What Walt Disney World Was Like on 9/11
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- This video is unlike any other video on my channel, but it's one that I've wanted to talk about for a long time.
When I was 4 years old, my parents took me on my first trip to Walt Disney World, which just-so-happened to be on September 11th, 2001.
In this video, I will be discussing what Walt Disney World was like on 9/11 told by first-hand accounts from my family and personal experience.
Walt Disney World Footage has been referenced from @DisneyDave‘s wonderful footage. I unfortunately cannot link the video in this description, but it can be found as a pinned comment on this video.
#disney #911 #history
![State of Play | September 24, 2024 [ENGLISH]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/fVs0suPHAX8/mqdefault.jpg)
Please note, the footage from Disney in that time period comes from @disneydave and his footage can be found here: ruclips.net/video/o_xL1Ux5SIk/видео.htmlsi=4PX12wVpi0TrSL5r
👍
@DisneyDave has the BEST archive for old Disney footage. Truly on another level.
@@tronbasic4968 Great to hear that, Thank you so much 🙌👍
@disneydave No1, especially for the retro stuff ❤
@@kennywalker4594 thank you ❤️
huge HUGE props to the character actors and actresses that stayed at Disney to comfort and bring joy to the children at those resorts rather than fleeing.
Absolutely
The cast members really are something else. 🥲
Disney should have closed and let cast members go home with their families.. I would of let them
@@JerrysTakesPlus Have you listened to the Howard Stern tape on RUclips of 9/11. He’s just on the radio doing his normal stuff when 9/11 starts happening, it’s several hours of live documentation of what people went through in New York.
It's sad kids already know that the characters are fake.
I was at the Magic Kingdom as well on 9/11. Flew in from NJ the day before. My husband had the engagement ring in his pocket as he was going to propose to me that day on 9/11. When we evacuated, he started crying and told me that it was supposed to be a special day for us. I felt the ring box in his pocket on our way there so I calmly stopped him and took him by the hand and said, we were coming back tomorrow. He said “but you don’t understand.” I reassured him and said… “yes I do… we are coming back tomorrow.” We came back the following day… and he proposed on my favorite ride, the haunted mansion.
❤❤❤
Awwww that’s so sweet 🥲
Thank you for sharing that sweet memory. You were able to help comfort him on a day when so many people need comfort.
oh my favorite ride there besides peter pan.
how romantic.did you know they have a problem of so many people scattering ashes on that ride its so beloved.
Stories like this make me tear up 🤗🥰🤗
As a European it's easy to forget that it wasn't just the attack but the effect on the children's and everyone's minds.
My husband's a European & happened to be in Manhattan at the time
What has my country become… we have gun violence in schools…kids terrified to go to schools…any time I walk to school now I run in because I’m scared that there’s a threat outside.
My friends friends died in Robb Elementary.
My itoko was traumatized at just 5 hearing the 9/11 news.
And yet, young Americans make jokes about gun violence/etc.
I wish at the top of my heart my ancestors never moved to America.
For the children, it depended on where they lived and if they lost any loved ones.
It truly traumatized all of us. I lived in New Jersey, about an hour out of NYC. I remember I went to work and the elevation was pretty high there, so I could see the smoke from the World Trade Center. The amount of smoke was intense.
@@SecretlySceneyoung Americans often make jokes about traumatic things to process how we feel about it. We even did it back on 9/11. I remember the goofy South Park Bin Laden episode really helped. Sometimes humor is therapy.
I was around 18 months old at the time. My parents had a reservation for the week after. Immediately afterwards, my mom called to cancel. The guy on the phone named Prince (funny enough) said "if you cancel because of fear, youre letting the terrorists win". We ended up going and it was one of the best vacations weve had there.
Not gonna lie, that’s a top tier sales tactic right there.
this is so american
Ain't no way because my older brother was literally 18 months at that time wtffffff
@OFFICIALYRB. ? You realize multiple people are born every second of every day? Lol it's not rare or anything. I'm sure there were millions of babies that were 18 months old at that time.🤣
@@morgancook1980 lol true
Dude, there is no way. My cousin was 5 years old celebrating his birthday at time of the 9/11 attack at Walt Disney World! He says that the kids in the area he was in were basically put in a sort of indoor lobby area with some toys and shit. I never thought I would see someone else who shared that experience. It is a very small world!
Wow that’s crazy!
My twin sisters was 4 and we was celebrating there birthday too
Crazy that all ^3^ of yall might have seen each other that day and would never possibly remember
I was visiting behind the scenes of the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom. I was supposed to service the laser system, which would have been a 3-4 hour process. About half an hour after arriving, we were told to evacuate the park. Coming from the employee backroads, it recall a moderately long drive out, but nothing extreme.
It's a small world after all
My oblivious ass woke up late that day so I didn’t have time to watch any tv like I normally would. Got in my car with a CD already playing so didn’t listen to sports talk like I normally would. Didn’t see anybody walking outside and barely any cars, felt like I was in a ghost town. Finally switched over to the radio, by that point both towers had collapsed. Crazy how something so major can avoid us if we choose to not pay attention.
Wow this is so crazy to think about
@@JerrysTakesPlus I sold my clarinet that day. The guy at the music store seemed so confused by my happy go lucky attitude. That’s when I decided to turn on the radio lol
@@timothybrown5999I had a somewhat similar experience since I was working a solitary job walking (bat/bird) research transects on a windmill farm that day and also had music already playing in my car for the drive there. The setting of the job was a wide expanse of prairie with no one else around, and of course no tvs since it was all outside work. It wasn't until my lunch break when I turned on my truck radio that I found out. Several hours after all of the crashes.
It is indeed crazy how easy it had been to be unaware something so major had been occurring. I wonder how the increased prevalence of cellphones and their abilities nowadays would change that.
My mom was so fully engrossed in a massive flame war on a weight watchers forum on AOL, that she didn’t hear about what happened until after the 2nd tower hit. (Apparently the flame war was over whether foods that are high in fat are bad for you or not)😵💫
You're the guy that doesn't realize there's a zombie apocalypse until all the rest of us are gone. Yet it works out in your favor, because you end up as the last surviving human. Probably because the zombies are bewildered by you not being scared and running, so they just leave you alone. You're a survivor Oblivious Dude.
I can't imagine being a cast member on that day. The costumed cast members are trained to stay in character even during a crisis so that they can keep guests calm during the evacuation process. But that day must've been so hard for so many of them. The fact that one of them dared to tell your dad, "Call your loved ones," tells you what kind of internal crisis they were undergoing. They may have legitimately thought they could die that day and they'd have to do it with all the cheerfulness of their character.
That's actually insane to think about, that your last moments may be spend as Snow White, waving and smiling at guests while knowing things may go south quick
from the video, it sounded like a member of the general staff he talked to, not someone portraying a character. However that employee decided it was best for all involved if the information didn't come from a stranger.
Imagine your last moments are you dressed as Goofy
I was a CM during this time. I was in rehearsals behind Splash Mountain for the new day parade when the towers were struck. The days after were so difficult and emotional as a CM performing in the castle. It should have been a magical moment for these families but to see the looks of concern and being scared is seared into my memory. I as a performer was trained to not discuss or have knowledge of the "outside" world. Something really hard to do during this time. I also had concern for where I was at, that MK could have also been a target. It's a time in my life I will never forget
@@wheremagicbegins_ Thank you for sharing your perspective, and i'm sorry you went trough that. The uncertaincy of it all must've been terrifying! It's amazing you were still able to be there for people, and hopefully you've managed to give this whole event a place in your mind. (hope that makes sense, english is my second language).
My daughter (also 4 years old at the time) and I were at the Magic Kingdom that day. Got up early to be the first at the rope. But it wasn't crowded, so we still just strolled once inside. As we walked through Cinderella's Castle, I recapped her story through the mosaics. As we neared the end, one of the Godmothers came to us and told us that they had some seating for breakfast inside the castle if we wanted. We had never even been inside, so we took her up on the offer and were immediately seated. The characters spent a LOT of time with us, and when Cinderella herself was there, I got a call from my mother. (In those days, people didn't commonly keep their phones with them, but my father was ill and I wanted to be accessible.) She told me about the first plane. Then she called back and told me about the second. At that point, of course, we knew something was seriously wrong. My daughter and I made our way over to Adventureland. As she posed for pictures with Hook, Pan and Smee (yes, all three), the announcement to leave the park came over the speaker. I had worked for Disney some fifteen years earlier (opening crew at the studios), and knew it was a big deal. The exit was handled superbly. We went back to the hotel (All Star Movies) and watched the coverage before going out to the pool for the day.
