Safety at Resorts???

[delilah18]

Hello

I been reading some of the threads about staying offsite and wow some of them are quite scary especially the outside corridor ones.
I understand you need to be aware of your situation no matter where you stay
My question is does everyone feel safe at the values and mods?
Has anyone had a scary situation?
I don't know if I would better off staying at a value or mod or staying in downtown disney (Holiday Inn) in a inside corridor resort that isn't disney?
Thanks

 

[VikingInMouseEars]

Hello

I been reading some of the threads about staying offsite and wow some of them are quite scary especially the outside corridor ones.
I understand you need to be aware of your situation no matter where you stay
My question is does everyone feel safe at the values and mods?
Has anyone had a scary situation?
I don't know if I would better off staying at a value or mod or staying in downtown disney (Holiday Inn) in a inside corridor resort that isn't disney?
Thanks

Disney resorts feel very safe. Actually values and mods might even be safer than some of the deluxes since all access to values and mods has to go thru the gate guard, where as many deluxe resorts can be accessed by boat, monorail or on foot. And I just can't see hoodlums riding Disney buses to mug people at the resorts. I am sure some bad things have happened at Disney resorts over the years, but it would be the exception rather than the rule. Off property hotels, don't have near the security that the Disney resorts have and in most case anyone at all has access to the parking lots or dark areas outside.
I am a guy, but I have never heard any woman saying that she felt unsafe at a Disney resort.
Have a great trip.

Eric

 

[nanalisa]

I feel very safe at WDW and I love to worry. I've never been afraid to walk at night alone or with the kids but I am aware of my surroundings. You might want to get a preferred building that is close to the food court and pool. There are always plenty of people around there.

 

[Sandi]

DD16 and I stay at a WDW resort once or twice a year. We usually stay at Pop or POFQ, occasionally springing for a deluxe. DH is just not a Disney guy, so he rarely goes with us anymore. He is more of a worry wart than I am and he is comfortable with our going to WDW because we stay on property.

We are always aware of our surroundings and we are careful. I have never felt unsafe at the WDW resorts. I was sort of creeped out at Poly one visit walking from the TTC to the Fiji building, but it was just because it was dark and really quiet. The torch lights give a nice ambiance, but I feel better with the street light feel at Pop and POFQ and the action that's always going on at BW.

 

[POOHsie]

Personally, thinking of my personal safety, anything off Disney property gives my an unsettling "scared" feeling. Hotel Plaza Blvd. seems to me to be wide open to any nut who wants to stop by to commit crime. Vast easy-in and easy-out parking lots and hotels that want to spend as little as possible on personnel. Dimly lit and lots of shrubbery and shadows at night.

I have stayed on Disney property since early 1990s. Usually at moderates. Never once did I get that creepy feeling, even going to my car late at night, or taking a stroll at 1 am after EMH. There was a parking lot manned gate to stop strange cars. There were security people on golf carts making their rounds. There were guests out and about. I wouldn't think twice about selecting any kind of Disney resort.

But I would have big feelings of insecurity about staying off-property on Hotel Plaza Blvd., even at a "Name Brand" hotel. Those places are old now, losing out to competition from new hotels with better amenities. So they lower their prices, cut their staff, and attract lower clientele. The exception would be the Hilton Lake Buena Vista at the corner across from DTD.

The Holiday Inn on Hotel Plaza Blvd. consists of a smaller, old building plus a newer tower. The whole property was recently rehabbed. But I would consider: if you were looking at price as a deciding factor, do you think HI would put you in the nice, newer tower, or the older building that backs up to the expressway?

It's those things that convince people to stay at the Disney resorts. All those little things from safety, resorts maintaining their value to attract best clientele, no busy expressways or roads behind your room, plus free bus transporation everywhere, a coordinated attitude between resort, bus, restaurant and park that gives one a feeling of being in a wonderful utopian "bubble." It's top-notch, and I am definitely a Disney true-believer.

 

[squirrel]

I feel safe at the resort.

I'm on the lookout for smokers (I have to avoid them-really bad asthma attacks). People smoking ouside of the DSA are the only times I haven't felt safe.

