Two tourists abducted, robbed after leaving Downtown Disney

[YoHo]

I say what I say, because the rumors say that. Of course you see more security at Downtown Disney. That doesn't mean that there is enough security at DTD.

Why should I feel compelled to "Be nice" to the Disney company? What the heck difference does it make if I say they can't keep guests safe? There was a time where you could feel a lot safer about WDW. Your saying I shouldn't expect Disney to live up to their reputation? That's a load of poodu. Disney has the reputation for a reason. Excusing them from it is unacceptable.
Of course people should be aware of their surroundings and now the know that Disney is just like everywhere else. Not someplace special like it used to be.

And I had no idea that only people that think Disney can do no wrong and have pixie dust shooting out of their behind were allowed to go to WDW.

 

[G8RFAN]

There is a ton of security at WDW. You probably only ever see a small percentage of it. Why do you think its so rare when incidents like this "do" happen.

Bad things happen, even in good places! Bad people come into good places too. It doesn't make the place bad, only the people who come into it to do harm.

WDW even have gone so far as to put mobile towers in the parking areas of Downtown Disney to keep an eye on things. WDW is probably one of the safest places in the world.

If you don't feel safe at WDW, please do yourself a favor and don't come.

Just please don't say that WDW can't keep its guest safe or has turned into a local drug shoppingf mall like the other poster did. The guests also have a responsibility to be aware of their surroundings.

Sure bad things happen in good places but people/places still get sued. While I do feel "safer" at WDW, I still don't treat it like it were my own living room. Room safes still get broken into, personal items get stolen, and armed robberies are always a possibility at WDW. So that's why I pack heat and challenge anyone to mess with me! J/K on the last sentence , but really, I don't think you need to say that if you don't feel safe, don't come. I'm sure WDW marketing won't be adopting that one. Like every vacation destination, you are a tourist with potentially a lot of cash and other valuables that are very attractive to people who want to take it away from you. Feeling "safe" is very relative and I'm sure you don't mean "safe" in terms of not locking your car or not caring of your surroundings. While in a subway in Rome a couple months ago, a woman tried to pick pocket me twice. I knew what she was doing the first time, but because I didn't scream at her like most Italians would have, she thought I didn't notice. To tell you the truth, I still kept vigillence even when we were in the Vatican, and you don't get much more security and "another world feeling" than that.

 

[jimh13432]

Believe me. Disney does plenty wrong. I'm not saying that (heck, they brought Michael Eissner into the company!!).

But to fault Disney security for an incident that "may or may not have even happened" isn't right.

There are lots of places we ALL felt safer to be in a few years ago right? The world has changed.

 

[raidermatt]

can I ask why it's Disney's job to keep you safe?

I don't get it. EVERY small, medium, and large city in the US has carjackings and robberies reported on a daily basis. Just because it happens at Disney, its their fault??

I get what you are saying and you definitely have a point. At the same time though, we can't say that Disney can afford to let those problems permeate any part of their property. Very different situations.

I'm not saying it HAS become a big problem, but there are some saying that it's getting worse.

 

[schmitty]

Orlando is a very crime ridden city. Angriest city in the US along with the most murders in the US. Its not Disneys direct fault all this crime is happening there.

 

[G8RFAN]

Orlando is a very crime ridden city. Angriest city in the US along with the most murders in the US. Its not Disneys direct fault all this crime is happening there.

I wan't going to bring that up since I don't technically live there and I thought the murder per capital "award" belongs to Baltimore. I think Miami, Jax and Tampa are probably a little worse. Thanks for being brutally honest tho.

 

[YoHo]

This is simply not true. Orlando isn't even in the top 10 (for 2006) of murder rates per capita.

Orlando is considered the Angriest by Men's Health, but that's hardly a statistic worth basing this on.

 

[Donaldsfan176]

Two thoughts

First even though you are on Disneys property does not mean that there are security guards watching every single part of every single location. You always must be alert.

Second thought.. Something does not seem right to me. (maybe I'm just a suspicious type) The victims said they walked to a house to call the police. Now forgive me if I'm wrong but didn't they have a cellphone on them? It seems like everybody in the world (exageration) has a cell phone. I may be wrong on this but.....

 

[schmitty]

This is simply not true. Orlando isn't even in the top 10 (for 2006) of murder rates per capita.

Orlando is considered the Angriest by Men's Health, but that's hardly a statistic worth basing this on.

Orlando's murder rate more than doubled the year before and last year was the worst its even been in Orlando. Thats why I thought it was led in murders. My mistake but its murder rate doubled within a year and crime is getting really bad all around Orlando and thats the point I was trying to make.

 

[YoHo]

All the more reason for WDW to step up security then right?

