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sdfilmcritic
02-03-2005, 06:35 AM
Other than Travel Reservations CMs did you guys know the DLR hotels sell packs of cigarettes? I never knew this until I was with someone who wanted to buy and pack and walked right up to one of the cashiers to get one.

stan4d_steph
02-03-2005, 06:44 AM
Yes, I did know this.

calguy77
02-03-2005, 06:51 AM
Other than Travel Reservations CMs did you guys know the DLR hotels sell packs of cigarettes? I never knew this until I was with someone who wanted to buy and pack and walked right up to one of the cashiers to get one.

I don't smoke, but why is this a big deal?

sdfilmcritic
02-03-2005, 06:53 AM
It's not a big deal, but rather a casual observation that I never thought about before.

bradk
02-03-2005, 07:03 AM
as i was doing my research for my trip, for reasons i probably can't justify, i did find it a bit funny that a park that banned its on-stage employees from having any facial hair, so it gave the impression that everyone was young, had a smoke shop, as if DL was tempting to corrupt the youth.

but i guess people have to get their cigarettes somewhere.

Terri
02-03-2005, 07:34 AM
Well...about "why it's a big deal" ... 2 reasons.
When Disneyland opened, Walt wanted to keep the park as clean as possible (to mainly avoid the dirty carnival atmosphere found at amusement parks of the time) and one of the ways he did this was to not allow the selling of gum, peanuts and cigarettes in the park. The other reason might be because Walt was an avid smoker and died of lung cancer. Now...both of these might be a big deal if the powers-that-be at Disney actually cared about Walt...

(okay...a little grouchy about Eisner today...)

They've been selling cigarettes for quite a while at the hotel though and I believe they may have been doing so since it's inception. I vaguely remember a tobacco-type shop there...way back...long ago.

TikiGeek
02-03-2005, 07:45 AM
Why do they sell cigarettes?

We make a lot of money doing so

Don't get me wrong - I love Disney! But don't forget, they are a publicly traded company - no different than any other publicly traded company in that respect.
Everything they do is geared toward stock price and profit per share, everything. :|

PumbaaMan
02-03-2005, 07:57 AM
They even sell cigars at the main bar at GCH and the Napa Rose. There's nothing like enjoying a nice cigar and a glass of really good single malt scotch at the end of a hectic day.

CoasterChickie
02-03-2005, 07:58 AM
Everything they do is geared toward stock price and profit per share, everything. :|


You're making me think of how my daughter responds to questions. :) She'l lsay something like "Did you know that ..." and then quote some statistic or fact that she's read or heard like she's the authority.

So in regards to smoking at Disneyland she'd say "Did you know that the cleaner an amusement park is, the more safe guests feel when they're there." Then she'd say "Disneyland is cleaner than the Boardwalk but the Boardwalk actually has a better safety record."

(And there are many things that make the Boardwalk seem dirty including cigarette butts, but it's actually pretty clean)

calguy77
02-03-2005, 08:04 AM
Well...about "why it's a big deal" ... 2 reasons.
When Disneyland opened, Walt wanted to keep the park as clean as possible (to mainly avoid the dirty carnival atmosphere found at amusement parks of the time) and one of the ways he did this was to not allow the selling of gum, peanuts and cigarettes in the park. The other reason might be because Walt was an avid smoker and died of lung cancer. Now...both of these might be a big deal if the powers-that-be at Disney actually cared about Walt...

(okay...a little grouchy about Eisner today...)

They've been selling cigarettes for quite a while at the hotel though and I believe they may have been doing so since it's inception. I vaguely remember a tobacco-type shop there...way back...long ago.


again why is this a big deal, a lot of people smoke and drink, did you know that certain hotels sell alcoholic beverages, you go up to this area called a car and a man/woman behind there for exchange of currency will give you one, shhhhh, don't tell anyone

Tutter
02-03-2005, 08:15 AM
I didn't know that, but it makes sense as those who are smokers and staying at the resort will need to buy their cigarettes from somwhere. They seem to sell everything you need in the hotel shops - eg toothbrushes, combs, things you might have left at home. I don't think it would simply be profit, they would presumably respond as well to what the people who stay at the hotels ask for.

TikiGeek
02-03-2005, 08:24 AM
You're making me think of how my daughter responds to questions. :) She'l lsay something like "Did you know that ..." and then quote some statistic or fact that she's read or heard like she's the authority.Your daughter sounds like a very logical person :)

Lani
02-03-2005, 08:27 AM
Somehow I'm thinking that the Grand Californian doesn't sell tobacco products, though, since all the rooms are non-smoking...

bradk
02-03-2005, 08:37 AM
Well...about "why it's a big deal" ... 2 reasons.
When Disneyland opened, Walt wanted to keep the park as clean as possible (to mainly avoid the dirty carnival atmosphere found at amusement parks of the time) and one of the ways he did this was to not allow the selling of gum, peanuts and cigarettes in the park.

