Upon entering Disney’s Hollywood Studio, “Joe” searched my backpack. There were three pockets in the front of the pack and several on either side. Joe didn’t open any of the pockets to examine any of their contents. Not good. This time of year the Disney entertainment industrial complex is wall-to-wall with shvitzing tourists, jammed in a huge confusing space with multiple choke points and no clearly marked exits. If a terrorist somehow smuggled explosives or firearms into the House of the Mouse and attacked Walt’s “guests” it would be a very bad thing indeed. Saying that . . .
I’m sure the Disney complex is under constant video surveillance, and that the people discreetly monitoring Disney’s customers know exactly what to look for in terms of lethal threats. (Disney’s staff training is generally superb.) I’d like to believe that the Disney Corporation has armed, highly trained security guards – hopefully including its own SWAT team – ready to emerge from the park’s underground tunnels and hidden bunkers to take care of business, should worst come to worst. Still, I don’t think it’s enough.
Ideally, Disney’s guests should have to go through the same security procedures that airline passengers endure before they board their flights: ID checks, metal and explosives detectors and x-ray bag exams. The park should also have clearly marked exits and posted evacuation routes. Easily identifiable security guards should patrol the park, as both a deterrent and a go-to resource for tourists who see something suspicious. The guards should be openly armed.
Garshk! as Goofy might say. That’ll scare everyone! Which is why you’ll never see openly armed guards at Disneyland – unless and until the unthinkable happens. And maybe not even then. Disneyworld depends on, is built on, Condition White. That blissful state of mind where people believe there is no danger whatsoever. The boats won’t sink. The food won’t poison you. The rides won’t kill you. The characters won’t attack you. Your kids won’t get lost. And you won’t die of heat prostration (though it certainly feels like it this time of year).
“I don’t want the public to see the world they live in while they’re in the Park,” Walt Disney once said. If any idea real-world dangers manage to pierce the veil, attendance falls. As it did after 9/11. If something bad happens in a park, as it sometimes does, Disney goes to great lengths to keep the incident on the DL. The Great and Powerful Oz running the seemingly seamless show must never be revealed as Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs from Omaha, Nebraska. If you know what I mean.
To maintain the illusion that the park is a place where nothing bad ever happens, the company deliberately positions Walt Disney as, well, God. To that end, the park now has posters with inspirational quotes from Uncle Walt. As you can imagine, none of these Disney commandments say “see something, say something” or “check your six” or “the answer to criminal aggression is retaliation.” It’s all about dreaming and doing and working together for a common goal through inevitable failures, without losing enthusiasm.
And that’s great. But I reckon it’s time for America to wake-up from its wonderful womb-like state of complacency, symbolized and personified by Walt Disney’s entertainment empire. While the terrorist threat is statistically insignificant, there’s nothing insignificant about the Islamofascists’ desire to drench itself in American blood. As 9/11 proved, we can no longer afford to believe that we are safe because Uncle Sam or Uncle Walt takes care of us. That’s a dangerous, elaborate illusion.
But one with infinite appeal. Who wouldn’t want to live – or at least visit – The Happiest Place on Earth? It reminds me of the Assassin’s oasis [via wikipedia.org]:
The tales of the fida’is ’ training collected from anti-Ismaili historians and orientalist writers were compounded and compiled in Marco Polo’s account, in which he described a “secret garden of paradise”. After being drugged, the Ismaili devotees were said to be taken to a paradise-like garden filled with attractive young maidens and beautiful plants in which these fida’is would awaken. Here, they were told by an “old” man that they were witnessing their place in Paradise and that should they wish to return to this garden permanently, they must serve the Nizari cause.
So maybe Disney World’s narcotic effect isn’t all bad, what with Walt’s distinctly American admonitions sinking into impressionable minds. Not to mention the fact that his utopian vision is based on the animator’s faith-based Republican belief system. Maybe the illusion refreshes our spirits and renews our faith in The American Way, so we can return to and cope with a world that’s not so nice. Even so, I wish I could have enjoyed Disneyworld with a gun in my pocket, just in case. Is that wrong?
Disney provides and creates a fantasy. Not allowing firearms fits this plan. Given this, Disney needs to protect its guests second to none. The reality is they do not, and maybe they can’t, so the feeling of wanting to protect one’s self is rational.
Oz~pinhead
Well RF I avoid crowded places where I am unarmed. That’s just me but at over 60 and crappy knees I can’t run away…
I’ve carried at Disney.
