Red Alert

[avcchichester]

We are coming to WDW for the first time the week before Easter. If we go to war, and we are in red alert, will this effect WDW? And how??? We are getting a little concerned that maybe something will shut down. We are driving, so the airlines is not a concern to us. Just getting a little concerned. Thanks

 

[Chloesmom]

I went for 2 days during the Gulf War and it was not affected at all but then...this is a whole new ball game with the terrorist element. I am going in May and I am not letting the threat of war affect my fun and planning. My biggest concern in money. We can well afford to go but since I am self employed I worry that a war could cause my business to drop and we would be strapped for money after we came back but I am still going. Money is just money but the memories are priceless.

 

[n2mm]

We are dropping to YELLOW today. Not that it means nothing will happen. Yes, if we go to war everything and everyone will be affected. Nothing we can do about it. We continue to plan our 4 trips to WDW this year and will deal with the situation if it arrises.

 

[jwfla422]

I was a nervous wreck 2 weeks ago when we left for our trip just after they put us at the orange level of alert. I was so aggravated. We have another trip planned for May and I don't plan to feel that way again.

We went a lot during the Gulf War, the resort rates were amazing then. One thing I must add though is you need to read a very interesting article about the security at WDW which was actually really put in place during the Gulf War.

If I would have read this before we went 2 weeks ago I would have felt much better. May I add, when we were actually there, I didn't turn on the news at all and all my concerns were gone.

BTW, you can find this article on mousesavers.com at :
http://www.mousesavers.com/terrorism.html

(this thread probably needs to be moved to the Theme Park Board)

 

[Alice Sr.]

jwfla422 - Thanks for posting that article I really needed it! You don't happen to have one on flying do you? I still haven't purchased airfare and we are leaving May 13th. I just can't commit myself to flying, if I wait much longer it probably won't be an option.

 

[kilee]

On our last trip we left 2/8 the day after they made a big deal about raising the threat level and possible soft targets. I kept hearing from everyone that Disney was the worst place I could go. That they were going to get hit for sure. Well, I am home and had a wonderful trip. I was really upset and stressed the whole way there (we drove). I almost cancelled in the 11th hour. I was sick to my stomach over it. I am glad we went. Within the 1st hour we were at Disney, the fear was gone. I will admit I did check the paper briefly every morning. I was looking for the weather and I did scan the front page to make sure nothing serious had happened. I would want to know this to make an educated decision on what to do.
I honestly believe they do so much more than we can see to keep us safe while we are there.

 

[Mike]

First of all, let me say that I am not one of those doom and gloom people that run around and fear the worst. I like to think of myself as a realist who looks at facts before making a decision. I went to WDW 5 days after 9/11. I would have flown, but my wife absolutely refused to get on a plane so we drove from MA. People told me that I was crazy for going. My response was that I would never put my family's safety in jeopardy and in my opinion there was no danger in going. We went and had a great time (although it was very sobering to be brought back to reality every night when we watched the news and saw all of the suffering).
That being said, I have to comment on that article on mousesavers. I'm sorry, that does NOTHING to instill confidence in the safety of being at WDW. If you feel better after reading it - fine. But in my opinion, this person has no expertise on this subject (nor do I) and this article is very simplistic and misleading. Disney has long been cited for its expertise in crowd management and control - I agree. But this has little to do with security. This has to do with their efficient ways of handling crowds from a logistical standpoint.
My favorite line is "As you are probably aware, since 9/11 Disney has been searching guests' bags before they can enter the theme parks. I've heard some complaints that these searches are too cursory. In all honesty, however, I think the reason Disney can make these bag searches rather minimal is that even if a "bad guy" carries something into the parks, he is going to have a tough time committing any kind of crime once he's in there!"

Uhm.... HELLO!!!! I don't care if WDW has a dedicated camera on every single visitor. If someone sneaks in a vile of a biological agent, they will certainly be able to disperse it into a crowd before security can respond - no matter how good they are.