I suppose that would help, but it's an awkward way of thinking and wouldn't really protect anything. People could just as easily bring any of that stuff in from anywhere, and I'm sure they did. By your second trip, you already know that if you want to chew gum while in the park, you bring it with you. Doesn't seem like a well thought out decision which seems uncharacteristic, but i guess it's also a well intended thought.

i'm not sure profit is the incentive either for a pack of cigarettes since the price is already so high from taxes that it's not really ideal to charge much more on top of that (unless they're charging $10 a pack). i think it's a matter of convenience for the guests and even moreso to avoid a backlash from angry visitors who need their fix.

i read that the tobacco shop closed in 86 i think? don't recall seeing when it opened. all i remember reading about it was that its prior location (in main street?) is marked by the symbol of an indian on the ground. evidently it's now the 20th century music shop.

supposedly they were also selling cigarettes in the park up until a few years ago as well, they just kept the cigarettes under the counter, out of plain view. i think leading to the idea that disney doesn't mind making money off selling diabeties-inducing cola to kids, but doesn't want to be seen supporting the addictions of adults.

FoodLover
02-03-2005, 08:38 AM
Well...about "why it's a big deal" ... 2 reasons.
When Disneyland opened, Walt wanted to keep the park as clean as possible (to mainly avoid the dirty carnival atmosphere found at amusement parks of the time) and one of the ways he did this was to not allow the selling of gum, peanuts and cigarettes in the park.

Cigarettes have been available as a "behind the counter" purchase throughout the resort (parks and hotels) for as long as I can remember. Actually there was a smoke shop on Main Street in the early days. (You can frequently find matchbooks from it on eBay.) Ashtrays were sold all over Disneyland until well into the 1970s at least!

Sad but true!

Terri
02-03-2005, 08:51 AM
wow...didn't mean to inspire such heated responses...

I was only repeating the Disney ideals of merchandising as taught by the Disney academy during the 70's.

I do remember the smoke shop on main street...probably the one I was thinking was at the hotel...oops.

And yes...I fully realize that you can purchase things "outside" the park and bring them in...yes...even alcohol (and even other stuff!) again...it wasn't MY theory on how the park worked, but Walt Disney...yes...when Disney opened the park in 1955, things were much different than now in 2005. And there are quite a few people who see those 50 year old ideas as plan silly or not cost effective in todays world - quite true.

I honestly don't think it's a big deal to sell cigarettes or alcohol in the parks (or gum, or peanuts or anything else for that matter). Nor do I have any issues with my purchasing of any of these things. The only big deal I see is that Eisner and his puppets don't respect the original ideals of Walt Disney...And truly...the Disneyland that most people here love isn't the one Eisner created but the one he inherited.

'Nuf said...I'm now stepping down off the soapbox and crawling back into my igloo with my smokes and my bottle... :p

calguy77
02-03-2005, 09:27 AM
Cigarettes have been available as a "behind the counter" purchase throughout the resort (parks and hotels) for as long as I can remember. Actually there was a smoke shop on Main Street in the early days. (You can frequently find matchbooks from it on eBay.) Ashtrays were sold all over Disneyland until well into the 1970s at least!

Sad but true!


I love how its sad to so many, even though alcohol kills more each year.

bradk
02-03-2005, 09:50 AM
I love how its sad to so many, even though alcohol kills more each year.

alcohol deaths? or alcohol-RELATED deaths?

according to the National Institute of Health, in the US, 20 out of 100,000 people die each year from cirrhosis of the liver. Which using a rough value of the US population, equates to about 59,000 people.

on the other hand, smoking is held directly accountable for 440,000 deaths per year. again, according to the NIH.

now, you can factor in alcohol-RELATED deaths and sure, that's a tragic scenario and certainly multiplies the death count (which is why plane crashes have such notoriety - they kill so many people at one time, but still are statistically the safest way to travel).

but then do you also factor in smoking-related deaths? how smoking is considered a potential factor in SIDS? or the NIH speculates 2nd hand smoke is responsible for an additional 330,000 deaths per year? not to mention the number of fires caused by lit cigarettes?

i don't mean to grandstand, it's just that as a non-smoker (and a non-drinker i might add), i think it's unfair to make it so decidedly one decided, especially when a drunk person sometimes just annoys the heck out of me, but a smoker literally leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Opus1guy
02-03-2005, 10:47 AM
Well, let's face it. Walt loved tobacco products. Many of the folks I've talked to over the years that knew and worked with Walt state that the Tobacco Shop on Main Street was one of his personal favorites. He was always trying out new smokes and flavors that the buyer would bring in there. And on trips around the globe, Walt would bring back new discoveries in tobacco and suggest a few be added to the shop's mix for his Park guests.

