Orlando shootings and the parks

[Bambilu Sparkler]

Yup, it's a heck of a lot of people congregating in one area on the wrong side of those metal detectors and bag check (not that I have a ton of faith in that process anyway)

No kidding. They only really deter the half hearted would be assassins.

Eons ago - eons before 9/11 even, I worked at SFO ( San Francisco Airport) The morning after the Rome bombings we arrived to find the place crawling with Darth Vaders. All our security passes were revoked and new security checks were done. I had maximum clearance, which meant I could go out on the tarmack. I worked in visual merchandise for Duty Free, which meant I carried potentially deadly tools at all times - I was never without a box cutter. and hammer, for example. And whenever I went to work ( I still think this is SOOOO weird) I stepped outside US soil and was in international territory.

Two things really bothered me about this security upgrade. For all the fanfare, they never changed the dippy code ( JADE - I'm sure they have by now) for the doors that led to the tarmac, which were the same in every terminal and accessible to anyone. And, my working partner was a hate filled Islamic radical - back before that was a household term. Until I met him, I didn't knew there was such a thing as that much hate, nor that much irrationality. Nor the ability to act like Joe Jovial except when he was triggered. He was one scary creep and he was breezed right through security checks. Ever since then, when I go through any security checkpoint, no matter where I am, I think what a joke.

 

[Bambilu Sparkler]

We were there last week. They need to put a stop to letting people with strollers through the "no bag" inspection line. We saw this at all Parks. The people with strollers need to have a better inspection like when they go through the line. We noticed they would look in the compartments of the stroller when they went through the bag check line-nothing if they went through the no bag line.

Agreed.

And forgive this chuckle - they could hire squirrels to do it.. Squirrels are one of my favorite things at WDW - ever watch the squirrels rifle through the kiddie snacks when the strollers are parked?

 

[Walt Disney1955]

A) It's completely irrelevant to this particular crime, what neighborhood it happened in. You make it sound like a beer brawl.

B) WDW has never been just a 'family' park. And again, the type of park it is is irrelevant to the crime, since this is a hate crime backed by an ideology that paints hate with a broad brush.

C) Many park goers visit other parts of Orlando while they are in town. That is why there is a HUGE range of other businesses aimed at tourists.

D) I have lived 2 miles from Disneyland, and in both Paris and San Francisco - two of the most visited cities in the world. All those places have their upscale and down and dirty neighborhoods. I don't understand your point.

The point is, I don't think our world has to go upside down over it. They are calling this the biggest attack in America since 9/11. Like it or not, post 9/11 brought some changes that weren't necessary and took away more of the freedoms of the regular folk than what you would expect it to aimed at in the terrorists. I just think we have to be careful with a knee-jerk reaction to this type of thing where we act as if the boogeyman is around every corner. It isn't healthy. WDW is known for removing us from that type of thing and I don't think we should think anything will be different.

 

[WDW1974]

On the other coast I was at Disneyland today and it was the same thing. Everyone was directed to the metal detectors and all bags were thoroughly checked. The person in front of me was even asked to completely take off their f-a-n-n-y pack, set it on the on the table zipped open so it could be inspected.

That is total insanity (pun slightly intended). I have talked to a few people in the know and much of what Disney is doing isn't simply theater, it's designed to see how far they can push people. Before someone jumps in and tells me how insane I am, if you had an airport worker put their hands all over your child before 9/11, you would have likely beaten the snot out of them. I have watched children basically get molested in front of their parents since (almost got myself arrested at O'Hare in 2010 because I couldn't believe what was being done to an 8-9 year-old boy in a wheelchair).

When at WDW last month, I routinely wound up going through the metal detectors (sometimes with things like keys, which shockingly -- or not, if you realize it's theater, never went off). I did give 'tude to them a few times. I watched as they went through my elderly mother's purse like they were looking for meth, again designed to see how far they can push. Yet, it is all theater. I did see a few darker complexioned males in the 21-44 demo get wanded and even saw Disney Security sticking their fingers in the waistband of a guy's pants. I know they are racially profiling on one hand and pushing other Guests on the other. And none of it matters. Not if someone bad wants to do something. So it's all a waste of time and resources.

 

[WDW1974]

And honestly - just statistically - lightning definitely hits twice - it's just very rare. It's doubtful that every bad-doer in the world is heading to Orlando.

Obviously you don't eat at Chef Mickey's nightly!