 

[disnut8]

I am almost 50 years old and have traveled extensively throughout the US since I was 6 months old. My family has traveled even more than just me. None of us has ever had an incident happen at a hotel throughout that entire time. I am talking about myself, my husband (who actually traveled around the world), my father, my stepmother, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, my son, my sister. I haven't been to four US states yet. I have never felt safer than with Disney and on site. I can tell you places I've stayed offsite (alone) and not felt safe but never on site.

You have the correct attitude - always be on your guard but that guard doesn't have to be that high at Disney. My husband, ex-military, gets nervous around the Disney resort gate guards.

 

[janabananas]

I just stayed at POP and I never felt unsafe at anytime.

 

[21hearts]

I feel very safe at the resorts. I do of course keep aware of whats going on around me. I try to not look like a target. I only bring what I 100% need and if we buy anything I try to keep it to one bag (combine different purchases into one bag) so I'm not juggling multiple bags, and I try to stay to well lite areas.

 

[hereyago]

I have been taking DD13 to WDW since she was 5. Being a single mom I feel more aware of my surroundings I think. However with that said: the only experience I had at a resort I wouldn't even consider a safety thing really.

Time before last of going to WDW: another guest tried to use his key into my room, of course it didn't open it, but it was later in the evening, DD was asleep but I also make sure the door is locked all the way. So he starts banging on the door I tell him that it isn't his room, look at the window decorations as I had my window decorated. He then apologizes and moves on. He may have had a little to drink, but he wasn't trying to break in.

Anywhere I go, I use common sense and am aware of my surroundings, but I haven't felt unsafe at WDW.


Have a great trip OP!

 

[SMorgan711]

I have stayed at All Star Music and a few moderate resorts and have never had that creepy, unsafe feeling. I would recommend staying on property and request a room near the main building as you won't have to walk as far to get to your room at night. It will also be busier in that area with more people around too.

 

[Disney Doll]

I feel safe there. Obviously I walk around with an awareness of my surroundings, don't go to any sort of remote areas ta night and so forth, but overall, I feel it's safe.

 

[Pats Dragon]

Felt very scared one time near Old Town but never on site and we have been to DW every year since it opened. The worst thing that happened was a brat threw a large ice chunk at my child and I was furious. Staff did nothing though. Other than that nothing bad has happened in the resort!

 

[c3363]

Here is a funny story that happened to me two weeks ago at Port Orleans Riverside. I had parked at the wrong building and I needed to pack up the car so I figured I'd bring some luggage out with me from Magnolia Terrace and go over to the parking lot of the other mansion (where my car was parked) to clean out the car and then bring the car back to my building.

It was about 10:00 p.m. and very empty outside. There was no one around in the back. As I was walking across the parking lots, I saw a white SUV driving near me very slowly and following me from one lot to the next. The SUV continued circling around the parking lot and driving by me very slowly while I was packing up my car. I was thinking this person is going to steal my luggage out of here when I go back in my room. So I tried to kill some time by pretending I was cleaning the car out. The SUV kept circling so I came up with a plan that I would drive out and then try to lose the car so it couldn't see where I was parking. Right when I was about to get in, the car pulls up and rolls down the window! Now I'm really getting nervous..... It was a security guard!! She was concerned that I was out there at night and said she was circling to monitor the area while I was packing up.

That was the only instance I ever was worried and it turned out to be nothing. I walked around alone every night back and forth to the kennel across the street and in Downtown Disney and never felt worried. I've stayed many many times in WDW and never had a safety concern. A couple of weeks ago, there were always employees around offering to give me rides to my room in the golf cart, but I never felt the need to accept.

In other parts of Orlando it's different. We once stayed near Universal Studios (off-site) and had police sirens going off all night and plenty of shady individuals hanging out all over the streets. Our first night there, we woke up at 2:00 a.m. to police sirens and a crime scene unit right outside our first floor window for break-ins. Parts of International Drive are not safe to walk around alone at night.

 

[Figmificent]

I have traveled to Disney solo in my early 20s. I stayed at POFQ and while I am very aware of my surroundings, I was never concerned at all. When I checked in, the CM saw I was alone and moved me to a closer building (even though POFQ is so small it didn't really matter to me) and it is very well lit even at night. There were times I was the only person on the bus, and that was a little weird but not scary! I do suggest bolting your door at all times in your room though, as I had a friend who was staying on site when they switched to the new computer system and they keyed another family for her room!

