Orlando Gunman Scouted WDW ...

[GhostHost1000]

Disney has ALWAYS been considered a threat, ever since 9/11. To bring it up as a LEAD piece in a news story about this attack, as fox news apparently is, is wrong. Why not a headline that reads Universal City Walk was cased for the attack as well? I haven't seen that one, have you? Only Disney. And just because he bought tickets in April again has NO bearing on this attack. Maybe he likes Disney, and wanted to visit there. It's click bait pure and simple.

to be fair fox news wasn't where the story originated... it was flying all over the place on twitter and facebook from various sites prior to me seeing it there

I agree however that any mention of the word "Disney" in anything, the media pee's their pants

 

[GhostHost1000]

Where do you draw the line then? Guns, cars, knives, bamboo?

you're exactly right... while I agree we don't necessarily need to be selling automatic weapons to joe blow, if this guy wanted to do harm and couldn't get a gun, he could have gone to Walmart and got a pressure cooker, or lowes and got fertilizer, or other "stuff"

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It's so cool we have four active threads talking about the same thing.

Feel free to use your power as a moderator to comb through posts and merge threads.

 

[asianway]

Maybe not totally, but what is the "angle"? Just because he "may" have visited Disney Springs has absolutely no bearing on the attack that he eventually perpetrated. Maybe he likes Wetzel's Pretzels with a Ghirardelli ice cream sundae, so he visited Disney Springs, but that doesn't mean he was casing the place for an attack. Media saying so is just click bait to generate views, because we all know that saying "Disney" in any context of this story will get people to look.

So in your local news media, how many other places are they saying that he visited? Uni, SW? There is absolutely NO reason to think that he didn't visit City Walk if he visited Disney Springs, but I hear no one talking about that. There are also many other tourist destinations in the Orlando area, and yet, I hear nothing of him visiting any of those either.

He went to a local night club that had nothing to do with Disney, yet all of a sudden, since the Disney name is mentioned, there is a bunch of traffic about it. I just think that it's disingenuous for media to play that card every time, when it is so obvious that it is just to get more people to click and view, even though there is ZERO proof that he had any intention of ever targeting Disney.

And if you honestly believe that the news media nowadays is not going to find an "angle" to get more clicks, then you are most certainly naive, even if you were part of it in the past. The news media of today is NOTHING like the past when they actually reported news, and only the news. Now they have to sensationalize everything, and they have to be first, even if some of the information is wrong. They did not used to work that way.

Didnt you say you were leaving the site?

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Didnt you say you were leaving the site?

Nope, just the idiotic thread of iger and an analyst. Why would I leave this site when I have so much fun reading stuff from all of you?

 

[SorcererMC]

This is the same governor who refuses to admit that the victims were predominantly LGBT? Same governor who refuses to investigate if his attorney general solicited a bribe? I have little faith in either of them when it comes to crisis management.

I've actually avoided as much TV coverage as possible, sticking mostly with print coverage, a mix of Sentinal, WaPo, NPR, NYT, & the guardian.

I find it interesting.... my friends in Orlando are just dealing. No one is politicizing, pontificating, or posterizing this thru social media. They're all still in shock and most are numb, just trying to process this, like myself.

Its everyone in the rest of the world who is opening their mouths and shaping this narrative to reinforce an agenda and their pre-existing world view.

I am not a local (so I can't comment on Scott re: other FL politics), but re: crisis mgmt. I think FL has done well w/ federal-state-local cooperation and response.....my background is in terrorism threat assessment/analysis so I'm following this closely. I've also been studying FL for the past year b/c it is second for my field after DC. I apologize if I come across as 'clinical', but it is really emotional for me as well. I comment on these forums now (lurked for years) b/c Disney is a place for me away from studying war/violence/ humanitarian issues.

Any analyst in the media (or leader) worth their salt is talking about the LGBT community, b/c this case is different from other terrorist shootings that have happened on military soft targets or targets affiliated with religion. LGBT community has been targeted for violence for years as well, but that doesn't make it any less gut-wrenching. I think that CNN has been covering it well, and with compassion.

My heart goes out to anyone who has been personally affected, and I pray for comfort and healing for all of you. I remember what it was like during 9-11 and waiting to know if my family was ok.

