Increased OCSO Presence?

[muddyrivers]

Compared to my last trip in 2022, I've seen a lot more uniformed OCSO officers all over the property. Going into MK the other day, there was an OCSO standing right by the tunnel under the train tracks. Last night driving around the roads of my resort there were two police officers riding bikes on patrol.

I recall seeing officers and K9 units by the park entrances or by the bus pickup locations, but it seems like their presence has been much higher than what I had ever seen in years' past. Has anyone else noticed this or just me?

 

[JIMINYCR]

Yes and it’s a good thing. I think the reason for more presence is the increasing amount of violent behavior we’ve seen from guests. People have become more aggressive with one another and it’s no longer “ We are at Disney and everyone is here to have fun”. The littlest thing can set off a fight.
With the presence of a few officers maybe that will make people rethink using violence. And if and when something does start they are on the scene and close enough to respond when things start up. A quick response is needed to stop major damage.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’ve noticed increased security (both Disney and Orange County) at both DL and at WDW.

I think it’s over the top, and takes away from the magic. I don’t feel any more secure now than I did 10-15 years ago when security wasn’t as visible. (Meaning I felt perfectly safe both then and now, more security doesn’t make me feel more safe).

 

[JIMINYCR]

I can’t see how it takes away from the magic. The police presence is outside the park . The metal detectors are outside the park. The police aren’t walking a beat throughout any of the park lands. They have no affect to your park time once you enter the park entrances.
As for the security measures they are a necessity because when the attack on the USA happened Disney was listed as one of the terrorist prime targets . Disney had to respond to the threat. Over the years they have found weapons that could have gone through and I’m sure many things we haven’t heard about.

 

[LeighM]

I can’t see how it takes away from the magic. The police presence is outside the park . The metal detectors are outside the park. The police aren’t walking a beat throughout any of the park lands. They have no affect to your park time once you enter the park entrances.
As for the security measures they are a necessity because when the attack on the USA happened Disney was listed as one of the terrorist prime targets . Disney had to respond to the threat. Over the years they have found weapons that could have gone through and I’m sure many things we haven’t heard about.
You may not feel safer but thankfully you are.

The police and security that are inside the park are always undercover so that they blend in as tourists. If someone just people watches I'm sure they can be spotted but I'm too busy enjoying my own vacation. I've only seen them once when there was a young child that was lost.

 

[JIMINYCR]

The police and security that are inside the park are always undercover so that they blend in as tourists. If someone just people watches I'm sure they can be spotted but I'm too busy enjoying my own vacation. I've only seen them once when there was a young child that was lost.

The OP was reporting on uniformed police , not undercover security . Even if someone is wearing plain clothes their presence would have no affect on your magic happening in the park unless you did something that caused them to reveal themselves.

 

[LeighM]

The OP was reporting on uniformed police , not undercover security . Even if someone is wearing plain clothes their presence would have no affect on your magic happening in the park unless you did something that caused them to reveal themselves.

I know what the original poster said but technically you wrote "The police presence is outside the park" and that's what I'm responding to. I was just saying that uniformed may be outside the parks but police presence is everywhere on Disney property. They are just undercover. However, uniformed officers have no effect on me either. It's just a fact of life and it catches my attention more when there is no police to be seen. I no longer notice uniformed officers and their K9s at airports, at Disney, sports games, concerts, high school and college graduations. They're just part of the background to me.

 

[Ayla]

I know what the original poster said but technically you wrote "The police presence is outside the park" and that's what I'm responding to. I was just saying that uniformed may be outside the parks but police presence is everywhere on Disney property. They are just undercover. However, uniformed officers have no effect on me either. It's just a fact of life and it catches my attention more when there is no police to be seen. I no longer notice uniformed officers and their K9s at airports, at Disney, sports games, concerts, high school and college graduations. They're just part of the background to me.

Security is not police. Security is undercover in the parks, not cops.

 

[LeighM]

Security is not police. Security is undercover in the parks, not cops.

No, I'm pretty positive this was an undercover officer not Disney security.

 

[Lilofan]

Compared to my last trip in 2022, I've seen a lot more uniformed OCSO officers all over the property. Going into MK the other day, there was an OCSO standing right by the tunnel under the train tracks. Last night driving around the roads of my resort there were two police officers riding bikes on patrol.

I recall seeing officers and K9 units by the park entrances or by the bus pickup locations, but it seems like their presence has been much higher than what I had ever seen in years' past. Has anyone else noticed this or just me?

I welcome Orange County deputies at WDW. Before the Pulse nightclub incident that included the loss of life of a CM at the club, the shooter was observed at Disney Springs surveying the location but noticed a presence of law enforcement there.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

I welcome Orange County deputies at WDW. Before the Pulse nightclub incident that included the loss of life of a CM at the club, the shooter was observed at Disney Springs surveying the location but noticed a presence of law enforcement there.

The Osceola County deputies do a great job too! Not much in terms of JD for Disney World, but they do have AK and Blizzard Beach (half of Blizzard Beach ).