Really? How? Asking only because I’m about to go and was wondering if I could sneak a “mouse gun” in. Perhaps tucked near my “family jewels”, or taped to my thigh. Go to bathroom and remove and place in pocket? Very interested in knowing how you did it.
Google it. It’s already well documented.
They don’t frisk you. If you have no bags, go right through. I did not carry, but (assume) I could easily could have.
mouse gun… I see what you did there.
Glad someone caught that joke.
No need to go to all that trouble. I carry a SIG P238 (which some would call a mouse gun, idc) in a Crossbreed SuperTuck, same as I do every other day.
Than maybe my thought that Disney had those secret squirrel type imaging devices that can pick out concealed firearms is an assumption lacking any real world evidence.
Is the tech out there? Yes. Is Disney using it? It doesn’t appear so.
“Is the tech out there? Yes. Is Disney using it? It doesn’t appear so.”
Yet.
‘Big Mouse’ sure has the resources to do exactly that if they wanted to.
And if a terror incident happened in their park, watch how fast they whip something up.
And being Disney, you’ll never know it’s there until several very polite well-dressed people with nametags discreetly escort you to a secondary screening location.
All hail ‘Big Mouse’.
I haven’t carried a firearm there, but I’ve walked pocket knives right through security. It’s more theatre than effective search. There’s no pat downs, no metal detectors, and they won’t ask you to turn out your pockets. If you’ve got a bag they’ll ask to take a peek inside it, and they may ask you to take your jacket off, but they won’t take more than 30 seconds. I don’t think it would be particularly difficult to sneak just about anything you could want in, presuming you kept it decently concealed on your body.
Honestly their searches are less about guns and more about not sneaking outside food/drink/booze in.
Like most theme parks I’ve been to, they’re far more worried about glass than anything else – unless you have a blatantly HUGE collection of knives or guns.
Anyway, I could pocket carry into Disneyworld w/o issue, or the NHMS or a boatload of other places.
Six flags, that’s the place I don’t really favor visiting – they DO have TSA like security. IE, no guns, but bombs could sneak through no trouble. Again, they’re checking bags mostly for glass.
I’ve been stopped very politely by Disney security at the gate while carrying a SHTF Gear holster with nothing in it! I removed my PT 111 G2 when we parked. There was no way they could have seen the empty holster visually but yet they caught it. They told me that they have no problem with CC up to the gate but you must check it in before entering the park, which is a surprisingly quick procedure and gets you through the line faster. When I asked how they saw the holster they cryptically replied that they have their ways. Personally I believe that they do use body scanners.
LC-9 in a Viridian pocket holster with a spare mag. As noted, there are no pat-downs. I disagree with RF on trying to secure a huge theme park in the same manner as an airport, though: too big a task IMHO.
“secured as an airport”. So 99% meaningless theater. No substance.
Don’t finance the damn mouse.
“…Ideally, Disney’s guests should have to go through the same security procedures that airline passengers endure before they board their flights: ID checks, metal and explosives detectors and x-ray bag exams…”
Your definition of the word “ideally” must differ from mine.
Agree completely Hannibal – is a) a massive intrusion on personal privacy & b) worthless – judging by the recent story where TSA had a 90% failure rate of detecting weapons in an exercise.
Completely agree Hannibal & Chris.
I had to reread that sentence that started, “Ideally . . .” several times. Then ask myself WTF, several times. Let’s all go give the nanny state a big hug and invite it over to the corporate world so we can ‘feel’ safe. (*face palm*)
Ideally meaning IF they have a no guns for customers policy. Ideally, they wouldn’t have that policy.
Generally speaking, I observe private property owners’ gun rules. There are exceptions, but OPSEC.
Exactly, Robert. As long as they are going to have a cursory, illusory system of gun exclusion, keeping good-guy guns out of the park, they had better darn well be doing everything they can to keep bad-guy guns out! I understood what the article meant by, “Idealy…”.
Even so, the security procedures outlined are not ones that I would ever trust to keep a gun out, so it’s hardly ideal under even that scenario. The only way to do it is a physical search of a person or very thorough- and potentially invasive- frisk. I’ve never seen a proper one done outside of law enforcement circles or occasionally very well-trained bodyguards. Don’t get me started on the TSA…
I don’t even think airline passengers should be subjected to that crap.