Because of no-fly situation, we had to stay longer than anticipated. A few days later, the hurricane arrived and emptied out the rest of the guests; we had Epcot almost to ourselves. We moved over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for an ultra-cheap rate, and she enjoyed running around the hotel for hours with the characters. It was all surreal and unforgettable.
Wow!
I was there for 9 / 11 also. And was staying at All Star Movies Resort with my then girlfriend and one of her female friends who were in an other room. We were at EPCOT when we found out from a visitor from England while waiting to get into World Showcase. (World Showcase was still blocked off, even though it was supposed to be open by the time we got to that spot.) Unbelievable story to tell for our group. The Disney cast members from Norway saved the day for us.(Seams like they dumped everyone without a room into that resort that day)
That would make a great book, it sounds very gonzo.
@@PalisadesParketeer What do you mean by World Showcase being blocked off? I thought it was open back then..
On 9 / 11. My friends and I were all ready in EPCOT when all the planes were crashing. So we didn't know about it, ( we were staying at Disney's All Star Movies Resort and it was early entry day for EPCOT, so we were there early, about 8 AM) We got o the area that is opened at 11AM(World Showcase) at about 11 :30. But it was blocked ff. When we asked the Disney Cast Member what was wrong, they answered, "We're waiting for instructions". This is when a tourist from the UK told us what happened.@@jamesreynolds5776
I was 19 years old, an entertainment castmember at WDW, working that day. I volunteered to stay and go over to the resorts that day after my park was closed. My mother was so mad that I didn’t go home. I have zero regrets for staying and playing with the guests’ children at the resort.
Thank you for that. You were able to give a small amount of comfort to children who didn’t understand what was going on.❤
Cast members have and always will be the biggest part of the magic, thank you for staying ❤
One of the best answers to "where were you in 9/11" is from someone who don't remember that day.
cause a lot of this was made up lol.
@@FainTMako No.
@@FainTMako Building 7 keeps fascinating me. Weird. But in the end it doesn´t matter for the people that died that day. RIP
I think it’s important to talk about as the young victims on the planes was also on their way to Disney. I read about their lives and why they boarded the plane and it was really hard to read as they never made it 😢
Yes her name was Christine Lee Hanson. May she and her parents rest in peace!
@@Andre_Villon 4 year old Julianna McCourt was also on Christine's flight and was going to Disneyland with her mum :(((
@@kayla2820 😔
…then it’s up to us to keep their memory alive. Every time I step into those parks, I take a moment for them.
Well, I guess what was going on in like Gaze and Palestine at the moment, like with the genocide
@@vickyfisher-bz4jj selfishishness is sad bro, there's always a time and place
Disney parks were essentially empty for a few weeks after the attacks. It was ironically one of the best times to go cause so many people were terrified. I went to Disneyland the saturday after the attacks and was able to get on damn near every ride twice before we even reached 11 in the morning (got there at like 8 am).
Reminds me of right after (the parks reopened from) Covid, as long as you followed the procedures you got 15 minute waits or less for everything, yes even the most popular attractions.
We got married Oct 6th. On the 7th we were coming in to switch planes and saw the National Guard. It was then announced that we had invaded Afghanistan that morning. We went to Magic Kingdom and MGM during the week and only had to wait in line for our first ride.
My family did the same thing! I was only 3-4 at the time so I don’t remember it, but my parents apparently got tickets for the weekend by a friend who’s a travel agent and booked the Polynesian for SUPER cheap.
I’m sure it was even worse when the no liquids on the plane law was passed five years later, because I remember having to deal with a Disney World trip when that just came into effect. I dreaded the possibility of having to get around the parks all stinky, sweaty, and badly burnt as a result since toiletries are typically in a liquid state.
My first Disney trip was Oct 2001! I was only 9 and coming over from the UK, so I don’t think I understood fully what a big deal even flying to the US was at that time!
I was an adult on this day.
And I was a police officer, who was doing training with a bunch of other police officers.
And then everyone's pager went off at once. That was the most terrifying moment.
Thank you for your service
you was an adult?
@@cactusisaplant
Yes.
I was an adult on that day. As in, I was already an adult.
You WERE an adult.
That’s how the past tense works.
@@davidnorman4786 you old bruh
@@cactusisaplantFym you old bruh. People can’t control when they are born. What about your parents aren’t they old? You need to bruk up
I remember being 6 years old and my mom had taken me to a doctors appointment. When arriving to my grandma’s house, the phone was already ringing and my grandma picked it up to a family member (can’t remember which one) telling her to turn on the news. Then I remember seeing the replay of that second plane flying into the towers. It was stuck in my head, I even remember drawing it a few times. As a kid I didn’t understand exactly why I kept drawing the attack, as an adult I’ve realized it was my 6 year old brain trying to process what I had just seen, and trying to understand that the was people in there.
I'm from Europe. I was almost 5 when the attacks happened. I have just two memories of the event. The news. Very foggy. And also everyone kept calling them ''Towers'' (which I was confused about because in my language, tower usually refers to a medieval castle tower lol, so I was confused what was going on). And ''Twins'' which I only knew as identical babies being born lol. Very strange and confusing to me that was.
My second memory is from few days later when we visited our family's friends and they have a son a year or two older than me. He showed me how he drew planes hitting the buildings in MS Paint on his computer. He asked me if I saw it on the news.
So, apparently, kids were drawing the incident, not only in the US. Interesting.
My father had the option to either attend a business conference @ windows on the world (a restaurant in the north tower) or go golfing the day before (i assume for another business thing). He decided to go golfing, but many of his colleagues went to the conference. Most, if not all of them, died that day. That could’ve been him, and I wouldn’t have been born. My mother had dropped my sister off at pre-school that day, and then went to her office in midtown nyc. I don’t know much about how it was for her, but she had told me how she could see the debris and dust from her office window.
I hear a lot about the stories of parents being late because of dropping their kids off, or people forgetting their jacket, etc. I’m incredibly thankful that neither of my parents got hurt, and I feel so horribly for those lives lost.
i vividly remember watching my mother silently cry watching TV and just thinking to myself "isn't this just a movie, why is she crying?"
being 4 during 9/11 was absolutely fucking insane
My older brother was also 4 on 9/11. He tells me that he remembers watching flight 175 hit the 2nd tower and thought, "Ooh, disaster!" It was fascinating to him as a 4 year old. Ignorance truly is bliss, I suppose...
I was also 4 and have almost the same exact memory.
4 on 9/11. My mom sheltered me that day, but I distinctly saw some of the news coverage of people running away from the debris clouds when the towers collapsed. I was sitting there and thinking, "Why are they running? It's just smoke." I didn't know the sheer volume of carincogens that was in that smoke, nor what happened prior.
I lived in Brooklyn during 9/11, but I was only 3 years old. So I was in preschool so I don’t remember much besides in what my mother tells me. My brother was sick that day and I got to leave school early because of it. Such a sad day
I was 7, I remembered watching the afternoon news (nearly half a world away) which had recapped the incident, but I didn't understand what the newscaster was saying, and I thought they were showcasing a movie trailer that felt eerily realistic.
9/11 remains etched in my memories even though I have no connection to the United States; that's how widely internationally recognised this tragic incident is, and rightfully so.
This is what the Disney characters are amazing at, they are dedicated to create the best of the situation. By staying involved with the guests, without knowing how there own family’s are doing. It’s not about keeping Disney representation alive, it’s about keeping the kids happy. I think the best possible outcome was to hang with the characters on this day.
Another commenter said they were working as Timon that day, and the cast members were given the choice to either go home or stay there. I don't blame any of the people who chose to to home, but I have so much respect for the ones who stayed behind to help comfort kids and their families
@@meganhash7840 The cast members that stayed are brave & kind hearted to the guests.From the lion king; I know what I have to do, if I go back, it means I have to face my fears.
Cast members need that union and better conditions. They are the ones making the magic of Disney and the way Disney treats them is horrendous.
