Pocket knives at the parks

[cw1982]

While I agree that a shorter knife that is clearly being used as more of a tool has no real safety concerns if it's being stored responsibly, none of this negates the fact that WDW has a policy that makes knives, as well as anything else that can reasonably be viewed as a weapon, prohibited in their parks. They are well within their rights to make this policy, and they have every right to ask people to leave who do not abide by their rules.

Do I think the CM who asked him to keep the knife in his pocket and invisible made the correct call? It's probably what I would have done as well, given the circumstances, the size of the knife, and the demeanor of the guest. However, the OP is still lucky that the CM did not choose to react differently, like it or not.

 

[Hakunamatata]

When did a pocket knife become a weapon? I have carried one for years and years and years, never used it as a weapon.

Now a Bowie knife, that is a weapon

I've been cut more by paper than knives. I still don't fear paper.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Me I conceal carry two firearms at the parks and y'all hippies will have to pry them from my cold dead hands.

 

[marni1971]

Again, there is no need for a knife in a theme park.

Seeing talk of guns I can see where this thread may end up.

 

[flynnibus]

Again, there is no need for a knife in a theme park

Technically there is no reason to drive to the theme parks either.. but one person's opinion on what is practical or not is not reason to force everyone else to think the same way.

 

[Scooter]

I carry a pocket knife every day, all day long. The last thing I do before leaving on my Disney vacations is drop it into a drawer in my kitchen. Because I am so used to carrying it all the time, I feel funny NOT having with me on vacation...but the facts are: (1) I don't NEED it when I'm at Disney World and (2) It's one less thing I have to carry around.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Driving to the parks is a unrelated matter and serves a purpose, EI get you there.

The average guest has no need for a knife and it could cause a problem, EI gets in the hands of a child.

Still, there is no reason to bring a knife to a theme park....this is really the bottom!

 

[AndyS2992]

Ok, some folks here need a serious lesson on weapons. The dude's pocket knife is three inches or less. We're not talking about Crocodile Dundy here folks.

Yeah but say it fell in to the wrong hands and was forcibly stapped in to someone's heart by some whack job. Fatal. it may only be small but it can do just as much damage as any other knife if used as such.

 

[marni1971]

Technically there is no reason to drive to the theme parks either.. but one person's opinion on what is practical or not is not reason to force everyone else to think the same way.

Sorry dude. That's scary.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Me I conceal carry two firearms at the parks and y'all hippies will have to pry them from my cold dead hands.

JUST pray it doesn't cause a problem. If it was my family that was hurt, because you brought firearms into a theme park, they would be prying my hands from your dead neck!

 

[draybook]

Yeah but say it fell in to the wrong hands and was forcibly stapped in to someone's heart by some whack job. Fatal. it may only be small but it can do just as much damage as any other knife if used as such.

Well, considering that the average person is probably about 250 times more likely to die during their drive to the parks, I think it's silly to play a game of what ifs, as if this were a real life Final Destination scenario.

 

[FettFan]

I meant to ask this before but has anyone else been stopped entering a park because of a pocket knife?

Last month I was entering Epcot If I remember right and my fiance had a bag so I was standing next to her while she was getting it checked and right afterwards we took maybe 1-2 steps away and the security officer turned towards me and asked if I had a pocket knife on me, he obviously saw it clipped to my pocket. I of course said yes, no reason to lie and so he asked if he can see it, I told him of course and I turned so that pocket would be facing him so he grabbed it and then asked if he could open it, once again I said yes so he did. Now in my home state of Louisiana the law is the blade on the knife can not be longer than the width of the palm of your hand, my palm is about 4" wide so I carry a 3" knife to make sure I don't have any trouble here at home. Well the security officer opened it and then asked if I was law enforcement or military and I replied no sir. He closed it and handed it back to me and asked me to keep it inside of my pocket and not just clipped to the inside of the pocket. I've carried one everyday on every trip I've been on and never have been asked about it at the parks before. Did something change in the regulations recently or something? I only carry a pocket knife because it comes in handy throughout the day, I'm always using it to cut open boxes, cut ties or those annoying plastic cases so many products come in nowadays and sometimes I even cut food with it lol.

Security spied my father's Benchmade....and asked him to put it in a locker. Dad complied.


Granted, it's not like they actually followed him to the locker to make sure he did it or anything....so I'm sure he could have just kept it hidden and not had anything to worry about.

 

[flynnibus]

Sorry dude. That's scary.

Because you are missing the fundamental issue here.