Disney’s sole interest in searching individuals or their bags pertains to enforcing their ban on outside food in the park. That’s it. It’s the same ploy the movie theaters attempted, to zero success, after 9-11. We all know they’re just trying to keep contraband candy out, yet they declared with a straight face that it’s about anti-terrorism, not pro-concession standism.
Seriously, as though some high school sophomore tearing tickets at the door is really going to go mano-a-mano with Abdullah & Co. dead set on committing acts of terror at the local cineplex.
“Disney” is just a corporation, comprised of inanimate physical and intangible assets, and a labor force. None of which gives one rat’s rear end about you or your family’s security and safety, except as it impacts their pay. You show up, you accept the risk. That applies to terrorists, spree killers, stalker exes, as well as rides with shaky maintenance schedules and meals from questionable kitchens.
That is not true… Disney World does not enforce a no outside food rule at all! My family and I visit very often and we always bring food and drinks with us, they check our bags see the food and often in a joking way ask if they can have some.
Everything is political.
One man’s idea of ideal is carry-everywhere; another woman’s idea is GFZs everywhere.
So, let’s make her eat her own cooking. Let’s see now. If the holder of a venue declares a GFZ shouldn’t he be obliged to guarantee it? Come on, Walt o’l boy, you declare the Magic Kingdom a GFZ; let’s be perfectly clear about this: It’s just a fantasy! Right Walt?
Oh, the GFZ part is NOT just a fantasy? Well, then, how does it really work? We see how guests’ bags are searched, to say nothing of a pat-down or magnetometer passage. We’ve actually heard reports of folks who have carried in your park. So, we are convinced it’s a fantasy; Say it ain’t so, Walt!
A carefully orchestrated campaign directed at Disney ought to achieve a response:
– they incur the expense of substantive security which they have to discuss in public lest we carry on with the campaign; or,
– they cave and take-down the pretense of maintaining a GFZ.
I can’t think of a better target than Disney. EVERYBODY goes to Disney. Probably people Google Disney + security. We could probably keep up a campaign forever that would have national impact vs. a single target.
Can they ignore us forever? Or, do they have to take one or the other of the two alternatives? Once they take an alternative we can take the position that Disney did X (e.g., installed their own police force). So, that’s society’s standard. If other amusement parks, malls, auditoriums, restaurants want to maintain the pretense of GFZs then they open their checkbooks and meet the standard established by Disney.
Great pretext for insurance companies to raise the premiums for business insurance policies.
What’s the low-cost alternative? Remove the GFZ signs? Is it reasonable to operate a business without maintaining armed guards, magnetometers, etc.? Probably so. Is it reasonable to advertise your premises as GFZ while doing nothing to ensure that nobody brings a gun onto your premises?
Probably a long slow grind; but, Disney looks like the place to start. Then work-our-way down through the chain stores until we get to the local mom & pop business. Along the way, the public debate will be a continuing reminder to the public to question the efficacy of GFZ signage.
There are no GFZ signs at Disney. There are few if any signs that say “no” to anything. Saying “no” is not Disney. The signs don’t say “No Admittance,” they say “Cast Members Only.” They don’t say “Do Not Enter,” they say “Please Use Other Door.” See?
Their weapons policies are available on their websites, and the fine print on the back of the ticket says you agree to abide by the policies as listed on their websites, but you won’t see a sign at the gate.
We were annual passholders for a few years and still occasionally go back. I always had the same concerns and the subconscious feeling that the clock is always ticking toward an “incident.” If you’ve ever tried to leave at closing time, you know the one-way in, one-way-out setup of all theme parks is a huge problem. It takes over an hour, shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other potential “victims,” just to get to your car from the Magic Kingdom even when people aren’t stampeding in terror. Being a repeat customer, over the years I have quietly made note of every door and gate that says “Cast Members Only” hoping they might lead somewhere safe and away from the crowds if that need arises. Epcot does have a “back door” available to the public that few know about.
At another amusement park in the northeast, they were wanding and patting down people to search for weapons at the entrance. The only flaw in that plan was that they asked everyone to remove keys from pockets and hold it in the air; I put my keys and knife in my left hand and held them in my fist while they wanded/patted me down, then I walked right in.
I suspect someone with a NAA .22 mini-revolver could probably have done likewise.
“Even so, I wish I could have enjoyed Disneyworld with a gun in my pocket, just in case.”