 

[lostpro9het]

Nope, just the idiotic thread of iger and an analyst. Why would I leave this site when I have so much fun reading stuff from all of you?

If you did leave then the terrorists would win...

 

[LuvtheGoof]

If you did leave then the terrorists would win...

 

[Disney4family]

We have zero security at our school: no drills, no detectors, no guards. It didn't change protocol that seriously

We have all new security in our school. My door automatically locks when it's closed. It's just become routine that if a kid has to leave the room, someone has to let him/her in. All doors will automatically shut if there is a true emergency. Our school also has alarms located all around should something happen. When someone presses the alarm, the doors close and the local police can tap into the security camera system and see where the danger may be so they can act immediately upon arrival.
When I moved up to the high school from the middle school level I was told that it's a matter of when, not if, as far as an attack goes.

 

[mgf]

CNN reporting the Disney Springs visit here: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/13/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting/

"Law enforcement officials also said Mateen spent several hours Saturday at Disney Springs -- the shopping and entertainment complex inside the Walt Disney World Resort -- prior to the attack, according to cell phone tower data. Mateen is believed to have been alone during that period, according to the officials."

 

[Incomudro]

As scary as it is to say or admit out loud, I truly believe that it's only a matter of time until something like this happens in WDW. It's the very definition of soft targets. It makes my stomach sink just thinking about it...

It's actually not the very definition of a soft target.
It has security both seen and unseen, and some of that security is armed.
It's keenly aware that it could be a potential.

 

[MississippiBelle]

Disney has ALWAYS been considered a threat, ever since 9/11. To bring it up as a LEAD piece in a news story about this attack, as fox news apparently is, is wrong. Why not a headline that reads Universal City Walk was cased for the attack as well? I haven't seen that one, have you? Only Disney. And just because he bought tickets in April again has NO bearing on this attack. Maybe he likes Disney, and wanted to visit there. It's click bait pure and simple.

Completely agree that the media does tend to play up the negative aspects of every story to get more views. It's no fun saying "He went to Disney but it was completely non-related because he lived in Orlando and would have inevitably gone anyways". Another thing to consider, the wife could just be saying that he scoped it out. Do we have proof outside of her word? The whole point of terrorists is to instill terror into other people. I'm not saying that he didn't consider the theme parks in the area, but it sure has gotten the desired reaction from people! I also think there is a lot to be said for the fact that he DIDN'T end up choosing Disney (if he was really scoping it out). But back to my main point, every media outlet wants people to read/watch their coverage on something. Fear sells. So even if the actual source was "The shooter went to Disney at some point" they are going to spin it every way they can think of until everyone thinks that this guy had some concrete plan in place when in reality he more than likely only considered it AT MOST.

 

[mgf]

Completely agree that the media does tend to play up the negative aspects of every story to get more views. It's no fun saying "He went to Disney but it was completely non-related because he lived in Orlando and would have inevitably gone anyways". Another thing to consider, the wife could just be saying that he scoped it out. Do we have proof outside of her word? The whole point of terrorists is to instill terror into other people. I'm not saying that he didn't consider the theme parks in the area, but it sure has gotten the desired reaction from people! I also think there is a lot to be said for the fact that he DIDN'T end up choosing Disney (if he was really scoping it out). But back to my main point, every media outlet wants people to read/watch their coverage on something. Fear sells. So even if the actual source was "The shooter went to Disney at some point" they are going to spin it every way they can think of until everyone thinks that this guy had some concrete plan in place when in reality he more than likely only considered it AT MOST.

He lived 100 miles from Orlando, and Pulse is not proximate to Disney property. So if he stopped on property on the way to Pulse as CNN is reporting then he went out of his way to intentionally stop at Disney Springs and would have had his weapons with him on Disney property. That is a legitimate news story.

 

[MississippiBelle]

He lived 100 miles from Orlando, and Pulse is not proximate to Disney property. So if he stopped there on the way to Pulse as CNN is reporting then he had his weapons with him on Disney property. That is a legitimate news story.

