BAD BOYS BAD BOYS!! Undercover Security

[cjsull]

What an interesting thread! I just read all of it. We're going in Sept, and I'm wondering now if I'll see anyone. More likely, I'll be so in the bubble, or watching our three kids... I probably won't have the time to look!

(3) On a morning bus a lady got very upset that another guest had a leash/backpack on a small child. She demanded that the leash be removed. She claimed to be a Child Protective Services case worker and just wouldn't quit. She actually got very mean with the obvious single mother with a baby plus this toddler. When the bus got to the Magic Kingdom it pulled up to a different stop. Two cast members and an Orange County deputy were there. When they led the "case worker" off the bus the whole bus cheered. Then the bus pulled to the regular stop where the bus driver remarked better a child on a leash than on a milk carton.

All I have to say is, AMEN! She was being a smart mommy.

 

[jayandstacey]

Something similar happened to us on our recent trip. We were on a bus to EPCOT and some idiot driver cut off our bus, forcing the bus driver to slam on his brakes. A little girl sitting up front smacked her head against one of the poles. This was in no way the bis drivers fault, as a matter of fact, have to give him credit for his reaction time and managing not to hit the car. As soon as we got to EPCOT, the bus pulled over and we waited for a supervisor to come over. They a attended to the girl and there was some conversation in the front (we were in the back of the bus, so we couldn't hear everything that was going on). We were probably kept on the bus for about 10 minutes or so.

I dunno - I find this odd that the rest of the bus isn't 'allowed' to get off the bus. 10 minutes isn't much, I know that. And I bet that if a person asked to get off the bus, they'd let them.

But why keep everyone? I'd think Disney might be concerned in two ways:
1. Privacy of the injured person (HIPAA and all that) - what if in questioning, certain medical or personal things are overheard? What was the purpose of having the people stay on the bus to overhear those things?
2. Generally detaining guests against their will. No one boarded the bus to go to Epcot to then sit there.

I suppose that on #2, we'd all say "we're here to be detained! Detain us on Soarin, rock and roller coaster, etc!" But this is a bus.

Yes, I'm thinking about over-litigious people. And I understand it is private property. That is probably the source of Disney's rights here.

Anyway, interesting stuff. Big Brother is watching and will swoop in as needed

 

[Remmy]

What wonderful stories of security doing a great job!! Our family are grateful for such wonderful people doing a job.

For our last vacation, our GG had split up into smaller family units on one day. Our Aunt's family went to MK that day. Her DIL discovered she lost her purse while in Frontierland. She was very upset and beside herself. She then remembered she last had it in the Tomorrowland washroom, several hours before. She was so distraught the family decide to call it a day to go back to the resort to start cancelling what required cancelling. Our Aunt thought they should report it to the Lost and Found.

When she went in, and described the purse, behold it was found and turned in. It was all intact. They were dumbfounded. They asked who handed it in, if they knew, they wished to thank them. They were told a security person handed it in, and yes, it was in the Tomorrowland washroom. They were told it was immediately recovered. That story makes us all feel great, that someone had been watching and saw something was amiss. They asked them to thank the security person.

My second story, is from that same trip. My DH was waiting outside with our DS when he looked over and thought he saw a "baby" sitting/hanging weird in a stroller at MK. He went over and immediately tried to help the "baby" to be told not to touch it. He then noticed it was not a "baby" but a doll. Then he noticed the wire leading up to her ear. DH told her the "baby" looked like it was being strangled. She thanked him, repositioned the "baby" and blended quickly into the crowd. My DH has an amazing eye for details, and he said it was amazing how quickly she assimilated into the crowd, even though he knew what she looked like, what she was wearing and the stroller. They are very good at their jobs.

Once again, a huge thank you to the wonderful security person that found our cousin's purse and saved our vacation. As well, a big thank you to all the security people doing a wonderful job at keeping us safe while vacationing.

Remmy

 

[Eljay]

...My second story, is from that same trip. My DH was waiting outside with our DS when he looked over and thought he saw a "baby" sitting/hanging weird in a stroller at MK. He went over and immediately tried to help the "baby" to be told not to touch it. He then noticed it was not a "baby" but a doll. Then he noticed the wire leading up to her ear. DH told her the "baby" looked like it was being strangled. She thanked him, repositioned the "baby" and blended quickly into the crowd...
Remmy

So, security officers might actually be walking around with a doll in a stroller? Wow, excellent way to blend in.

 

[gometros]

I dunno - I find this odd that the rest of the bus isn't 'allowed' to get off the bus. 10 minutes isn't much, I know that. And I bet that if a person asked to get off the bus, they'd let them.