Walt had a fondness for everything from standard Chesterfields to full sized cigars to petite dark cigarettos. One of the old games Studio and Imagineer folks would play when looking at old photos of Walt, was "What's Walt Toking?" where you try to guess the brand or type. :)

Not to be outdone by others, Walt authorized the creation of several varieties of Disneyland branded cigars. They were sold in the Park, the Disneyland Hotel, and were often given by Walt to family and friends on special occasions such as weddings, births, anniversaries, etc. These cigar boxes and cigar labels are pretty prized collectibles by some (including me!). And to find a full box of Disneyland cigars intact, or even a partially full box...is an especially rare find.

Up until about 6 years ago, there was still a shop on Main Street at Walt Disney World that had a very large cabinet humidor that sold fine cigars. This was during the height of the big cigar craze of that time. When the craze petered out and sales dropped, Disney removed it. For financial reasons, mainly. You can still find cigar humidors at various non-park Disney restaurants at Walt Disney World. And there is the Sosa Family Cigar Shop at Disney's West End, which is a full quality cigar store (with an old Cuban cigar roller doing show rollings in the lobby).

At the Disneyland Resort in California, there are only 3 venues that I know of that sell cigars via humidors:

- Wine Cellar
- Grand Californian's Hearthstone Lounge
- Napa Rose (which has a nice fire ring smoking area outside to the right of the bar)

And another side piece of Disney/cigar related trivia. The Diplomatico Cuban cigar band, is reported to be based on and inspired by Cinderella's carriage:http://www.casademalahato.com/images/product/diplomatico.gif

bradk
02-03-2005, 10:53 AM
That's fascinating, thanks. That's what I couldn't figure out. I actually read about the Disneyland cigars, but couldn't put a date on when the shop was opened. It was there from the beginning then?

Opus1guy
02-03-2005, 11:06 AM
I actually read about the Disneyland cigars, but couldn't put a date on when the shop was opened. It was there from the beginning then?

Yup. It was an Opening Day shop. I believe it's name when it first opened was simply "Fine Tobacco."

calguy77
02-03-2005, 11:11 AM
alcohol deaths? or alcohol-RELATED deaths?

according to the National Institute of Health, in the US, 20 out of 100,000 people die each year from cirrhosis of the liver. Which using a rough value of the US population, equates to about 59,000 people.

on the other hand, smoking is held directly accountable for 440,000 deaths per year. again, according to the NIH.

now, you can factor in alcohol-RELATED deaths and sure, that's a tragic scenario and certainly multiplies the death count (which is why plane crashes have such notoriety - they kill so many people at one time, but still are statistically the safest way to travel).

but then do you also factor in smoking-related deaths? how smoking is considered a potential factor in SIDS? or the NIH speculates 2nd hand smoke is responsible for an additional 330,000 deaths per year? not to mention the number of fires caused by lit cigarettes?

i don't mean to grandstand, it's just that as a non-smoker (and a non-drinker i might add), i think it's unfair to make it so decidedly one decided, especially when a drunk person sometimes just annoys the heck out of me, but a smoker literally leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I don't smoke either, but I just get up and walk away, maybe you should try that

FoodLover
02-03-2005, 11:20 AM
I love how its sad to so many, even though alcohol kills more each year.

Cigarettes have killed four of my closest friends and family members. I'm not talking about the quiet deaths of old people in their sleep. I watched vibrant people I loved turn into gaunt and miserable ghosts of their former selves. I witnessed them fighting for every breath.

Another friend is dying from emphysema because of his 2-pack-a-day habit. He has maybe a year left.

So cigarette-related deaths are not an impersonal statistic to me. I think I'm perfectly justified in using the phrase "sad but true."

'Nuff said.

sediment
02-03-2005, 11:23 AM
Behind the counter is a lot better than from an unguarded machine.
Besides, most of the smokers will be foreigners, from other countries and states.
In other news, a Pixar animator recently died of lung cancer. Reports state that he was a non-smoker. That's pretty rare.

calguy77
02-03-2005, 11:24 AM
Cigarettes have killed four of my closest friends and family members. I'm not talking about the quiet deaths of old people in their sleep. I watched vibrant people I loved turn into gaunt and miserable ghosts of their former selves. I witnessed them fighting for every breath.

Another friend is dying from emphysema because of his 2-pack-a-day habit. He has maybe a year left.

So cigarette-related deaths are not an impersonal statistic to me. I think I'm perfectly justified in using the phrase "sad but true."

'Nuff said.

Well that was there choice