Terrorism in WDW?

[JVL1018]

I don't worry about it.
I still get choked up thinking about 9/11..on top of the events themselves being horrific, I had a newborn baby(not even a week old) and lived right outside NYC..I was terrified that day and for many days afterward.. but no more.
My husband works in the city--goes thorugh the Lincoln Tunnel everyday, walks through the Port Authority and through Times Sq on his way to work everyday..if I worried at all it would be for him, but I don't even think about it, can't live that way.

Edited to fix the date. Aforementioned newborn is poking me and making a nuisance of himself. LOL

 

[Pats Dragon]

Terrorists love to inflict terror and I attended a conference that taught that schools are a prime target. We chose to go to DW shortly after 9-11 because, it changed our lives but didn't stop our living. I do watch people around me however. Once my son, who is a college student and doesn't wear touristy clothes had a black shirt, black pants and black leather jacket on. I made him throw the Christmas crackers, (shaped sort of like dynamite) in his empty back pack to hide from my Australian son-in-law so that he would be surprised. I honestly didn't realize how that looked. My son was questioned and searched (even the water bottle) and we were "invited to come to a private room where we were casually( but not really) questioned. I appreciated the security.

 

[88Keys]

Since 9/11 WDW is a no fly zone.

Slightly off topic -- but if WDW is no longer a no-fly zone, are they held to the 199-feet maximum height issue (wihtout flashing lights)

 

[88Keys]

Number of people killed at WDW due to terrorism......0
Number of people killed as a possible result of Mission:SPACE.....2
Number of people killed in this country as a result of terrorism in the last 10 years combined....fewer than 3500
Number of people killed annually due to heart failure and car accidents....approaching 1 million

I'd worry more about the Turkey legs than terrorists......

 

[minnieandmickeymouse]

I don't worry about it, not that the thought doesn't come to my mind. I worry about it more on the plane.

 

[Evil Queen 12]

I think about it from time to time, but what do you do? I think about Terroristic attacks whenever there's a big event going on. For example, I live in Louisville, KY and the Kentucky Derby is today. There's always a possibility of something happening here, but it's out of my control. I sincerely hope it doesn't but again, what do you do?

 

[Colorado DISers]

88keys,
Yes, they are still held to the 199ft. height restriction. That's why EE is just below 200 feet. It just would lose something having a flahing red light on top.

 

[dawgsgirl]

No, I don't worry about it. The bad guys can get us anywhere. I have thought about it at WDW--it's not the parks I thought about, but the buses and monorail.

 

[k5thbeatle]

Worry???...

will worrying add a moment to your life? We went to WDW one week after 9-11. No big deal to us but our friends and relatives thought we were crazy!

When it's your time to go you're gonna go!

 

[FanofG00fy]

No, I don't worry either. Yes, it is on my mind, but it has been on my mind since 1983.

Why 1983???
Moved to east Tennessee.
Discovered the Manhattan Project was done in Oak Ridge TN.
Found out that same night that I live less than 30 minutes from OR.

Oh well......I could move, but why. It is so beautiful here. Besides, I could set out tomorrow and get hit by a bus.

Truly, the only thing I worry about at Disney.....is running out of money!!!

 

[winniedapooh]

Another thing to keep in mind - Disney has *eyes* everywhere.... it borders on spooky how quickly they will 'appear' in a moment of crisis.

They're watching you and everyone else, alllllll dayyyyy long. Just because their gate-bag security isnt in-depth, rest assured they always know what's going on.

I know this for a fact...Dec. 31st we were at MGM with the 5 cherubs. DD, 8, wanted to go into Playhouse Disney...the 3 boys opted out and as she is my baby we said yes go ahead. DD, then 15, sat with her on the floor while DH & I sat on a bench directly behind them. The place was not even close to full but the CM kept forcing people to move up. Older DD said the guy behind her was practically sitting on top of her and of course kids get up dance and move around. At the end DH is helping me up, I have bad knees, and DD-8 comes over crying that something is wrong with Emily. OK...the place was not even 1/2 full and most of them were gone...we bolted up front to find her surrounded by several CM's. She had gotten up and fallen back down, foot asleep, and ended up a bad fracture in her wrist. They ushered us backstage where more CM's, security, and managers showed up---here is the kicker. One of the managers asked me if I wanted him to go find my 3 boys. Now I am in lala land, my daughters are crying and I am trying not to panic it was like watching a movie...all of a sudden it kicks in what he just said to me. He knew we had 3 other kids and they were all boys no less that were not with us! I laughed at him commenting that Disney really does have eyes all over. He looks very stern but smiles. I said to my husband later, how many other fat woman wearing white knee pain patches walking around with 5 kids were there that day...oh yeah that and the fact that DS,10, had decorated said pain patches with his version of mickey mouse in blue ink!


Oh yeah and for all of those that may be wondering we did not sue, did not complain except about almost losing my Fantasmic Package because DH was 10 minutes late coming back from ER with DD, and I did not ask for a comp or otherwise.