It's not about what is 'needed' at the parks...
It's not about Disney's right to police this or not...
It's not about how safe something is or not...

It's all about people being conditioned to be paranoid about knives.

Spend any time on a farm or rural area and more people will probably have a pocket knife in their pocket then car keys. And it's nothing to do with 'defending yourself'.. it's just part of what you keep handy just like some people keep tissues in their car, sunglasses, gloves, or extra ketchup packets.

It's a simple tool.

 

[UncleMike101]

JUST pray it doesn't cause a problem. If it was my family that was hurt, because you brought firearms into a theme park, they would be prying my hands from your dead neck!

Maybe Security should make you leave your hands outside of the Park.
It sounds like you would use them as a deadly weapon.
As I stated before, there's no such thing as "unarmed" people.
Unless they have no arms......

 

[FettFan]

JUST pray it doesn't cause a problem. If it was my family that was hurt, because you brought firearms into a theme park, they would be prying my hands from your dead neck!

Or my chainsaw after it gets lodged in their chest cavity.

Might have to wait 30 days for a gun, but Home Depot lets me go cash-n-carry.

 

[flynnibus]

Yeah but say it fell in to the wrong hands and was forcibly stapped in to someone's heart by some whack job. Fatal. it may only be small but it can do just as much damage as any other knife if used as such.

The condition there is the 'some whack job' - not if the knife were present or not. If that person wanted to do that.. they could kill people with the pen on the counter at Guest Relations.. or pickup a rock and smash someone's head in.. or smash their head into the curb or wall.

The presence of a knife isn't going to make someone into a whack job that suddenly wants to stab someone.

 

[mcurtiss]

I carry a pocket knife every day, all day long. The last thing I do before leaving on my Disney vacations is drop it into a drawer in my kitchen. Because I am so used to carrying it all the time, I feel funny NOT having with me on vacation...but the facts are: (1) I don't NEED it when I'm at Disney World and (2) It's one less thing I have to carry around.

this is my thinking too. My Skeletool is basically on my hip all weekend, but I certainly wouldn't bother taking it to the parks and the way we move about, i'd kind of be apprehensive about losing it

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Maybe Security should make you leave your hands outside of the Park.
It sounds like you would use them as a deadly weapon.
As I stated before, there's no such thing as "unarmed" people.
Unless they have no arms......

Yes Sir, I agree, I have my hands and they are used for many things. I don't bringing them anywhere to hurt any one.

But to the point, my hands could not fire a bullet into any other innocents person nor could they be dropped or loss, because I was so arrogant and stupid as to bringing one of my handguns to a theme park, any theme park.

AKK

 

[slappy magoo]

Every household used to have guns.. and kids survived.

Except the ones that didn't.

Seriously. You can't believe there was never a gun-related accident before the 21st century, can you?

You might not have heard about those fatalities as much, probably because we either weren't born yet or were paying more attention to Sesame Street than the 6 o'clock news, but they happened.

And they still happen now. I won't post a link because, you know, politics, but over at the DailyKos website, they have a weekly compilation of "GunFails" in the US. Many of those GunFails come from legally owned guns from supposedly responsible gun owners who, for a moment, were not. Some of those gunfails are injuries or fatalities from the gun owners ironically in the process of showing others how to fire or care for a weapons. And sadly there are almost always instances of children getting access to a gun and either playing with them or trying to use them to intimidate someone else without really udnerstanding the consequences of their actions and firing.

Mind you, the gunfail column is not a column where every shot fired in the nation is documented. They don't bother with the times when, say a cop was being fired upon by a criminal and responds in kind...unless he winds up shooting an innocent victim along the way. These are just most of the whoopsy-daisies that happen in the course of ay given week in America.

 

[flynnibus]

Driving to the parks is a unrelated matter and serves a purpose, EI get you there.

The arguement was 'its not needed' - you don't need your car... Disney provides a bus.

The average guest has no need for a knife and it could cause a problem, EI gets in the hands of a child.

A vehicle is many orders of magnitiude more dangerous.. yet we let people bring them and carry the keys.. that could 'fall into the wrong hands'. Why is that any different? Because we've taught people how to be responsible with cars.. instead of panicing and trying to keep them away from everyone for the 'danger' they pose.

Still, there is no reason to bring a knife to a theme park....this is really the bottom!

Your opinion. Me, I grow rather tired of using my teeth to remove merchandise tags.. or trying to open that stubborn bag.. or needing to cut that string from my clothing... etc etc etc.