And so, why didn’t you? I carry at Disney, because I carry. Destination matters not. I live in Orlando, I’m on Disney property (not always in the parks) at minimum twice a month, and sometimes several days in a row. I’m never not carrying when I’m there, because I’m pretty much never not carrying anywhere.
So, why didn’t you have your gun on you?
Matt,
I may have been to Disney World recently. I may have had a full-size Smith and Wesson M&P40 semi-automatic pistol with a 15 round magazine plus two additional spare magazines for self-defense. I may have even been wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt and carrying a small backpack.
Regardless of what may or may not have transpired recently, I will say with absolutely certainty that I have never alarmed nor harmed anyone in an amusement park and I have never had an amusement park tell me to leave or lock anything up in a locker or outside of a park.
It is apparent that Disney is a first-class organization. I get the distinct sense that they leave people alone who conduct themselves first-class in their parks … regardless of whether or not they may have “contraband”. Be classy and you will be fine.
RF doesn’t live in FL. If he flew to Disney, forget about carrying. Does FL have carry reciprocity with every state? CCing away from home is not always possible, though we all wish it was.
Florida has bi-directional permit reciprocity with Texas. Why would he forget about carrying if he flew? You can fly with firearms, you just have to know the rules. It’s not even hard.
You folks are lucky. Try it out of Logan in Boston. Plus MA has zero reciprocity with anyone. This place blows and I’m just counting down the years ’til retirement so I can move.
Not sure why I can’t reply to the comment by Rad Man, but I fly out of Logan with firearms nearly every time I fly, and I’ve certainly flown to FL (I have a FL nonresident permit) to Orlando and back to Logan/Boston. Logan Airport is actually easier than other airports I’ve experienced when flying with firearms.
The MA permit is recognized by 21 states, even though MA does not recognize permits from other states. I also have a nonresident NH, ME, and FL permit. All were easy to acquire and I can legally carry in more than 35 states (I think it’s actually 37).
Not only can you pack a gun on a flight, you’ll get express service.
A travel photographer I follow online wrote about flying with his gun. He said that he would just grab the nearest person and ask (as if he didn’t know) how to go about checking in with a firearm. He got escorted to the front of the check-in line, first to board the plane and first to get his luggage returned.
*Of course the gun has to be legal to possess at the origination and at the destination. CCW permits don’t really matter when it comes to flying because your gun will be in a locked box from start to finish.
“I’m on Disney property (not always in the parks) at minimum twice a month, and sometimes several days in a row. I’m never not carrying when I’m there, because I’m pretty much never not carrying anywhere.”
Curious, Matt, are you there as joe-sixpack paying citizen or as a contractor of some sort?
IE, in the front gate or in an employee entrance of some sort.
Annual passholder, with friends that love Disney. I have one friend who grew up here and now lives out of state, and he likes to just go down and walk around the hotels and see what’s new and different since last time. I like it, but on some days, especially Florida summer hot days, I’d be just as happy somewhere else. I go because they do.
Matt, you’re are a better friend than me. LOL
I stay away from any theme parks between May and October. If my friends or family want to go, I’ll gladly give them a ride back & forth but they’re on their own at the park. 😉
Disneyland is one of my favorite places, about 45 minute drive from my home. Spent many days taking the kiddoes there as they grew up. I’ve always carried a knife in my pocket as well as a flashlight. About 4 years ago as I walked in, “Dave from Pacoima” or “Jan from Modesto” looked in my pack and wished us a happy day. 10 feet past the “security” tables a young, and by young I mean mid 20’s, and very pretty woman walked up and smiled at me and said “excuse me!” She showed me a badge of some sort ( sorry- did I mention she was VERY pretty?) and said she was with Disney Security and I couldn’t bring my knife into the park. It took a pretty sharp eye to spot the third of a clip not covered by my T-shirt in my cargo shorts pocket. I showed her it was a multitool, she was pretty adamant. I pointed out that we had just got there ( with a 10 and 12 year old in tow) and the car was all the way back across the other side of the park. She relented and made me promise to leave it in a locker for the day and flashed a devastating smile at me and let us proceeed. ( REALLY PRETTY )
You know what? I put it in the locker. I was convinced she’d show up at some point and check and I didn’t want to disappoint her in case there was any chance she had a thing for older single dads.
Since I’ve gotten my CCW I haven’t been to Disneyland. The prices have increased, the kids are too cool now to go and I’m on the fence about carrying there. On the one hand, I feel naked and weird without my firearm. On the other hand, the place is so damn crowded there’s no way you could get a defensive shot off without endangering about 430 people. The gripping hand is, if you get caught, Disney will ban you for life, and THAT is a punishment that deters me.