My tiny town in Canada sheltered stranded travelers for 4 days until the skies opened up again.
Was it Gander because I know that they held over 2,000 passengers for about that amount of time
Are you by any chance from Newfoundland?
I love the musical play, “Come from Away”, which is about the town of Gander hosting thousands of stranded airline passengers! I’ve seen the play twice.
@@lindawilkov6476 thats awesome! The documentary about them is really great too.
@@hitsjolly8934 small town in Nova Scotia actually. A lot of planes were diverted to Halifax as well
I was 13 when this happened, found out that I lost my aunt and uncle in the North Tower 3 days later. I lost my mom to cancer just 2 years ago today, on 9/11/2022. Thank you for sharing this
awwww my condolences
I'm so sorry, my deepest condolences to you 🙏
My dad has a pretty crazy story. He worked at the airport late into the night before the attack. So he was still asleep when the first plane hit. So when his future mother in law called him, he was confused when she asked if he was going to the airport later. He said that yes he would. She replied saying that America was under attack and he turned on the tv. As soon as he did, the second plane hit the tower. That was the first thing he saw that morning. Destruction.
Born in 1983 was on an airplane on 9/11 flying from DC to Buffalo, landed a half an hour before it happened.
I was not born yet. But my dad says that you can ask anyone what they were doing on that day. He was just studying for college and he said when he heard it put the world into a new perspective.
Airports must've been insane that day.
😳
@@blueblossom3384 my parents say the same! i was alive at the time but was only 3 so i dont remember anything, just my parents' stories . my mom was droppping me off at preschool and was freaked for my dad who worked at a major downtown building in our city (not nyc) !
@@blueblossom3384Your dad is right.
That is wild to think you flew on 9/11. I’ve never heard from anyone who has said that before.
I was working at Walmart in Tuscon AZ when the news hit. I was in Lab room on the computer when another employee came inside in tears and told me what happem. I got so emotional so fast because one of my brothers worked in one of the other buildings in the plaza of the Twin Towers. All I remember was running to the back room, throwing my vest on the table and checking out. My boss saw what I was doing and got in my face with "You cannot leave you shift. I do not care who is blowing up what!" I told him my brother was in danger. All I heard next was "I do not give a 'SHIFT' about your brother." I brave-n-boldly gave him double middle fingers and stormed out. Luckily when I got home I called my sister-in-law and she said my brother was not working that day cause he had a doctor's appointment. I lost my jobs for caring about my brother but I did not care. I actually got a MUCH better job days later. I found out days later my boss from Walmart was reported to the HR for preventing any employees from leaving or calling out. But instead of firing him, they moved him to managing a small Walmart to somewhere in Central Mexico. So yeah, 9/11 hit people in so many ways. Not just across the country but all around the world.
I’m really sorry your boss was being a huge d!ck about it. Like how little empathy do you have to have to tell someone that to their face, if it was one of his family members you know for sure he’d have a different perspective. I’m glad your brother was okay though, it wild that your boss thought that was an okay thing to do, you’re right though he definitely should have been fired instead of just sent to a different Walmart.
your bubby is lucky
props to you would’ve given him a trip to the hospital if he had told me that
wtf people were dying and he didn’t even care
@@Meowmeowfruit Nope. But when I found out his DARK PAST, I am not shocked.
I was born 2 days after the attacks (9/13), my mother always tells me how she was having contractions when the planes hit and how all the nurses came into her room to look at the TV
Wow that's a pretty remarkable story very interesting thanks for sharing!
That makes me wonder... I wonder if anybody died that day due to doctors being too focused on the TVs or their phone calls. And I'm not talking about people who actually died IN the attacks.
😮@@AttractionSpot
I was born 8 days after, my mom told me how scary it was. How it was still being aired on tv days after
OMG! my mom said my due date was 9/11 (not the same year but yk) and she was so scared i wanna gonna be born on 9/11 but then i wasn't born until 9/15 (phew)
Its funny you mentioning your mom looked so happy and normal in that photo while, in reality, the world was basically turned upside.
Speaking as a mother, when you become a parent, its insane the ability you obtain to look at your child and smile so they don't know how terrified you are inside. We recently had a tornado hit 3 minutes away from our home. In that moment, as we sat huddled in the bathroom, I was mentally preparing to shield my 4 yr old with my body if it was coming our way, but on the outside I was smiling and making him laugh. He didn't need to be afraid until he absolutely had to. Looking back I can see times my own parents did the same for me as a child. Parents are superhero
Gosh what a story, glad y’all were okay! Parents are strong af ✨
Fun fact for tourists. Similar things happen if a huge hurricane or other severe natural disaster hits. People are advised to remain at their resorts, and they coordinate hurricane relief teams to operate in the resorts. Character performers usually host meet and greets or even dance parties in resort lobbys, and other cast are on hand to assist with reassuring guests and making sure everyones safe in case the worst happens. Disney is actually one of the safest places in case of a disaster like that. Especially for kids.
I was also in WDW on 9/11 with my young daughter and husband. We actually were in the Contemporary Resort for breakfast, too, when it all happened. We kept the rental car we had and drove back to Ohio. Along the way there were American flags everywhere….on overpasses, etc. I’ll never forget.
I was born in 2003, so I wasn't around for 9/11. It's always interesting to hear people talk about what they were doing on this day.
Everyone old enough remembers where they were and what they were doing, worldwide, not just in America, everyone talks about it, it affected everyone, my friend was in Canary Wharf in London talking to someone in the WTC and the phone went dead as did the person next to him, then they all got evacuated and that’s when they heard about it
I was 10 in NC. My family lives a town over from the flight 98 crash in pa. Everyone around me was just shocked and i had a break down because we couldnt get ahold of my grandparents. They saw the plane go over their home. I always remember the pa crash
Definitely ask everyone in your family. Write their stories down for your kids to hear someday.
@@christinap-cI second this! First person historical accounts when we are talking about history, especially the accounts of everyday people, are some of the most important things we are recording things. I'm actually in the middle of a project right now, where I have a list of questions and I've been asking my family them, and recording their responses. I hope to one day get it up on here.
Same
Trauma bond… entirely understandable for a young child in an already elevated sense of stimulation. Crazy story, thx for sharing
What part of this story shows a trauma bond?
@@daphnea5447 a fondness or kinship with his time at DW existing under the duress of 9/11. There are different varieties of trauma bonding beyond the scope of Stockholm Syndrome etc.
@@daphnea54476:59 I think they're talking about this part
trauma bonding is bonding with your abuser, like believing you were responsible for the abuse. not this.
@@GoddessMisfit it is not limited to the definition you provide. There are abstractions for which it is properly assigned.
A friend and I went to Disney that weekend, and it was practically empty. Not only was there the attacks of 9/11, there was also a hurricane hitting Florida. We both wanted something to take our minds off the grim news.
It's so interesting to me to hear people's stories from around the country. I experienced the attacks in 8th grade while in journalism class. My teacher was advised not to let us watch the news but she refused. We watched it all because she knew this was something we'd be talking about the rest of our lives. My dad at that point had already planned a surprise Christmas trip to Disney. That year I was the secret keeper so I was in on the "should we still go?" Conversation. My dad ultimately called, and they gave us all kinds of discounts and upgrades to still keep our 5 day trip. We went, there was low admission on those days so and Christmas is the most beautiful time to visit I think, so while the world was still reeling, we were making magic Christmas happen for my brother and sister. Thank you for sharing your story
My sister is a teacher in Kissimmee. That day was just strange. They made an announcement that the park was closed for "Unforeseen Circumstances". At the time they did think that a plane might hit Magic Kingdom. Alot of my sister's kids had parents that worked at the parks. The parks closed for the day and many of the parents came and picked their kids up early. I work for Disney now and we do work in a bubble. If something terrible happens in the "outside" Disney will do their best to keep this information under wraps and do what they can to not cause a panic and get the guests out of the parks. I am so sorry you had to deal with this at such a young age. It is probably best that you don't remember.
Which makes sense. People don’t act with rational mind when in fear. A park full of millions, all trying to rush out, could end in a disaster in itself.
It's harder now with smartphones to keep people in the bubble. Only a few people knew what was going on. The cast members from New York were very shocked though. You could tell something was wrong.
The August 6 memo actually hinted of Walt Disney World being a potential target, among others.
