Greetings Snustopians!As you’ve all probably noticed, it’s been pretty quite here in Snustopia the past 2 weeks. The reason is because last week was our annual family vacation to the happiest place on earth, Walt Disney World in Florida. On the plane back to Snustopia, I was writing a review of 1847 by Philip Morris, which was one of the snus brands I used during our vacation, when I began to think back to the last time we were there. You see, this is the first time I had been to Disney World as a snus user and for the past 9 years, the first thing I would do when we arrived at our resort, was find out where each and every smoking section was in all 4 parks! But this year was different, I was actually more concerned about if I packed enough snus for the entire time I was there! That’s when I thought to myself “there have got to be other Snustopians out there that will eventually go thru this and why not share my observations and some of the reactions I received while using Swedish snus in Disney World!” So, if you’re ready, grab your snus, your favorite drink and your Park Hopper pass and let’s take a trip thru Disney World and Swedish snus!
First off, I know some of you are thinking “That Snus Guy has lost it! He’s going to do a review of his vacation!” While it would be pretty fun to tell you all about The House of the Mouse, that’s not what I’m going to do. What I’d like to discuss is what kind of effect using snus had on the vacation it’s self. As you all know, I used Swedish snus to quit smoking over a year and a half ago and smoking really played a big part in any vacation we’ve ever taken but, it played a major part in our annual Disney trips. From the planning and reservations stage all the way up to the flight home, subconsciously we would make all the plans based on where the nearest smoking areas were.
When we would make our resort reservations, I would make it a point to look at the map online to make sure our room was a smoking room and last year, made sure it was close to the smoking area since Florida is a Non-Smoking room state. We would also make sure the car service would be sending a car that we could smoke in and get to the airport 2 hours early so we could get all of our smoking in before the flight. We’d also plan which attractions we would see based on where the nearest smoking areas were and in the back of my mind was this; do I have enough smokes to last the trip because a pack of cigarettes costs over $7 (this year they were over $9) a pack at the resort but not this year! This year was different.
Yes, I did have the worry about packing enough snus for the trip but, that was my only worry! This year I didn’t have to obsess about where the smoking areas were, sit out and smoke while the girls were off on a ride or feel like an outcast sitting in an area of the parks where nothing could be seen, including me! It was actually like going to the parks for the very first time again because I saw more of them than I had in the past! But that’s not all I wanted to tell everyone in this review. What was more exciting was what I saw, the people I met and the reaction to Swedish snus in Disney World. Believe it or not, I did see a few snus users in Disney but not Swedish snus users, they were using Camel SNUS. I could tell it was the pseudo SNUS because I could see the oblong outline of the can in their shirt pockets! These were the people I wanted to talk to so, I would try to pick them out in different queues. The best place to find them was, of all places, in the smoking areas!
“But Snus Guy, if they’re using snus, even though it’s Camel SNUS, what were they doing in the
smoking areas?” Well, like I said before, I noticed things this trip that I never really knew before and one of those things was that a lot of the smoking areas were placed in the part of the parks that were secluded from the main traffic areas and were actually quite serene areas! For example, in EPCOT, there is a smoking area in the UK part of the World Showcase that had a small bandstand where a mock Beatles band called "The British Invasion" played every hour on the hour! This is where I got to talk to a lot of people about Swedish snus. Mainly due to me holding a can of either Montecristo portion or the old 1847 by Philip Morris can while I was waiting for the band to begin. Smokers would comment on the can or the Montecristo name and I would begin a conversation about Swedish snus. I usually keep a few sample packs of General on me and would give them out to interested folks there!I would sometimes do the same thing at our resort since whenever I sit down, a can of whatever snus brand I happen to have with me goes on the table and it becomes a great conversation starter. Not only did the cast member serving us ask about Swedish snus but if I was alone at the table, other guests would ask about the can. It was pretty cool actually! The best reaction I had to snus was in the Norway pavilion at the World Showcase in EPCOT.
If you’ve never been to EPCOT, the back end of the park has a lagoon in the middle with areas representing 12 different countries. In each country, there are cast members that are sent from that particular country to work for 6 months. In Norway, there was a girl working in the bakery that was from Oslo. She saw me pull my can of General Extra Sterk out of my pocket and said “Oh, snus! I haven’t seen that since I left home!” She asked me where I got it and we talked for quite a while about snus in Norway. When I was there last year, I could only get “Hi” and “Thank you” out of the person working behind the counter, even though I know a small bit of Norwegian. Just goes to show that Swedish snus really can be a conversation starter!
In other parks, Like the Magic Kingdom, I actually met a Camel SNUS user in line for a show. I saw him pull the can out of his pocket and asked him if he’d ever tried real Swedish snus. His answer was “Camel SNUS is real Swedish snus according to the website!” I pulled out my can of 02 Strong and said “No, THIS is REAL Swedish snus” and began explaining to him about the differences between the two. My wife wasn’t real happy since we kept talking thru the entire show but, in the end, I gave him a few portions of 02 and gave him the address to Snustopia’s finest snus shop, “The Northerner”, to order a can or two. All in all, it was worth the jabs to the side and sitting thru the show twice to add another member to the Snustopia family!
While all of this may seem like normal, everyday things one might encounter in a large theme park like Disney World, in the past, this just wasn’t me. Like I said, I would spend so much time looking for smoking areas in the parks and obsessing about being able to make it for a ride if I have just one more smoke, I never made time to just walk around and take it all in! I saw more of the “Happiest Place on Earth” this time
than all the other times combined. In previous visits, I would have never seen the Zen Garden hidden in Japan’s smoking area or, the great view you get of Main Street from the smoking area next to Cinderella’s Castle. In past vacations, I would have never just walked up to someone and started a conversation about the kind of cigarette they smoked or discussed how it was made and I would have never just placed my pack of smokes on a table waiting for someone to ask me about them. Nope, thanks to Swedish snus, and my family, I think this visit to Disney World was the most memorable of them all. So, to all you Snustopians that are planning a vacation for the first time without cigarettes and are planning to take your snus, I offer this; if you’re like me and go to the same place each year, you’ll be amazed at what you’ve missed in the past and surprised at the people you’ll meet when you bring out your can of snus! I know I was!Well Snustopians, I know this was a completely different type of review from what you’re used to reading here but, I felt that these experiences just might help some of you break out of your shells and help spread the word of our wonderful country and the thing that created it, real Swedish snus!
So, until next time Snustopians, as always,
Happy Snusing!
That Snus Guy
I would automatically think great cigars. Actually, this is pretty much the norm in the states since Montecristo snus is relatively new in the tobacco world. While the Montecristo brand has been on fine Cuban cigars since the 1930’s and on Dominican cigars since the 50’s, Montecristo snus was launched in 2008. Just like the cigars that share its name, the taste is unmistakably unique! Taboca describes Montecristo as having a rich tobacco taste and flavors of lemon and bergamot. The rich tobacco taste comes from the Cuban tobacco. If you have ever experienced smoking a Montecristo Cuban cigar, you’ll be able to tell the distinct flavor of Cuban tobacco. For those Snustopians that have never smoked a Cuban cigar or, are living in America, Cuban tobacco has a unique flavor that distinguishes it from its cousin Dominican tobacco. Cuban tobaccos tend to have a peppery flavor with earthy, leathery undertones and a touch of flowers that almost give it a black tea flavor while Dominican tobaccos have just the opposite.