Disney, Universal and SeaWorld install metal detectors for next season.

[upstop]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/12/17/disney-parks-seaworld-orlando-announce-new-security-measures.html

I wonder how long it will be before they return to CF parks?

[marth555]

I really like KIs easy entrance process but I feel like it wont last for too much longer

[CoastersRZ]

I am all for safety.  But I dislike metal detectors at parks.  People can still get stuff into the parks if they really wanted too.  And part of the problem, at least at Haunt at KI this past year, is they were using the hand held metal detectors and did not have enough staff manning them, so it took nearly thirty minutes of waiting in line just to get into the park.

[The Interpreter]

And the wait to get in the park is more important than guest and employee safety?

Please.

Paramount Parks had more front gate security every day with shorter waits to get in.

And that's reality.

It CAN be done. It's all in what management wants and will pay for and in what guests will and will not accept.

[shark6495]

The security check points are already in place. They check your bags before you go in, I'll guess at WDW these same locations will have the metal detectors

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[upstop]

My biggest concern is that metal detectors won't stop all things from coming into the parks. We all have to be vigilant and keep an eye on all suspicious characters.

I wonder just how far security could actually go carrying only pepper spray?

[RailRider]

Metal detectors will stop a lot more than not having metal detectors.  

 

Also this is very timely after the incident at Magic Kingdom a few days earlier this week.  

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-andrew-gerson-arrested-gun-disney-20151212-story.html

[The Interpreter]

A lawyer!

And claimed the bulge was his anatomy.

Sheesh!

[upstop]

Riddle - What is one lawyer at the bottom of the Seven Seas Lagoon?

Answer - A darn good start....

[The Interpreter]

What do you have against the fishies?

[Gabe]

If the Big 3 Orlando parks have installed metal detectors, I would hope the regional chains would follow suit.  In a related move, Disney has now stopped selling all toy guns, whether they be Disney-branded or otherwise, and has tweaked the costume policy in that no guests over 14 may wear them inside the parks, whether it be for a regular visit or a hard ticket event like the Very Merry Christmas Party and the Not So Scary Halloween Party. 

[The Interpreter]

Six Flags has had metal detectors and strict security for many, many years...as DID Paramount Parks.

[marth555]

No more Astroblaster bubble guns makes me sad

[IBEW_Sparky]

My biggest concern is that metal detectors won't stop all things from coming into the parks. We all have to be vigilant and keep an eye on all suspicious characters.

I wonder just how far security could actually go carrying only pepper spray?

Actually, that is the big mistake a TON of self-defenders and semi-trained Security Officers make.  A "suspicious character" is too blatant, it would be like parking a Ferrari in a parking lot full of Kias.  As a former LEO, and big proponent of vigilant citizen awareness and self-defense, I drill into peoples' heads to look for the person who ALMOST fits in.  The person who is actively attempting to get into a public place like a theme park isnt going to be walking up there with 2 Glocks in his/her waistband and a sawed off in his/her swimtrunk and towel bag.  And while Im a fan of the detectors, my problem with them as a whole is that, I happen to have a Stun Gun that... unless the detector's sensitivity is turned up to a point that the guests will not accept as Terpy alluded to..... I can go anywhere with it totally undetected due to very limited metal content.  Just food for thought.

 

EDIT:  In regards to your question of the effectiveness of Security armed with only pepper spray, it is what it is, a product designed to give the person utilizing it enough time to A) get out of the fight and to a safe place or B ) Give properly armed LEOs enough time to respond to the situation.

[The Interpreter]

Note that at Six Flags Great Adventure, for one example, the detectors are set so high that they once went off when a forgotten quarter was in a cargo pocket. Belts must be removed.

Parks near NYC and Philly take this far more seriously.

I hope this isn't one of those things where the horse must escape before the barn door is fixed.

[NoChickens]

  Permanently installed pass through metal detectors have a minimal impact on wait times. Sure, there will be the one person that fails to remove a belt, or the stray quarter. But in my experience it's the wands that really slow things down.

  Of note here as well, travelling litely greatly expedites the process, as every SIX park I've attended has a "no bag check" line available. Do actively avoid any line that has a baby stroller, with diaper bags and blankets draped over it ;-)

  The very minor inconvenience of removing my belt, and phone, keys, change....etc. and placing them in a tray that moves along a table top directly beside me is well worth the perception of safety it gives. I say perception because nothing is fool proof. 

  Also of note, SIX is very good at this process, training is obviously in place to be efficient, as well as vigil. 

[The Interpreter]

...as it once was at Paramount Parks, including Kings Island.

In the event of a, heaven forfend, tragedy, just think of all the money Cedar Fair HAD saved.

Then there are the delays and frustrated (perhaps never to return) guests during Haunt.

Penny wise, pound stupid!

[RollerNut]

Let me present this idea:

Would lumping thousands of visitors in a plaza outside of metal detectors not present a easy target for massive loss of life? Could it be that the parks also are interested in protecting infrastructure maybe more so than paying customers?

That said I prefer to have bag checks and walk through metal detectors.

[Sonofbeast2.0]

Well just coming back from a Florida vacation and going to Universal and Disney World, I can tell you security was HIGH!!! Disney World, bags were checked very through, security boats about 5 on stand by, by the ferry to Magic Kingdom, a security/police dog sniffing out a Disney World gift shop by Magic Kingdom Ticket and Transportation Center, police car sitting right by the entrance of the parking toll Plaza

Universal, bags check very through, wand bags checked and wand boxes opened, everyone was checked by metal detectors before going even into CityWalk, valet didn't have a metal detector but a security guard "wanding" everyone. Then Park security seen heavy throughout the park and same also goes for Disney World, with an occasional police officer seen at Disney World.

Security was up but id rather risk the higher "privacy invasion (as some may call it...)" than risk a slip up of something really bad getting in... Not that its impossible just gonna be a lot harder...

[The Interpreter]

Let me present this idea:

Would lumping thousands of visitors in a plaza outside of metal detectors not present a easy target for massive loss of life? Could it be that the parks also are interested in protecting infrastructure maybe more so than paying customers?

That said I prefer to have bag checks and walk through metal detectors.

If that's a major risk, CBS made things worse, and Cedar Fair hasn't changed that, by herding people outside the gate for too long (where they can't spend money) instead of clearing them through security and into a park where open shops and eateries let them spend and not come in nearly all at once as a potential unruly, riotous herd. See Fontaine Ferry for an example of what an unhappy bunch can do.