My sister was in Seattle on 9/11 and had to take a Greyhound bus home to Los Angeles. She said it was the most miserable trip of her life.
the air space was temporarily closed for 2 days after 9/11. Must suck because those greyhound seats are uncomfortable after hours of sitting. Best way to deal with it is sleep it off. Seattle to LA was one hell of a ride though. Must took no more than 20 hours depending on traffic and breaks unless driver did one way no breaks.
You're sister just lives a sheltered and wealthy lifestyle judging by that statement.
@@ahhhhh148it was a good five days before commercial flights started again. After the FAA released the flights the airlines had to get planes where they needed to be. Most flights were empty for some time after. I took a flight in October 2001 that had like ten people on board.
Americans call. your. governor. about the benefits of High Speed Rail
I was 15 years old and lived about 8 miles from NYC. I was in second period Spanish class when the principal of the school went on the speakers, and this was minutes after the first crash. The school was already getting calls from parents to get their kids home or those of us that had phones were getting calls. We were told to go into classrooms and turn on the TVs. Some had parents that worked in, next to, and near the WTC. I had family that worked in the towers- one was just returning from heart bypass surgery that day to his office above where the plane hit but a delay on his train caused him to get a coffee in the station first. He saw the first plane hit. He walked from the bottom of Manhattan up to the GWB, crossed it, and had my dad get him home. It was not a school day- it was just talking about it. There were teachers that were known as the toughest seen in their classrooms sitting in the darkness crying. Some tried to have class, but I think we all wanted the same thing some comfort and support. No one really wanted to go outside because we can see the skyline and the smoke.
Since my school was regional, some classmates could not get home because the public bus services were suspended or the roads to their town were blocked since they lived in aresnext to the Hudson River. The school offered us hot food, changes of clothes and a place to stay if we couldn't get home. The principal and his wife lived on the campus (it had residential quarters that were used by the former Catholic nuns and priests that taught there years before). Others just went home with friends.
i was born in 2003 (im 21 years old now) and yet when i hear stories or see videos on 9/11 the fear and grief i feel is as if i was there. it's crazy.
Same here I was born just one year after these events.
this is by far the most interesting and unique video covering the topic I have seen. And you were actually there not someone just posting for views, insane.
Thank you very much, I truly appreciate it!
@YesItsEpic
A lot of us who were alive that day and for many days after have struggled with those events and the historical shock waves that radiated from it (more wars, renewed and new fears, political/economic/social after-effects ).
“Posting for views”? Why does your generation have no respect for most earlier ones? You insult older people from the sidelines of history and nothing is real to you unless it was digitally encoded somehow apparently. Time didn’t start for you until what - 1995? 2000? How dare you.
Our history is not your entertainment. We don’t really care about “clout” and bragging points and the rest of that sort of vapid garbage your arrogant generation does.
It is important that those people you are shaming, post those things. Not everybody has been able to go to college. I wasn't able to afford college. But through all these video essays, and the democratization of information on the internet, I've been able to educate myself on things I wasn't there for.
Even though those people who weren't there on 9/11, or weren't born yet still have a right to talk about that history. If we don't talk about history, we are doomed to repeat it.
Edit: for example I was there for 9/11 and I remember the fallout that happened in our country, I would never want the next generation to not talk about it for fear of being judged. Comments like that, push people away from the pursuit of knowledge.
@@x77punk77xexactly. It's just the internet is the way that we record history now. These people don't understand people have been recording history for thousands of years. It's not something that is done for clout. It is so important.
My husband and I were at WDW Animal Kingdom on 911. It was a beautiful sunny day, hard to believe all was not right in the world. We did a couple of attractions first thing in the morning then went for an early lunch at Restaurantosaurus. Along the way I noticed a man on his cell phone with such a painful look on his face, that I was deeply troubled by it. While in the restaurant it was announced that the park would be closing. Very confused, everyone walked to the exits with a loud speaker telling everyone to exit in different languages. In the parking lot, many people were standing by their cars listening to their car radios. It was all very surreal. Once we found our car, we heard on our radio what had happened. Back at the Caribbean Beach Resort, the lobby was jammed with guests trying to figure out how to get home. That was the beginning of our stay, and the parks were opened the next day. Cast members were at the buses, I assume to check out everyone as they entered the bus. The shows in the parks began with "God Bless America", very touching.
No one went back to their room?
My children were 7 & 6 and it was the end of the school day, here in the UK. I was collecting my children from school, when another parent asked me if I'd seen the news. The first tower had been hit. By the time I got home, the second tower was just about to be hit. I watched everything unfold live on the news. Years later, we actually went to Disney World. It gives a different perspective on what the day was like there. Thank you for sharing that.
Yes i remember it well in Uk as well. I was picking my kids from nursery school when i heard, the parents waiting outside were very subdued as we waited for school to end. My daughter at this moment aged 26 is currently working at WDW epcot Uk pavillion
The part where you say it’s so weird that people were born after 9/11… I felt that lol. I’ve often thought the same exact thing. I was 11 when it happened.
i was born in 2007. i don’t know exactly when i first learned about this day, but everything i know about it is because of my own studies. i learn something in every 9/11 video i watch. and it’s true that it wasn’t just nyc that was impacted- it’s everywhere. thank you for giving me a different experience of that day to learn about!!
Cheers to you! :) It's cool you like to learn.
It did. I was 10 going on 11 at the time it happened. I was in school when it happened and since we were upper elementary (4th and 5th graders) were actually allowed to watch it unfold live. I had never seen he look of complete horror on the adults faces. back then you looked to grown ups when serious things were going down. Even way down here in Memphis, schools went under complete lockdown. parents were frantic to get to us, but couldn't get us. We watched it a good chunk of the school day. I'll never forget it. For weeks there wasn't a plane in the sky. School and home and even with family was just different atmosphere. Everyone was quieter and a little emotionless. We people from the south love our country and we're very patriotic(Lots of military folks in my family). Seeing that changed all of us from that day forward.
My first thought when I saw somebody say they were born in 2007 in the comments was "wait, why is a kid on here?" Than I realized that I was also on as a pre-teen than I realized you're 17 lol. Time flies. I started using RUclips in 2007 (I was 9 years old, I'm 25 now).
I was born in 2008, I've learned everything about 9/11 by myself too. We should always remember this (just like the big wars), and it is absolutely disgusting that some people think it didn't happen.
Excuse me for my bad English/grammar, English isn't my first language.
I was born in 03 and I wanna say that it was when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade that they stopped showing the videos and teaching about the day in depth every year. While students should be taught about what happened, I am really glad that they stopped showing those videos (jumpers and all) to literal kindergarteners and elementary-aged kids.
I was also at the Magic Kingdom that day, and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We were on the Keys to the Kingdom tour which included a section where we went down into the employee 'tunnels' which are under the park itself. A Cast Member came up to the tour guide early on and pulled him aside. We were then told that a plane had hit the WTC and they wouldn't be able to let us down into the "Utilidors" (Disney's name for the tunnels.) We could finish the tour without the tunnels, come back another day and do the full tour, get a refund, etc. Lots of options. Some of us older people may remember a prop plane hit a tall building a week or so before so we just assumed that's what happened and it bounced right off. This was before the second plane hit and the first tower fell My ex husband's new Nokia cell phone kept going off with calls from his mother, but service was so awful he couldn't even hear her messages. We took a break and my ex went to the pay phones (remember those?) to call his mother. A gentleman on the tour worked at the WTC. He asked us to "Find out what floor they hit so I know if I have to go to work on Monday." By this time, the first tower had fallen. After we talked to his mother, we had to go back to the group and tell them it was far more serious than we thought and that his place of business was just. . . gone. It wasn't long after that we were told the parks would be closing and that we would get a free ticket to come back at any time. As we approached the exit turnstyles, we heard the announcement that the parks would be closing. By the time we were on the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge, we could see the throngs of people exiting the park en masse. I have a picture I took from the boat as we pulled away. You are probably in it haha. We then watched the news for hours in the hotel lobby bar before going back to our room in the villas section. Again, totally surreal. Do you also remember the tropical storm that came through a few days later? The parks were an absolute ghost town. I remember riding Splash Mountain five or six times in a row. By myself. In my own log. With no one else anywhere near me. I also remember riding it's a small world and thinking, "If a plane was going to hit the castle, it would probably take out 'small world' as well." Again, it was very much a mind altering experience! I could go on and on lol, but I think everyone can who lived through that has a unique and interesting story. If you haven't yet, I recommend going to the 9-11 memorial and museum in NYC. Thanks for sharing this video!