“…if you get caught, Disney will ban you for life, and THAT is a punishment that deters me.”
That is incorrect, at least in Florida. If you are caught, they will politely ask you to take it to and leave it in your car, and they will most likely escort you as far as the front gate to ensure that happens. If you comply, no harm, no foul. You are welcome back into the park, sans mohaska. If you pitch a fit or cause a disturbance, that’s when you have a problem.
Just like most anywhere else in Florida, the issue is not in having the gun, it’s in insisting on remaining with the gun somewhere you’re not wanted. It’s trespassing.
According to CalGuns ( and I’m going to err on the side of their expertise this time ) Disneyland will most likely invoke Anaheim Police who will then contact your IA and lodge a complaint. The IA can revoke or not, depending on the stars, the moon, the prevailing wind and the price of donuts. This is California, after all, and they take a dim view of your rights, citizen.
You could be right. You could be wrong. Disneyland could be polite or they could drop the ban hammer. I don’t want to find out.
Disneyland, and Disneyworld are in two completely different environments when it comes to guns.
Florida is shall issue, and recognizes something like 30 different permits from out of state.
If either Orange and Osceola County Sheriffs contacted FDLE, unless a crime was committed the FDLE would tell them to file it in the circular file. Along with many of the other state’s that Florida recognizes.
Disney doesn’t want you to leave it in your vehicle. I’ve been told to go get mine out of my car and check it in. See my other comment.
I’m usually armed. But I was noticing the other day when I left our local grocery store that if I should every need to use a gun at that location there is no direction I can shoot without someone being in the background. Now the bullet will probably hit the ground before it gets to a lot of the background targets, but it could bounce. That makes me very concerned about using a gun there. Disney World would be the same problem. No matter where you point your gun, there well be someone behind the target. So your pistol might be good to show, but I would never want to pull the trigger. Even if my life, or my family were in danger, chances are good that some innocent will be hit. So I will let the Mickey Commandos take care of security. Just food for thought.
Bruce L.
Here are a couple thoughts for you regarding a spree killer or terrorist striking at an extremely crowded location.
While there may be masses of people in all directions at the onset of an attack, people will scatter and get down fairly quickly. Thus there is a decent chance that you will have a clear/safe shot at some point after the first few seconds. It is far better to wait 10 seconds and then stop an attacker versus letting the attacker operate unopposed for the several minutes it takes police to arrive and engage the attacker. And even if you mistakenly shoot a bystander in the process of stopping the attacker, such random shots are almost never fatal because they are random.
If one of my family members was unarmed at such an event and you were there, I would want you to do everything in your power to stop the attacker as soon as possible. I would gladly accept a random bullet wound on a family member versus a guaranteed dead family member/s.
Say, was that mid 20’s gal that came up to you, pretty? I think you forgot to mention!
She was a Rene Russo look alike. Rene Russo. I still have dreams…
RF,
Why would you go into a Disney location unarmed? They do not display “no firearms allowed” signs anywhere, do they?
Park staff may search bags, purses, and backpacks at the entrances … do they pat-down every person who enters? Do all of their armed security personnel (assuming that they have armed security personnel) pass a polygraph test every day (before their shift starts) where they promise they have no intention to harm anyone? Again, assuming that they have armed security personnel, is there always an armed security person within 20 feet of every person in the park? If the answer to any of those questions is “no”, then I want to be armed because Disney certainly is NOT going to prevent a motivated attacker from harming you.
I totally understand, appreciate, and support the Disney objective of providing a “magical” place where people can have a fantastic experience. That said, it is up to you and I to recognize that a lofty goal, no matter how wonderful and noble, is never going to stop a spree killer or terrorist. It is up to you and I to have the means, ability, and determination to protect ourselves.
I have carried at Disney World, though it has been several years since I have been there. Florida recognized my states license. I took the attitude that it is none of their business, if I am willing to schlep around two and a half pounds of gun plus ammo in that heat, it is my problem, not theirs.
How to carry into Disney.
First bring a fanny pack that will securely hold your gun through even the most violent movements.
Second, keep the gun on you holstered until you are in the park. Do not have any visible clips for knives or flashlights.
Third go to a restroom stall (no cameras allowed in the restroom), and put the gun in the fanny pack.
