Disneyland Evacuated?

[Minuet888]

with it being a PVC I can understand Disney reacting the way they did
Just because a theme park has never been hit before doesn't mean it won't be
Someone can easily argue that no one ever highjacked 4 American planes at the same time before but there is a first time for everything isn't there.
PVC pipes are commonly used in bombs and explosives, Disney did what was necessary.
With Disney extending its hours and putting in an extra showing of World of Color and Fantasmic yes that's a lot of money shelled out, not just for the productions but for salary pay for the cast members most of it being overtime...on Disney's end, something they didn't have to do.
I hope they charge the kid all this money that is being spent.

 

[zoey9797]

They had the gate off Harbor closed and hundreds of people were waiting or walking away. CM's and security were very tight lipped during this.
I think everyone has read this though..... the parks are wall to wall people! Lol! Everyone wants in on the extra hours!
Off to enjoy them myself!

 

[CMHusband]

If you drop your purse, or leave a backpack under a table or on a ride, they have bomb sniffing dogs to check it out. They will shut the area down for a short period - dogs will confirm that its just a baloney sandwich and the all clear is given.

If you accidentally drop your purse or a bag "up in a tree branch" then 1) its a lot more suspicious...and 2) the dogs can't climb trees to sniff it.

So the Anaheim PD brought in a robot (AZIMO?) to check it out. This takes a lot of time, meanwhile more and more people keep arriving. The parking lot trams have been shut down, so people walk over to the park - causing one GIANT Cluster Shmuck!

The moral of the story is don't drop your purse or anything else in a tree at Disneyland or play "geowhat-ever" games there. They take the safety of their guest and cm's serious.

 

[cmwade77]

ooops!


But as media outlets began to cover the story, the man who left the object there called police to let them know it wasn't harmful.

The object was a rolled up piece of paper containing a "spiritual message of goodwill" for park guests, according to police officials. It drew suspicion from park employees because it was placed in a tree, out of reach.

Ah, but if you were trying to cause harm, wouldn't you do the same thing? I mean really, if your goal is to harm as many people as possible, what better way to do so than to say the package isn't dangerous and let people get near it.

So really, it needs to be checked out and I do hope they charge this kid and he is arrested as well as has to pay for all damages. (i.e. lost revenue, the extra money they had to spend to keep the parks open later, etc.)

Safety is one thing that we cannot afford to take lightly. What if this had indeed been a bomb? I know that there have been instances where security has found dangerous items, they usually don't make the news though, as they try to handle it as quietly as possible.

 

[CMHusband]

What I heard from a CM this morning is...It was a Dad who was creating some sort of scavenger hunt game for a group of kids. He just didn't think...When he saw all the frenzy over his item in the tree he came forward and told them what it was. The simple Ooops might actually cost HIM some money.

Unfortunately the cost of people not thinking can be prohibitive.
3 hours - 2000 to 3000 CM's standing around
3 hours - 10 or 20,000 guests missing out on their special day
1 additional hour of CM expense added to the end of the day
Anaheim PD - Bomb squad dispatched, probably 100 or so guys standing around fire dept (if any - I wasn't there)
3 hours - missed shopping revenue in DL park
I'm sure there is more to this, but you get the idea.

 

[Sir Aaron]

What I heard from a CM this morning is...It was a Dad who was creating some sort of scavenger hunt game for a group of kids. He just didn't think...When he saw all the frenzy over his item in the tree he came forward and told them what it was. The simple Ooops might actually cost HIM some money.

Unfortunately the cost of people not thinking can be prohibitive.
3 hours - 2000 to 3000 CM's standing around
3 hours - 10 or 20,000 guests missing out on their special day
1 additional hour of CM expense added to the end of the day
Anaheim PD - Bomb squad dispatched, probably 100 or so guys standing around fire dept (if any - I wasn't there)
3 hours - missed shopping revenue in DL park
I'm sure there is more to this, but you get the idea.

I heard it was a Dad or a coach of one of the cheerleading groups.

Here are some reports:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/suspicious-289321-object-downtown.html

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_20095057

 

[MrsPinup]

I am pretty jealous I wasn't in the parks yesterday morning. While I wouldn't attempt anything suspicious, it would be nice to have a close-to-empty park to play in.

 

[DryCreek]

So if i drop my purse does that close Disney too?

Only if it looks "suspicious". That would be Universal StudiosTM branded merchandise in a Disney theme park!

 

[IndayMichelle]

We got to the M&F structure about 9:45 yesterday AM. It was crazy. We weren't able to park until 10:40. Parking was free and the CM at handing out the parking receipts said that there was a "delayed opening" and that the trams were not running. We parked and walked from M&F to Downtown Disney. By this time they were letting people in, but the crowd at security was enormous! We didn't get through the turnstiles at DCA until almost 12:30!

They did extend the hours AND added an additional F! and WoC. There were three shows of each. The crazy thing is how much the parks cleared out that night! Walking through NOS to get to Critter Country after the first F! was pretty easy compare to every other time I've done it! And by 12, DLR was pretty slow.

I think Disney did a fantastic job handling the situation. We really enjoyed our last day. Now Leap Day....that's another story

 

[kuusimo]

We were inside Disneyland during this time and it was wonderful for my boys who were trying to fit in as many rides as they could when we realized what was going on. It was strange to see so many Cast Members just standing around looking for ways to help people, and taking advantage of the slow time. A few said they have never seen a Saturday morning so slow before. We walked onto Star Tours 3 times and had only 8-10 people on the ride each time. On Splash Mountain they asked my husband each time they came back if they just wanted to stay in the log and do it again. After two times, one son said he was done with that ride.

You could tell when the gates opened by the flood of people that came from all directions.

We knew it was a fluke that it happened, but we were grateful that we were on the inside of the park.

 

[DisneyDreamer2]

We were inside the park too and it was a dream come true (albeit a nightmare for those waiting outside.) We had a submarine and a stretching room all to ourselves! We walked onto everything and rode several things over and over without getting off, including peter pan and splash! We did not have magic morning and arrived about 745 for the 800 opening at the harbor side and were quickly ushered into the park through one open turnstile (the one closest to harbor). it was surreal to see characters just standing around with no one in line. They even performed the Mardi gras Julilee show to a crowd of 8. At 1115 though, the people just started flooding in. i took before and after pics of the river front i need to download and post.

 

[ScottwPA]

My fiancee and I were also in the park that morning and it was amazing!! We were celebrating my 40th birthday and she was joking that she had bought out the park for me that day. We were one of the first into the park just after 7 AM for magic morning. I noticed that Tomorrowland was completed deserted after 8 AM, and we went over to Nemo. There was a line of cast members standing in front of Nemo as if it was closed (picture the normal line of CM's outside of Indy when it is down). I asked if it was closed and they said no - there is just nobody here!! We were then told by a CM outside of Space Mountain that there was a security issue and no one was being allowed in or out of the front gates. I am guessing there were about 300 people or so in the entire park at that time. For 3 hours, you could just stay on any ride. For example, we rode Space Mountain 5 times in a row in the front seat (no one in the queue), Indy 4 times in the front seat without getting up, etc. etc. It was still slow for about an hour after the gates opened because people were still filtering through security. I know it must have been a nightmare for all those poor people at the front gate, but it was a great way to spend the start of my 40th birthday!

 

[gatorfreud]

I was working at DLH, but DH and my boys were in the park and said it was awesome. Walked on everything for like 4 hours. Surely sucked for those in line, but for people already in it was amazing!

Kim