 

[networkpro]

I wouldnt think twice about officers just doing their jobs.

Please note that we do not broadly discuss the specifics of our security procedures to avoid compromising their effectiveness. However, be aware that:

• The visible security measures at our theme parks and Resort hotels include the presence of uniformed police officers, using specially trained hazard detection canines to help patrol, bag checks at our theme park entrances and security kiosks at our Resort hotels

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I don’t have significant stress over security presence, lack of branded napkins, lack of flowers, or lack of working fountains. But they all add up to a loss of magic at the WDW parks and are worth discussing.

 

[Andrew25]

I feel much safer with their presence in the parks.

 

[marni1971]

It’s the ones you don’t see to be grateful for.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

If you think security saying “keep moving, don’t stop, single file” is a magical way to enter the park then we definitely disagree. And yes, I continue to think it’s terrible customer service to split up families and groups at security.

If you would like the security protocols reworked, then I would be better able to understand your point of view. However, jumping to an extreme is rarely a solution. For lack of better comparison, I’ll use Universal. Now, obviously, they have security once you reach where the bridges interesect. However, outside of that area, there was little security in the garages. Groups would meet to fight in the garages shortly after Covid, and I saw Orlando PD, OCSO, and what looked to be the SWAT team having to break up fights after people started running. It seemed as though the girlfriends of the people fighting had run from the location of the fight, and with all the noise, people seemed to believe there was an active shooter. Had there been more security in the garages, Orlando PD and the OCSO could have been deployed sooner. Perhaps the fight could have even been broken up before starting mass hysteria.

Obviously this can never be confirmed if security would have changed the situation at all. We can make correlations, but sure, it is hard to say that security causes less fights and violence to happen. However, I do think that less hysteria would have been caused had the incident happened inside of the parks (given that all bags are screened prior to entry).


Now, I can understand that one might think that uniformed officers and security might not effect violence and crime rates in an area, but I don’t think that one can argue that screening all bags prior to entry doesn’t help protect against a mass terrorist attack or mass act of violence.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

If you would like the security protocols reworked, then I would be better able to understand your point of view. However, jumping to an extreme is rarely a solution.

Which extreme did I jump to? (And maybe I did, not sure!)

But that’s a great point, do you feel unsafe walking from your car, to the tram, riding the tram, and walking up to the gate?

 

[Bullseye1967]

Security is not police. Security is undercover in the parks, not cops.

No, I'm pretty positive this was an undercover officer not Disney security.

There are plain clothes Orange and Osceola County Sherriff's Deputies in the parks. I worked as a reserve deputy for Osceola CSO.

 

[DisneyFanatic12]

Which extreme did I jump to? (And maybe I did, not sure!)

But that’s a great point, do you feel unsafe walking from your car, to the tram, riding the tram, and walking up to the gate?

I think that I misinterpreted previous posts at the time and believed that you meant that we would be better without security. No security is an extreme, but I can agree that security is not the end all be all for all situations.

I feel safe walking to my car at Disney because of the security in the parking lots, but I certainly feel safer in the parks. Personally, I think that the officers and security make my experience more magical because I feel safe at all times. Granted, I was not alive before our country turned to increased security, so I suppose cannot speak to the point very well.

To agree with you on one point, there are a few bad apples at Disneys security checkpoint at the entrance. It was always the same person (whom I eventually reported), but I would always walk “too fast”, “too slow”, “too close”, or “too far” from someone. He would claim that it ”broke” the scanner, which I laughed at the first time and he did not like my response (I thought it was a joke because walking too far away from someone will clearly not break the scanner). I’ve never seen him again recently, but I do think there are a few bad apples that just want to assert their “authority”. Still, I think overall the security is a benefit.

 

[Lilofan]

If you would like the security protocols reworked, then I would be better able to understand your point of view. However, jumping to an extreme is rarely a solution. For lack of better comparison, I’ll use Universal. Now, obviously, they have security once you reach where the bridges interesect. However, outside of that area, there was little security in the garages. Groups would meet to fight in the garages shortly after Covid, and I saw Orlando PD, OCSO, and what looked to be the SWAT team having to break up fights after people started running. It seemed as though the girlfriends of the people fighting had run from the location of the fight, and with all the noise, people seemed to believe there was an active shooter. Had there been more security in the garages, Orlando PD and the OCSO could have been deployed sooner. Perhaps the fight could have even been broken up before starting mass hysteria.

Obviously this can never be confirmed if security would have changed the situation at all. We can make correlations, but sure, it is hard to say that security causes less fights and violence to happen. However, I do think that less hysteria would have been caused had the incident happened inside of the parks (given that all bags are screened prior to entry).


Now, I can understand that one might think that uniformed officers and security might not effect violence and crime rates in an area, but I don’t think that one can argue that screening all bags prior to entry doesn’t help protect against a mass terrorist attack or mass act of violence.

It got so bad at Universal that 18 and under are not allowed at Citywalk on weekend nights with the exception of being with an adult or staying at one of the UO resorts. The kids from nearby Pine Hills ( Crime Hills ) were part of the problem.