Was anyone at Disney 0n 9/11/01?

[Silentoffy]

I wasn't in the park on the 11th (which is my birthday), but I had a trip already scheduled to begin on the 17th. We were a little wary of flying, but after finding out that terrorism isn't covered by the trip insurance we decided to make the most of it. It turned out to be for the best that we did. I know that it was just what I needed. I got to tune out a reality that was just a little too much at times. I know that I didn't need to see the video footage 50 times a day. Instead, I got to enjoy myself in a fantasy world and set the real world aside for a week.

That was my first trip back to Disney World as an adult. I had fond memories of the park from going as a kid, but I think that it was the magic that it provided during that trip that really elevated Disney World to the level of specialness that it now holds. Being there that week was also an interesting experience. I got to ride Splash Mountain twice in a row by myself (my girlfriend at the time didn't like drops) during an E-Ride night. Everything was pretty close to walk on. I got to see the park and then some since waiting times were so minimal. It left us plenty of time to do other things that we wouldn't normally have the time to do.

 

[Uponastar]

We had a trip planned to WDW a couple of weeks after 9-11. We decided to go. I'll always be glad we did. Although the Disney magic worked wonders in creating an atmosphere that almost made you forget, the pain of the tragedy was present in every face you saw. There was a bond, a connection between all of us there. We were all in the same boat, just trying to be normal, if only for a while. It was amazing to share this experience with not only our fellow Americans, but with people from all over the world who were so kind. I will never, ever forget that trip.

In a side note, my dh and I travelled from our home in Philly to NY and Washington DC in the first few days after 9-11. We went to Ground Zero. There are no words. The pictures are etched in my mind forever.

 

[rad_rat]

My family and I were there. We had left our room at Caribbean Beach -- and we'd had CNN on -- just before the news broke. So we got the to MK totally unaware that anything had happened. When the alert signal sounded we had no idea what was going on. On the way out to the buses, my daughters were telling me that they had heard a bomb had gone off in one of the World Trade Centers. My reply was, "So why close down Disney World? Why would something like that in New York make a difference to central Florida?" They'll never let me forget that.

Afterwards the edge of a tropical storm came through. As others have said, the parks were deserted. I mean, how often do the cm's invite you to stay on Test Track or Peter Pan for extra rides? At one point, at night, we got off of Goofy's Barnstormer in Toontown Fair, and it was kind of foggy so we couldn't see very far. The place was empty. Out of the fog we see Mickey and Minnie walking down the street hand-in-hand toward us.

 

[NowInc]

I was working there on that day, and the decision to clear the parks was made very earliy on without much debate. I admire how nicely the situation was handled, since in thearoy..it could have gotten REALLY messy.

The following weeks, as mentioned, the whole resort was a ghost town. (my usual 30 minute drive to work with traffic took me only 15 after 9/11) It took almost a year for things to get back to "normal".

 

[emmasgigi]

I was at AK when they closed the parks.We had no idea what had happened until we got out of the park.Disney did an excellent job of evacuating everyone.We were at WDW celebrating ny grandaughters BD and had an early PS at Cinderellas table the next day.We were able to go but had to make a dash for it because of all the extra security measures.Once again WDW saved the day!

 

[GolferQn]

I live in NYC and had planned a vacation for September 13, 2001. We didnt make it. My uncle was a cop and was working round the clock at ground zero so we cancelled. We also still didnt know where friends and family where and we were just still taking in the shock of being there and seeing what happened. Its still hard to talk about.

 

[DisneyFanLS]

That's a day I'll NEVER forget!!!

Yes, my wife and I were there on Sept 11, 2001....it was only the second day of our trip. I remember we had not been in Epcot very long...we were entering the Living Seas and overheard two CM's talking about a plane crashing in New York...we asked them about it and they said all they knew was that a plane had crashed into a building in New York City...well...the first thing that came to my mind was a small plane (like a Cessna) must have crashed into one of the buildings up there, and quite honestly I didn't think any more about it.......anyway....we were looking around in the gift shop (inside the Living Seas) when a cast member approached us and said that they were evacuating the park, and that we would have to leave as quickly as possible....we asked several CM's what was happening, and ALL they would say was that it was a matter of a "National Emergency"...but WOULDN'T tell us exactly what was happening...My wife had her cell phone with her and as we were leaving the front entrance to walk to the parking lot, she called her office to find out something....THAT is when we found out what had happened....we spent the rest of that day in our hotel room (at the All-Star Movies Resort) watching the news on television and crying our eyes out....we were SO devastated as we sat there and watched those two planes fly into the Twin Towers!!!

