Is Walt Disney World going to 100% security screenings at the parks?

[ChimCher-ee]

Is all of this adding significant entry time? Should we allow 20 minutes more, 1/2 more, just plain more?

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Then why not stay in the more enlightened end of the country? Disneyland is available in California. And those of us yokels who live in the backwards end of the country won't be upset if you don't come.

If I was looking for your permission...I certainly would ask you.

I just don't want to get shot trying to get out of the boat on splash mountain.

There may be a place for what we are discussing (I don't see it - but I fully concede I don't make opinion for everyone)...but I'm reasonably sure magic kingdom never requires a weapon.

 

[SirMickey]

I'm not sure of the amount of "professionals" wandering the park, but my guess is it's not enough. If a mad man starts shooting up the crowd I've got no problem if a trained gun owner draws and blows his head off.

MG

Trained gun owner or not, under that scenario, nothing good can come of it.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I'm not sure of the amount of "professionals" wandering the park, but my guess is it's not enough. If a mad man starts shooting up the crowd I've got no problem if a trained gun owner draws and blows his head off.

MG

Define "trained"...only police officers/laws enforcement officials come Close to proper training for that situation. It's not a matter of gunpowder and ballistics...it's the ability to handle the situation psychologically/mentally.

Leave it to professionals Who are trained for THAT. Just my opinion.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Trained gun owner or not, under that scenario, nothing good can come of it.

Agree...who's to say that wouldn't make it worse?

 

[rteetz]

Is all of this adding significant entry time? Should we allow 20 minutes more, 1/2 more, just plain more?

It takes a bit more time but it really depends on what time of day you arrive.

 

[SirMickey]

Agree...who's to say that wouldn't make it worse?

Fair question! We've seen situations like this around the nation, unfortunately. While there may be some exceptions, the majority of these scenarios usually end horribly. I'd never want to see anything like this occur at the parks or anywhere else.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Define "trained"...only police officers/laws enforcement officials come Close to proper training for that situation. It's not a matter of gunpowder and ballistics...it's the ability to handle the situation psychologically/mentally.

Leave it to professionals Who are trained for THAT. Just my opinion.

You leave out active and former military...who probably have taken more real world shots than law enforcement...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

You leave out active and former military...who probably have taken more real world shots than law enforcement...

I respect that...but isn't that somewhat of a different scenario?

Isn't combat a different mentality? Though I do concede that many military perform peacekeeping functions and do it very well.

 

[bluezy]

I would LOVE that. My granddaughter and I each carry a bag that's the size of an average smart phone (not the big phones that are almost a tablet but just a regular phone). You can see hers here. I carry the exact same bag just in a different color. They always just glance at the bag and put us through. Would sooooooo love not to have to wait behind the people who have enough gear with them to move into the park for a month.

That's a cute little bag! Can you tell me what brand it is and/or where you found it? I think my daughters would like that for carrying their stuff on our upcoming trip.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Define "trained"...only police officers/laws enforcement officials come Close to proper training for that situation. It's not a matter of gunpowder and ballistics...it's the ability to handle the situation psychologically/mentally.

Leave it to professionals Who are trained for THAT. Just my opinion.

There are several trained people. Off duty Leo's, some ex military, others who have taken appropriate courses. For example, airlines have the FFDO program.

MG

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Trained gun owner or not, under that scenario, nothing good can come of it.

While that is true, it could possibly make the difference between five shoot, or 25 shot.
Either way is a tragedy...

MG

 

[AngiTN]

Is all of this adding significant entry time? Should we allow 20 minutes more, 1/2 more, just plain more?

The metal detectors do not add any significant time to the entry.
The bag searches can.
In my observations they add more time more often than they don't.
What I mean is most of the time the guards are searching bags very throughly, way more than in the past. That means 2-3 min more per bag, which can add up with a large number of guests going in at once. The worse we was from 5/6 to 10 was at AK on day about 10:00. The lines were at least 30 people long at every check point. Not sure what made it worse that day but days like that are becoming more common where they used to be very rare.

 

[bluezy]

The metal detectors do not add any significant time to the entry.
The bag searches can.
In my observations they add more time more often than they don't.
What I mean is most of the time the guards are searching bags very throughly, way more than in the past. That means 2-3 min more per bag, which can add up with a large number of guests going in at once. The worse we was from 5/5 to 10 was at AK on day about 10:00. The lines were at least 30 people long at every check point. Not sure what made it worse that day but days like that are becoming more common where they used to be very rare.