Go on and enjoy the happiest place on earth, while still having your gun on your. Yes the fanny pack is ugly, but they are pretty common at the parks in Orlando.
Now a comment on the articles, AFAIK Disney doesn’t have a SWAT team. In the past they have worked heavily with the local SWAT teams, and the Central Florida SWAT task force. And the one SWAT incident they had in the early 2000s was handled by a local SWAT team.
Places where crowded unarmed people gather would seem to be tempting to the members of the Religion of Peace. Still waiting for food courts at a shopping mall on Black Friday to have bombs in the trash cans go off at noon. Might be a morbid thought, but it would just be so easy for those lusting after 72 virgins.
Funny thing about that “Assassin’s oasis” extract from Wikipedia. Nowadays, the Nizari Ismaili are one branch of Islam (along with the Sufi, Druze and a few others) that I like, respect and trust.
I have concealed carried at WDW on more than one occasion. Concealed means concealed…
I am thankful that I have no reason to go there.
Obviously y’all are unaware of the Mickey Mouse Police Department that silently prowls & spies on visitors to all of Disney’s properties. Regular SWATT po-po’s and the NSA can’t hold a candle to the MMPD.
They’ll beat you up and escort you, in the most nicest/friendliest possible way, to the WD catacombs where they’ll question you for hours while making you listen to “It’s a Small World” theme repeatedly until you break.
I’m totally cereal. I’m Kaptain Krunch. 😉
Seeing that Disney is not only laying off American, it’s making them train their imported labor replacements, I have no plans on going to Disney again.
Disney capitulated on laying off those Tech workers.
Disney Has No Comment on the Recent Reversal of Layoffs
http://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/06/23/disney-has-no-comment-on-the-recent-reversal-of-layoffs/
‘Big Mouse’ hates bad press.
It’s hot, expensive, far away, full of lines, outdated rides, and elbow-to-elbow. I took my family there a couple of years ago. Once is enough.
I worked at Anaheim Disneyland for awhile. Cast members go through absolutely no security. You even have access to a locker, which means one could bring anything in, lock it up, go to work, then start shooting up the place on their lunch break. Guests could easily smuggle in weapons and go to town on the line at the carousel.
But none of this has ever happened! I understand that bad things COULD happen, but Disneyland is one of the very few places I would be more than willing to enter “Condition White.” A $79 ticket price is what will keep even 99.9% of Muslim Jihadis out, when they could just go hit the Mall of America or some softer (and cheaper) target. Disney has never had a shooting and I see no reason to believe it will happen soon.
$79?!? It’s been a while since you worked there. Try $99. With me and 2 kids over 9, that’s $297 PLUS another $17 parking. Add in food for three and a locker rental and you’re looking at close to $400 large for a day. For the sheer amount of people and crowds it’s just not worth it. Takes all day to get on 4 rides, 5 if we’re lucky.
Our days of Disneyland are long over, thanks.
Yeah, but, at that price the dirt bags stay away – it’s not like going to Six Flags for the day. Go to downtown disney and pray you don’t get knifed. Same magical place, different magical people.
Exactly, Johnny! You missed my point, Coffee. The high price is a barrier for riff-raff with evil intent.
I use a lot of local public transportation. The light-rail train system doesn’t really charge money and there are huge problems with riff-raff causing problems and committing crimes. The bus system, on the other hand, with a $2.50 ticket price, has never caused me a moment of concern.
A $100 ticket price for one, lone, bad guy will keep almost every lone bad-guy in the local mall or movie theater and NOT in DisneyLandWorld.
Damn right. I was there in May. It struck me how clean and well groomed everyone looked. Not to mention wealthy.. Then I remember how much it cost to get in.
I carry a knife and unclip it from my pocket going in. LE in the family carries in a backpack. Not exactly the same thing, but I will bet there are more armed people in Disneyland than you’d think.
I got your point. You are right about prices keeping the rif raff out, but the 9/11 hijackers bought tickets, and paid with their lives. Price is not a barrier to terrorism.
Went into Magic Kingdom in 2003 with my G36 and spare mag in my fanny pack. Security checked the two bags I carried ( kids were 4&9 at the time), but left my fanny pack alone.
Returning 5 years later for Animal Kingdom, I deemed I’d pressed my luck enough and left the G19 in the car trunk.
