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From now on the only smoke you’ll encounter at Disney World will be from the daily fireworks exploding over the Magic Kingdom. That’s because a new smoking ban has eliminated designated smoking areas from Disney theme parks in the U.S.
E-cigarettes and vape pens are also included in the ban, which took effect earlier in May at Florida locations Walt Disney World and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and California’s Disneyland and Downtown Disney. Also included are all affiliated water parks.
The ban seeks to “provide a more enjoyable experience for everyone” and “reduce congestion,” according to a Disney spokesperson who spoke to CBS News.
Smokers can now step outside the parks, where the company will maintain designated smoking areas.
According to the Center for Disease Control’s 2017 study, about 14% of all adults over the age of 18 smoke cigarettes “every day” or “some days.”
The age group that smokes the most comprises folks age 45 to 64 (16.5%), so there could be some disgruntled parents and grandparents looking to sneak a quick smoke before hopping on Space Mountain.
One expensive solution is to visit a Disney theme park abroad. As of now, designated smoking areas are still featured within park boundaries at international Disney locations in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Paris.
The new ban is another in a series of moves Disney has made in an effort to distance itself from smoking and cigarettes.
Designated smoking areas inside the theme parks have been shrinking in number for years, and in 2015 Disney announced it would no longer portray any characters smoking cigarettes in films geared toward younger audiences.
One person who might have struggled with the new rules is Walt Disney himself. Disney’s cigarette habit was legendary: Vintage ashtrays and matchbooks are part of the careful and precise restoration of his original office that occurred in 2015.
He died in 1966 from lung cancer, long before a smoking ban would take effect in the parks that bear his name.
