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The Disneyland Report > Disney News > Attack on U.S. three years ago affects Disney parks to this day

Disney News

Terrorist attacks of 9/11 still affect Disney parks today

A look back at how Disney reacted to September 11, 2001

As the nation stops to remember the three year anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, The Disneyland Report takes a look back at what happened that day at the Disney theme parks and how the terrorist attacks of September 11 have changed operations at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

On September 11, 2001, the theme parks of the Walt Disney World Resort were closed in the middle of the day, as uncertainty overcame the nation under attack. The Disneyland Resort also closed its theme parks later that day under the same uncertainty of additional terrorist attacks that might occur on that day. The parks reopened the following day, but after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, the world would never be the same again.

Flags at the Disney theme parks were flown at half staff as they were around the country. Patriotic offerings at the parks, such as the Flag Retreat in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A. or the American Adventure attraction at Epcot's World Showcase, suddenly became more popular as a surge of patriotism swept the country.

One of the biggest effects of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 was the huge tourism slump that ensued. Fewer people wanted to go out and travel due to terrorism fears and other factors, and in turn business suffered at some of the Disney theme parks. Crowds were light into the winter season of 2001 and throughout the year 2002, which hurt the Walt Disney Company economically, since much of its revenue comes from its theme parks.

Disney's California Adventure theme park, which had opened earlier in 2001 to mixed reviews and complaints about its theme and a lack of things to do in the park, had very few crowds the winter after September 11, 2001, and Disney blamed this on the troubled tourism economy following the September 11 attacks. This excuse was made repeatedly to explain the lack of crowds at the fledgling theme park, which to many critics was fraught with many other reasons for its lack of crowds (bad theme, lack of things to do, among others).

After September 11, one of the largest changes to the Disney theme parks in the United States was security, especially after it was discovered that a terrorist had made a surveillance video scoping out Disneyland as a potential target of a terrorist attack. New measures were put into place to increase security. A major change was that all guests had to have their bags checked by Disney security before they could be brought into the parks. In front of the ticket takers, tables were set up for the bag and backpack checks, and that increased wait times to enter the parks.

The Disneyland Resort used to have bag check tables in front of each of its theme parks, Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure, but now it is experimenting with a security set-up where guests have their bags checked as they enter the esplanade, making park hopping more convenient, as guests only have to have their bags checked once as they enter the resort parks area, not each time they hop to another park.

Walt Disney World, due to the more spread-out nature of its theme parks across the entire resort, still requires bag checks before entering each of its theme parks.

In addition to the increased security presence inside the theme parks and monitoring guests before they enter the park, backstage areas were made more secure with new inspection procedures and improved security forces, and those entering backstage areas of Disney parks had to have their cars checked and go through other additional safety procedures.

A month after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through attraction, which featured dioramas depicting the tale of Sleeping Beauty inside Disneyland's symbolic castle, was closed. The date the attraction went down for "refurbishment" was the same day the United States began military action against the Taliban in Afghanistan, which had harbored Al-Qaida, the terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The attraction was closed because of terrorism fears; Sleeping Beauty Castle is seen as a very symbolic target for terrorists, and the walk through attraction was determined to be a danger to the security of the castle because it allows people to walk right through the structure. The Sleeping Beauty Castle walk through attraction has remained closed ever since, but it is still listed as being under refurbishment, implying that it might some day return. But with the current world situation, that might be a long time away.

Three years after the terrorist attacks against the United States, tourism has returned more or less to normal. The airline industry is still trying to recover from a slump that began after the attacks, but visitors to the Walt Disney World Resort seem to have returned to levels before September 11, 2001. The Disneyland Resort is not having such a great year, but that could be attributed to people putting off their vacations until Disneyland's huge 50th birthday celebration next year and people not wanting to pay full price for admission due to several years' worth of summer discount promotions for the parks (there were no admission discounts this summer).

Security remains a concern, as more officials are out and about monitoring the resorts. The Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough attraction continues to be closed to the public. Bags still need to be checked prior to taking them into the resorts. The focus for the parks remains keeping themselves safe from terror, and the hope is that there will never be a terror incident at the Disney resorts.

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