 

[minnie61650]

I know this for a fact...Dec. 31st we were at MGM with the 5 cherubs. DD, 8, wanted to go into Playhouse Disney...the 3 boys opted out and as she is my baby we said yes go ahead. DD, then 15, sat with her on the floor while DH & I sat on a bench directly behind them. The place was not even close to full but the CM kept forcing people to move up. Older DD said the guy behind her was practically sitting on top of her and of course kids get up dance and move around. At the end DH is helping me up, I have bad knees, and DD-8 comes over crying that something is wrong with Emily. OK...the place was not even 1/2 full and most of them were gone...we bolted up front to find her surrounded by several CM's. She had gotten up and fallen back down, foot asleep, and ended up a bad fracture in her wrist. They ushered us backstage where more CM's, security, and managers showed up---here is the kicker. One of the managers asked me if I wanted him to go find my 3 boys. Now I am in lala land, my daughters are crying and I am trying not to panic it was like watching a movie...all of a sudden it kicks in what he just said to me. He knew we had 3 other kids and they were all boys no less that were not with us! I laughed at him commenting that Disney really does have eyes all over. He looks very stern but smiles. I said to my husband later, how many other fat woman wearing white knee pain patches walking around with 5 kids were there that day...oh yeah that and the fact that DS,10, had decorated said pain patches with his version of mickey mouse in blue ink!


Oh yeah and for all of those that may be wondering we did not sue, did not complain except about almost losing my Fantasmic Package because DH was 10 minutes late coming back from ER with DD, and I did not ask for a comp or otherwise.

Sorry DD got hurt and I hope she is doing fine now.

I just have to say WOW What an incredible story! I always knew Disney was watching and you just proved how aware
Disney is about their guests and what is happening all around the parks.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[meb]

If I die in WDW know I died happy! lol

 

[CleveRocks]

A friend of mine is an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and is currently on active duty. His specialty is nuclear/biological/chemical (NBC) warfare. His unit is responsible for training civilian governments and first-responders about what to do to prevent and/or deal with NBC attacks here in the homeland. So needless to say, one of his areas of expertise is homeland security.

I remember I once commented to him how odd Manhattan's Times Square looked, with MANY, I mean dozens of groupings of six NYPD officers visible all around the Times Square area. I said it made me feel safe, but that it was a shame we need that kind of presence. He told me that, generally speaking, for every civilian cop I saw in any "area of interest," such as Times Square, there were three OTHER law enforcement/military/paramilitary people that I COULDN'T see.

Disney is more than just a massive corporation. It's also an American icon. Iconic enough that the FAA actually closed off the airspace above WDW. I do literally rest assured that there is more security at WDW than we are aware of.

Even without the federal government's help, Disney is great at keeping things out of public view. For instance, outside of people on DISboards, how many people know that the Magic Kingdom is actually the second floor of a building, the the Utilidors aren't "underground" but instead are the ground floor of a building that has the Magic Kingdom on its roof?

That's a mind-blowing factoid for people who didn't know it before. I'm sure the government/Disney combination of security at the parks is equally mind-blowing.

 

[WesM]

Slightly off topic -- but if WDW is no longer a no-fly zone, are they held to the 199-feet maximum height issue (wihtout flashing lights)

The Disney " 'Temporary' Flight Restrictions" reach from the surface to 3,000 feet above ground level and are three miles in diameter. These are still in effect and probably always will be. Since I am a newbie, it won't let me post a URL, but a quick search under "Disney TFR" will lead you to the info on the FAA's website. They have a clear graphical display of the information. As a pilot, I could give my opinion on the effectiveness of TFRs in general, but this is probably not the place.
Back to the original question, I don't worry about being a terrorist target at Disney or anyplace else for that matter. I do pay attention to anything that seems out of place, however. Vigilance, Street Smarts, whatever you wish to call it, but I don't allow it to paralyze me.

 

[scrapbookworm]

I don't worry about it. But if God forbid something did happen there, I'm not necessarily going to blame Disney either. If someone has a shoe bomb, or explosives strapped to themselves, is there really much that someone could do to stop it? KWIM? Maybe they could do xray screenings and metal detectors like at the airports, but good grief every little thing would set them off, and it would be nearly impossible to enter a park. I refuse to worry about what MIGHT happen.

 

[mrsltg]

I don't worry about it. But if God forbid something did happen there, I'm not necessarily going to blame Disney either. If someone has a shoe bomb, or explosives strapped to themselves, is there really much that someone could do to stop it? KWIM? Maybe they could do xray screenings and metal detectors like at the airports, but good grief every little thing would set them off, and it would be nearly impossible to enter a park. I refuse to worry about what MIGHT happen.

You're exactly right. No, there is very little that can be done to stop something like this. It's a dirty secret, but true - if someone is willing to trade their life for yours, they win. Disney can have a million cameras. They are just as useful as the cameras lining the Tube tunnels in London. They got great footage of the trains exploding. They got great footage of the criminals who were at that point in many, many pieces. While the video helped to point law enforcement in the direction of the groups responsible, it did not stop the attack. Disney may have a great emergency response team in place - they'll come in handy when it's time to count bodies and hose the place off - they won't change the outcome of someone with plastique strapped to their chest standing in the center of a crowd waiting to clear the bag check line on the 4th of July or Christmas. Unfortunately it's the way of the world.