Former cop arrested for trying to bring gun into Magic Kingdom

Man, your typos are starting to have typos of their own. Did you disable autocorrect entirely?

I am not against a place of business conducting security checkpoints provided they do them correctly, take perimeter security seriously, have an adequate amount of armed security within the secured zone, and have security at employee/service entrances. Even though I have not made it to Orlando myself yet, I have very little doubt of the mouse police's abilities, capabilities, and resources.

Most regional amusement parks, do not have the expertise or resources to properly provide a secure environment. The problem I have with most regional parks' attempting gate security is they end up placing all of their resources at the gate, and neglect defending the patrons from an shooter that hopped the perimeter fence. Not to mention that most regional parks fail at front gate security anyway. The one time I was entering SF Great Adventure, there was a lady pushing a wheel chair containing another woman. The security directed for the wheelchair (with a gigantic bag hooked to the back of the chair) to be pushed through the metal detector, and then had the ambulatory woman go through the detector, and checked her small purse. Though I do not want security to bother presumably disabled people too much, the bag on the wheel chair was not checked, and was large enough to contain several carbines. This is not an isolated incident I have seen with regional amusement park security, and is why I believe it to only be theater at regional parks.

Back on subject, according to this article the guy was charged with two crimes. One was impersonating a police officer, and the other was related to the carrying of the firearm. Does anyone know which Florida gun law he is charged with violating? Please be more specific than the news article.

Vater said:
Man, your typos are starting to have typos of their own. Did you disable autocorrect entirely?

I recently reset my phone and it was indeed turned off, lol.

Tekwardo said:

You have no basis to say that other than your observation that it seems more intense to you.

Actually, I do have a basis beyond that. By now you probably know that I'm not just a passive industry observer, right? I know being vague like that isn't an argument, and that's fine. Unfortunately, context is something that, over the years, I've learned I can't always share.

Who and what you know is irrelevant. I'm not arguing that Disney stepped up their security for a reason.

But so has Cedar Fair and other parks since last year. Even Waldameer has armed security sanding people at the entrance that wasn't there last year.

See, I don't think it's just security theater. Noggin and others do. In fact, Noggin gave a scenario where he thinks what Dsney is doing IS security theater, depending on the circumstances of this particular incident.

They hadn't upped their security when the Pulse shooting happened, and yet what security they had in place was a deterrent. We don't know how many times that has deterred violence at regional parks.

I haven't been to Disney since the metal detectors went up (my last visit was a week before that), but there's no way the purpose of the bag check was simply to look inside bags.

Adequately trained security personnel are going to be able to spot something weird during that short interaction at the bag check or observing guests as they pass through other screenings. Remember the dude who tried to take a gun into MK back in December? They stopped him not by checking his bag, but by observing his behavior.

I know it's not saying much, but I'm ridiculously confident that WDW security is FAR more proficient at behavioral analysis and observation than the TSA.

Tekwardo said:

Even Waldameer has armed security sanding people at the entrance that wasn't there last year.

But is that to improve security or to present security theater?

They hadn't upped their security when the Pulse shooting happened, and yet what security they had in place was a deterrent.

Was it? The potential of being discovered clearly did not deter this fellow. I continue to hold the opinion that focused security forces are a better way to address potential security issues than assuming every person entering an enclosed space (amusement park, ballpark, museum, what have you) is a potential threat.

We don't know how many times that has deterred violence at regional parks.

And I return to my common concern: if TSA, fueled by billions of taxpayer dollars, manages to miss upwards of 90% of contraband items in tests its told about in advance, why should I expect low wage, costumed employees at regional park gates to be able to protect my safety?

Because setting the bar of anything using the TSA as a baseline is silly? :)

Another day, another thread turned into a security theater argument.

His wife said he didn't go in a shooting rampage at Disney because of the security, which tells me he felt that he couldn't do as much damage at Disney as opposed to a night club without that security.

I don't even think you're wrong in not trusting security at any park to keep you safe in all situations. I think that security in parks, Disney included, is used as a deterrent for certain types of violence. It also helps stop certain types of violence. Having said that, one of the most fully equipped militaries and security forces in the world hasn't stopped terrorism in this country but do you think our military and police forces are just theater because there are still terror attacks on US soil?

Not only that, but these types businesses have an obligation to their customers to give them a feeling that they are indeed safe at their parks. In that the amount of people that complain about 'security theater' are far less than those that don't, it seems to be fulfilling its purpose.

Granted, I think that speaks to the demands of those who feel safe with the security put in place to pacify them than it does to actual threats, but it's the world we live in. The media and certain government entities (and presidential candidates) would prefer everyone be on edge.

I remember the conversations on Facebook, particularly Gonch's about how people just let armed SWAT, police, and military in their homes to search for the Boston marathon bombers. It's not the fault of these business's that people are so willing to give up their rights outside and inside the parks that to make money they have to cater to those who want to feel safe.

Tekwardo said:

Having said that, one of the most fully equipped militaries and security forces in the world hasn't stopped terrorism in this country but do you think our military and police forces are just theater because there are still terror attacks on US soil?

I don't think that our military and police forces are just theater: I do think that costumed employees at amusement park entrances (and ballpark entrances, and museum entrances and so on) are theater; they're taking resources away from actually monitoring people who might be a threat.

All the while, concealed weapons are freely carried into Ohio Cedar Fair parks which offer no or occasional security screening. Eventually, one of those concealed weapons is going to go off on a ride.

But.. the Ohio parks DO screenings.

Have you not been paying any attention to this thread? Ki and CP both screen.

As does Wildwater Kingdom, which is especially odd - getting wanded while wearing swim trunks...

^ That last part sounds like clickbait... or a xxx title.

So noggin what information do you have that says they're taking away resources away from the 'real' security?

Here's a note:
I went to CP today, entered through the front gate and there was no security check, theatrical or otherwise. No wanding, no bag check. In all my visits so far this year I've yet to be checked. Maybe I just hit the right days or something.

I went to CP in early May and there weren't any checks at the front gate either. I was surprised to hear above that they are screening. Is that new this year?

Yeah, my visits to CP this year have only encountered screening maybe once. It seems to depend on the day, time of day, and even which gate you use.