Wow! You have quite a story. I want to say that going to the 9-11 memorial is one of the very few things I regret in life. Of course there were some sexual experiences that I didn't pursue, as a male, but I really regret going to the memorial. I'm glad that Disney is still there. I remember DisneyWorld and DisneyLand were possible terrorist threats. Who would do such a thing.
@@richardhales92 you are a strange duck…
That man that was on your tour probably lost some friends back home
@@jonathanlife5304 some? Probably most if not all. Hard to imagine. The mood of the tour definitely changed after that but it didn't last much longer.
"Find out what floor they hit so I know if I have to go to work on Monday."... Dude what? not even concern what happened and thinking of work.
I was working at the Magic Kingdom that day. I was being trained at Alien Encounter, and it was freaky that day. We couldn’t tell the guests anything about what was happening in the world. Evacuating the park was crazy that day too. We cleared it in 30 minutes and it was a calm exit too.
Is it true cast members created a human chain to guide guests out of the park?
@@cordellgreer253 it is.
Since it was before social media and phones it made to easier for guest not to see what was going on if it was not a days it would of been complete chaos getting out of the park .
I always love hearing people’s experiences from 911, since I wasn’t born until 5 years after. Honestly, I don’t think I learned about it until I was around 7-8, so over a decade after it happened. Which is crazy. I can’t imagine experiencing it first hand
7:37 On a side note, your lollypop drop photo is everything!!!! I’m convinced this is its first time online otherwise it would’ve been memed to describe adult feeling all the time 😂😂
I know cast members that worked that day and the feeling of being stunned. As they recall it was the 1st time Disneyland had closed their doors.
Fellow jersey boy here. I had just turned 6 a few days before 9/11 and just started 1st grade. Back then I lived in Edison and if you’re familiar with that area, NYC is literally a stones throw away. You can see it clear as day from some of the hills in town. I remember being in class for literally not even 20 minutes before kids started getting called to the office and going home. Obviously I knew something was wrong because how could almost my entire class get called to the office not even a week into the school year. My mom actually hid it from me for years. She didn’t want me to see how violent the world can be. Fast forward to the present day, I still live in Jersey and my new neighbor was working in lower Manhattan at the time. She told me she was evacuating her office as the 2nd plane hit. To this day every time she hears a low flying plane she said she feels like she’s right back at ground zero
This is so sad, the fact that you could be having the happiest momment of your life at the most magical place on Earth, only to be doing it on the same day where a whole city changed and thousands of lives were lost... May those people who didn't survive rest in peace.
This is an incredible video, thank you for educating a generation that might not have any memories of the day.
Thank you very much!
I was 10 when this happened and I remember exactly where I was when I heard. Saw it on tv live with my mother in the kitchen, getting ready to go to school. So sad for the all lives lost. This was a very interesting story, thank you for sharing!
I was in college. I was already working in my field and lived in the DC area. My office building was down the road from the Pentagon and close enough our windows rattled when the Pentagon was hit. At the time my girlfriend was up in Manhattan for a business trip and was supposed to be at the WTC for meeting as at some point that week. Thankfully not that same day. I knew she was up in Manhattan and she knew I was working near the Pentagon and phone lines were backed up for hours so we didn’t even know if the other was alive or alright until later that evening when we were finally able to get a hold of each other.
God I cannot imagine how terrifying that was. I was only 6 years old, a month away from turning 7 when it happened. So I definitely didn't grasp how terrifying it was. I was scared because my parents were scared, but I definitely didn't understand. My mom actually tried to get me and my sister from school, and they wouldn't let the parents into the school. Since they went into lockdown and didn't want to cause a massive panic.
I love hearing people’s stories of their day and their experiences on 9/11. I was born after 2001 so I only ever hear about it in class, but hearing people’s stories about that day and where they were, what was happening and how they felt is just so fascinating to me. Everyone was doing their own thing that day and suddenly 90% of the entire world came together stressing over the same issue, it’s not everyday that happens. Thank you for this video, it’s very interesting to see how the Happiest Place on Earth operated during one of the most devastating moments in U.S history. Absolute condolences to everyone who lost loved ones or had to experience this trauma.
my family was glued to the tv for a good few days watching the news and waiting to learn more. I don't remember much at all because i myself was so little.
I was in the very beginning of my 8th grade year (had just turned 13). My mom always had the morning news on before she left for work so I remember seeing breaking news about the first plane that hit the towers. At the time they thought it was an accident. Once I got to school the second plane hit during our first class. After that our teacher basically stopped the lesson and turned the TV on in the classroom. We went on to our next class where we watched each tower fall on TV. By that point teachers were no longer doing much teaching and our whole school seemed to be in a weird daze of confusion, shock, sadness. I’ll never forget the looks on the teachers’ faces and how uneasy they seemed. But no one was talking to us kids and reassuring us. We lived in a tiny town in the Midwest so very unlikely to be a target but we were kids and it felt like the world was ending or something. I don’t think I’d ever heard about terrorism until that day. There was some concern about Omaha, Nebraska being a target which was about 2 hrs from us. Because it had a military base and we did find out later the president had actually been flown there for a short time that day for protection. I got home from school and the first thing I did was put a VHS tape in the VCR to record the news coverage from that evening. I didn’t understand everything but I knew our world had been changed forever and wanted to capture a piece of history. I still have it. It’s crazy to think about kids born right around or after 9/11 who have no (or very little) knowledge of it, when for those of us who lived through it and were old enough to understand, it was one of the scariest days of our lives.
I was in 9th grade, and listened to the radio most of the day for news. No cell phone back then. When I got home I watched the news all night long. Felt so scared, angry, and sad.
All I can tell you is that is the day that Canada stopped. It was so far beyond any reasoning we could muster, we all sat in shock. Until it sunk in and then we sobbed. In my life, that was the one time that something wasn't "far away" and "not anything we ever need to worry about". It was the most brutal of realisations and to this very day when a plane flies low over the downtown core where I work, I honestly hold my breath. I tell people that despite being an adult when it happened, that day took my innocence.
Your experience is so interesting to hear. My dad was a Disneyland cast member and was scheduled to work on 9/11. I remember my dad sitting in his uniform on the couch watching the footage all day. I know after the fact cast members who had a military background were asked if they wanted to be plain clothes security after for awhile since my dad ended up working that for a few months until he decided to go back to his usual job in the park.
I was a third grade teacher on the west coast, so all this was happening as I awoke and was getting ready for work. But I also was a single mom of a first grader. As I was doing my hair & makeup in the bathroom, I plopped my not-quite-7-yr old in front of the tv and told him to let me know what was happening. He watched the first tower go down. He probably also saw people falling and told me, but neither of us remember. Anyway, I was shocked when he told me and I never forgot what I subjected my son to that morning. I truly hadn’t thought it would get any worse. I was hoping they would figure out how to rescue the people who were hanging out the windows.
Anyway, your mom did such a great job with you that day. She was able to smile and make the day and the trip as normal for you as she could. I don’t know if I was able to manage a smile. It took all my acting abilities to have the day be as normal as possible for my students. Some of them were truly scared as their parents, like myself, varied in how much they sheltered their children that morning. One of my kids said, “my dad said we are at war!” This kid scared everyone, who then worried that our town of about 20,000 residents at the time would get “hit.” I assured them that we were definitely NOT on any terrorists’ radar. Of that, I was very confident. But still, it was such a heavy day because all us adults really didn’t know “what next.” I’m glad your family still made the most of the trip for you kids. I’m sure it was very hard.
I really appreciated your account, and kudos to your parents for handling it with you guys with such care. You're right - all our experiences are different, yet we are united in the impact of that day. I was 6 months pregnant with my son, and the next day was my birthday. We went out to eat on 9/12, and we were the only ones in the restaurant. Living then in Austin Tx, being in the capitol city of the home of the president, we feared we would be next. Our stories are important too, in a different way - the scars are there too.
Wow!
