to a government subsidized product.I'm not done trying to quit,in fact after my trip in 11 days I'm going to try again.But just promise that you won't give me the non-smoker look and I'll promise to smoke only where I'm legally allowed to.
The world is changing and I guess I'll just have to change with it.Even though I don't like the new rules,I have to admit that maybe it's time for these changes.Disney has to do what the majority of it's guests want,smokers aren't the majority anymore and we just have to live with it.
11 DAYS TO GO!!!!CBR,HERE WE COME!!!

[tinksmom02]

First of all let me say that as a smoker,I don't smoke indoors at home or away as I'm aware of the dangers of second hand smoke in a confined area.I also agree that the smell of cig smoke,especially old cig smoke in a room really stinks.We do enjoy a smoke on our patio or balcony in a smoking building but if these are the new rules,we'll abide by them.I never had a problem with the smoking areas in the parks and I hope that they continue to keep them.With that said,let me just explain that smokers are good people,we just have a rotten habit that most of us picked up when we were young and most of us would love to quit.Please don't treat us like criminals.The way I look at it is,I'm addicted to a government subsidized product.I'm not done trying to quit,in fact after my trip in 11 days I'm going to try again.But just promise that you won't give me the non-smoker look and I'll promise to smoke only where I'm legally allowed to.
The world is changing and I guess I'll just have to change with it.Even though I don't like the new rules,I have to admit that maybe it's time for these changes.Disney has to do what the majority of it's guests want,smokers aren't the majority anymore and we just have to live with it.
11 DAYS TO GO!!!!CBR,HERE WE COME!!!

Very well said!

[battle beast]

Hooray! Woot! Woot!

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm actually surprised that they are going this route....but not terribly.

As a former Room Assignor at a WDW resort (or two..or three..or more)...I can say that the smoking rooms created an almost daily headache for the resorts. Even though inventory of smoking rooms went consistently down since the 1980's....there just isn't usually a way to put people in them if they aren't smokers.
This dilemna is probably more the reason for this than the "family" environment or public health.

I empathize with smokers...because their vice is not that much different than everyone elses.
Smoking is every bit as addictive as alcohol, and prohibited drugs in this country...and most of us share an "Addiction" that is no more appropriate...and that is the addiction to ridiculously unhealthy food that americans (in particular) treat as normal. No product ever made by Hostess should...really...ever be consumed by a human. But smokers do get a pretty unfair stigma in this country.

That being said....the problem with smoking..as opposed to eating or drinking (Assuming you don't operate a motor vehicle or industrial power tools)....is that it simply cannot be confined to the smoker alone.

When someone smokes....especially in a public setting..the chances are that someone not choosing to inhale the harmful products contained in the smoke will be subjected to it. There has never been any way to contain that...and it doesn't seem that it ever will be.

So..while maybe unfair to smokers....the difference in smoking in smoking from the other bad things we do is fairly easy to point out.

Maybe this policy isn't strictly fair from a "America: Land of the Free perspective"...but it is no more invasive than alot of other rules that we take for granted.

[lilmattie13]

Great news!!!

I can sleep better tonight knowing that perhaps by the time we get there in Sept people will be used to the idea of no smoking and the air will be cleaner.

I can only hope the parks are to follow.

I do feel for the smokers, because it is an addiction, however they make the choice to inhale the smoke, when second hand breathers dont.

Who knows, maybe a trip to Disney will be just the thing to jumpstart smokers to quit during and after their vacation.

Thats sharing some of the MAGIC

[berri_boo]

I am so happy to hear this! I can't stand the smell of smoke and as a person who wears contacts the smoke bothers the heck out of my eyes!

I told my parents about this and they are planning their first trip with my brother who just got home from Iraq and they are so happy that it'll all be changed by the time they go in August. My father hasn't been there in a "few" years (since 1978) so he has a lot to look forward too! This is also welcome news for my upcoming trip in Nov!

Thanks to Disney for making a healthy choice ....especially for the children!

[Mickey91]

Hope the parks are next!!

[Hammer]

I feel some people are missing a part of this announcement. There still will be smoking allowed at the resorts in designated outdoor smoking areas at every resort. You very well could come in contact with people who are smoking at the resorts, depending on where they put the smoking areas. This is another thing Disney needs to work out in the next month. Put the outdoor smoking areas where a smoker can find them with relative ease but still have it far enough off the general path that it will not affect non-smokers.

I don't mean to be Debbie Downer, but this needs to be well planned. My sister, who smokes and is an event planner who travels all over the world for her job, makes it a point to know and follow the rules for smokers wherever she travels, be it Hawaii where the smoking areas are 70 feet away from all buildings or Argentina where there aren't practically any smoking laws. Only place where people made rude comments to her while she smoked in the designated areas? Walt Disney World.

[imaprincess!]

Just a correction to an earlier post .... I don't know why I typed "All-Star Resorts" to
Go Smoke-Free" ... I meant "All Resorts."

[Mickey91]

Awesome news!!

Getting a room that someone has smoked in or one that someone is smoking outside of is always a concern of ours.
Myself, DS 7 and DD 3 all have asthma and I have a severe allergy attacks around it.
We always request a room non smoking for medical reasons and even bring a Dr's note if it should ever be an issue in getting a room smoke free. Disney has always been awesome with that!!

I was wondering, what will they do with the rooms that are smoking now? As a result, non smokers can potentially be in a "smoking" room because all will be labeled the same. Those of you with Asthma may want to consider this when checking in and see if you can get what was previously a non smoking room. Disney may be able to do something in the long run, but starting off, anyone could end up occupying a room that has had years of smoke. Just a thought.

[DrivingSideways]

As someone with major lung damage and severe asthma (not caused by smoking, just luck of the draw, btw), I feel somewhat qualified to speak on this subject. Cigarette smoke does permiate (sp?) everything in a room, however, I tend to expect it at this point and do everything in my power to be prepared. My inhaler and being aware in the parks definitely are my best defenses. When I see someone in a non-designated area, I just try to avoid them. I'm blessed with mobility, so I figure that's easier than anything else.

I can't say I blame anyone for lighting up anywhere; smoking is just as much of an addiction as drugs or alcohol. It's also just as hard to kick, especially when it's so prevalent in our society.

In response to an above poster: It's been my experience that the only way to really "get rid" of that stale cigarette smell is to replace all surfaces in the room. Wallpaper, carpet, bedding, furniture, etc. You'd have to gut the room to really make a difference, in my opinion. My parents are both smokers and recently gave me some furniture that I had to leave on my balcony for a few days to let the smell "wear off."

As far as the "designated area" issue, I also think that all smoking areas in the parks should be clearly marked in multiple languages. I lived in Austria for a year and smoking is the norm in restaurants. As someone else commented, the rules are different everywhere. Having well-informed guests would probably help at least a little with getting people in the proper areas.

I hope I didn't offend anyone, just voicing my opinion. Hope everyone's having a good night!

[ImagiAsh]

So glad to hear this!!

[HndrdPrcnt]

Praise God! Amen and amen again!

[tron80]

Great news. Lets hope they stay in designated areas and actually enforce those rules.