 

[Tom Morrow]

Yeah, but if that "theater" wasn't there it would just be that much easier. Just because it can still happen doesn't mean you should just do nothing at all.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Yeah, but if that "theater" wasn't there it would just be that much easier. Just because it can still happen doesn't mean you should just do nothing at all.

It would be insignificantly easier. It is already very easy.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

I hope they will do everything possible to make WDW as safe as possible, especially of course after the islamist massacre in Orlando. Since the mass invasion of so-called muslim "refugees" began last year, crime, especially sexual crimes, has skyrocketed in Germany and many Germans, especially young and elderly women, are beginning to avoid increasingly more city areas. I actually never ever felt so unsafe in my own city and country in my life and I want to know that at least WDW remains as my last really safe "sanctuary" or "hideaway" during vacation.

 

[Dead2009]

That is total insanity (pun slightly intended). I have talked to a few people in the know and much of what Disney is doing isn't simply theater, it's designed to see how far they can push people. Before someone jumps in and tells me how insane I am, if you had an airport worker put their hands all over your child before 9/11, you would have likely beaten the snot out of them. I have watched children basically get molested in front of their parents since (almost got myself arrested at O'Hare in 2010 because I couldn't believe what was being done to an 8-9 year-old boy in a wheelchair).

When at WDW last month, I routinely wound up going through the metal detectors (sometimes with things like keys, which shockingly -- or not, if you realize it's theater, never went off). I did give 'tude to them a few times. I watched as they went through my elderly mother's purse like they were looking for meth, again designed to see how far they can push. Yet, it is all theater. I did see a few darker complexioned males in the 21-44 demo get wanded and even saw Disney Security sticking their fingers in the waistband of a guy's pants. I know they are racially profiling on one hand and pushing other Guests on the other. And none of it matters. Not if someone bad wants to do something. So it's all a waste of time and resources.

So because you saw a few African Americans get searched, that means they're racially profiling? That's about as absurd as the person who came on here to say security was picking out all women in lines just so they could frisk them.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

Security in Pittsburgh this morning is at an all time high. Between the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, the nightmares in Orlando, and apparently a few well placed threats to major corporations headquartered in Pittsburgh... the city is absolutely crawling with police, security, and heavily armed soldiers.

I had to go through security for the first time EVER this morning to get into my job site. I work at a major hospital.

This world scares me.

 

[JDL30]

Security in Pittsburgh this morning is at an all time high. Between the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, the nightmares in Orlando, and apparently a few well placed threats to major corporations headquartered in Pittsburgh... the city is absolutely crawling with police, security, and heavily armed soldiers.

I had to go through security for the first time EVER this morning to get into my job site. I work at a major hospital.

This world scares me.

Sorry you feel so vulnerable - it's a horrible feeling. However you can't let the violent and irrational haters in society win (regardless if they are religious extremists, acting alone because of an inherent prejudice or just simple being unstable). Cycles of violence pervade throughout history - I'm a Londoner born and bred, and have lived through the IRA terror attacks of the 80's and 90's, the 7/7 tube bombings and various other threats rearing its ugly head. But as a city we've survived, yes I'm a bit more vigilant - but I wouldn't want to be or live in any other place.

If you live in fear, or change your life because of a small (and in the grand scheme of things they are small) percentage of people who want to do you harm - they have won. Do the things you enjoy - many people will still find the joy in going to Disney - yes there might be a few more hoops to skip through at the park entrance, but we all just have to keep on living through this.

 

[MattM]

That is horrible. Of course, it's horrible that so many families, so many people will never be the same ... and that there will be more mass murders in the future because we have decided that is the kind of society we want to live in.

I have some friends at UNI and wonder if they knew this man. This is just grotesque beyond belief ... just sick.

We decided that we want islamic fundamentalist to murder our citizens?

 

[gmajew]

What makes you think this keeps people safe? If anything, the pre-security crowds are a much easier target.

I agree with you the lines would be an easy target as well. The issue is I am not a security expert and I don't know what this show really does but I have got to have some faith in the people that protect us that these things help in some way or form.

Does it make someone stand out in the crowd prior to the attack that surveillance notices them? I don't know but I can only hope that everything we can do is done to protect innocent lives from being lost.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I work in a federal courthouse, where we're always on the lookout for an active shooter situation, and expect to be a potential target. Comparatively, Disney seems pretty safe to me. The fact is, the lone wolf terrorists of today are looking for easy, undefended targets. They're more likely to attack a corner coffee shop, dance club or office building (all of which have been recent targets) than a big theme park with visible security.