I'm 31 and from the US, I had just turned 9 when 9/11 happened and it is one of the first memories I have honestly (thank you childhood trauma) I don't remember birthdays or trips as a kid but I remember seeing the second plane hit and people jumping on tv before my teachers turned it off and we were able to be picked up and my parents trying to explain it to me, I just remember being confused and crying for the people who were jumping for weeks 😢
I was 5yo in primary school when it happened, our teachers pulled every year out and we sat in the assembly hall to get picked up by our parents (was around 13:00pm with time difference) I live in the north west of England and even our parents reacted so strongly! It shook the world! And also changed the world. Marked the end of the 90’s and gave birth to Islamophobia.
Genuinely one of the most haunting things I remember from my child hood other than 7/7 & poor Lee Rigby!! 😱😓
Great video!❤️
My dad, a retired vet, had a flight to the Philippines to meet my would be mom that day. He ended up getting himself for what he thought was America going to another major war and he'd need to be called back into service. Even when flights resumed days later, he remained here if he needed to be called back to service.
I too was there with my family that day. It was just surreal. And in true Disney form, they managed to empty those parks in record time, without causing mass panic. We were also at Wilderness Lodge!
I was 6, and in the 1st grade when it happened. I had no idea we were even attacked until I got home from school. I remember sitting at the table in my kitchen, eating Cheetos, watching replays of the planes going into the towers and people running out of the building. I never knew people jumped out of the towers until I was 16 and saw the Naudet brothers documentary about it and remember being VERY disturbed by that thought and the sound of them hitting the ground and objects around there.
As a Disney kid myself I can’t tell you how many times listening you tell your story made all of my hairs on my body raise. Literal electric goosebumps all throughout, I am so sorry Jerry that you endured such heartache at an early age at our beloved Disney World. I feel the confusion and the allusion all at the same time. This video is a true timepiece, thank you for this retelling, scary, but informative nonetheless. We hold strong. 💪 Thank you Jerry.
Thank you so much for this story. Disney has always gone above and beyond making their guests feel comfortable and secure during some of the worst moments. And everybody’s 911 stories are valuable to us all. Thank you again!!
Thank you for sharing this. Even as a child you have been impacted by 9/11. My 1st job in 1979 was at Disney so that’s a HUGE part of my memories as a kid and the years that follow. I wish more people shared their experiences of that time. We woke up in Paris. France that morning and made our way driving to Normandy. We stopped at an Information office (english was not spoken as prevalent in that area as it was in Paris) before finding our accommodations in Commes, France. It was around 5 pm there. That’s when the lady there informed my husband, in broken English, there had been an attack on the World Trade Center. At the chateau we stayed in, there was a tiny black & white TV in a common area and while we could see some video footage, we couldn’t understand the news report since it was dubbed over in French. My husband was in the Air National Guard so he wasn’t sure if he would be recalled for duty. It was still a couple of days before we saw a newspaper that gave a timeline of the attacks (in drawing format). We had our 15- and 11-yr-old daughters with us. We still had 10 more days of our trip left and what I appreciate is that we had time to talk with them, not pretend to keep a work/school schedule. We went from Normandy area to Belgium, then to Germany. The locals, anywhere we went, were so sympathetic and wanted to express their feelings to us. Some would put free things in bags to give us, some wouldn’t let us pay for our drinks. Everyone wanted to connect how they could. They were impacted, too. We had to fly into Philly on the 21st from Germany. It was so eerie in the airport there. There was no denying life had changed. My husband and had I lined our back-seat airline pockets with pens and souvenir Eiffel Towers. Whoa to anyone who stood up in-flight and said Alah anything! We were scared, of course, and just wanted to get home safely. We did. And in March of ‘03 he had to deploy to the desert. There’s a lot more to our experience but every experience is valid, unique. And you’re right, many alive today weren’t even born yet. They don’t know how the world was before 9/11. But I guess every generation has a similar event that changes the world forever. Again, I appreciate your sharing your memory here. It matters.
I was a 1 year old when 9/11 unfortunately occurred. So I have no memory at all the day it happened. So this video showed a new light on a topic for someone who slightly remembers that day. It is interesting learning about your 1st experience at Disney, because I barely remember mine. Thankful RUclips recommended me this informational video.
I was 1 as well, I obviously have no memory but my parents did say I was watching the TV in my crib when the second plane hit the South Tower. I do remember the 10 year anniversary well in 2011 and since then I've done a lot of research on 9/11.
Is this your first news memory?
my first experience at disney i was a baby and sick with hives and crying and i threw up on my dad. Turns out i was allergic to some things that we didn't know about yet.
I was 11, in school at the time in Tucson, Az. The teachers didn't say anything about it, but at some point kids started getting pulled out of class. The first couple didn't strike me as weird, but it kept happening, and eventually my teacher got a note that said my mom was picking my brother and I up too. This was especially weird for me because we were pretty broke at the time, and my mom would never just leave work for the day (it was a shit job, so every penny counts), nor would she pull us out of school for any small reason. So we got in the car, and my mom was there, and she was definitely... off. I think most of us know that look, when parents are definitely panicking about something, but trying to keep it cool to keep the kiddos from freaking out. But she handed us these little toys she probably picked up from a corner store or something on her way over (also weird, because we didn't just get random gifts on non-holidays). She said it was a special occasion, and it's really important that we spend the day together. Something like that. So we went home, there was a line of cars outside the school too, so odd for being so early in the day. I don't remember what we did, but I think this was more for her than us, you know? I think she, like a lot of other folks, thought this was it, and she just wanted to spend time with her kids while she could. I also don't remember when we found out, I think it was that same day, she probably couldn't help herself and turned on the news, and then the questions from us came, but she couldn't really answer them. Nobody really knew at the time what was going on.
My dad worked at Disney for 3 decades. He worked the entire shift on 911. He couldn’t come home early that day and we were worried sick at home. It was devastating.
When I attended for the first time in 2016, I kind of felt the same way. It was the night of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando that we drove in. Hearing about this terror attack that was happening only a few minutes away from us while we were hanging out in the hotel was crazy.
If I remember correctly, didn’t the gator attack on the kid happen at Disney that same week? Orlando was all over the news that week. Before the Pulse massacre happened, singer Christina Grimmie was killed a few days earlier after a concert not too far
I remember hearing about it after I got back. Must’ve been the Disney bubble or something lol
@@jonathanlife5304that was the same time Shanghai Disneyland opened. Bob Iger’s book opens with that event and how he had to still prep for the opening ceremony knowing all this was happening in Orlando.
I was in WDW when Pulse happened. I rememember we were having breakfast at AKL when my grandmother called my mom scared because there had been a shooting in Orlando and she was worried we were in danger.
@@jonathanlife5304 yeah, the pulse shooting was june 12 and the gator attack june 14. i cant believe its been almost 8 years already.
I was at a conference there that week. Was looking at Spaceship earth from my hotel room as it was happening. Went to the parks the day after. Very eerie, how empty and quiet it was. Drove back home 14 hours in my rental car a couple days later.
I was in typhoon lagoon 2nd day off holiday from uk remember the whole park closing at around 11.30 we was in our swim suits soaking wet sitting in car absolutely stunned. Talked to guy on the lazy river who said planes had hit tower but no idea of magnitude. Everything in Orlando shut that day I remember just sitting watching news we was staying on international drive and it was deserted.
The next day parks opened again and it seemed every American went home understandably, we could not fly home as all flights were grounded so spent next 10 days in a near on deserted Orlando. Actually had the ride vehicle waiting for us went on tower of terror with half full elevators. Was so surreal I was 22 at the time and will never forget that awful day 😓
I still remember how scarey the news was. I was on holiday in Devon, UK sitting on the beach enjoying a lovely warm day wàtching my two younger children playing. I was horrified because id left my oldest child hundreds of miles away at home with my parents because mandatory school attendance. The first news i heard was this was world war three. My blood still runs cold thinking about it.
Thanks for sharing Jerry, I never thought what it would have been like that day in Disney but man that reaction makes perfect sense. I woke up that morning to go into work my roommate was asleep on the couch and the TV was on and the first plane had already hit then I watched the second plane hit the second tower and at once was filled with both sadness and rage because I knew it was deliberate. My family was close to the airlines, dad worked in Denver as mechanic for United and my aunt worked as a flight attendant for United based out of Dulles in DC. As the day unfolded it occurred to me my Aunt could have been on either UAL flight that day but thankfully she contacted my mom to letter her know she was on the ground. To this day my Aunt can’t talk about it because she had worked those flights in the past and knew several of the crew who perished.
