Hi,
is it just me or are the bag searches going into the theme park a complete hassle and dare I say pointless? I know you don't have to wait long but when travelling with children it is an inconvenience you could do without. I remember the good old days when you dodn't have to bother with this nonsense.
I have to do bag searches every night (well six out of seven nights a week)! I work in a theatre, and we are responsible for the 1660 people (plus staff) that walk in during our shows. Disney are responsible for a whole lot more than that who cross their doors and into the parks.
Bag checks are nothing more than a deterrent really, and if it works, then great. I would rather have my bag checked and know that while it's not necessarily going to stop anyone doing something bad, it will at least make them think twice/start acting suspiciously, and raise the attention of the security guards.
We have a wheelchair and normally at least four bags between the three of us, if not more, and bag checking can be a bit of a hassle, but what's a few minutes? Unfortunately, that's life these days. Even on the tube people frequently get stopped and searched, or even sent through the mobile metal detectors that the police have.
If waiting around for the bag checks is that much of an issue/problem for you, and you have a spare member of your party, perhaps you could do what we do sometimes - give all the bags to one person to go through bag check, while everyone else goes through the 'no bags' entrance.
You could arrange to meet your other party member just inside the main gates, where there will be plenty of things to distract the kids until the bag person catches up with you? Just a suggestion, but perhaps worth considering for future visits?