I'm not saying there isn't a legitimate news story. I'm saying that we can speculate all day long about what he was doing/thinking/planning, but we have no concrete evidence. No one seems to be considering the fact that he didn't do anything at Disney when (as you say) he clearly had the tools to do so. There's no use in getting freaked out about the fact that he was there now. If he was going to do something there then he would have done it. He didn't. Disney can now use this as clear motivation to step up security in Disney Springs. That is the only legitimate take away from this guy ever stepping foot on Disney property.

 

[Incomudro]

He lived 100 miles from Orlando, and Pulse is not proximate to Disney property. So if he stopped on property on the way to Pulse as CNN is reporting then he went out of his way to intentionally stop at Disney Springs and would have had his weapons with him on Disney property. That is a legitimate news story.

How do you know he brought weapons into Disney property?
You don't.
Being as one of his weapons was an AR15 type of weapon, it's unlikely he had that on him as it's hard to conceal among warm weather clothing.
The act of his entering Disney Springs in and of itself (at this point) means very little.

 

[mgf]

How do you know he brought weapons into Disney property?
You don't.
Being as one of his weapons was an AR15 type of weapon, it's unlikely he had that on him as it's hard to conceal among warm weather clothing.
The act of his entering Disney Springs in and of itself (at this point) means very little.

With him in the sense that they were likely (but yes fine not guaranteed) at least in his vehicle which presumably (but yes fine not guaranteed) was on Disney property.

 

[Cesar R M]

They just said on CNN that the FBI has cell phone data that shows he was at a Disney location just hours before the shooting...

No source to link, other than watching CNN

Isnt it a bit ironic?

I mean... Dont Islamic extremists hate anything that resemble fantasy, characters, etc.. (aka what disney stands for)?
I honestly believe he was not a fully Islamic follower (think of it as a christian who doesn't go much to church or participate in religious events) and wanted his last "hurray" of fun before going bonkers.

 

[bugsbunny]

He specifically scouted Downtown Disney because its a soft target with a lot of possibilities for calamity. No security check, no metal detectors, crowds that will panic, etc. Disney has made it a point to say that you may not carry a concealed weapon here or anywhere else on their property even if you have a permit. Hence a "soft" target where its expected to be easier to do damage with less "risk" if you are a bad guy. And not because if you can conceal carry you can simply stop a bad guy, but lets face it, you don't bring a knife to a gun fight. Police cannot be everywhere but I don't want to see this thread hijacked with that debate

If you think police presence was "interesting" before at WDW, after some more info comes out about this shooting and law enforcement can review how to improve on it, expect more security at WDW. I'm predicting metal detectors required for EVERYONE prior to entry into the parks (no more random crap) and bag checks will start taking place through soon to be cattle chutes for Disney Springs. Disney will have to double or triple police presence at Springs to not make it a soft target as well as put some eyes in the sky for the parking lots, etc. But there are still plenty of ways for a well planned bad guy to take advantage of the public when they panic in a situation like that. People don't think about this stuff in their everyday lives, but us in public safety know there's a lot more to worry about than what meets the eye.

With tragic events like this, the world gets a little smaller and lets face it, it sucks. I wish there was a better way, but it logically sounds like we all need to get ready to be a lot more "inconvenience" in order to increase safety at WDW.

 

[SorcererMC]

With tragic events like this, the world gets a little smaller and lets face it, it sucks. I wish there was a better way, but it logically sounds like we all need to get ready to be a lot more "inconvenience" in order to increase safety at WDW.

Aside from implementing more security measures, I think that Disney will also have to address it on their website, for example, so that people know what to expect for their visit. People have already commented they won't tolerate 30-60 min waits (and choose not to go)....but while Disney is implementing new measures. it won't automatically be a smooth procedure....it will 'inconvenience' tourists.

 

[asianway]

Aside from implementing more security measures, I think that Disney will also have to address it on their website, for example, so that people know what to expect for their visit. People have already commented they won't tolerate 30-60 min waits (and choose not to go)....but while Disney is implementing new measures. it won't automatically be a smooth procedure....it will 'inconvenience' tourists.

Ive always liked the idea of no outside F&B, people shouldnt have to bring in suitcases and strollers of crap for a park day.