I was in the trade centers on 9/11 and still this day I still think of all the dead body’s and kid’s I’ve seen and delt with! This is a touchy subject!
Where did you exit from
Thank you for sharing your story. My husband was working at Magic Kingdom that day. I remember being so scared because for a while, the news was reporting that Disney could also be a target.
Your single memory of watching the TV and being confused is exactly the same as mine. I remember I was sitting on my parents bed, ready for pre-school waiting for my mom to get dressed. She was watching the footage live on good morning america and talking on the phone. I remember not understanding what the big deal was, or why she was taking so long. I guess I thought it was a regular building fire, or just being 3 I didn't realize that anything was out of the ordinary.
I was in my 30's at the time and I felt exactly the way you did at age 3. LOL. I live in New York City and I thought it was just a building fire. Then I thought, 'what's wrong over there at the FAA? Their computers are messed up.' Then someone said on TV it was deliberate. Even then, it seemed crazy: "Who would think of doing such a thing?"
I was 12 and knew it was a terrorist attack, but being in California I didn’t know what the World Trade Center was. I remember that day all of the non-news tv stations were off the air.
As a kid, I remember saying to my parents, "But doesn't this stuff happen all the time around the world?" Nowadays, I understand the impact of 9/11 but I still find the disparity in attention problematic for tragedies in other countries that don't receive much attention.
My memory is similar. I remember my mom frantically getting ready to go pick up my older sister from school
i was 3 and understood that something was wrong and something bad had happened based on the atmosphere around me. Particularly my sisters face.
This was a beautifully done video. I laughed and cried through it. I was nearly born on this day as my mom was in preterm labor and thankfully they were able to stop her from giving birth too early. I have listened to so many fascinating stories from that day, many being tragic, heroic, informative. Since I wasn't yet born when this happened I just find it interesting to hear all of these different perspectives. I remember growing up and hearing about 9/11 in school and watching entire episodes on tv dedicated to remembering 9/11. It seems to have become less apparent in schools and in the media year by year, but I hope that younger generations continue to learn about 9/11 and understand the impact it had on so many lives.
Long story short - he doesn't remember anything from the time of the event.
Yep, this is an impressive 13 minute waffling about nothing.
@@halfbakedproductions7887
Did you not watch the video? Most of it is him recounting what he had been told by family members who were there during the event, which does indeed answer the question posed in the title “what was Disney world like on 9/11”. He isn’t “waffling about nothing”, he’s giving eye-witness accounts from his family to answer the question posed in the title.
The criticism posed in your comment is stupid, that’s the tldr here.
@@3DFellaFacts
13 mins and 51 seconds of complete nonsense.
Yeah what a nothing video. Top and bottom bun no burger or toppings
Ill never forget I was in 6th grade 1st period in Mr Mitchells science class when he turned on the news. I saw the 2nd plane hit and I lost my shit knowing my sister was in one of the buildings. My parents pulled me out immediately and I was screaming/crying because I was so worried about my sister. We didn't have any contact for about 6 days until we got a call from my sister saying she called out sick that day along with my dads 2 sister and 3 brothers that had came down with a flu. God is real.
God is real?? Not for all the poor people who were murdered that day and their families and friends who had to deal with it. Where was your god for those poor people?????????
@@dmr8914honestly just shut up, this is not the place to be arguing about whether or not god is real, I don’t believe in god either, but I can respect other’s beliefs; especially when it comes to someone’s experience on 9/11
nah dmr has a point. It's so incredibly insensitive for someone to claim that God saved THEIR family on 9/11but not the rest of the people who died. If God is all powerful and truly cared for humanity, nobody would have died. 9/11 wouldn't have happened at all. It's just insensitive. @@Fwunk1
@@cactusparty3119God allows bad stuff to happen because of our free will and he usually doesn't interfere. These bad things happened because of sin which the world is full of.
@@dmr8914he literally didn’t hear anything from his sister for a full week, jesus
I was at Magic Kingdom on 9/11 as an adult. The park was evacuated and we were given a complimentary ticket for another day. We were staying at the campground and heard all sorts of rumors about what was going on. We thought maybe there had been a bomb scare. We decided to go to one of the outlet malls and most of the stores had radios on and we finally found out what actually happened. Shortly after 9/11 they evacuated the entire campground because of a hurricane ( or was it a really bad tropical storm?). So Disney comped us a hotel room for a couple days which was very nice. Going to the parks (they opened the day after 9/11) was bizarre, because so many people either had finished their vacation and couldn’t leave, but didn’t want to buy more tickets to the park and just hung out in their hotel; or they had booked a vacation but were supposed to fly there and couldn’t. I have a picture of the Epcot parking lot, because it was almost empty. We went to Innoventions and had CMs begging us to try their experiences, which normally you’d have to wait hours to do. We walked on most of the rides for the rest of the time we there. We drove there, so our vacation wasn’t affected too much except by the horror of what happened.
Wow this is a very interesting perspective to hear. Especially when it comes to the campground! Thank you so much for sharing. Fascinating to hear you didn’t know until you went to the outlets.
I appreciate this perspective and story. I actually have similar memories with 9/11, although I was just at home with my mom who was taking home videos of me and my sister. She talks about the two of us for a moment, but she then mentions that today was the horrible attacks on the WTC. It’s such a casual comment, but so powerful because she felt the urge to mention it in a home video that we would go on to watch many times.
I was 13, in school, just a normal routine day for the from the time I woke up until about halfway through my first class. Then the news began trickling in little by little. I had no clue what the World Trade Center was or why everyone was freaking out about it being attacked. It wasn't until near the end of my school day that I finally got to see replays of the live footage (geography class, that teacher liked keeping us up-to-date on current world events). And wow....... I will never forget the pit in my stomach watching the plane hit the 2nd tower. It took me several days to truly process what happened and what it meant, and even then it didn't fully sink in until I took my first ever plane flight when I was 17 and saw the tight security. But honestly, even now as an adult I still go back to rewatch footage and documentaries, and I still find myself frozen, transported back to being a preteen again, and I remember the fear, confusion, and utter chaos. It's fascinating, as I love history, but at the same time, it's completely surreal to think that I experienced it. Like when I was little and asked my grandma about Pearl Harbor, now I will be able to recount the events of 9/11 to my kids and grandkids. Crazy
We went to Disney World the first week of December 2001 and it was like the parks were closed. I remember walking down Main Street USA and I was the only person there even went up to one of the cast members and asked if something had happened in the park was it closed and they said No one's here but you. There were no lines for rides You could ride splash mountain over and over and over and not even get off the attraction because boats were running empty. When we checked into the wilderness Lodge they upgraded us to the highest room they had because they said they were only at 15% capacity. It was definitely a different time.
I remember that day. Got a call that day that my cousin supposed to be on AA11. She was a flight attendant and scheduled to be at work that morning, but she called in sick. She lost coworkers that morning. People will disagree with me but she even said it was planes that hit the towers, the pentagon and the crash in Shanksville, PA.
i have a similar story but it's about the renaissance faire i used to work at. after 9/11 happened, management reached out to everyone and said that we were going to be open that weekend, but attendance wasn't mandatory. after all, we were still in shock. we weren't even sure if guests were going to show. also most of us weren't even employees; we were considered "volunteers" because we weren't being paid.
saturday rolled around and everyone on the cast came in for work, including the volunteers. the mood in the dressing room was somber, quiet. no one spoke. but there was also an underlining feeling of determination and defiance. everyone was pouring their thoughts and energy into the day ahead. we were going to give these guests the best experience possible. when the gates opened, there was a HUGE crowd of ppl. turns out more ppl showed up and bought tickets at the door than those who bought in advance.
the next several hours were a blur. but i remember it was one of the best days of my life. everyone was on point; staying in character, interacting with the children, entertaining the crowd. and for a while, you almost forgot that we were all still mourning. At the end of the day, there was usually a big joust match that everyone went to. As audience all sat down and the music began to play, something different happened however. Our Robin Hood actor rode out onto and across the field. in his hand, he held up the american flag. the applause that followed is something i'll never forget.
as the guests left, everyone kept thanking us for the day, saying it was wonderful. there were tears all around.