 

[hotblooded]

I've been a solo young female alone at Disney value resorts on three nights total, and I've always felt completely safe. Paths are well-lit and even when the resorts are spread out, it's still a gated community with good security.

 

[fla4fun]

I would say 90% of my trips are solo, and I've never felt unsafe at any Disney resort. So long as you use the same common sense as you would anywhere else, you'll be just fine.

There are some very shady parts of Orlando that I would not be caught in after dark. I used to work on the central area of I-Drive, and had to arrive at work before dawn, and that made me very nervous. Fortunately, we had sheriffs for security there, and I never really had an issue. But I was still concerned. The Universal Studios area is near a part of town that is known for crime, so I'm not surprised that a pp saw a lot of police action staying off property near there. I used to have to drive on Kirkman Road to go to work, again, early in the morning, and there were always sirens and police lights every single morning somewhere along the way. They were usually north of Universal, but sometimes they were pretty close.

Whether the hotel has interior or exterior corridors makes less difference than where it's located, whether it has good security patrols, and whether the doors can be fully secured. Interior corridors don't prevent people from loitering that have bad intentions. I've seen more news reports (not just from Orlando though) of criminals hiding in stairwells and watching for people they can follow to their rooms to attack as I have people who have been attacked in exterior corridor hotels. Many times, the exterior corridor crimes have taken place because the guests did not secure their doors properly (in fact, there were a couple incidents on I-Drive a few years back and in both cases, the guests had propped their doors open because they wanted fresh air).

There are a lot of good off property resorts that I would feel just as safe in as I would at an on property resort. Just do a little research, read some reviews looking specifically for mention of security issues, and make an informed decision. I would not be concerned about the value and moderate resorts being less safe because they have exterior doors.

 

[Missytara]

I specifically go to Disney because I go alone often and feel it is very safe.

I stay at POR and often close the bar and walk back to my room very late, and have never had problems.

In addition, I have gotten up in the middle of the night to stick my legs in the water in the quiet pool and never been bothered.

 

[bowbat]

I would say 90% of my trips are solo, and I've never felt unsafe at any Disney resort. So long as you use the same common sense as you would anywhere else, you'll be just fine.

THIS.

No more or less care is needed at Disney than anywhere else. I don't leave my bag unattended in a shopping cart at the grocery store, and I don't leave it unattended at Disney. I don't let my child wander behind me or out of my sight at the mall, and I don't at Disney. I pay attention to my surroundings when I'm out running errands, just as I do at Disney. Most crimes, no matter where they occur, are crimes of opportunity. Don't create the opportunity, and you'll generally be fine.

 

[dmccarty]

The Disney resorts are pretty safe.

However, we will not let our kids walk by themselves to the pool though they are likely old enough to do so. The hallways at AKV/AKL are too long with short sight lines. A person could easily get pulled into a room. Not very likely but it could happen.

At AKL/AKV and at CBR we have had pizza flyers pushed under our door. I assume the pizza guys make a delivery, or pretend too, and then go down the hall with the flyers. Our last stay at AKL we were in the second to last room before the end of the resorts. On the top floor that is not Concierage level. By MY request! It was a 1/4 mile walk to the bus stops but it was worth it since I only woke up once to people making noise in the hallway at night.

We had a pizza flyer under the door.

There have been reports on the DIS about people have their stuff stolen at resort pools. So outside people do come into the resorts to commit crimes. But given the number of people going to Disney it is a pretty safe place.

Staying at a hotel with inside hallways is the safest. I have not seen a new hotel being built with the halls on the outside. When I was a kid, my mom and I were driving to FLA by ourselves to visit family in Orlando and go to WDW. We stopped at a motel that had an inside hallway but also sliding glass doors going outside. Right after we checked into the room someone tried to get into the room via the sliding glass doors.

I am pretty sure they saw my mom check in but did not see me in the car where I was keeping our dog company. We checked the lock on the sliding glass door as soon as we got into the room.

I had family that lived in Pine Hills for close to 50 years. Pine Hills is up Kirkman from I4 for those not familiar with the area. Universal is at Kirkman and I4. To say Pine Hills has done down hill is an understatement. Last trip we drove by the house my grandparents built on a lake in Altamonte Springs. I want to drive by my other grandmothers house in Pine Hills but I do not want to deal with the traffic on Kirkman, Silver Start, etc to get back on I4. Not to mention the crime in the area.

Later,
Dan