After some murmurings on social media, it appears Disney has gone public with some major adjustments to park policies, including the removal of smoking areas within parks and the adjustment of park policies related to stroller size, stroller wagons and loose ice. All changes become effective starting May 1.
STROLLERS
Families with little ones know strollers are an important part of a vacation. It’s the napping zone, the storage place, and the spot for tired legs to rest while experiencing the magic.
Beginning May 1, guidelines on stroller sizes will be adjusted, requiring them to be no larger than 31″ (79cm) wide and 52″ (132cm) long. Many strollers on the market, including many double jogging strollers, fit within these size guidelines. Disney will also begin strictly enforcing their “no wagons” policy. Beginning May 1, stroller wagons will also no longer be permitted. These updates are designed to help guest flow and ease congestion, making the parks more enjoyable for everyone.
SMOKING
Also beginning May 1, smoking areas will no longer be present inside Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme parks, water parks, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex or Downtown Disney in California.
Designated smoking areas will be available outside the entrances of the areas listed above and at Disney Springs in Florida. For guests who have room or dining reservations, smoking areas are also available at Disney Resort hotels.
LOOSE ICE
Beginning today, if guests plan to bring a cooler or cooler bag to store snacks and drinks for theme park or water park adventures, it’s important to know that loose or dry ice are no longer permitted in Disney parks. Re-useable ice packs will be permitted.
For additional information about these updates, you can visit the FAQs section at DisneyWorld.com/RulesFAQ and Disneyland.com/RulesFAQ.
I love this. I cannot stand when vapors think that they are not considered smoking. I also love that the strollers will be single width and shorter. People do not understand that they are a nuisance to others.
are you sure its a cat?
I think these changes are welcomed and long overdue for the smoking restrictions. So many times I’ve been stuck behind a slow-moving mass to have some rude person in front of me blow second-hand smoke in my and my children’s faces. If airports can confine people to cancer caves, so can Disney!
Well that’s clearly breaking the rules to begin with so what in the world makes you think people like that still won’t break the rules? Disneys smoking areas were most of the time far enough away from non smokers to not be an issue. Now they have to walk completely out of the park and re enter just for a cigarette. Not like I really want to visit Disney anyways, way to crowded. I only go once every ten years at most just to see what’s changed (usually not much) let alone they don’t have any rides really worth going for once you’ve ridden them once.
Well this is just one more reason for me to boycott Disney!!! It’s a damn shame you can’t go somewhere and enjoy yourself for some asses wanting to make it hard for you to do so. As much as they charge you to get into the place you should be able to smoke in a designated area other than having to walk back outside the gate. This is discrimination!!!!!!
Stop trying to take our rights! If we wanna smoke, we’ll smoke! If outside, it is IMPOSSIBLE for smoke to “cause damage”. America is gettin too dang sissified!
If Disney thinks this is going to stop people from smoking inside their parks, they got another thing coming. I vape in the designated area, but now I will just find some other place inside the park to do so.
Sure you will, Robert. Because you are such a baby that you cannot follow simple rules says what kind of man you are. Be a man of integrity, please. America needs more role models.
Yep just see about that “another thing coming” when they catch you and ban you from every park associated with the Walt Disney company because your measly loss of profit will sure hurt them in the long run. Hell that alone makes me want to buy an annual pass so I can be there to see it.
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/index.htm#what I have had two grandparents die to lung cancer from smoking. No amount of second hand smoke is safe. Be respectful of others and don’t force them to breathe your toxic smoke.
Yeah that’s a stupid thing to do. The people who smoke while walking around are probably the reasons this is happening. That and the people who leave their complaints in the box about how the smoking areas “ruin the magic.” I really don’t see the need to remove smoking areas though, Disneys were far enough from the beaten path to not really bother non smokers. Now I’ll have to walk clear to the exit and re enter. Luckily I can last most of the day without a cigarette easily. Not that I go to that disaster of a place often. Wayyy too many people at those parks for me to enjoy myself. They should cut the number of people allowed in by like 20%.
I am curious about the loose ice thing. Do you know why this would be banned? The strollers and smoking sections are pretty self-explanatory.
It’s to help speed up bag check. So security doesn’t have to sift through ice. It is fine if you put it in zip lock bags. Just trying to speed up bag check.
Exactly! People are clueless about the massive crowds expected when Galaxy Land opens at both parks. They are preparing for this exact thing.
The ice ban is probably because in the past people have made dry ice bombs, and since it us hard to sometimes tell the difference, disney decided to ban all ice from being brought into the parks.
Disney should also look into large backpacks. Standing in line is just awful, going thru fast pass lane and guests sitting on railings with backpacks block lanes . Getting thru crowds is hard too when you have backpacks hitting you in every direction.
Can we just ban everyone from entering? I keep seeing people making long lines to rides and anything fun… and that dang cast member wont allow me to even go around them to get on the ride… ban the cm as well. Thanks
SOOOO very grateful that Disney is banning smoking inside the parks – it IS a genuine health risk, not just because of second hand smoke – which is a real thing even outdoors (scientifically proven y’all, just sayin’), but also for people who suffer from severe breathing issues. I mean, come on, just because you like to smoke, don’t be ignorant and act like it’s as harmless as smelling tulips – ignoramuses like that who convince themselves it’s no big deal and they go off smoking outside the designated smoking areas are the very people who ruined it for all y’all – so be mad at them, not Disney!! As a mom with a daughter with severe asthma there has been multiple times (We are AP Holders) in non-smoking areas that I had to say something to a smoker standing right by us – parades, fireworks, outside lines, etc., including one time when she was still in a stroller (little umbrella stroller) and the guy didn’t notice her and hung his hand right down in her face before we could figure out where the smoke smell was coming from – at the nighttime EPCOT show!!! His selfishness ruined the rest of our night! I think it’s the smokers who abused the policies ruined it for all of them – if that is the case, then those of y’all who are smokers should really get on the policy abusers and make sure they don’t ruin it further for the rest of y’all at the hotels and Disney Springs too.
