Disney World Law Enforcement Spending Increases

[Disney4family]

We all had to walk through the metal detector in September when we walked from BLT to the Magic Kingdom every. single. time. Our ages ranged from 79 to 13.
Everyone who walked that path had to go through it and every nook and cranny of every stroller was checked.

 

[JohnD]

"Random" - not really.

They are profiling. Walk through as a single male and you will see.

I get that from time to time. I even get the "why are you here" question. Glad they do it.

 

[JohnD]

I learned to take my sunglasses off when going through...Granted not a 100% thing, but I noticed I didn't get pulled aside as much with them off b/c I think they can give a quick judgement by looking at your eyes as to whether you're apprehensive or not and they need to take things a step further. I'll see in a few weeks how things compare to a year ago.

That tells me it isn't theater. Good.

 

[englanddg]

Rediculous. Every single person needs to go through them. Every single person goes through them at SeaWorld, Universal, and some local amusement parks. I understand Disney's running a larger business, but that actually puts them at a greater danger in my opinion, and so they need to get security up to par. Also, aside from possibly letting a weapon in unchecked, the random selection thing can be kind of prejudicial.

Thought that was the point of the metal detectors before the monorail, no?

To be honest, mass metal detectors don't really help all that much.

For a determined person, there are simply too many ways to get around them (many of which involve disability or babies). And, at places where they do mass screen, they turn the things down so low (because stopping every danged belt buckle and metal blinged pair of jeans just isn't practical), they don't accomplish much. You can actually observe their levels, on older models at least, as the manufacturers used to put a little set of indicator lights on them.

It's security theater, at that point.

Security theater helps a bit, but profiling is worth far more. Israeli security has proved this, frankly...without a shadow of a doubt. Several studies to look at regarding effectiveness.

 

[englanddg]

It's pretty easy to spot what security line you don't want to be in. As you walk up, just watch how fast the "guard" goes through a bag. If the search is still going by the time I am close, I pick another line. If they have a flashlight in their hands, I find another line. Some "guards" seem to be looking for items so small, they would be less of a weapon than sharp piece of popsicle stick. I want the guard who is focused on guns. It's pretty easy to feel around and rule out areas of a bag, and not waste time looking inside my eyeglass case, or to bend a bag of beef jerky. While I don't worry about bad guys, I do worry about legal gun owners "forgetting" that they brought one.

You, are silly.

 

[Howdy]

Rediculous. Every single person needs to go through them. Every single person goes through them at SeaWorld, Universal, and some local amusement parks. I understand Disney's running a larger business, but that actually puts them at a greater danger in my opinion, and so they need to get security up to par. Also, aside from possibly letting a weapon in unchecked, the random selection thing can be kind of prejudicial.

Thought that was the point of the metal detectors before the monorail, no?

May 2016 trip my wife got "randomly selected" almost every time that we went into the parks. I think I went through 2 metal detectors in an 8 day trip. Thing is, the closest thing to a weapon in her purse is a pen, while when I'm not in Disney World I always have at least one firearm and spring assist knife on me. If you're going to have metal detectors, use them

 

[Nj4mwc]

I was just there in sept, and I'm a white male shaved head 6' about 240lbs tattoos up and down the arms I dont believe in sleeves and am often mistaken for trailer park trash, and u was not randomly selected once. But I do understand one of the reasons to randomly select is also to observe how others react

 

[JoeCamel]

As long as the increased spending is not for off duty OCSD to sit in the parking lots. That did not end well in the past. Guess they thought they should be making more.

 

[Bullseye1967]

I have no doubt that the security officers screening at the gates have been through training and know what they are looking for. Quite a few of them were police officers at one point in their life. Trust me there are things to look for. Is this 100% effective? Of course not. Terrorism is about you biggest bang for your buck. There is no doubt that Disney has been scouted many times, and not been chosen. There is a reason for this. Screenings are a part of it, but no doubt the amount of law enforcement on property also helps. Disney does a great job with security, and there is a lot more going on than you see. I am happy OCSO are on property and my thoughts are the more the merrier. They don't both anyone who is not out of line. It is a good detail for them and most guests feel safe because of their presence.

 

[JoeCamel]

I have no doubt that the security officers screening at the gates have been through training and know what they are looking for. Quite a few of them were police officers at one point in their life. Trust me there are things to look for. Is this 100% effective? Of course not. Terrorism is about you biggest bang for your buck. There is no doubt that Disney has been scouted many times, and not been chosen. There is a reason for this. Screenings are a part of it, but no doubt the amount of law enforcement on property also helps. Disney does a great job with security, and there is a lot more going on than you see. I am happy OCSO are on property and my thoughts are the more the merrier. They don't both anyone who is not out of line. It is a good detail for them and most guests feel safe because of their presence.

