Ham radio operators: Don't take your radios to Disneyland...

[GrumpyGoat]

I had already decided I was done with Disney before arriving at the park on Friday. We've had annual passes for over five years and I finally reached the saturation point. I'm nowhere near the Disney fan my wife is and with Disney related vacations the last two years, I'm burned out.

If the lead cast member they called to talk to me had been a bit more courteous and less officious, I might have been more amenable to not bringing the radio in. I wasn't enthused about going all the way back to the parking structure and would have been willing to put it in a locker, but there aren't any outside the bag check lines.

The whole idea behind taking the radio was a diversion while my wife went on attractions I either don't like or am bored with. Indiana Jones, for instance. I decided that wasn't for me the second time I rode it. I don't like getting banged around like that ride does.

We're going to WDW in November and I'm taking the radio with me. I have a feeling there's a lot there that is just a rehash of Disneyland and California Adventure. After that trip is over, I'm done with Disney.

 

[radiodisneytech]

Me and my son always take our radios to Disneyland we are pass holders they are on our belts with the security looking behind the ear ear plug, and over the years the most attention we get are from other park visitors never once be confronted my park cast member of any sorts. We usually go our separate way and use them to communicate and since cell service in the park is sometimes low to none in spots our radios even work in Indiana Jones tunnels. We do have cell for back up but radios are just so much faster and easier than texting or dialing to call. I have even taken my BC92 bearcat scanner and sat playing with it monitoring some of the cast members open mic's in certain areas of the park, again never confronted . I average about going once a week so my odds are pretty good to be "caught ' if thats the case. So i am not sure if this policy is in effect 100% with all employees, or just some and you folks are running into them .
If they are starting this kind of policy its their loss of having extra emergency communication in the park in case of a major event, heaven forbid, but in this day and age. its sad to say Disneyland has become that paranoid. And if you carry your Ham Licence as i do they should let you go on your way . I have only known one friend that said one of the park security guys just friendly asked him about his radio he was on, it was a YEasu Vx-5r its a small HT but he told him it was an FRS and he was talking to his son on the other side of the park, and in a friendly voice the Disney security man just commented wow didnt really think they worked that far in the park and he kept walking with no other concern, just curiosity. And as most HAms know the common people have NO CLUE what the difference is between a cheap FRS radio or an expensive dual bander. And to end with a funnier story, I found on line a moblie microphone looking device that plugs into your iPhone and i use it all the time driving, and i did get pulled over driving once and the officer said he saw me talking on my phone and i told him (as he looked in to my dash full of radios) i was on my ham radio, needless to say i got no ticket and as he walked away i picked the mic looking speaker and continued my cell phone call as the cop drove away! Ah its nice to be A HAM!

 

[GrumpyGoat]

Well, Disneyland is not being terribly responsive to my requests for clarification of their policy regarding amateur radios. I have sent two requests via the website form and have yet to receive a reply. The last was well over a week ago. Attempt number three will be made shortly.

This is not my idea of good customer service, especially to an annual pass holder.

 

[cmwade77]

Well, Disneyland is not being terribly responsive to my requests for clarification of their policy regarding amateur radios. I have sent two requests via the website form and have yet to receive a reply. The last was well over a week ago. Attempt number three will be made shortly.

This is not my idea of good customer service, especially to an annual pass holder.

They are most likely researching the issue and may not have an official policy yet, so they may be developing one.

 

[OKW Lover]

Well, Disneyland is not being terribly responsive to my requests for clarification of their policy regarding amateur radios. I have sent two requests via the website form and have yet to receive a reply. The last was well over a week ago. Attempt number three will be made shortly.

This is not my idea of good customer service, especially to an annual pass holder.

We appreciate you seeking clarification, and educating them at the same time.

 

[Gisele]

Either these ham radios are allowed or they are not.
I don't understand the problem here.

 

[OKW Lover]

Either these ham radios are allowed or they are not.
I don't understand the problem here.

The "problem" is that some types of radio's apparently are OK, while others that look identical aren't but for no apparent reason.

 

[GrumpyGoat]

I finally received a reply from DL Guest Services. Below is the exact text of their e-mail:

10/14/2013

Dear John,

Thank you for your e-mail to the DISNEYLAND® Resort.

Our security department has informed us that Guests may use Walkie Talkies in our Parks, however, if they interfere with our radios, Guests will be asked to remove them from our Parks.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. We hope you will have the opportunity to visit the DISNEYLAND® Resort soon and trust your visit will be pleasant in all regards.

Sincerely,

Linda Trump
DISNEYLAND® Resort
Guest Experience Services

Please note all information is subject to change without notice and should be confirmed just prior to your visit.

Received date: 10/13/13


Obviously, the problem I had on my last visit is an example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, or some cast member took it upon himself to interpret the policy in a different manner. If I go again before my pass expires, you can bet I will take a copy of this e-mail with me.