This account brought me to tears. I was teaching 6th grade on 9/11-500 miles away from my family. Remember it like it was yesterday.
I remember the airlines opening back up on Sept 14th but there was such a mess to get back on track as there were all these flights grounded for 3 full days. My uncle was in the Grand Canyon when the attacks happened and he ended up not flying home and renting a car and driving through the night to get home safe.
“It’s never left my mind. Ever.” That’s exactly how I feel, too.
I was 24 and it’s never really left.
Glad I happened to see the title of this video because it never occurred to me what would have happened at Disney or any of the other large parks that day. It's not hard to understand that the rental companies were overwhelmed. Thanks for posting this.
On the subject of different perspectives, I would recommend seeing the play Come From Away. It depicts the events of 9/11 and the next few days from the perspective of a small town that suddenly had too many grounded planes and people to take care of as well as the perspective of the people on those planes. It's a great story of humanity and community.
I was in elementary school… they put all our grade together and told us. Kinda of a blur now but I remember the classroom I was in.
Same except they let us watch it unfold live. It was surreal. I was only about 10, but I remember it.
My mum constantly tells me the story of what happened in our family on that day. 9/11 for us in Australia it was 11pm at night on 10/9 (our dates are backwards). I was born October 2000 so I was 11 months old, my mum told me that she had just put me down to sleep after a long 3hrs when she switched on the tv in the lounge room and my dad was turning the lights off in the kitchen when she yelled "Murray come and look at this a plane has just crashed in the twin towers in New York", my dad came rushing over and they were watching the tv together, they then both gasped and said, "Oh my gosh another plane has crashed into the other building". My parents told me that was one of the scariest days of their lives, even though we aren't American and were nowhere near it, being over the other side of the world in Australia, we all still felt it so hard over here, and that is absolutely terrifying to me
Same here in western Canada. My baby was 6 months old and we woke up to the news on tv. We had rabbit ears on the tv when it was still freely transmitted. It was indeed very scary times for everyone. My kid's dad was supposed to fly that day but obv didn't. RIP to all souls killed then & now by those tragic events 🙏🇨🇦
12:47 I was born after 9/11 but I vividly remember watching documentaries about it in school and having school assemblies over it. It always gave me nightmares. There was no reason that they needed to traumatize multiple generations with it.
Wrong. People need to know-lest it happen again. Silliest comment on here.
2:36 “Cast Members” are what park employees are called.
I was a police officer in Dallas on 9/11, a very eerie week. You’re the same age as my youngest son, I took my kids to Disneyland for Spring Break 2002, six months after 9/11.
Time flies. ❤️
Hey, I'm just curious. Now, I don't know if you were old enough but, were you living in Dallas when President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963? Because many people said that was the "9/11" of the 1960s.
@@alaricabercrombie2692 We were living in Houston and I was a baby. I visited the Sixth Floor Museum November 2001, very thought provoking.
@@ElmoUnk1953 Oh wow, ok, I understand but, thank you for answering my question, anyway. When I saw the words "Dallas" & "police officer" in your comment, I immediately thought about JFK. And how ironic that you were a cop; considering, the fact that Oswald was charged for the shooting & killing of Dallas police officer, J.D. Tippit. Yes, I hope one day I will be able to visit, and tour that whole site of President Kennedy's murder, too.
Yeah, and you're right. Comparing the public shock & mourning of the JFK assassination with that of 9/11, especially from those who remembered both tragedies, is very thought provoking.
I was 12 when 9/11 happened, turning 13 that October 2001. I was in my 7th grade class. All of the events happened before I was even awake, because I was in the Mountain Time Zone. So by the time I got to school at 8am, the buildings had already been hit, one had collapsed and one was about to collapse. My teacher had the TV on but I didn’t quite grasp the severity of the day until I was a little bit older. I remember my teacher covering his mouth in shock and saying “Oh my God, the other tower fell.” I have that memory but I didn’t really realize at the time what he was talking about until I was older. And yeah I agree, it’s crazy to think that there are grown kids who weren’t alive when 9/11 happened. It’s going to be 23 years this September! Unreal. I will never forget where I was on 9/11.
I can’t imagine being a cast member from the tristate area and having to work that whole day not knowing how your friends and family back home are doing. So I imagine your parents were feeling the same when enjoying their vacation.
I remember flying was pleasant the first three years post 9/11. Then it became sardines.
The day of 9/11, I was in nyc, senior in high school, queens, third floor with a pano view of manahattan and the towers were size of my index fingers. Smoke was coming out of one tower and a huge fire ball from the other the other tower. We were not allowed to to leave school unless our train was able to bring us home. I left school around 4pm, got home via train 630pm. We were told to go back to school the day after when the trains were not running efficiently. What normally would take a hour train ride became two hours one way.
Thank you so much for this video, Jerry. I was four during the 9/11, too. I don't really remember my perspective of that day, unfortunately, but one of my parents came to get me at preschool, where we were living in the Chicago suburbs. Your story really resonated with me, and was such a reminder to how much such a tragic event can impact a nation, and a big wake-up call to how this can effect a family, let alone a family with young children, hoping to escape from the reality of the world we live in at a beautiful resort, whose goal is to bring everyone happiness and joy. Being from Illinois, I've always wanted to go to Walt Disney World, and see the Cinderella Castle (Cinderella was my childhood favorite Disney Princess, growing up). I've been to Disneyland in California, which is also beautiful, but I doubt that the experiences are exactly the same. Well, hopefully someday, anyway.
Again, thank you so much again to you, Jerry. I truly wish you and your family all the best for the future, with only happiness and good things on the road ahead!
My wife and I were taking a backstage Disney Tour that we treated ourselves to on 9/11. I remember at the beginning of the tour we were told to expect some surprises on the tour. At one point during the tour our group was ushered into a conference room and we were told about what was happening in New York.
Since we were warned to expect surprises on the tour I didn’t believe it. They turned on a TV so we could see what was happening, but it was ABC-all part of Disney. I still didn’t believe it. I finally believed it when a young couple on the tour contacted the Pentagon where they served in the military, and they confirmed it. I felt pretty stupid at this time.
In my defense I thought this was part of the Disney magic. The park closed and we went back to the beach resort where we were staying. We ended up keeping our rental car and drove back home to Minnesota, which was quite an adventure during this moment in history.
this is actually wild.
9/11 was and is a big day for me.. I was 13 and just started at a new school a few weeks earlier so that sense of dislocation was really elevated for me and just the sheer magnitude of the events that horrible day just hit me hard.. my younger brother was born in Dec '97 (close to your age presumably) and he said he just remembers my mom picking him and my youngest brother from preschool.. a few months later I went to Disney World for the first time on a school trip and it felt a bit surreal realising that I was there at Disney World in the first few months after 9/11.. years later, i went to NYC for the first time since the fall of 2000 and it sure felt different! I saw the then-new WTC under construction.. anyways the 9/11 memorial is something that everyone should go see.. such a deeply moving site.. in 2021 i went to NYC again for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and got stuck on the rooftop of my brother's apt that he was living in at that time.. now he's living in Nashville with his fiancée.. time does fly indeed!
I was born exactly one month after 9/11 and my mom told me that she found out about the attack in the car hearing about it on the radio. The news hit her so badly that she started crying and was fearful of the world that she was about to bring me into. Really puts into perspective just how one act of terrorism affected the entire country. Even almost 23 years later we’re still reminded and deal with the ramifications of such a tragedy. I pray and hope that something like that never happens again.
I'm from Ontario and was in grade 10 in 2001. I remember September 11th quite vividly and even though I was in Ontario everything stopped that day. I was in my business class when the principal came over the PA system saying the world trade center had been hit. My teacher brought in one of the tvs and right as we got it on one of the news stations saw the second plane hit. It was so surreal. School effectively came to a halt that day, being in high-school many students left and went home, which I did. I watched the news the rest of the day at hoke just bawling. I was a AA hockey player at the time too and had dry land training with my trainer later the evening and the gym was dead - a gym that was always packed. Grocery stores were quiet, the streets were quiet.
I'd actually love to hear your parents experience, I've read a few accounts of others whom were at Disney at the time and it must of been so eerie. We're DVC members and visit disney yearly and I can only imagine the confusion and fear that day.