Well, "they don't bother anyone who is not out of line" is a fallacy. Just check the reports. If you are lazy let me know and I will pull the reports of officers stealing from parked cars for you.

 

[LAKid53]

It's still random.

I was there in September and had to go through metal detectors at both MK & AK, no random selection. The only park I've not had to go through them every time was Epcot.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Well, "they don't bother anyone who is not out of line" is a fallacy. Just check the reports. If you are lazy let me know and I will pull the reports of officers stealing from parked cars for you.

People don't seem to understand that there are good and bad in every profession. There will always be a few bad of anything whether it is cops, doctors, or waitresses at your favorite restaurant. The difference is if a cop is dirty you go to them media, and if your meal is bad you get on Yelp and leave a bad review. One or two bad officers being hired off duty by Disney is a small percentage of the many on property every day. There are bad cops out there, no question about it, my point is that having extra law enforcement at the parks is a good thing.

 

[LAKid53]

I'd like to add that I've never been pulled aside. It's most certainly due to my profound handsomeness and captivating smile.



Okay. And you have absolutely no way of knowing that security hasn't protected the parks from an attack. Sorry, I can't agree that security is useless.

I believe the metal detectors made an appearance when they did due to a perceived threat.

 

[DisneyCane]

It's more TSA-like as is with its "random" selection process. There's little less magical than being pulled away from your family and friends for a "random" screen. USH's method ensures EVERYONE is on equal ground and no one feels singled out.

I personally think the entire things is a waste of time, energy, and money for multiple reasons, but if you're going to do it, do it right like at USH (which doesn't charge Disney World prices, btw)

I agree 100% with the last paragraph. The TSA doesn't do a very good job. They always have terrible results in their own testing. I can't imagine Disney being any better.

I guess the security might keep somebody from bringing a rifle into the park. Some nutcase will have to settle for shooting at the security lines instead if people in Main Street.

 

[Bullseye1967]

I agree 100% with the last paragraph. The TSA doesn't do a very good job. They always have terrible results in their own testing. I can't imagine Disney being any better.

I guess the security might keep somebody from bringing a rifle into the park. Some nutcase will have to settle for shooting at the security lines instead if people in Main Street.

And that is the point of security. You can't secure an area outside of a check point. Security keeps the threats outside of the parks.

 

[WDWTrojan]

It does not keep the threat out. At the Pulse shooting there was a security guard out front who was doing roughly the same thing Disney rent-a-cops do: checking bags. Alas, the attacker just shot them dead. A would-be attacker could just as easily shoot his way past the retiree checking bags and make it into the park before LEO had a chance to respond. Also, even if they did respond within a minute or two, they aren't going to have a shoot-out in the middle of the park with thousands of guests around. The whole thing is for theater and theater alone.

 

[I am Timmy]

Rediculous. Every single person needs to go through them. Every single person goes through them at SeaWorld, Universal, and some local amusement parks. I understand Disney's running a larger business, but that actually puts them at a greater danger in my opinion, and so they need to get security up to par. Also, aside from possibly letting a weapon in unchecked, the random selection thing can be kind of prejudicial.

Thought that was the point of the metal detectors before the monorail, no?

How early do the ones at Universal open? We were there a couple years ago, and we always got to the entrance of CityWalk from Royal Pacific before 6am (7am early morning access). There was never security there to check our bags - we walked on by. Found out they didn't start until 6am. Even the CityWalk employees were already there sweeping and hosing the the cement.

 

[I am Timmy]

I was there in September and had to go through metal detectors at both MK & AK, no random selection. The only park I've not had to go through them every time was Epcot.

How long does this take? Do people with bags still go through different lines than people w/o bags? We haven't been since end of 2015, so a lot has changed. We usually take one backpack with us (for 4 people) and I have my purse, so I would be the one to go through the bag line and have them check both.

 

[peter11435]

It does not keep the threat out. At the Pulse shooting there was a security guard out front who was doing roughly the same thing Disney rent-a-cops do: checking bags. Alas, the attacker just shot them dead. A would-be attacker could just as easily shoot his way past the retiree checking bags and make it into the park before LEO had a chance to respond. Also, even if they did respond within a minute or two, they aren't going to have a shoot-out in the middle of the park with thousands of guests around. The whole thing is for theater and theater alone.

There are armed Orange County deputies at the entrances to all of the parks so there will be no delay in law enforcement responding.

 

[DisneyCane]

And that is the point of security. You can't secure an area outside of a check point. Security keeps the threats outside of the parks.

My point was that that is the only very specific thing that the security might accomplish due to the size of a rifle. I can guarantee that if someone was motivated they could get pretty much anything else in. Even with x-ray scanners the TSA misses stuff in their own tests. Without them the bag checks are useless.