Sure enough, I was called back just past “bag inspection” by a Sheriff’s deputy and asked to surrender the fanny pack for inspection. He was obviously familiar with DeSantis’ packs, and yanked mine open to the empty holster.
I smiled and said, “No need to carry a gun at the Happiest Place on Earth !” He handed it back and bade me proceed.
I still had my knife and pepper spray in my pocket, which I’ve since carried twice in Universal Studios as well.
I was “disarmed” at Disneyland. I was in line ready to go inside the park when a cast member came up to me and told me to either take my knife back to my hotel or surrender it to her. Apparently somebody spotted the clip to my knife and complained. I said I would take it back to my hotel. I walked to the Monorail which was far enough away from her line of vision and entered the park via futuristic transportation………..with my knife.
That knife clip showing on your pocket is vewwy scawwy.
Just this past January S&W 642 in appendix holster. Nobody is going to risk a sexual harassment charge getting that close to your junk.
Yeah, their entrance security is a joke. I suppose they don’t deem the risk high enough to subject people to another 2-3 hours of waiting in line for security screening.
I dislike their no-carry policy (both firearms and mid-sized or larger knives), but I abide by them. They can ban you from the park for life pretty easily. Their recognition tech is pretty advanced for a commercial operation.
They have a lot of plain clothes security, but most of it is oriented to theft detection.
I frequent WDW often with my girlfriend, I would say they probably rely heavily on surveillance but mostly they profile for potential threats the way the police and homeland security should i.e. a mid 20’s blonde white guy wearing a polo probably isn’t public enemy #1 to disney security.
Btw RF, it was a security guard at Hollywood Studios who commented that he liked my NRA convention T-shirt that I wore on national civilian disarmament day in June. He also informed me that he was a life member and he didn’t bother to ask if I was carrying or not knowing my NRA affiliation.
I boycott Disney considering they laid off lots of people and made them train people from out of Country to do their jobs on contract or loose there severance.
So it does not matter to me if they ban weapons or not- Disney world/land should be shut down.
So I consider anyone that knows this and still spends their Money there as trash and un American.
Well, at least I don’t have to wonder how you feel about me.
“I boycott Disney considering they laid off lots of people and made them train people from out of Country to do their jobs on contract or loose there severance.”
‘Big Mouse’ backed off on that IT layoff.
http://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/06/23/disney-has-no-comment-on-the-recent-reversal-of-layoffs/
Thanks for the update on that.
And no I don’t pull punches when it comes to Americans jobs over immigrants legal or illegal .
If they are legal immigrants then they ARE Americans, or at least nearly so.
Wife and I went to Disney to watch my daughter’s school band participate in a competition. Me, shorts and t-shirt with a Spyderco in my pocket and G19 in a supertuck in my waistband. The Mrs. has shorts and t-shirt with a purse that is barely big enough for her drivers license and cell phone. She has to go trough the “bag search” line while scan my ticket and and walk in with a nod and a smile.
I’ve carried at Disney also. Its easy. Just put your mousegun in your pocket and put your cell phone over it and walk in. Done.
But seriously, I’ve also not carried at Disney. Why? Because its about risk and reward. Its a pain in the ass to fly with a gun. Even with a FL carry permit. We normally go carry on, and bringing a gun to the land of sun forces me to check a bag. I don’t like that. Also, securing the gun while I’m at the pool is a big pain in the ass.
I have not bothered to carry at Disney the last two times I’ve gone after I investigated the frewquency of violence at Disney.
And let me tell you, Fantasy IS REALITY. There is startlingly little violence at Disney. In fact, there has only been one gun incident at Disney World and all the guy ended up doing was killing himself with a shotgun. Think about that. ONE incident.
Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t be able to defend yourself. But in my mind, I weighed the risk and reward associated with carrying and not carrying and decided against it. Disney IS incredibly safe.
Don
Hugely paranoid. The greatest terrorism threat to mainland US citizens isn’t “Islamofascists” it’s good old conservative ammosexuals. T-baggers, white supremacists, that sort of garbage.
Keep talking, boy….keep talking.
Tom
I hear static.. Call the cable guy.
The fascisexual has spoken. All hail the fascisexual.
“(Disney’s staff training is generally superb.)”
Yeah…about that….
Disney (florida) recently imported several hundred H1b workers from India, then forced their American counterparts, whose jobs they were taking, to train them in order to receive their severance pay.
The Americans were then fired.
Disney then repeated the process in California.
It will be a cold, snowy day in hell when that corporation gets one nickel of my money.