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for posting this update. Not really surprised about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

 

[HarrisonTinkerBell]

Read my post above...

What's even more baffling is that there is an amateur radio club in Orlando that apparently exists with the blessing of Disney, or at least WDW. It's called the Disney Emergency Amateur Radio Service (D.E.A.R.S.) and actually uses Mickey Mouse in their logo. It obvious they are affiliated with Walt Disney World if you look at their club call sign: WD4WDW

http://www.wd4wdw.org/

I used their 2m repeater during our recent trip to WDW. I had no trouble whatsoever bringing my handheld into MK one day. QSOs were not plentiful from within the park, and I did have other priorities, like enjoying Splash Mountain before it closed again for refurbishment.

I had better pickings at Downtown Disney, where I managed to get in a couple of QSOs and the biggest problem was avoiding music. We stayed at CS and, while I was able to open the repeater with the handheld's stock continuously loaded antenna from the hotel room, I had more success with the N4ARG repeater in Kissimmee. Showed the DS and DBiL how to use IRLP to connect to the repeater back home, too. I also had QSOs with folks who connected to the N4ARG repeater using IRLP.

Managed to get a few ride photos while holding a sign with my call sign which I intend to use for a limited-edition QSL card for future QSOs at WDW. That was the most amateur radio-related fun I had while at MK, EC, ST, and AK. Schlepping around even a belt-mounted handheld while touring a theme park was more distraction than I cared for, and the radio was left behind in the room for the remaining touring days.


73 de NV2K

 

[Chilly8]

This morning I was turned away at the entrance to the Disneyland Resort and told I could not bring my amateur band radio into the parks. I had to trek all the way back to my car.

There is all kinds of odd things that Disneyland won't let you bring in. Last year, they would not let me go in with my bike helmet on. When parking at either the Pumba or Toy Story lots, the only way to get the the park is to ride my bike and find a place to lock it up outside the park. It is awful long walk from either the Toy Story or Pumbaa lots to the park entrance, and riding a bike is way faster than walking. It means it I go and have to park at Toy Story or Pumbaa lots, having to ride my bike to the park without a helmet, not exactly the wisest thing to do. But it is what I have to do, because they don't allow bike helmets to be worn in the park.

I think it is becuase my bike helmet was considered "sports equipment". From reading the list of prohibited items, that must be what it was. I am amazed they allow baseball caps to be worn, but not bike helmets. Theoretically, a ball cap could be considered "sports equipment".

I would imagine Disneyland would probably even ban CB radios, as well, even though those transmit well below anything Disney uses. It appears the list of prohibited items is very vague, where they can prohibit almost anything, at any time.

One solution for the future might be to buy a GMRS/FRS radio and modify it to operate on the ham bands, since 70 cm ham is just a little below the frequency range for FRS/GMRS. As long as you have a ham license, modifying a FRS/GMRS radio to operate on the ham bands is legal. Hams can even build their own radios, which is why a lot of the test is about things like radio theory and electronic circuitry, so modifying a FRS/GMRS radio to operate on the ham bands, as long as you have a ham license, would not break FCC rules, as far as I know.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

There is all kinds of odd things that Disneyland won't let you bring in. Last year, they would not let me go in with my bike helmet on. When parking at either the Pumba or Toy Story lots, the only way to get the the park is to ride my bike and find a place to lock it up outside the park. It is awful long walk from either the Toy Story or Pumbaa lots to the park entrance, and riding a bike is way faster than walking. It means it I go and have to park at Toy Story or Pumbaa lots, having to ride my bike to the park without a helmet, not exactly the wisest thing to do. But it is what I have to do, because they don't allow bike helmets to be worn in the park.

I think it is becuase my bike helmet was considered "sports equipment". From reading the list of prohibited items, that must be what it was. I am amazed they allow baseball caps to be worn, but not bike helmets. Theoretically, a ball cap could be considered "sports equipment".

I would imagine Disneyland would probably even ban CB radios, as well, even though those transmit well below anything Disney uses. It appears the list of prohibited items is very vague, where they can prohibit almost anything, at any time.

One solution for the future might be to buy a GMRS/FRS radio and modify it to operate on the ham bands, since 70 cm ham is just a little below the frequency range for FRS/GMRS. As long as you have a ham license, modifying a FRS/GMRS radio to operate on the ham bands is legal. Hams can even build their own radios, which is why a lot of the test is about things like radio theory and electronic circuitry, so modifying a FRS/GMRS radio to operate on the ham bands, as long as you have a ham license, would not break FCC rules, as far as I know.

You realize your responding to a post from 3 years ago?

 

[Albort]

You realize your responding to a post from 3 years ago?

probably caught a advertisement that shows older post or a spammer that post that bumped the thread up and then got deleted by the mods.

in terms of the Radio interference, id try again. the disney radio systems are on ATT network now...

