Smoking areas GONE starting may 1st Pinned so people can still see the announcement.

[BoarderPhreak]

Disney went smoke-free - discuss, here on page 63!

...Just saw a photo of a public urinal in Amsterdam - and I do mean public...

They're implementing them in Paris too. Wonder if we'll see one by the Rat ride?

 

[monothingie]

So is your point that you think Disney is making their parks "smoke-free zones" as a marketing maneuver to be more attractive to inhumane rich people? I tend to think that your inhumane rich people aspect is overstated and that it's merely non-smokers, but perhaps wealthy non-smokers who Disney may be targeting here. I think that @Sirwalterraleigh raised this potential point about 30 pages ago.

I thought all rich people smoked?

 

[UncleMike101]

So is your point that you think Disney is making their parks "smoke-free zones" as a marketing maneuver to be more attractive to inhumane rich people? I tend to think that your inhumane rich people aspect is overstated and that it's merely non-smokers, but perhaps wealthy non-smokers who Disney may be targeting here. I think that @Sirwalterraleigh raised this potential point about 30 pages ago.

What clued me in specifically was their use of the term "smoke-free zone" in their publicity about this new policy. Just as we should have focused on the use of the term "loose ice" over on the loose ice thread. If they meant "ice cubes", they would have said "ice cubes". Instead, they said "loose ice" (like loose morals, speaking of vice, lol).

Anyway, perhaps we could discuss their use of "smoke-free zone" in marketing materials?

BTW, it's not that people don't like your actual observations, it's just that those observations are surrounded by overly dramatic statements that you're making for who-knows what purpose if not for drama's sake, lol! Also note that by adding dramatics into your statements you're actually obscuring your actual observations and forcing people to focus on the judgmental aspect of your statement rather than the actual discussable observations and theories on TWDC motivation.

Anyway, back to the point, let's discuss the merits rather than continue to focus on the lack of journalism. Apologies

Sorry to disappoint you but it's not my job to please you aesthetically or otherwise.
If you're unhappy with my writing style you're free to put me on your ignore list.
I certainly won't be offended.
I express myself using a writing style that I'm comfortable with and I'm not looking to change.

 

[Cesar R M]

Well.. imagine if Disney just moved all the bathrooms to the same spot as the smoking sections and see if your line of thinking still holds up as dismissive..

are you really comparing a necessity of a body function that is natural, versus an addiction or for pleasure behavior?

The size of the population using it really doesn't matter in the example. It's to point out the hypocrisy in the example given. If it were something you 'needed' yourself (like a bathroom) you'd be a bit more empathic to the burden vs making up false comparisons to willingness to wait in lines.

To be clear, I don't smoke... but I can empathize with the burden being asked of people. Moving it outside the gates (and possibly even security zone?) is a bit drastic IMO.

As much as we are moving much quicker now to stomp out smoking as a whole... it is still very much a portion of many people's lives, and arguably a dependency for a portion of that group as well.

Disney embraces plenty of 'hinderance by choice' lifestyles that have negative impacts on other guests. Shunning the smokers to some far corner is still a better compromise (IMO) then kicking them outside.

Are you really going to die if you dont smoke for a day or just to walk out to smoke?

Please.. your comparison is hilariously bad.

 

[Cesar R M]

I posed that in an earlier post. They could swipe your band and issue a warning and then adopt a “three strike” policy. That kind of enforcement gets this to work. “Sorry, you can’t smoke here”....doesn’t

It’d work for alcohol consumption as well.

Question is.....does it matter enough for Disney to unleash “smoke (or alcohol) commandos”

Ironically, I've heard that these kind of rules are extremely direct for cast members and even harsher (instant expulsion and blacklisted) if you do anything alcohol or smoking related during your college program.