I have to say that the park evacuation was extremely orderly, with people pretty much just walking out the front entrance...in fact, I don't think ANYONE knew yet what exactly had happened!!??? I guess the higher ups and WDW figured that if they told everyone what had happened, it may have caused a panic situation??!!!

The thing is, we still had five days left on our vacation, and needless to say, it was extremely difficult, and I'll go so far as to say IMPOSSIBLE to have a good time after that....I asked my wife if she wanted to just fly back home the next day, but OF COURSE the airport had been shut down and we couldn't get a flight out!!! So we "toughed" it out and came back home the following Saturday...oh and....we had to drive our rental car back to Atlanta, cause the airport was STILL a MESS!!! (And so were we!!!)....

That's one trip I will NEVER, EVER forget!!!!

 

[Nemesis394]

i wonder what it was like for the people of the morocco exhibit in EPCoT... especially since the operators of the exhibit im pretty sure are from morocco... i wonder if racist sentiments were expressed...

 

[joanna71985]

I was in HS on September 11th. It was a free period, so everyone on the computers and CD players had gone to sites with info on the attacks. The rest of the day was almost in slow motion. A lot of people were crying, kids went home, and everyone was in a sense of panic. When I got home from school things were a lot worse. My dad's best friend was in one of the towers and was missing for some time before we found out he died. He left behind a wife and 3 little kids. Dom, we miss you a lot! RIP.

 

[piratelass]

I wasn't in the parks, but I do have a story..

During the crash itself I was only in Fifth Grade, and looking forward to a Disney trip that very next June. It was Third Period Science class with Mr. Stoops, and I don't think I'll ever forget look on my class mates faces. There was an announcement over the Loud Speaker that we would not go outside for Recess because of the Casualities in New York. We were kind of confused because we didn't know what was going on. Our Science teacher explained to us what had happened and the rest of the day was a little surreal. All of the teachers tried to do things normally as to not scare us. We didn't even know how bad it actually was until we got home. My brother, who was in college at the time, said all of the people in his Dorm spent most of the day in their Rec room watching news coverage, considering they were in lockdown and not permitted to leave their dorms or class rooms.

It was a scary time, and it wasn't until I was older that I really realized how horrible the casulties were. I mean, I was only 11 and I didn't understand a lot of it. Its a shame, but then again, we can all tell our kids or grandkids about 9/11 and pray that nothing like that would ever happen again.

 

[Connor002]

It was a scary time, and it wasn't until I was older that I really realized how horrible the casulties were. I mean, I was only 11 and I didn't understand a lot of it. Its a shame, but then again, we can all tell our kids or grandkids about 9/11 and pray that nothing like that would ever happen again.

I know what you mean. It's npt untill you're older and look back on it that you understand.

 

[Tim G]

I was at the office in CA that day...
I'll never forget that day for as long as I live...

 

[nsxdrift_89]

My parents flew out of JFK on 9/11.

They made it back to CA, they weren't pulled down, becuase they arrived at about 1 a.m. (pacific). They got home and slept, everybody was wondering if they were ok, their secretary called and told them what was going on, they though it was nuts, like something out of a sadistic movie. They turned the TV on and were shocked. I was in sixth grade at the time, and you could tell something terrible happened. I will never forget that day, and the aftermath. It really shows how this company can come together in a time of crisis.

The effects of 9/11 brought the country together. The effects of a cat 5 hurricane in New Orleans, and media hysteria led to 18 hours of traffic to get out of Houston, and then the hurricane downgraded to a cat 3, that is the media for you.

 

[TOTGuy]

I went to WDW the first week of October 2001 for Fall Break since we decided it best to cancel our trip to Italy. There was NO ONE in the parks. My longest wait was 5 minutes for Space Mountain. We did go on American Adventure (it was my first time on that one) and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The voices of liberty were also extremely moving. I remember it being so odd because 100 years of magic was just starting and there were reporters everywhere. Though I think that was my favorite WDW vacation, I got to know lots of CM's really well. Especially on ToT and GMR, thats what happens when you can ride them 8 times in an hour. I think I would have lost my mind if it weren't for Disney to distract me from the seriousness of the situation.