Bag Checks At All Parks - A Joke

[meanmice]

Other theme parks

The last time that I was at WDW was pre 9/11, but from reading the posts I have a pretty good idea of how they are doing bag checks. I have to say that the way that they are going about it is very typical. I live 15 min. from six flags new england and I have a season pass. For as long as I can remember, and even before the little park became a six flags, they have made you walk through metal detectors and they stick a short woden stick into your bags. They ask you to open all pouches, but rush you through and barely peek inside. The only difference between now and before 9/11 is that before there was one guy on a little podeum that checked all the bags, now there is someone at every gate. The inspection is mostly there to make guests feel more secure (although it does creep my mother out) but it does actually work sometimes. I have been there when they have found knives and even once a small gun in someone's bag. I'm not saying that this would happen at disney, but I think that we are under estimating the validity of these small searches. You'd be surprised, but sometimes they work.

 

[RogueHabit]

Originally posted by ntn_haqqer


Maybe you do work at the parks, I don't know, but I can tell you this much that the times I go to Disney, there are no "no bags" lines.

In a way you are correct, there is no line, but there is an opening, manned by a 'guard' who will only stop you if you have a bag and direct you to the checks.

Every park has them and the guards do there best to direct all non bag carriers to the no bags enterance, unfortunately a lot of people are just to dumb to pay attention and still queue up even if they don't have a bag.

 

[SandySHM]

I understand that they want to keep everything safe but I don't think it would stop anyone from bringing a weapon into the park. Who would imagine brining a weapon in that isn't in a bag? Could someone actually hide it under their clothes, in their sock or pockets? Pretty obvious to me that bags are not the only way to bring something into the park. My daughter actually stopped wearing her belly bag beacuse of the searching. The worst part was the last day of my WDW trip. The security gaurd actually made me open my wallet. I wonder what they would do if they actually found something suspicious, how would they handle that. I hope their training went into how to handle that situation.

 

[TheDisneyBoy]

Originally posted by Holly


I do believe absolutely nothing will stop a terrorist - but we can make it harder and more likely that they'll be caught in the act.

Would you rather that we had no searches and no extra security? We'd be stupid just to throw up our hands and go, "well, we probably can't stop 'em so let 'em do what they're going to do." We can put measures in place to make it harder - and potentially nearly impossible (though we haven't yet) for a terroritst to act. And if my civil liberties need to be compromised for the greater good - then so be it.

How will a security guard looking in your purse help prevent a guy from taking a grenade and lobbing it over the fence? All those bag searches do is slow people up and give added assurance to insecure guests.

 

[baynesj]

checks at all parks

I have been reading all of the comments and since I live in a border town I wanted to add my two cents worth. Someone said that you can't stop a terrorist but my professional opinion is that you can deter them. The harder you make it for them to accomplsih their mission at one place will make them go look somewhere else. If you steer them in a certain direction, they will eventually try where you want them to and then you have a chance of stopping them. Don't know what the security plan is but the checks do make people feel better. I deal with this every day and it will never be easy but all you can do it keep trying.

 

[Disneyanna0521]

I agree w/ you (baynesj). I REALLY disagree w/ what "The Disney Boy" said.

 

[RogueHabit]

Until such time as the guards are properly trained and cast members aren't shoved into security unbiforms to augment the process the checks will remain nothing more than an annoying waste of time.

For my $0.02 I would rather be delayed and know that I had been checked properly than be delayed and know that I hadn't.

But at the end of the day it is more about satisfying the whims of insecure people, who can be easily fooled into feeling safe than about real security... IMHO - OC.