How safe is WDW?

[Gentry2004]

I looked for another thread about this and couldn't find it - I apologize if this is in the wrong place.

Does anyone else worry about attacks at Disney? Every time another horrible thing happens, I think that one of the few crowded places I go is Disney (and the associated airports to get there.)

I know Disney spares no expense on security, but it still worries me. They can't be everywhere at once.

But I don't want to stop going. How to cope?

 

[Robo]

Can't avoid "everything."

Some sad cases even exist where people where shot inside their own homes
by a stray bullet from an outside drive-by shooting or other random violence.

 

[mousehockey37]

I looked for another thread about this and couldn't find it - I apologize if this is in the wrong place.

Does anyone else worry about attacks at Disney? Every time another horrible thing happens, I think that one of the few crowded places I go is Disney (and the associated airports to get there.)

I know Disney spares no expense on security, but it still worries me. They can't be everywhere at once.

But I don't want to stop going. How to cope?

You stop going, terrorists win.

You're honestly more likely to get killed in an accident within your home or within 3 miles of it than something happening at Disney.

Go and live. Last thing you want is for a time to go by and you're sitting home saying, "Well, this was supposed to be our vacation but we're worried about....." and nothing happens.

Just always be cautious and don't let your guard down.

 

[bdiddy]

You can't live in fear. You just can't. It will eat you up inside. I never even think about it in most cases, especially at Disney. I'm one of those people though that believes "when it's your time to go, it's your time to go" and I'm not going to stop living my life based on some irrational fear. You are statistically WAY more likely to die in a car crash on the way to Disney then at some horrific shooting while at Disney or anywhere else for that matter. I will never stop living no matter how many of these shootings happen. We love to travel all over the place, we go to music festivals and have even taken the kids with us to them. I don't think twice about going out into large crowds or to the movies or in airports. I'm also not scared to send my kids to school like a lot of people seem to be nowadays. My Dad is a retired paratrooper and I'm an army brat and growing up he always drilled into us the phrase "Stay Alert -Stay Alive" so I've been conditioned to always be aware of my surroundings....but he also taught us to not be afraid. To be confident in our decisions and what we do. Of course if I was ever in a situation like that it would be the most awful thing ever but I don't have the time or energy to worry about something that may or may not happen. I could just as easily die in a car wreck driving to and from work every day. You just have to try to step back and look at it from a statistical/rational point of view and not an emotional point of view.

 

[NeuroCindy]

What everyone else said.

You can't live in a bubble. Life has risks and rewards. You have to decide which one wins.

Low risk and high reward = Disney Vacation, do it.
High risk and low reward = Making toast in the shower, maybe pass on this one.

If you don't like that, here's an article from Gawker telling you that you should be much more afraid of heart disease than an attack if you're worried about chance of death: http://gawker.com/you-will-not-die-in-a-mass-shooting-1746158444

 

[mamamelody2]

I would say no place is completely safe, but WDW is generally very safe.
I tend to be a worrier, but WDW does not worry me.

 

[Colleen27]

I agree with others who say you can't live in fear. It feels like I have someone in my ear every time I'm planning a trip, asking me "Is it safe?" or talking about things that might go wrong. Between my mom and my MIL, I get a lot of that perspective but I just don't understand it. I can't imagine sitting home, watching too much TV news (and worse, those doctor shows like Dr Oz!), too worried about what might happen to live my life.

Could Disney be an attractive target? Sure. Any place with a lot of people could, and Disney has security measures to mitigate the risk. But the odds against it happening on any specific day are astronomical.

 

[gap2368]

Disney is safe to go have fun like other have said.

 

[JediMaster19]

Buy Disney park hopper hard tickets. Almost book your stay. Mail me your tickets. Watch a Disney movie in ur house with the doors locked.

Your welcome.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

If you live in fear then the villains have already won.

How I "cope" is I am not worried and scared.
I live my life.

 

[goofyernmost]

Fear is a real thing. I can understand that in todays world people are starting to get a little worried about what might happen. It's just a normal survival instinct. That said, however, living in fear of everything isn't really living. One may be breathing and taking nourishment, but, they aren't experiencing anything other then the fear. This was a senseless act, made more so when the idiot didn't even bother to tell anyone why he would do such a horrendous thing. Why do it if you aren't even going to get any point made. But, I digress! The answer, by the way, is insanity!

One plane crashes and 250 people die, the next day millions of people get into planes and go to their pre-planned destinations. A random, albeit awful, shooting spree happens, totally out of the blue, with 200 fewer casualties and all of a sudden people start being afraid to leave their house. I wonder how many people have died that have never gone on a plane because of the fear of it crashing only to have it crash into their home, killing them. I was just reading a statistic that said that over 90 people die in car crashes every single day. Two million people per year suffer permanent injuries every year in the same way. Cars! The one thing that no one can hide from is death. When your time is up, you don't have to go out searching for it, it will find you. In the meantime, stop worrying about it and like a previous poster said enjoy your life... you only get one. It is better for it to be one where you actually lived then one where you only existed crouched in fear.

 

[Oswin]

Disney has security in place that guests will never notice or ever know about. They take guest safely very highly there, especially since the parks are a huge target. They're in a lot more places at once than you think. I don't think there is any way to cope. You either have to go to WDW despite your worries, or stay home and still be a target at other places (malls, movie theaters, schools, public transportation, concerts, sporting events, etc). I don't feel that I'm truly safe anywhere I go now. You have to be vigilant and attentive to your surroundings no matter where you go. And most importantly, if you see something out of place, SAY something to a CM or security.

 

[hllb]

I just got back from a trip to Paris, where every tourist attraction (museums, catacombs, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc) had military and policy with assault rifles guarding them. While I wasn't overly worried, it's definitely something you have to think about in Paris. Nothing happened. Then I come home, and Las Vegas happens. Some place I love to go to and never even considered it being a risk like that. It can happen anywhere, at any time. There's not really much we can do to prepare.