It was a similar situation that made me very happy that we don't carry bags to the park anymore (for the most part). Last summer we arrived at Epcot about 45 minutes prior to rope drop. We walked through the "no bags" line with a woman who was traveling with her adult daughter. The daughter was carrying a small bag so she had to go through the bag check lines that easily had 25+ people in each of them. We happened to get in the same tapstyle line as the woman with no bag. It took over 20 minutes for her daughter to get through the bag check line. For whatever reason, they were doing extremely thorough searches that morning -- people were complaining that they had to completely empty their bags on the tables.

 

[Candlelady]

Is all of this adding significant entry time? Should we allow 20 minutes more, 1/2 more, just plain more?

This was AK bag check on Friday 5-6-16 at 9:30AM. Took approximately 25 minutes. This wasn't typical for the week we visited, but it certainly can interfere with FP if you cut it too close. We made ours with 2 minutes to spare.

 

[Tom P.]

If I was looking for your permission...I certainly would ask you.

I just don't want to get shot trying to get out of the boat on splash mountain.

There may be a place for what we are discussing (I don't see it - but I fully concede I don't make opinion for everyone)...but I'm reasonably sure magic kingdom never requires a weapon.

I totally agree with you that people don't need to be carrying guns into the Magic Kingdom, and I apologize for being a bit snippy in my reply to you last night. I just think that you were painting with an awfully broad brush when you labeled one entire coast of the country as the "backwards end of the country." That's very unfair to a very large percentage of our nation's population, IMHO.

 

[DisneyLovingPreacher]

While that is true, it could possibly make the difference between five shoot, or 25 shot.
Either way is a tragedy...

MG

While I was in the Navy, I was trained as a Gunner's Mate. Our job is to clean, maintain, and fire the small arms (pistols, rifles, and 50 cals) all the way up to missile systems. We were on the range a lot. We were trained in active shooter drills. People like this and police do have the training to do it. Now I'm not saying that gives us the right to carry inside The MK. Now this statement that is made true. In a gun free zone the average number of dead is 14.4 or 5. When someone is concealed carrying or carrying near by that number goes down to 2.4. Now I know this is gonna get flak. On the other hand Disney has security that no one knows about. Some of them are carrying firearms. It is a matter of who is carrying the guns and if there is enough of them.

 

[dreiwhit]

Define "trained"...only police officers/laws enforcement officials come Close to proper training for that situation. It's not a matter of gunpowder and ballistics...it's the ability to handle the situation psychologically/mentally.

Leave it to professionals Who are trained for THAT. Just my opinion.

FWIW, having been in law enforcement, keep in mind that there is a wide variety of skill levels and professionalism in law enforcement. Not all LEOs are expert marksman and not all of them are trained to handle every situation that might pop up.

Bringing this back to Disney, my big concern if Disney did decide to go 100% metal detector screening is how are they going to move large crowds of people though? Will they purchase enough metal detectors so that every line has one?

 

[AngiTN]

This was AK bag check on Friday 5-6-16 at 9:30AM. Took approximately 25 minutes. This wasn't typical for the week we visited, but it certainly can interfere with FP if you cut it too close. We made ours with 2 minutes to spare.
View attachment 168735

Yes! This is the date (5/6 not 5/5), and close to the time, we went last week. It was awful! No idea what was up that day and yes, while rare it's not the first time I've seen lines like that at a park entrance. For those that don't know, the brown roofs/red tent are the check lines/no bag entrance.

Seeing how you can never plan for what you'll find once you arrive you have to be ready for lines like that at any point, if you are bringing a bag. I used to be the queen of carrying loads of crap to the park. I was one of those with 3, 4 bags in the stroller, even when DGD wasn't in diapers or on bottles. I just thought I needed it all. The thought of going without a stroller sent me in to panic mode about how I would carry it all. Well, turns out I was able to break the chain and all I need is a zipper pouch to hold my ID, AP and TIW in 1 pocket and my phone and lip gloss in the other. I have a soft bag that came with my sunglasses and I just put that in a pocket too, so I have a place for them when the sun goes down. I end up buying something each day, even if it's small and I just use that as the bag for my sunglasses when I need something. Or many days we take a break and when it's time to return it's late enough that I can do without them for an hour or so till the sun is down. But if I can break the chain of going without bag(s) anyone can

 

[dm1996]

Unless you stop the idiot at the TTC before he gets on a ferry boat or monorail, what good is security at the gate. Just my opinion, but those modes of transportation are just as vulnerable as outside the gates and people have nowhere to find safety.

It is a very complex problem because there are just too many people trying to get in at one time. I would have security checks at the TTC and let those people go directly into MK. Others from the resorts would continue to go through security in front of MK. At least that would break up the crowds a little and secure the boat and monorail.