 

[Kontos]

 

[Jedi Mouse]

I suspect the real issue is that Disney can't easily train their cast members on differences in the various handheld radios. It's not difficult to get any number of devices that can transmit on, jam or otherwise disrupt the park's systems, so while you and your ham radio might be harmless, others who are up to no good could take advantage of rules that allowed them in the park. It's much easier for Disney to simply ban them all and not overly complicate the park entry security process by investigating exactly what kind of radio transmitter you have.

 

[BigAlsGal]

You're reaching here. Not at any time did any of the four cast members I interacted with mention it being a potential bomb trigger. The second person I spoke to (that looked like a lead) said it was because I could listen in on park communications and the cast member in Guest Services said it could be used to "disrupt" their communications.

A lot of cast members at DL carry radios so they know full well the difference between a radio and a cell phone. Besides, if someone wanted to trigger an explosive device, it's more likely they would use a cell phone than a radio. Or use the remote to a toy car, as the Boston Marathon bombers are believed to have done. Should DL ban toy cars from the parks?

Everyone seems to go to the defense of the cast members here, but they knew exactly what they were doing. It's an established policy not to let amateur radios into the park.

If you saw this on someones belt, what would you call it?

Hahaha!!! That's what it looks like? Did anyone else picture him with a big ole box with a strap slung across the shoulders with antennas sticking out everywhere while wearing headphones?

Well I did.

 

[Chilly8]

I suspect the real issue is that Disney can't easily train their cast members on differences in the various handheld radios. It's not difficult to get any number of devices that can transmit on, jam or otherwise disrupt the park's systems, so while you and your ham radio might be harmless, others who are up to no good could take advantage of rules that allowed them in the park. It's much easier for Disney to simply ban them all and not overly complicate the park entry security process by investigating exactly what kind of radio transmitter you have.

Well, it could also be a matter of right hand not knowing what the left is doing. When I was told I could not wear my bicycle helmet into the park, I had been allowed to wear it before, but it turned out that whoever allowed me to wear it before, was not doing their job allowing it in. It is just that when I go now, and have to park in the Pumbaa or Toy Story lots, I just have to ride my bike to the park without a helmet on, which is not very wise the way some people drive.

At least Disney is going to fix that when the replace the Pumbaa lot with a new parking garage, and have a more direct way to walk into to the park.

But it could also be they don't want people doing any kind of live radio shows from the park without a press credential. Part of the 13 cm band shares bandwidth with WiFi, so someone could covert their ham radio into a high powered WiFi modem and communicate with open unecrrypted WiFI hotspots all over the place, including for-pay hotspots run by Time Warner cable, including one that is 8/10 mile straight-line distance from the park. In short, someone with a 13cm ham radio coiuld use that hotspot to be able to broadcast on the Internet, if they are set up to run an internet radio station, and have their laptop computers set up to use it. I think that could be a lot of the issue Disneyland has with amateur radios, as the 2.4 and 5.6 Ghz wifi bands share spectrum with ham radio, as one of the prohibited activities is "Photography, videotaping, or recording of any kind for commerial purposes" is prohibited in rules and regulations, and that could mean doing any kind of radio or Tv broadcast, either on-air or online, without a press credential

I would not be surprised if Disneyland bans laptop computers, as well, though I have never tried to take my laptop into the park.

 

[KF5GTX]

I took my VX-6R HT into the park and had no issues. I did not make any contacts using the WD4WDW repeaters but I had it on me.

 

[Chilly8]

I am thinking that another reason could be that maybe Disneyland's UHF frequencies might share spectrum with the 70 cm ham band. From what I see in the regulations, it appears that 70 cm ham is secondary to the Land Mobile Radio service. 421-470 is considered part of LMRS, it is the UHF band, and 470-512 is the UHF-T band (which also shared spectrum with some UHF TV channels back in the day of analogue Tv). The 70cm ham band falls into part of the UHF LMRS spectrum. I know that some of Disney's assigned frequencies are in the UHF-T band, so it is entirely possible that some of Disney's licensed frequencies could be somewhere between 420 and 450.

In short, Hams are secondary to LMRS in the 70 cm band, so there may be a lot of places that might not allow you to have a handheld ham radio, if their radio frequencies are in the UHF band, just like UHF TV channels 14 to 20 where secondary to LMRS, back in the days of analogue TV.

 

[Chilly8]

I took my VX-6R HT into the park and had no issues. I did not make any contacts using the WD4WDW repeaters but I had it on me.

What frequencies does it operate on. I would imagine if it does not operate on 70 cm, they might allow it in. I do believe that some of Disney's assigned frequencies might be in the 70cm ham spectrum, which is shared with LMRS, and Disneyland would, therefore, ban any radio that transmits or receives anywhere in the 421 to 512 spectrum, including GMRS radios on the 460 Mhz spectrum.