“Disney (florida) recently imported several hundred H1b workers from India, then forced their American counterparts, whose jobs they were taking, to train them in order to receive their severance pay.
The Americans were then fired.”
WRONG.
‘Big Mouse’ had a change of heart. (And likely a sh!t-load of bad press)
http://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/06/23/disney-has-no-comment-on-the-recent-reversal-of-layoffs/
Geoff, thank you for the correction. I hadn’t seen the reversal and am remiss for not checking more thoroughly before posting.
When we lived in Florida and went to Universal and Disney on a regular basis, I always got a kick out of how they would search my wife’s tiny purse, while I walked in with a knife (could have carried a gun, but a lot of the rides make carrying challenging). I only got stopped once at Disney, and the security guard politely asked me to conceal the clip of the knife while I was in the park.
I also didn’t carry because there are no backstops in those parks. Even most of the boulders are fiberglass over chicken wire.
Won’t happen, short of a major incident. Can you imagine the lost revenue from 1. the cost 2. Patrons refusing to visit due to the bad PR of said incident and 3. Patrons refusing to attend due to the violations currently experienced by the TSA.
I will agree, that place is a tragedy waiting to happen, but until it does, nobody will see the horror that could unfold. Confusing layout, more choke points than you can shake a stick at, and not much visible security. I am sure there are quite a few guys in the tunnels under the park that are on standby for such a situation, but Disney isn’t telling.
The underlying issue at hand is simply security theatre. Like convertibles with door locks, what’s the point. One is no more secure, or in danger, at a Disney park then they would be sitting at the departure gate in any town USA airport. TSA only inhibits the willing and not the determined. Theme parks the same thing. A determined mind will find a way to do whatever it is they desire, and no one, and no law or rule, will stop them. The only indefatigable truth is that it takes a good guy…
I’ve carried in Disneyworld a dozen times.
If they have a policy, it’s not clearly posted at all entrances etc.
Concealed is concealed and they don’t do pat-downs or metal detectors. Good 2 Go.
Disney has turned into just another money-grubbing corporation if you ask me. They just fired all their American IT people, but had the audacity to make them train their Indian replacements, before being shown the door. I’d be willing to bet that there will be more accidental deaths there in the near future too, because of it.
I imagine if you are rich and can afford their “cut to the head of the line” pass, you’ll enjoy Disney a whole lot better than the average tourist. But it is the average tourist that provides them their operating income, and they are insulting and alienating their customer base by doing that. Another bad business decision. All paying customers should be treated equally.
If you read between the lines, Disney is saying that they do not like you, the average American tourist. If you look around, I’m sure there are other places you could go that would appreciate your business.
2 years ago I didn’t get 10 yards inside the park on our first day before a very nice, plain clothes security officer approached me and ask what was in my right cargo pocket. I had an EDC 3″ Benchmade knife. He offered me a 50 cent locker or return it to truck. I suspect they are a little more secure than the appearance seems.
It seems they’re sharp to spot belt clips because they saw the clip of my flashlight in Disneyland. I put it in the little pocket on my jeans where I usually have my knife. My knife was in my pocket and no one noticed.
If they are using some kind of recognition device like a body scan, like some people have suggested, it would be illegal, no? 4th amendment violation at least. It would be a sh*tstorm of bad press if something like that came out.
So, funny thing happened when we went to #Epcot #Disneyworld.
After they searched my purse and took my mace (and rightfully so), we proceeded to the line to get in. They then pulled my hubby out of the line to go through the metal detector and get frisked. Of course he was annoyed, but he then noticed that every single person that was being pulled off the line was white. Of course I thought he was exaggerating and being dramatic. So we stood there for about 20 minutes and sure enough, watched all white people being pulled off the line! Black people, Muslims, Spanish, Asian, not ONE of them were frisked. It was completely bizarre!!! I just had to take photos and I have plenty more.
We did the same thing when we were leaving that night and saw the same thing. Once after another, 100% of the people that were being pulled off the line were white. My hubby approached the officers and asked them about it and they told him that he was “preventing them from doing their job”. We left. I wonder what #WDW policy is and why that was happening.
Christian, Republican with wife and child here. We LOVE Disney World, have been many times, and stay on property typically at Yacht or Beach Clubs. I think everything about the place is great and would love for America to embrace Walt’s utopian vision. I think we need more conservatism and family-oriented culture in America.
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