Santa Banned From Disneyland Airspace... Again! | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Sat, Nov 27, 2004

Santa Banned From Disneyland Airspace... Again!

Disney officials equate Skydiving Santa with terrorists, refuse to support waiver

Rumor has it that Mrs. Santa has banned Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the rest of the Disney gang from visits to the North Pole until further notice. The reason? Disney officials are refusing to allow her husband to delight children of all ages in Anaheim (CA) with his yearly parachute-borne arrival. Disney's explanation?

Terrorists could target the park.

For the second straight year, the annual "Jingle Bell Jump," an event in which Santa Claus skydives into the Anaheim Town Square bearing Christmas cheer and gifts, has been cancelled due to TFR 3/2123, which since June 2003 has prohibited aircraft from flying less than 3,000 feet over the Disneyland theme park. The Orlando (FL) park is also protected by a similar TFR, 3/2122, issued on the same day. No other theme parks in the entire country are covered by any TFR's.

Because the Disney Co. refuses to support a waiver that would allow Santa to make his arrival on a parachute, he will instead have to float in a hot air balloon tethered to the ground, which any kid can tell you is not the same thing. Last year he was forced to arrive in a fire truck.

According to Disney officials, the TFR is needed to protect the park from terrorists, and no exceptions are made for red-suited merry men of large girth and hearty laughter.

The management of the Town Square are not satisfied with that explanation, for obvious reasons. "The terrorists are not involved in any way whatsoever," said Ryan Williams, promotions director for center owner NewMark Merrill, to the Associated Press. "This is Santa landing with his elves." Local pilots have also complained about the TFR, which forces them to take alternate routings around the airspace. Not even banner towing pilots are allowed to ply their trade over the park to take advantage of the large, captive crowds' attention.

Williams is not about to let the issue continue as is. He has said he plans to circulate a petition, entitled "Let Santa Land in 2005" to ask Congress to remove the flight restrictions so Santa can resume his airborne arrivals at the Square next year.

FMI: www.disney.com, http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr/jsp/save_pages/detail_3_2123.html

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC