I think this is the right thread to post in, even though I am going to describe a recent experience I had at DL. At the end of my story, I'm going to ask a question that is specifically MK related, so I'm pretty sure this post belongs here.
On Thursday, April 14th I went to DL. I was there in March, before the budget cuts, so I do have a recent experience to compare it to. I can also compare this experience with numerous other visits to DL and MK, so I know something is wrong. The park closed at 9pm, right after the Disneyland Forever fireworks show. I was in TL and started taking pictures of Space Mountain and the old COP building. I noticed that the park was clearing out pretty quickly, but I didn't give it much thought. Around 9:15, yes, 9:15, I noticed a security guard standing nearby. I also noticed there were no other guests around me, so I knew it was time to move towards Main Street. I walked to the part of TL where it borders the hub and took some pictures there.
I then headed to the castle. This was actually my entire reason for coming this time. I brought my tripod this time and I wanted to get pictures of the castle with the spotlights behind it. There were some people in front of the castle taking pictures so I waited for them to finish. I then set up my tripod, took a few pictures, and then a security guard came up to me and said, "That needs to be your last picture. We need to clear this area out."
I was shocked. It was 9:30, and I have never seen the park clear out so quickly. I have also never had security tell me I needed to stop taking pictures and leave. It has never happened. I am usually way ahead of the security CM's as they sweep the park. In fact, I normally don't even get close to them. I asked the CM what policy had changed and why they were clearing out the park so quickly. He said nothing had changed and they always clear the area in front of the castle so quickly. I knew that was an absolute lie, because I have pictures I took in front of the castle after my last visit that were taken more than 30 minutes after park closing. I figured this was just an incredibly rare occurrence, and I moved towards Main Street.
I took a few pictures on Main Street and I waited in Town Square for it to clear out enough for me to take pictures in the middle of the street aiming towards the castle. I had just set up my tripod and yet another security CM tells me, again, I need to stop taking pictures because they need to clear out the park. It was 10:15, which was 1 hour and 15 minutes after park closing, and 15 minutes after the Main Street shops closed. This time I was not happy. I asked this CM what changed and he lied to me again. He said they always clear the park out like this and that it has been this way for the 20 years that he has worked at DL. Once again, I knew this was a bold-faced lie.
I walked out of the park and asked to speak to a security lead. He admitted that what happened was unusual, but he would not tell me the reason why. By his own admission, he would never even begin to talk to someone "lingering" until at least 30 minutes after Main Street closed. After I walked through the turnstiles to exit there were probably 20 or so people behind me. They locked the gate at 10:22.
This angers me because I have never seen this before, and I was not prepared. I normally have plenty of time to take whatever pictures I want and then move on before security comes anywhere near me. Not only was security moving much quicker than they ever have before, they were rude as well. I won't tolerate this, and if it happens again I will not return. Yes, I realize I am only one person, and they laugh at the idea of just losing the money from one Premier AP, but I'm not going to pay to be rushed out of the park. I do not arrive early to the parks. I usually arrive much later in the day, and stay until after closing. Those few minutes of tranquility I get when there are few people in the park are what makes the park "magical". If Disney takes that away, then there is nothing left for me.
My question is, has this happened to anyone else at the DLR or at WDW? Can any photographers, or anyone else, tell me if they have noticed anything else unusual in the past three weeks or so?
This really makes me sad. I can ignore the "princessification" of the parks. I can ignore the lousy food. I can ignore the crowds. I can ignore the dirty parks and rides (for the most part). I can't ignore having them take away the few moments of "magic" I get after most of the people leave. Without that, the food, the crowds, the dirty attractions, and the princesses everywhere become too much. Without the magic, Disney is worth nothing to me anymore. Greed is ruining my "Laughing Place", and it's hard to accept.
ETA: For comparison, at the MK, if the park closes at midnight I am usually waiting for the monorail at 1:20 or so. As I leave the park, about 1:15, security is nowhere near Town Square. They are still at the MS/Hub border.