As others said, we cannot allow fear to change how we live our lives. As for my family, we will continue to venture out of our comfort zones, to travel (granted, we won't be visiting the Middle East!), to be patient and grateful for security enhancements along the way, and to make the most of the days we are given. I expect that most others feel the same, and unless an incident were to actually happen at WDW, I don't think tourism there (or at any other family-oriented Orlando destination) will be impacted significantly.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I hope they will do everything possible to make WDW as safe as possible, especially of course after the islamist massacre in Orlando. Since the mass invasion of so-called muslim "refugees" began last year, crime, especially sexual crimes, has skyrocketed in Germany and many Germans, especially young and elderly women, are beginning to avoid increasingly more city areas. I actually never ever felt so unsafe in my own city and country in my life and I want to know that at least WDW remains as my last really safe "sanctuary" or "hideaway" during vacation.

Took the words right out of my mouth - but I believe our transatlantic friends have a slightly different taboo set about what is said and what not, so I refrained.

It's still called a mass shooting, an isolated act at that, rather than Islamic terrorism. If you live in a European city, like you and I do, this feels awfully much like just an extention of the daily violence wreaked upon the gay community by our friends from the religion of peace. Shame it has come to Orlando too.

 

[kcnole]

The fact is that you can never protect yourself completely from bad things. If someone wants to kill a bunch of people on Disney property they can just head to the downtown disney area where there is almost no security. Sure, a shooting in front of the castle would be even bigger news, but an attack like that in the Downtown Disney area would still get reported as WDW and bring about massive coverage.

There's no truthfully safe way to do this, so we simply have to live our lives being vigilant, but aware that the likelihood of being hit by an attack like this is still incredibly rare in the US. Its either that or hide in our house, never leaving.

 

[Matt_Black]

It's still called a mass shooting, an isolated act at that, rather than Islamic terrorism. If you live in a European city, like you and I do, this feels awfully much like just an extention of the daily violence wreaked upon the gay community by our friends from the religion of peace. Shame it has come to Orlando too.

I don't know how isolated it is. And I'm not talking about the ISIS connections. Sure, they claimed responsibility, but there's no evidence the shooter was trained or contacted by them. They took credit, yeah, but that's most likely so they can seem even bigger and scarier.

No, what I am talking about is that on the same day, in Santa Monica, another guy was arrested with guns trying to head to the Pride events there and cause trouble. The fact that two completely separate and unrelated guys can both plan to carry out mass attacks on LGBT individuals on the same weekend is remarkably troubling.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I hope they will do everything possible to make WDW as safe as possible, especially of course after the islamist massacre in Orlando. Since the mass invasion of so-called muslim "refugees" began last year, crime, especially sexual crimes, has skyrocketed in Germany and many Germans, especially young and elderly women, are beginning to avoid increasingly more city areas. I actually never ever felt so unsafe in my own city and country in my life and I want to know that at least WDW remains as my last really safe "sanctuary" or "hideaway" during vacation.

Unfortunately the ruling elite across Europe want cheap labour, and refuse to accept that there is an issue.
I would say more but its too political for this site and handwringers would get upset.

 

[flynnibus]

At the park entrances police on foot are very near by... That reduces response time to a situation in that high risk area.

Id be more worried about the high traffic areas of Disney springs etc that may not be as accessible or easy to respond to. Ds is more spread out but still has very high density and is accessible without any screening.

 

[tk924]

That is total insanity (pun slightly intended). I have talked to a few people in the know and much of what Disney is doing isn't simply theater, it's designed to see how far they can push people. Before someone jumps in and tells me how insane I am, if you had an airport worker put their hands all over your child before 9/11, you would have likely beaten the snot out of them. I have watched children basically get molested in front of their parents since (almost got myself arrested at O'Hare in 2010 because I couldn't believe what was being done to an 8-9 year-old boy in a wheelchair).

When at WDW last month, I routinely wound up going through the metal detectors (sometimes with things like keys, which shockingly -- or not, if you realize it's theater, never went off). I did give 'tude to them a few times. I watched as they went through my elderly mother's purse like they were looking for meth, again designed to see how far they can push. Yet, it is all theater. I did see a few darker complexioned males in the 21-44 demo get wanded and even saw Disney Security sticking their fingers in the waistband of a guy's pants. I know they are racially profiling on one hand and pushing other Guests on the other. And none of it matters. Not if someone bad wants to do something. So it's all a waste of time and resources.

Agreed. And they're not going to stop anyone (just like the TSA) from doing anything they want which is why we'll never fly again.

As for now, our WDW trip is postponed. It's just not worth it.

.