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

[Tanna Eros]

No smokers here have ever claimed to be above anybody else, as far as I can see. That is for the other folks!

It's hard to explain the weird social dichotomy of smokers areas. We are kind of 'in' because we are 'out'. There's a likeness and commonality of small groups that aren't part of the big whole of the park. We are with our own kind.
Of course we socialize with the other people in parks , but not as cozily and conspiratorially as we do in DSAs.

 

[jaklgreen]

Me too! A major part of my holiday is meeting other people! I am worried what this change will do to the social aspect! I have some great memories of puting the world to rights with smokers, in the DSA! I am sad that those days have gone!

I got to meet so many wonderful people, from different backgrounds, cultures, Countries! It is what I will miss the Most!

I travel solo and do not smoke and have met many people. I go every year for the F&WF and see some of the same people every year at the same events. The DSA is not the only place to meet people.

 

[ChrisFL]

How about, in MK you can only smoke while riding the Tomorrowland Speedway? It won't make it much worse!

 

[Lensman]

I have to disagree. Disney knew smoking was bad for years and years. It wasn’t until medical marijuana was allowed that this action went into action.

As far as an economic incentive, I think more smokers will just not go or go as often, not all smokers, but let’s say 10%.

MK has 20.45 million guests in 2017. Take the 10% of the guest as smokers (2.45 mil) and say 10% of the smokers decide not to visit because of the ban. That’s 245,000 fewer guests spending money at MK, not including the smokers who do this at the other parks.

I do hope that it will improve the appearance of the park, but if people are smoking anyplace they don’t see a cast member, it might be worse. At least before it was mainly confined to the designated areas.

And @Sirwalterraleigh's hypothesis is that whatever the number of smokers this turns off is going to be offset by the number of nonsmokers who will be attracted to the parks as "smoke-free zones". I agree with him that this is the calculation that Disney has done. I don't think either he or I endorse this decision nor do we know whether it will work out in Disney's favor, but he and I agree (I think) that Disney has done the calculation and has decided that it's worth trying.

But that still just sounds like bad management to me. Why are these employers letting their employees just have a break free for all? I guess I'll say again that I work in an office with thousands of employees (corporate headquarters of a Fortune 50). Every employee is entitled to two 15 minute rest breaks and one 30-60 minute meal break each day. If they take additional breaks, or take extra time on these breaks, they are disciplined.

I still want to know where these offices are that everybody keeps bringing up in here where employees just take as many breaks as they want whenever they want. Other than when I was server in college, I've never seen anything like that at any professional job I've had.

Everywhere I've worked has allowed non-front-line office employees as many smoke breaks as they need - really as many breaks of any kind as they need. It's always been treated like restroom breaks - go when you need to go. I've worked for companies with 20, 200, 500, 1000, 20,000, 100,000, and 200,000 employees. Well, I think smoke breaks are treated somewhere in-between restroom breaks and foosball breaks. Note: Only three of the companies I worked for had foosball breaks.

 

[jaklgreen]

In the DSA you are generally with like-minded people. In lines etc. You are with the people that you have little in common with - the self-privileged, ‘stick up the **** brigade’, if you will!

Occasionally you will meet a good one!

I don't see a correlation between smoking and like mindedness. I have met plenty of smokers that are nowhere near like minded.

 

[slappy magoo]

In the DSA you are generally with like-minded people. In lines etc. You are with the people that you have little in common with - the self-privileged, ‘stick up the **** brigade’, if you will!

Occasionally you will meet a good one!

Either I have incredibly good luck when it comes to interacting with other guests or you have incredibly bad luck.
Or my charm is just that infectious.
Don't giggle. It could happen.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

@Lensman
...there’s a term for anyone that thinks Disney did this move haphazardly or without extensive research:

A “rookie”.

They don’t make these kinds of policy decisions unless they know how it will play.

It’s not like a guy drove in some morning and said...”let’s ban smoking...who’s gonna notice??”

 

[ppete1975]

This all leads to either smoking extra hours (spend 150 dollars and you can smoke at this late night event) or smoking parties replace dessert parties

 

[disneyfireman]

I've been on this board off and on since around 2005, and I have no idea what this means.

Research. Then.

 

[disneyfireman]

No - because hippa has no application between a business like Disney and a patron

Exactly. No such thing as hippa unless you are in the medical or insurance business. Hippa has to be the most miss used legal term ever.