 

[Cesar R M]

So is your point that you think Disney is making their parks "smoke-free zones" as a marketing maneuver to be more attractive to inhumane rich people? I tend to think that your inhumane rich people aspect is overstated and that it's merely non-smokers, but perhaps wealthy non-smokers who Disney may be targeting here. I think that @Sirwalterraleigh raised this potential point about 30 pages ago.

What clued me in specifically was their use of the term "smoke-free zone" in their publicity about this new policy. Just as we should have focused on the use of the term "loose ice" over on the loose ice thread. If they meant "ice cubes", they would have said "ice cubes". Instead, they said "loose ice" (like loose morals, speaking of vice, lol).

Anyway, perhaps we could discuss their use of "smoke-free zone" in marketing materials?

BTW, it's not that people don't like your actual observations, it's just that those observations are surrounded by overly dramatic statements that you're making for who-knows what purpose if not for drama's sake, lol! Also note that by adding dramatics into your statements you're actually obscuring your actual observations and forcing people to focus on the judgmental aspect of your statement rather than the actual discussable observations and theories on TWDC motivation.

Anyway, back to the point, let's discuss the merits rather than continue to focus on the lack of journalism. Apologies

I'm still scratching how does banning smoke has to do with rich people.
Rich people would want to smoke their super expensive cuban cigars or pipes.
Smoking has nothing to do with that but the push toward clean air.
Disney probably was getting a lot of complains still of smokers.
I've seen the rise of Vapers to be an annoyance (those who make gigantic poofs just to show off ). So no surprise if the changes were organic based on what other people started to do (like the selfie stick).
Nothing to do with the rich in this.

 

[Tanna Eros]

I'm still scratching how does banning smoke has to do with rich people.
Rich people would want to smoke their super expensive cuban cigars or pipes.
Smoking has nothing to do with that but the push toward clean air.
Disney probably was getting a lot of complains still of smokers.
I've seen the rise of Vapers to be an annoyance (those who make gigantic poofs just to show off ). So no surprise if the changes were organic based on what other people started to do (like the selfie stick).
Nothing to do with the rich in this.

Statistically, smoking is more prevalent among lower income people. My lawyer friend deduced that in discouraging lower income people from Disney World by disallowing smoking, there will be more room to have more pay to play activities designed for people with more disposable income.
I, myself, am a working class slob, like Jean Shepherd, who incidentally does vocals in Carousel of Progress. I can book a working class slob vacation at WDW. I'll have a different experience that say, J.B. Gotrocks in the Luxury Mouse Ears Suite, but I'll still get the Disney Experience.
I will also splash out my slob bucks on getting a membership to the Horace Horseface Smoking Pagoda located to the left of Barnstormers, when the membership becomes available.

 

[LittleBuford]

Statistically, smoking is more prevalent among lower income people. My lawyer friend deduced that in discouraging lower income people from Disney World by disallowing smoking, there will be more room to have more pay to play activities designed for people with more disposable income.

Your friend supposed, not deduced.

 

[Tanna Eros]

Your friend supposed, not deduced.

He also vaped at the banquet table, and I swear I did not even notice until he showed me the device.
I guess I'll have to see what happens in the Disney parks in the future to deduce whether he deduced or supposed.

 

[LittleBuford]

He also vaped at the banquet table, and I swear I did not even notice until he showed me the device.

Are you referring to Cinderella’s Royal Table?

 

[Tanna Eros]

Are you referring to Cinderella’s Royal Table?

Oh, no- a dog club banquet at a hotel near me.

 

[unmitigated disaster]

Not all poor people smoke, or even drink.

Not all rich people abstain from smoking or getting fall on your face drunk.

 

[Tanna Eros]

Not all poor people smoke, or even drink.

Not all rich people abstain from smoking or getting fall on your face drunk.

They can have a fancy place for rich people to smoke and fall on their faces. There will be an up charge.
They have Club 33; they can have Club 420, too, if they want.
I just want Club Slob.

 

[celluloid]

Not all poor people smoke, or even drink.