I don't mean to rant and I certainly don't mean to scare people. I would not hesitate to go to WDW tomorrow (send me a check and I'll prove it). Just please be informed and don't be mislead by "articles" such as this.

 

[stacy6552]

am i the only one who wouldnt put it past disney to have anti-aircraft missiles and a protective forcefield waiting in the wings?

 

[CarolA]

Statistically flying is MUCH safer than driving. Also, does anyone really think Disney is going to release all their security plans to the general public? I mean come on, what do you want them to do? Tell the terroists what they are doing so the terriorist can plan around that. This is just like the people in the media who want to release the exact date and hour of the beginning of the war today.

I fly all the time. I feel no safer now then before 9/11, but I wasn't worried then either. I have been in a car accident that but for the grace of God and a car with GREAT safety features I should have been killed in. Never come that close in a plane.

 

[loriandmatt]

Much like many of the posters to this thread, i too was scared out of my mind about going to WDW in mid Oct 2001. My DH found this quote on the home page of the DIS. It helped me suck it up and go. It turned out to be the best trip to WDW we ever had. We needed the down time because of life events for us that year and because of worldly events.

" Once a man has tasted freedom he iwll never be content to be a slave. That is why i believe that this frightfulness we see everywhere today is only temporary. Tomorrow will be better. For as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better way of life, all men will want to be free and share our way of life. Ther must be so much that i should have said, but haven't. What i will say now is just what most of us are probably thinking everyday. I thank God and America for the right to live and raise my family under the flag of tolerance, democracy and freedom."
~a quote from Our American Culture by Walt Disney 3/1/41~

-lori

 

[mm6mm6]

I believe your trip to WDW will be 100% unaffected by anything that happens with a war. Already, everyone has been having their bags checked when entering the parks. The last thing our President, our entire government, the State of Florida, and the Disney Company themselves want to see happen is any kind of negative economic impact due to war. If anything, be sure to double check your rates before you go as Disney may DROP prices to ensure a continued cash flow into their coffers. The money you will spend on gasoline, food, hotels, your stay at WDW, Souveniers, etc is what keeps the economy going. The best thing you can do is not worry, and buy buy buy/spend spend spend! And is there anything more American than going to Walt Disney World? Enjoy!

 

[Horizons16]

I think they only way that WDW would get affected by any of this is if we move into the highest state... when they start to put travel bands on everything... although hasent WDW only closed like 3 times... once fo r a hurricane and another was sept.11 or something... maybe its only 2 then.

~Steve

 

[tjkraz]

I agree with most of the sentiment posted, but to answer the poster's original inquiry, here's some info on the Red Terror Level from CNN.com:

"Red: Severe Condition
Severe risk of terrorist attacks. In addition to the previously outlined protective measures, the following steps may be taken:

Assigning emergency response personnel and pre-positioning specially trained teams
Monitoring, redirecting or constraining transportation systems
Closing public and government facilities
Increasing or redirecting personnel to address critical emergency needs
Source: Homeland Security "

Based upon comments that I heard, and reading the above, it's likely that a public facility like WDW may be required to discontinue operations if such an alert level were to occur.

Granted, this alert level is not going to be used lightly. It's no small task to effectively shut down the entire country. If my recollection is correct, WDW did close early on 9/11/01. I suspect that a "Red" alert level would only be called if Homeland Security had knowledge of something actually happening that they might not be able to prevent, or if some tragedy had already occurred.

 

[avcchichester]

Thank you everyone for making me feel more comfortable. We will still plan on going, and i'm sure we WILL have a wonderful time. As to the poster who said that flying was safer than going by car, well maybe so, but we are taking a vacation of 2 weeks, and stopping and seeing my brother in NC, and an aunt in VA., on our way back home. So flying wasn't even an option. You have made me feel safer in telling me about the security of the park. But I will still be cautious, which we would do the same thing if we were home. The red alert interest came from the Today show the other morning, when they were saying if we go to war, theres a good possibility that we will go into red alert. Thanks again everyone.