 

[disneyfireman]

How about, in MK you can only smoke while riding the Tomorrowland Speedway? It won't make it much worse!

I was thinking Astro orbiter.

 

[SoupBone]

Research. Then.

Ok I did. I agree with her on two points.

Bring back McDonald's French fries! That was a great treat to have and a break from Disney's regular fast food type offerings. I really miss that kiosk.

The moat stinks to high hell when it's drained. I get it's a necessary thing, but damn, could you spray some potpourri or something.

 

[Calmdownnow]

Everywhere I've worked has allowed non-front-line office employees as many smoke breaks as they need - really as many breaks of any kind as they need. It's always been treated like restroom breaks - go when you need to go. I've worked for companies with 20, 200, 500, 1000, 20,000, 100,000, and 200,000 employees. Well, I think smoke breaks are treated somewhere in-between restroom breaks and foosball breaks. Note: Only three of the companies I worked for had foosball breaks.

Some people on here will really freak out at the way a modern, forward-thinking employer treats employee breaks, compared to the indentured servitude imposed by their own 20th century hide-bound employers. During the last football world cup, my son's employer encouraged staff to participate in a FIFA games tournament in regular breaks during the day. They saw it as more effective team-building than a staff meeting. As a manager of a 20+ team of employees, I encouraged all staff -- smokers or not -- to take hourly breaks and I found that those who did had lower stress levels, were better problem solvers because they had time out to think and process difficult information, and the smokers who went out to "smokers' corner" came back with useful intell about how other departments were working.

PLUS, the smokers also worked longer hours than they were paid for because they were conscious of not taking advantage.

 

[disneyfireman]

Ok I did. I agree with her on two points.

Bring back McDonald's French fries! That was a great treat to have and a break from Disney's regular fast food type offerings. I really miss that kiosk.

The moat stinks to high hell when it's drained. I get it's a necessary thing, but damn, could you spray some potpourri or something.

The moat is actually the sewer plant. A lot of folks don’t know that. The moat is a collection area if you will.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Ok, really serious question here. Just really want to know.
Just read a post where someone thought that this will bring more people into the parks and it’s a calculated thing Disney is doing? Help me out here. Does anyone think there is anyone, in the world that has always wanted to go to Disney but didn’t because they had, well for the most part, not all, one or two smoking sections away from non smokers? They didn’t go because there was one area, in a huge park, that had smoking? Sorry for repeating it again but I don’t think there was one person that thought this.

 

[Calmdownnow]

But that still just sounds like bad management to me. Why are these employers letting their employees just have a break free for all? I guess I'll say again that I work in an office with thousands of employees (corporate headquarters of a Fortune 50). Every employee is entitled to two 15 minute rest breaks and one 30-60 minute meal break each day. If they take additional breaks, or take extra time on these breaks, they are disciplined.

I sincerely hope that you do not work for a company that applies these limits in a European country because since 1990, if people are using computers, they will probably have been breaking health and safety legislation within the EU.

The European laws say"The employer must plan the worker's activities in such a way that daily work on a display screen is periodically interrupted by breaks or changes of activity reducing the workload at the display screen. " If you work in the US, not Europe, you might want to consider why your Fortune 50 employer has been ignoring health risks for 28 years.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Jeez, people. One day... ONE day I'm busy with work... And five pages later.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Exactly. No such thing as hippa unless you are in the medical or insurance business. Hippa has to be the most miss used legal term ever.

Survey says... BBBRRRAAAPPPP.

HIPAA applies to health data (medical history, medications, yada yada). There are also laws governing financial data (SSNs, CC numbers, yada yada) a.k.a. simply, "sensitive data." Both are exactly on target, both are protected (especially HIPAA, but whatev). There are strict guidelines how this data can be stored, who can access it, where and why they can access it... More often than not, unless you have an express need (and even if you don't) things like SSNs and CC numbers are obfuscated (e.g. XXX-XX-1234). The latter is covered under SOX/PCI compliance, among others. Companies are audited around this stuff.

 

[Baron von Stenger]

Are you actually blaming Disney and other guests for your addiction to nicotine?

You’re missing the point! When Disney had smoking areas in out of the way places, the non-smokers weren’t bothered or even aware we there.

 

[Calmdownnow]

Are you actually blaming Disney and other guests for your addiction to nicotine?

No, we are just asking why a commercial entity thinks it is OK to treat some of it's consumers as if they are unwelcome.