Not all rich people abstain from smoking or getting fall on your face drunk.

Thank you. Just like income has no direct correlation to how much someone will spend. Some rich people are cheap and some lower income go further in debt for vacation.

Besides the obvious health and comfort concerns for guests, there is also the cost to the company. The facilities are not free to provide and maintain and people who go to take smoke breaks are less likely to be sold things while in the WDW experience.

 

[imthewalrus79]

As someone who's sinuses act up horribly in reaction to cigarette and vape smoke, I love reading this news. I always have tried to avoid the smoking areas at the parks; but it isn't always easy. And every time I did, my nose will stuff up for at least 15-20 minutes because of the smoke.

That said, I do feel for the smokers. For all of you who are like me and need our caffeine fixes, imagine if they applied the same rules to you as they are going to do to the smokers. I do have to wonder if they looked into the idea of smoking rooms/buildings. It seems like a win/win for everyone. They open up those current smoking areas for everyone. But there is a place within the parks for those who want to smoke or vape can do so without causing non-smokers to breathe in the second hand smoke.

 

[xdan0920]

OOOOOO

I've changed my mind. If making the parks completely non smoking will keep out the poors then I am all for it. So sick of these poors clogging up my parks.

Don't like it, don't go. lol

 

[tallica]

Thank you. Just like income has no direct correlation to how much someone will spend. Some rich people are cheap and some lower income go further in debt for vacation.

Additionally people with vices tend to be looser with their purse strings. In other words, spend more money on impulse purchases.

 

[larryz]

Maybe Disney's worried that at some point, people will start drawing parallels between addition to nicotine and addiction to Disney...

 

[Lensman]

Thank you. Just like income has no direct correlation to how much someone will spend. Some rich people are cheap and some lower income go further in debt for vacation.

What's the statistical basis for both these claims?

1. Is income completely uncorrelated with spending? Intuitively, this would seem to be unlikely but possible. If we look at the people who are staying at the DVC bungalows at $2000 a night, there must be some income correlation where it's statistically more likely that such a family makes more than $100k or even $200k a year. I'd also like to see some examples from the cupcake demographic. I've never bought a cupcake package but it seems likely to me that the cupcake people have higher median incomes than the non-cupcake people. That said there are definitely some memorable counter-examples my wife, for instance, could never stop herself from spending a fortune we don't have (or that I don't want to spend) on Disney merchandise. Meanwhile, some of our relatives are lower-middle income and buy very little merchandise and try to eat as many meals as possible offsite or at our DVC villa. At any rate, anecdotes on both sides are meaningless. Disney has the data and I'm with @Sirwalterraleigh that they've crunched the numbers and decided to risk the ire of smokers.
2. Some rich people are profligate - actually, I'd like to distinguish between wealth and income and say that many high income people are profligate. And many people of all income levels go into debt for vacations, sadly.

Besides the obvious health and comfort concerns for guests, there is also the cost to the company. The facilities are not free to provide and maintain and people who go to take smoke breaks are less likely to be sold things while in the WDW experience.

You mean the smoking facilities? That's actually one of my theories is that they want to free up the more valuable space in the park. For example, at MK they eliminated the designated smoking area on the path between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland and are incorporating that space into the Tron coaster.* Also, by making smoking less convenient, there will, in the aggregate, be less need for smoking facilities and the resulting operational expense. In other words, they can replace 3-4 designated smoking areas with 1 larger one that will see less use because it's a longer hike to it.

This is also an opportunity for another conspiracy theory: Going out to the front means that you have to pass by the merchandise shops near the front entrance (Emporium on Main Street U.S.A., for instance). So you might stop in to shop on the way back or maybe the smokers will meet their families at the shop. Cha-Ching!

* Note about the MK designated smoking areas. I found the following map on the Disney site. It points to an existing outside-the-park smoking area being on the dead-end path that @Disvillain63 mentioned earlier in the thread.

 

[Tony the Tigger]