 

[djblu883]

I didn't see New Orleans either and crime there has gotten much worse since Katrina!!! Don't think those stats are accurate...

 

[YoHo]

Uh, that links is from a site about New Orleans, they are number 1.

 

[schmitty]

All the more reason for WDW to step up security then right?

Absolutely the only place I dont like to go around at night at Disney is DTD even with all the security that was there.

 

[YoHo]

I remember when I was in college, I could be confident that after a night enjoying the shot girl's wares, I could feel confident that the only person how would be taking my cash was Disney.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

Anytime you mix (mostly) young adults and alcohol you have a risk of something happening. Downtown Disney is very safe and I'm quite comfortable there with all the security around. Of course vigilence is always needed anywhere you go. The other big nightlife location in Orlando is downtown Orlando. Needless to say which "downtown" is the safest!

BobK/Orlando

 

[Jason71]

Orlando's murder rate more than doubled the year before and last year was the worst its even been in Orlando. Thats why I thought it was led in murders. My mistake but its murder rate doubled within a year and crime is getting really bad all around Orlando and thats the point I was trying to make.

While the murder rate has skyrocketed lately, I know of only one murder in the past year that could be classified as occurring in the southwest "tourist" district (the one outside Alehouse on 535). And even with the per capita murder rate increasing (possibly a fluke, maybe a trend), we still have a way to go before we come close to a lot of cities.

I hate to say it, if only because the alleged victims are from the same small CT town I grew up in, but it seems like DTD would be the last place rational crooks would think of kidnapping someone. The area is crawling with police, not to mention WDW security. Granted tourists make easy victims because they are unarmed, but still, there are less police-heavy areas around here. Northern I-Drive I could see, but not Hotel Plaza Blvd.

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

While the murder rate has skyrocketed lately, I know of only one murder in the past year that could be classified as occurring in the southwest "tourist" district (the one outside Alehouse on 535). And even with the per capita murder rate increasing (possibly a fluke, maybe a trend), we still have a way to go before we come close to a lot of cities.

Most of the crime increases around Orlando are actually in the unincorporated area of Orange County known as Pine Hills. This is a very large area west of the city limits of Orlando itself and east of Ocoee. Those of us who live around here affectionately call Pine Hills, "Crime Hills".

BobK/Orlando

 

[tidefan]

This is simply not true. Orlando isn't even in the top 10 (for 2006) of murder rates per capita.

Orlando is considered the Angriest by Men's Health, but that's hardly a statistic worth basing this on.

OK, getting off topic, but I feel the need to defend Birmingham here. This is somewhat a misuse of statistics. The Birmingham metro area is over 1 million people, but the actual city of Birmingham is only about 300,000 of that. That being said, the vast majority of crime that occurs in metro Birmingham is actually in the city itself and not in the outlying areas. When you look at the metro area as a whole, we have about the same rate as Nashville. However, since Nashville is a city/county metropolitan government, the crime rates are spread across the entire county, not just the inner city so "Nashville" looks to have a much lower rate than "Birmingham".

Also, notice that New Orleans went from 63.5 to 72.6 just because of the population decrease. So the number of murders remained constant, but more people left the city.

 

[laceemouse]

OK, getting off topic, but I feel the need to defend Birmingham here. This is somewhat a misuse of statistics. The Birmingham metro area is over 1 million people, but the actual city of Birmingham is only about 300,000 of that. That being said, the vast majority of crime that occurs in metro Birmingham is actually in the city itself and not in the outlying areas. When you look at the metro area as a whole, we have about the same rate as Nashville. However, since Nashville is a city/county metropolitan government, the crime rates are spread across the entire county, not just the inner city so "Nashville" looks to have a much lower rate than "Birmingham".

Also, notice that New Orleans went from 63.5 to 72.6 just because of the population decrease. So the number of murders remained constant, but more people left the city.

Honestly, the same can be said for ANY major city, most of the crime takes place in certain crime infested areas. I have lived in Jacksonville, Fl., metro DC, Chicagoland, and now the Dallas burbs and ALL of these cities have high crime areas that no one in their right mind would visit late at night!
I think Disney does it's best to keep guests safe but there is no way they can prevent all crime. Tourists have been a target since tourism came into being. I have seen way too many people being unaware of their surroundings at WDW, kids left unsupervised, etc. People need to stay on guard on WDW property just like they would in any other city, not to do so is just plain dumb!
Adding, those crime stats are always hard to figure out, every city I have lived in has claimed to be the "murder capitol!" I think there are LOTS of different lists and they all come about their stats in different ways so there are a lot of contradictions.......................................

 

[Jason71]

New update from the Sentinel: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...61307,0,2381379.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

The "victims" have refused to prosecute if the suspects are ever caught, and also refused to give details to a sketch artist or take a lie-detector test. The story gets fishier...