Disney says suspicious device found on bus was tire-pressure monitor

[PhotoDave219]

I had heard that it was a transponder of some sort.

The mysterious object found mounted on a Walt Disney World bus last week -- prompting the giant resort to temporarily shut down all bus service until the other vehicles were searched -- was a newly designed tire-pressure monitor, Disney said Monday evening.

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said the device was a prototype that had been installed on a single bus to monitor tire pressure with wireless technology. Tire pressure can affect the fuel efficiency of a vehicle.

The device set off a mini-scare Thursday, when it was discovered by a maintenance crew that was unfamiliar with it. They reported a suspicious object to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which called out a bomb squad to investigate.

Disney, meanwhile, opted to pull its entire bus fleet out of service until each of the roughly 300 vehicles was inspected. Thousands of Disney World visitors were stranded for a few hours while the buses were searched.

Finger said Disney made the decision to temporarily shut down its bus service before the mystery object was identified "out of an abundance of caution."

Back when i was a CM, we had an unattended backpack at the hub. Me and another CM debated the merits of what to do (Call Security) versus guest service and safety. So me being the ballsier one, i opened it up, found that it was just a missing bag and brought it up to City Hall.

 

[SirGoofy]

You'd figure they would have told the mechanics, "Hey we're installing a tire pressure gauge on one of the vehicles. It's not a bomb.":lol:

 

[WDW Vacationer]

Again, I'm calling shennanigans. Neither the mechanic or supervisor knew this. Come on! Disney must think we are stupid.

 

[SirGoofy]

Again, I'm calling shennanigans. Neither the mechanic or supervisor knew this. Come on! Disney must think we are stupid.

Dude...layoff the X-Files. Not everything is a cover-up or a conspiracy.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Sounds legit based on what i was previously told from inside the kingdom.

 

[janoimagine]

I do find it unusual that none of the people on duty that night new of the new device, but not overly suprised, Disney is a huge place with a ton of employees.

 

[SirGoofy]

I do find it unusual that none of the people on duty that night new of the new device, but not overly suprised, Disney is a huge place with a ton of employees.

Yea...not to mention a place you tend to hear one thing from one manager, and the complete opposite from another. This isn't surprising at all.

 

[WDW Vacationer]

Dude...layoff the X-Files. Not everything is a cover-up or a conspiracy.

But for nobody to know? A little suspicious to me.


Not of an X-Files person!

 

[TubaGeek]

Again, I'm calling shennanigans. Neither the mechanic or supervisor knew this. Come on! Disney must think we are stupid.

I'm starting to think that you are...
Sorry, you set me up for that one. I don't actually think you're stupid. :wave:
I do think you're completely nuts about this one, though...

 

[WDW Vacationer]

I'm starting to think that you are...
Sorry, you set me up for that one. I don't actually think you're stupid. :wave:
I do think you're completely nuts about this one, though...

Think...No worker knew what it was. At LEAST the supervisor would have known.


So...they would not just come out and say that someone put it there,because it would mean that a real bomb could possibly be put on a bus. They do not want people to thnk that.

 

[unkadug]

Again, I'm calling shennanigans. Neither the mechanic or supervisor knew this. Come on! Disney must think we are stupid.

I, too, find it highly suspect that nobody in the bus department knew anything about this being installed.

I know that Disney's right hand doesn't always know what the left hand is doing, but this is just plain FAIL.

 

[SirGoofy]

At LEAST the supervisor would have known.

You, my friend, have no idea how day to day operation usually works at WDW.:lol:

 

[PhotoDave219]

Think...No worker knew what it was. At LEAST the supervisor would have known.

You've never worked there, have you?

Management is the LAST to know and least likely to talk with one another.

 

[marypoppins68]

Here's an updated version of the story.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-bus-object-092109,0,903866.story

orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bk-disney-bus-object-092109,0,903866.story

OrlandoSentinel.com
FIRST ON ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM
Disney: Suspicious device found on bus was old tire-pressure monitor
Jason Garcia

Sentinel Staff Writer

7:27 PM EDT, September 21, 2009

(NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the tire-pressure monitor as newly designed. It was an old prototype that had been installed in 1998.)

The mysterious object found mounted on a Walt Disney World bus last week -- prompting the giant resort to temporarily shut down all bus service until the other vehicles were searched -- was an old tire-pressure monitor, Disney said Monday evening.

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said the device was a prototype that had been installed in 1998 on a single bus to monitor tire pressure with wireless technology. Tire pressure can affect the fuel efficiency of a vehicle.

The device set off a mini-scare Thursday, when it was discovered by a maintenance crew that was unfamiliar with it. They reported a suspicious object to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which called out a bomb squad to investigate.

Disney, meanwhile, opted to pull its entire bus fleet out of service until each of the roughly 300 vehicles was inspected. Thousands of Disney World visitors were stranded for a few hours while the buses were searched.

Finger said Disney made the decision to temporarily shut down its bus service before the mystery object was identified "out of an abundance of caution."

Jason Garcia can be reached at jrgarcia@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414.

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel

 

[janoimagine]

Installed in 1998?!? ... well theirs your problem right there. Took em' long enough to notice it.

 

[unkadug]

Installed in 1998?!? ... well theirs your problem right there. Took em' long enough to notice it.

They just now realized that it didn't work. :lol:

 

[Kamikaze]

Again, I'm calling shennanigans. Neither the mechanic or supervisor knew this. Come on! Disney must think we are stupid.

No, it was obviously something not dangerous. If you had watched the live feed of everything happening, you would know they simply took it off the bus, walked it out into a field, and left it there. If it was even remotely possible that it was dangerous, they would have blown it up.

Installed in 1998?!? ... well theirs your problem right there. Took em' long enough to notice it.

Gotta be a typo.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Gotta be a typo.

No, its not a typo. Now why are we just noticing it after 11 years? Or did they lay off they people who knew what it was?

 

[Phonedave]

No, its not a typo. Now why are we just noticing it after 11 years? Or did they lay off they people who knew what it was?

My guess - and its only a guess, but it comes from dealing with the same sort of situations.

Some small "staff" group decides to field trial a device. They take it down to the garage and tell the supervisor about it. He gets some mechanic to install it. They do their trial and decide it is not somthing they want to impliment. The decive is not bothering anything, so there is no reason to take the time (expense) to remove it.

The supervisor goes to a different department or retires or just forgets about it. Same goes for the mechanic.

11 years later some keen eyed mechanic spots it. Nobody from the original project team (if they are even still around) thinks "what about that air pressure transponder we left on a bus over a decade ago"

Heck, I have seen it happen with things that have been abandoned for as little as a month.

-dave

 

[Figment1986]

it's possible they were using this device to see gas milage... but no one at this center knew about it.. esp if it was a old prototype (disney never throws anything away) and did the right thing based upon it's appearence to them.