Showing posts with label Explosion in Toontown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Explosion in Toontown. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Security at Disney Parks

Security At Disney Parks


You may think security is over strict at Disney Parks. I feel safe at Disney Parks and trust security to respond as needed. That said let me tell you what happened Tuesday, May 5th at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World.
Disneyland had a small explosion in Toontown. Someone put dry ice in a plastic bottle and set it in a trash can. No injury or damage in the incident but Toontown was evacuated in an abundance of caution for several hours.
At WDW’s Animal Kingdom a grandmother found a loaded gun on the seat of the Dino ride. She turned the loaded weapon in immediately. It seems the owner of the gun had been carrying it in his back pocket and it fell out on the bumpy ride. The owner of the gun stated he thought bag checks were for explosives and did not know guns were not allowed in the parks.
With those two incidents Disney will most likely take a closer look at security and make some changes. While some may complain about bag checks I honestly do not mind them as they are now. Disney is relaxed on what you can bring in. Other parks do not allow bottled/canned drinks or food in. Disney has allowed food and drink so far. You could bring a thermos of something to eat or drink but that might change because of the dry ice bomb. They could even say no bottled drinks from outside are allowed eliminating the possibility of someone trying to pass off dry ice in a bottle as a frozen drink. I hope this does not happen as I take my drinks into the park with me to save money.
Bag checks may become more aggressive and invasive. They may start looking for lumps in pockets and folds of clothing possibly doing pat downs. I hope not.
I have been told that at Disneyland Paris you have to go through metal detectors to go into the parks. We may end up with that happening here. I know at some other amusement parks local to me already have them. Those parks also have problems with gangs fighting in the parks.
Once again the actions of a few are affecting the freedoms and fun of the general public.
So how can we the guests help?
1.      Know and follow the rules. Make your children follow the rules.
2.      Do NOT bring in prohibited items such as weapons, explosives and drugs.
3.      Listen when a Cast Member gives directions for your safety. Follow the directions, especially those of Security.
4.      Do not leave items unattended.
(Security Personnel are pulled away from other tasks to check it leaving gaps in security.)
5.      Place trash IN trashcans and do not toss it on the ground.
(Is that a bottle of frozen water or a dry ice bomb that was just left on the ground? Just like #3 Security may need to check.)
6.      Be aware of what is going on around you.
7.      Report suspicious people and items immediately.
8.      Turn in any dangerous item found to the nearest Cast Member.
(Best option is to not touch it but stand guard over it until a Cast Member can come.)

Links to the original news story sources:

Dry Ice Bomb:
Gun Found in Animal Kingdom:

Improvised Explosive Made of Dry Ice Explodes in Toontown

Improvised Explosive Made of Dry Ice Explodes in Toontown



               An improvised Explosive Device made with Dry Ice exploded in or on a trashcan in Toontown. This caused the evacuation of Toontown. Thankfully there were no injuries and it appears that the damage was confined to a trashcan.
While this just happened and information is still forthcoming I had a thought about what might have happened. Right now is Grad Night Season. While the date of the incident is not a Grad Night it is the day before. Some schools come a long distance will actually have multi-day passes for their students.
This year there have been more issues with the Graduates. It seems that almost every Grad Night/Day several rides have to be closed due to damage caused by the Graduates. They are tagging the rides. I know that Haunted Mansion, Monsters Inc., Toy Story Mania, and Muppets 3D were affected all in one day.
The last couple of years Disney has given the kids more time at Disneyland for Grad Night. Instead of just coming in at the closing and staying until the morning they come in all day and then can stay and play after the park closes until 3 AM. In my opinion this added time has just given them more time to get into trouble. They do not appreciate the extra time are getting. I think it is sad that a few bad kids mess it up for everybody. I think Disney may have to stop Grad Nights. Either schools will be banned for their students behavior or the whole thing ended.
I remember my Grad Night at Disneyland. It has been a rite of passage for DLR locals for generations. We got there late after the park closed, we had to dress up for the event. Boys had to wear slacks and a dress shirt and girls had to wear dresses or pantsuits. No jeans and T-shirts allowed! It was fun, it was magical, it was exhausting and it was a reward that I treasured for my hard work at school.
Today’s kids can dress as they want, they spend all day in the parks mixing with the regular guests and then stay late into the night. I do not believe the supervision is adequate and I believe they need to either go back to the old way of doing it with more supervision or cancel the entire event.

While some people may consider this behavior nothing more than a childish prank I think it is a dangerous act of terrorism. It could have caused more damage and seriously injured someone. Just think of the little children and families in the area. How do you think they felt when their day of fun was interrupted so rudely by the explosion? What about the fear it caused? Someone could have been hurt in the panic caused by this “joke”.

*****UPDATE 5/29/13*****

A Disneyland Cast Member was arrested for the dry ice bomb.