Let's take a deeper dive into each of these policy changes, most of which take effect May 1.
First - no smoking at all in the parks. This should have happened years ago. There is nothing less magical than wading through a cloud of smoke. For me, those smoking areas were especially bad in Adventureland near the Aloha Isle and in between Tomorrowland and New Fantasyland. It didn't matter how much Disney tried to put these smoking areas in "out of the way" areas, the smell was incredibly pervasive and awful. As we approached these areas, we took a huge deep breath and hustled through trying not to breathe until we got into clear air again.
I understand smokers will not be happy about this at all. Perhaps this will be the incentive you need to quit. I've lost relatives to smoking, so I am no fan of this awful vice (or vaping for that matter - and this new rule applies to vaping as well).
Smoking has not been banned from the entire property (personally, I wouldn't have a problem with that, but that's another discussion). Disney will create designated smoking areas outside each park and Disney Springs.
Next up: strollers and wagons. Oh now we really get into the fun stuff. Having watched my family grow up at the parks, I've personally had to deal with the stroller issue countless times. That being said, I've never had to use a super triple mongo wide stroller. The new rule says strollers have to be no wider than 31 inches no longer than 52 inches. Think about this a minute. Most main doorway openings are about 32 inches wide (that's the ADA requirement). If your stroller is so wide, you can't get it through a normal door, it's probably too wide anyway, so the 31" rule shouldn't really impact too many people. I can't see many parents with super wide strollers stopping at every door to unload the kids (and all the other stuff packed in a stroller), break/fold it down so you can get it through the door and then get everything back in and on their way. So, the simple way to put this is, if your stroller can easily (not barely) fit through a normal door, you're fine at least as far as the width goes.
Now for the length. Folks, Disney is giving you 52 inches. That's four FEET plus four inches long. I know some of the triple child strollers can get pretty long, but again, let's get back to common sense. Some of the hallways and queue lines at Disney can be somewhat narrow (and there's a reason for that - these often are for one way traffic, not two way, so they don't need to be super wide) and so trying to turn a hugely long stroller is like trying to turn around a tractor trailer in your driveway. Not going to happen. If you've got a bigger family, use more than one stroller. That's how we did it with three kids about four years apart in age. In the end the flexibility probably is easier.
As for the wagons, I'm totally blown away by this. Why would you need to have a wagon at Disney? What are you doing, moving in??? The only time I could even think about needing a wagon at Disney would be if I was doing some huge video production (i.e. a multi-camera recording of Illuminations or something like that) and needed to bring in a lot of gear. Of course, that would never fly at Disney, so this really is a moot point. Just don't. If you think you need a wagon to bring everything into the parks, you're bringing in too much. I get it with small kids needing diapers, bottles, and all that, truly I do, so bring a good backpack (and a good stroller with storage).
Finally ice. This one had me puzzled for a bit until I read some online comments from folks who had some good insight. This applies ONLY to loose ice in things like coolers. Ice cubes in small plastic bags (i.e. ziplocs) are still allowed - Disney clarified this on their blog. Of course, Disney will always work with anyone with medical needs. The main reason for this is the coolers. Once again, we have a new rule probably as a result of guests behaving badly. Guests coming in with coolers full of ice were dumping that ice out, causing slip hazards and other messes, not to mention sneaking in prohibited items (such as alcohol) that was hidden in the loose ice. Coolers are still allowed - just use freezer packs instead. That also helps security to more easily search the coolers to check for things that should be there, like the booze.
I know that some are already saying they're never going back because Disney is laying down these rules. That's your choice. For me, and many, many, many guests, these rules are making the guest experience better.
Thank you Disney!