But why keep everyone? I'd think Disney might be concerned in two ways:
1. Privacy of the injured person (HIPAA and all that) - what if in questioning, certain medical or personal things are overheard? What was the purpose of having the people stay on the bus to overhear those things?
2. Generally detaining guests against their will. No one boarded the bus to go to Epcot to then sit there.

I suppose that on #2, we'd all say "we're here to be detained! Detain us on Soarin, rock and roller coaster, etc!" But this is a bus.

Yes, I'm thinking about over-litigious people. And I understand it is private property. That is probably the source of Disney's rights here.

Anyway, interesting stuff. Big Brother is watching and will swoop in as needed

I was curious too and almost tempted to stop by guest services to ask, but quite honestly we weren't in a hurry anyway and I was more impressed by how they attended to the little girl to be bothered by being retained a few minutes. I think the only thing that did bother me was there wasn't any communication from the bus driver to let us know that a) we would be delayed and b) we would have to stay on the bus. My feeling is that stuff happens and i don't mind as long as I am informed.

 

[jayandstacey]

I was curious too and almost tempted to stop by guest services to ask, but quite honestly we weren't in a hurry anyway and I was more impressed by how they attended to the little girl to be bothered by being retained a few minutes. I think the only thing that did bother me was there wasn't any communication from the bus driver to let us know that a) we would be delayed and b) we would have to stay on the bus. My feeling is that stuff happens and i don't mind as long as I am informed.

Yeah, but I suspect that's because Disney really doesn't want you to know you;re being detained. By informing you, they're 'admitting to it' and giving you the chance to think about it.

By not saying anything...first, it takes a minute or two to even realize you're being held. second, you're a part of the "solution" ( you think you're being held to help the situation) instead of a part of Disney getting a solid grip on their liability exposure.

I'm happy to be wrong here. And I like that Disney is over-the-top on these things. But I can't think of any other reason to be detained except that they want to see (and probably record on video) that each person is talking, walking and otherwise unable to sue Disney for the accident.

 

[AliceinMaryland]

One time in 2005-ish we were going down the ramp off the TTA. One kid, probably like 10 yrs old, in front of us decided to run down the ramp-- anyway, he couldn't stop running, ran straight into a pole with his head and left a pretty nasty dent in the pole. I wasn't there long enough to see anyone come over ( at least, I didn't notice anyone..) but the dent is still there to this day! I check every time.

This isn't Disney related but this story made me think of it. When my husband was a teenager he owned an old heavy, clunky, diesel mercedes. He had friends in his car and they were speeding on purpose trying to jump a train track. Well, they jumped it, flew in the air and when they landed it broke the steering column. My husband couldn't steer the car. He hit a street sign post on the corner of the street and dented it at the bottom. It is still the same street sign there today 18 yrs later and everytime we ride by it we laugh about how stupid he was!!!! It amazes me the things he did before he met me and that he lived to tell me about them!!! When I envision this, it looks something like Dukes of Hazard but in an expensive car and suburban kids instead of country folks and the general lee LOL!!

 

[AliceinMaryland]

Oh and everyone one of them was absolutely fine, no bruises or hospital visits thank goodness.

 

[minandmick]

Great thread! *bump*

 

[xbonnie38]

My husband and I were in MK in May of this year and we were sitting in front of the castle watching the move it shake it parade , it was low crowd so it was him and myself and maybe 5 people meandering around the circle looking at the statues. Well something must have been awry that day because out of nowhere two men showed up and one stood in the circle with a walkie and just watched us and the other kinda non chalantly followed me around as I took pics of the little statues there . I didnt think anything of it until we left that night and got off the boat at the ticket and transportation center , we were walking to the tram transport area and off to the side next to a building there were a couple security people and a guy with a sniffing dog checking things out area also roped off. It was then that I realized that upon walking around the park all day I did see more security people in uniforms and just kinda blew it off. Must be something put them on alert , and I am very very greatful for these people and Disney's on top of it attitude . There are way to many crazies in todays world. Kudos to the security team in the World!

 

[pampam]

bump

 

[FireRN]

During my senior trip one of my classmates pocketed a keychain when leaving what was then MGM. Upon leaving the store he was approached by a lady pushing a baby stroller and told to come with her. Per our HS policy he bought a first class ticket home the next day. Expensive keychain.

Opposite of this we were there just a week ago and my wife had placed a magnet photo frame on top of the stroller in AK while continuing to shop. She forgot all about and walked out of the store. She was some distance away when she looked down, became panicked and ran back to the store to pay for it. Glad I was on Dinosaur. Wouldn't want to be banned from Disney.

