What Would You Do?

[samsteele]

I've found myself traveling solo to WDW on the past two or three trips and sometimes at meals catch myself people watching for lack of something better to do. One occasion still stands out. About a year and a half ago, I was in the Animal Kingdom park in early Nov and was having lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ (before the renovation). I was sitting in the pavilion near the duck pond/lily pond, just eating my lunch, when I noticed a young man, I'd estimate in his early 20s, dressed in off the rack fatigues from head to toe, complete with boots and camo hat. He was sitting at a table approx 20 ft from me and was behaving, well, awkwardly. He had no food or drink. He would alternate between rooting in his camo pack, searching through the pockets on his pants and vest and standing up and sitting down. He once stood up, then tried to sit down abruptly, partially missed the seat and ended up crouching on the ground. He then got up and sat on his chair again. He then started to apply some kind of camo grease paint to his face. It was at restaurant opening, so early lunch time, and I was the only table near him. No other families or people near by. Once the face painting started, I really started to get concerned. Here's the deal: I often see people wearing Tilley hats and safari-style pocket vests in AK. It isn't my kind of fashion statement, but to each his/her own. Perhaps the AK vibe inspires their clothing choices. But the fatigues, boots & particularly face painting can set off alarm bells when I am in a large public area. I have family and friends in the military and reserves in Canada, and they just wouldn't dress or behave like that when off duty. Period. It just isn't done. So this was likely a civilian dressed in some kind of fatigues. Role playing? Fantasy playing? Personal fashion choice? Who knows? And getting into the face paint. On the other hand, this could well have just been a young man going about his business, enjoying his vacation, in his own way. A strange way . . . to be sure. But at this point not causing any harm. And the key thought for me was . . . at this point. When I saw the face paint start to go on, I decided I'd had enough lunch and was ready to go. But, I thought, should I find security? Should I point this out? In the end, I didn't have to. As I started to get up with my tray, I noticed a cast member busing tables at the other end of the pavilion. She had her eyes locked right on him. Then she looked right at me. I got the message. I think. I left my tray and walked away from the pavilion. On my way out, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that she was speaking on a handheld radio. She had also directed families away from the pavilion and on to other seating areas. As I walked onto the main walkway outside the restaurant, I saw a number of security officers approaching the pavilion. I didn't hear or see anything further about it. It appears that this was just a young man enjoying the park in his own way. Disney cast members/staff do an incredible job and are trained to watch for potential problems. And 99% of the time, these are just weird, awkward encounters with eccentric guests who are just doing their own thing. When dealing with the public, there are also going to be people with mental health issues. If they aren't violent, then it shouldn't be a problem. The difficulty is in knowing whether or not there will be a problem. It's the fear of the 1% that causes a chill. It made me appreciate the training that cast members do have. And that, as a park guest, I didn't have to make the choice to go to security. But, if the cast member hadn't been monitoring the situation, I know I would have. What would you do?

 

[AGoofykindagirl]

Did not happen at Disney, but a few years before 9-11-01 (but after the OklahomaCity bombing), Mom and I were at our local mall. It was Christmas and one area had a giant Teddy bear and someone could sit inside a "gift" and be able to control it and talk to the children (sorta like Crush). I was in a store, and Mom came and said we need to leave. As we walked away, she said a young man looked around, placed a backpack in the "gift", looked around again, then hurried away. I convinced her to stop in a store and ask them to call security. I don't think they found anything, but security did check the box. Point is, people need to not be afraid to ask someone to check something out. I was proud of my mom then, for thinking of children that could have been hurt. And happy to know you would have gone for security (or a CM to call them)!

 

[Oneanne]

I say trust your gut... and I would definately mention it to a cast member. As you mentioned, they are well trained to decide whether or not something of concern is going on.

 

[tsme]

That's kind of freaky. It would have made me very uneasy.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

I've found myself traveling solo to WDW on the past two or three trips and sometimes at meals catch myself people watching for lack of something better to do. One occasion still stands out. About a year and a half ago, I was in the Animal Kingdom park in early Nov and was having lunch at the Flame Tree BBQ (before the renovation). I was sitting in the pavilion near the duck pond/lily pond, just eating my lunch, when I noticed a young man, I'd estimate in his early 20s, dressed in off the rack fatigues from head to toe, complete with boots and camo hat. He was sitting at a table approx 20 ft from me and was behaving, well, awkwardly. He had no food or drink. He would alternate between rooting in his camo pack, searching through the pockets on his pants and vest and standing up and sitting down. He once stood up, then tried to sit down abruptly, partially missed the seat and ended up crouching on the ground. He then got up and sat on his chair again. He then started to apply some kind of camo grease paint to his face. It was at restaurant opening, so early lunch time, and I was the only table near him. No other families or people near by. Once the face painting started, I really started to get concerned. Here's the deal: I often see people wearing Tilley hats and safari-style pocket vests in AK. It isn't my kind of fashion statement, but to each his/her own. Perhaps the AK vibe inspires their clothing choices. But the fatigues, boots & particularly face painting can set off alarm bells when I am in a large public area. I have family and friends in the military and reserves in Canada, and they just wouldn't dress or behave like that when off duty. Period. It just isn't done. So this was likely a civilian dressed in some kind of fatigues. Role playing? Fantasy playing? Personal fashion choice? Who knows? And getting into the face paint. On the other hand, this could well have just been a young man going about his business, enjoying his vacation, in his own way. A strange way . . . to be sure. But at this point not causing any harm. And the key thought for me was . . . at this point. When I saw the face paint start to go on, I decided I'd had enough lunch and was ready to go. But, I thought, should I find security? Should I point this out? In the end, I didn't have to. As I started to get up with my tray, I noticed a cast member busing tables at the other end of the pavilion. She had her eyes locked right on him. Then she looked right at me. I got the message. I think. I left my tray and walked away from the pavilion. On my way out, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that she was speaking on a handheld radio. She had also directed families away from the pavilion and on to other seating areas. As I walked onto the main walkway outside the restaurant, I saw a number of security officers approaching the pavilion. I didn't hear or see anything further about it. It appears that this was just a young man enjoying the park in his own way. Disney cast members/staff do an incredible job and are trained to watch for potential problems. And 99% of the time, these are just weird, awkward encounters with eccentric guests who are just doing their own thing. When dealing with the public, there are also going to be people with mental health issues. If they aren't violent, then it shouldn't be a problem. The difficulty is in knowing whether or not there will be a problem. It's the fear of the 1% that causes a chill. It made me appreciate the training that cast members do have. And that, as a park guest, I didn't have to make the choice to go to security. But, if the cast member hadn't been monitoring the situation, I know I would have. What would you do?

We had a similar moment in January 2014. Just spooked us - everything was fine - I think we're all more security aware nowadays

 

[maryj11]

That would of scared me knowing what he would do next. Who knows he could of been mentally unstable and start killing people.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

I would have most certainly reported it to someone. You just can't tell about people these days.