About time the wagons and strollers got restrictions and the coolers too I was tired of always trodding through the slush people would just dump at leisure on the sidewalk and getting around a corral of RV sized strollers at rides was very annoying so great job Disney. Smoking should have been banned years ago when it was removed from malls, hospitals, and all other public places. If you can’t go a day without smoking for your family’s fun day then stay from the parks because I don’t want to breathe your second hand smoke either.
My wife has asthma. I hope the designated smoking areas will be far enough away from the park entrances and security check areas so that we don’t have to breathe the smoke.
Oh, I can’t wait until some of the comments on this story join the “Wonderful World of Psychotic Comments.”
Smokers pay the same amount of money to get into the parks as non smokers. The designated smoking areas were a good idea and most were isolated far enough away so it shouldn’t bother anyone. I’m am a smoker and I have always treated others with respect and I feel that I should be treated the same. I hate smelling strong perfume that a lot of women wear and I hate hearing babies screaming when I sit down at a restaurant to eat dinner but parents don’t care about the comforts of others. Maybe there should be a kid section designated for them so those of us that don’t want to hear the constant crying can enjoy ourselves. It’s not always about kids. Teens running and pushing are another issue. Nobody will ever be happy. Disney will have to change their motto of Being the Happiest Place on Earth. Ever been around an angry smoker who can’t smoke????? LOL. I won’t be back to Disney World. I found that Universal and Island of Adventure is a much better place for adults and they aren’t as strict as Disney. You guys enjoy the House of the Mouse, I was once a huge fan but Disney ruined it
The point is,smoking affects innocent people who don’t smoke, whether you are indoors or not, and most people don’t smoke, so why should we have to cater to those who were stupid enough to start smoking? Times have changed buddy. There are several other ways for you to get your nic fix without violating other people’s rights and bodies, such as Nicotine gum, nicotine spray and nicotine patch. So if you’re so pathetic and inconsiderate that you can’t go a day without sucking your pacifier, use one of the other methods to get your drug fix and stop whining.
Well, I’m not even a smoker but I don’t notice the “designated” smoking areas so they’re far enough out of the way that they don’t really bother anyone. If you don’t like it then don’t walk through it.. plain and simple. And honestly the only thing this is going to do is bump up the vaping so it’s pretty pointless! Good job Disney.. alienating another group of paying customers just like with the stoller restrictions. I mean.. who’s running this place?? Definitely not what Walt Disney invisioned as the happiest place on earth with all these rules. Here’s a better suggestion.. stop being so money hungry and cap the amount of people in the parks so someone without a fast pass doesn’t have to wait 4 hours for one of the new freaking rides! How about that for a restriction?? Lol
Disney is officially now no longer a family oriented company with this new ban. The Walt Disney Company used to stand for progressive thinking which included concepts such as acceptance, tolerance and creating a great place for families to get away from reality. We can now drop progressive thinking and everything to go with it. It might still be family oriented if you can accept that Disney no longer wants the whole family, like the grandparents who smoke cigars, the uncle who finally quit smoking by switching to vape so he can see his niece grow-up, the aunt who is attached to her slims, and anyone else who uses nicotine in a way that might possibly resemble smoking. Don’t forget, Uncle Walt is also persona non grata in his own Park now. Discrimination is alive and well in the 21st century and I never expected it from Disney. It’s a shame too, this is getting swept under the rug because of popular opinion regarding smoking, even though the American Cancer Association calls this type of thinking harmful and the cause of many deaths. Disney had an opportunity to embrace what has been called one of the biggest miracles of the 21st century, a technology which has the potential to save millions, if not billions of lives, Vaping which is not safe (nothing is) but can replace the cigarette. Disney has instead opted to condemn millions and segregate millions of families based upon no fact or study but only by opinion. Who will be next? Do you think you are safe? When is it ok to segregate a group of people? Will this ban pave the way for more bans? Tattoos? Social status? Income?City of residence? Dental records? Credit scores? Facebook posts? Twitter followers?
THANK YOU DISNEY!!! It is about time they took a stand. The stroller problem was getting ridiculous! The huge strollers blocked the flow of traffic, blocked the entrances to the rides, made it take longer to get into the park due to all of the crap that people stuff in these strollers and made it take longer to get on the buses due to the length of time it takes to break down the strollers to fit on the bus. I have read a few previous posts where individuals accused Disney of no longer being “tolerant”. Really?! Disney is just trying to improve the overall flow of the park. If the individuals with the giant strollers had any kind of common courtesy, they would realize that these strollers were too big themselves.
The smoking ban inside the park is also very welcome. My “right” to not have someone blow smoke in my face is just as relevant as your “right” to smoke. If you don’t want to come to the parks because you can’t smoke in them, no loss for us.
We have two months left on our passes and I will not renew. We spend way to much money at the parks every month when we go so bye bye Disney you just lost a couple of pass holders who spend a lot of money but no more Disney until you give us smokers are areas back see ya!!!!!!