 

[SMorgan711]

Something similar happened to us on our recent trip. We were on a bus to EPCOT and some idiot driver cut off our bus, forcing the bus driver to slam on his brakes. A little girl sitting up front smacked her head against one of the poles. This was in no way the bis drivers fault, as a matter of fact, have to give him credit for his reaction time and managing not to hit the car. As soon as we got to EPCOT, the bus pulled over and we waited for a supervisor to come over. They a attended to the girl and there was some conversation in the front (we were in the back of the bus, so we couldn't hear everything that was going on). We were probably kept on the bus for about 10 minutes or so.

My parents and I were standing in the front of a bus leaving HS one night in 2008. There was a guy in front of my mom holding a child about 7 or 8 y/o. The child definitely could have stood no problem but he decided to hold her and not hold onto a railing or pay attention to what was happening. The bus driver started to pull out of the spot and the guy plus the child fell onto my mom who got pushed into that storage area thing. She screamed, more so out of shock than pain but the bus driver had to stop and have a supervisor come over and get our info and everything. My mom's hip hurt but it was just bruised, not broken. We just wanted to go back to the resort. We felt badly for everyone else on the bus because they were not allowed to leave. We got off the bus to talk to the supervisor and the issue was definitely not the bus driver's fault but that's just procedure I guess. The bus driver did give his account of what happened but after that, we kept telling them we could wait for another bus while we spoke to the supervisor but they wouldn't let us.

I understand that Disney is protecting themselves and that they have certain procedures to follow but we just felt badly that we were inconveniencing everyone else. Not like it was our fault because my mom didn't throw herself into something to intentionally hurt herself and it only took 10-15 minutes tops but we felt badly anyway. And the guy who was holding the child didn't even apologize to my mom or ask if she was okay.

 

[gometros]

Opposite of this we were there just a week ago and my wife had placed a magnet photo frame on top of the stroller in AK while continuing to shop. She forgot all about and walked out of the store. She was some distance away when she looked down, became panicked and ran back to the store to pay for it. Glad I was on Dinosaur. Wouldn't want to be banned from Disney.

I can relate to that. When my daughter was two, we were in Mickey's Starland and after coming out of the gift shop, I realized my daughter was holding a stuffed Minnie Mouse, which we did not pay for. How she got a hold of it while I was carrying her is beyond me. Since the doors were one-way, we had to wait for the next person to come out so that we could go back in an return it. I'd have hated for my daughter to get a record at so early and age.

 

[tyniknate]

love this thread.

 

[Jonesloonybin]

My husband and I were in MK in May of this year and we were sitting in front of the castle watching the move it shake it parade , it was low crowd so it was him and myself and maybe 5 people meandering around the circle looking at the statues. Well something must have been awry that day because out of nowhere two men showed up and one stood in the circle with a walkie and just watched us and the other kinda non chalantly followed me around as I took pics of the little statues there . I didnt think anything of it until we left that night and got off the boat at the ticket and transportation center , we were walking to the tram transport area and off to the side next to a building there were a couple security people and a guy with a sniffing dog checking things out area also roped off. It was then that I realized that upon walking around the park all day I did see more security people in uniforms and just kinda blew it off. Must be something put them on alert , and I am very very greatful for these people and Disney's on top of it attitude . There are way to many crazies in todays world. Kudos to the security team in the World!

When in May were you there? We were there at the beginning of May and I noticed an increase it security also. It was a day or two after the Bin Laden thing and figured that was why.

 

[weswife]

This is a great thread! Hats off to everyone keeping us safe!

My DH works in security and I find even when we are on vacation he still thinks he is on duty! He notices everything and then mentions it to me!

 

[crabbygal902]

When I was on the monorail in January, a group of mixed-age people (could have been a family) got into my car, looking nervous, like they were trying to get away with something. I'm a teacher, I know that look! A few moments later, a couple of young men dressed in touristy clothes boarded the monorail. And then they all disappeared before the doors shut. It all happened THAT fast. The group was just a few feet from me and I still didn't see what happened because I had looked down at my son for a second or two. It was very Twilight Zone-ish, but I figured Disney security was just doing their jobs.

 

[SDSorority]

We saw a guard with a dog come up the 'exit' of the MK Monorail. We didn't want to stick around to see who or what the dog was going to 'sniff' because we had more important things to do...aka... PotC to ride!!

We have also seen many undercover security guards at MK. They're VERY hard to spot, but sometimes you can see them watching people a little closer than the average tourist. And like pp's have said, you'll see them come and go in an instant. We have noticed them waiting for people to get off of rides, too.

I them.

 

[Phatoomch]

I haven't read the whole thread so sorry if this has already been posted ...

I watched a documentary some years back about the Imagineers of Disney - apparently Disney has undercover security that patrols the parks and goes on the rides to watch out for people who take photos of the animatronix etc so that outside companies can't steal their secrets.