I hate to mention this, but last night’s shooting in Thousand Oaks was a reminder to me about security at Disney. When I was looking at going in 2016, the Pulse nightclub shooting had just happened. It got me wondering about Disney security, so I starting looking into it. I had never heard of a shooting at Disney, but this guy had looked at targeting Disney.
So after I started looking into it, I found out a few things. Disney has some security measures that everyone can see - metal detectors at the gates, bag check, etc. They also have some that if you know what you are looking for you can see as well - plain clothes officers in the park looking for suspicious activity going on. Disney also has measures that people will not see. Apparently, the federal government has taken consulting from Disney on security. Disney is also one of the very few private, and maybe only private, companies to be a no fly zone. When I say private, I mean non-government entity.
Needless to say, Disney thrives on being the ultimate vacation spot to bring your family. If there was ever a successful attack in Disney, many people would be scared and attendance would suffer. Probably for years. I have heard that Disney World is actually one of the safest places in the country, and after looking into it, I would have to say I believe that.
I’m involved in our church security team, and we are on an on-going basis developing our security manual. It is sad we’ve come to such a point where such a thing is necessary, but we live in a fallen world, so it is what it is.
We had a couple of police officers come and do training with the security team members a few months back that was so incredibly helpful. What amazed me most was that not enough effort is being done to train people to appropriately respond. Everything they have been teaching in schools we now know to be the absolute WORST advice (“shelter in place”). We did some active shooter scenarios and it showed why. Anyhow, advice now (from ready.gov) is “Run, Hide, Fight”, and we were taught “ALICE”, which is “Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate”, which is a variation on that.
Anyhow, I’m glad that when at Disney, the gloves can come off a bit.
Please do not make blanket statements like this. This is not true for most schools. We have worked for years with our local and state police. Every time there has been an shooting incident in any public place we have met, planned, and made adjustments based on what the police have learned. I listened to what some of those people in that bar said saved them: they recognized right away what was going on and responded.
At schools, we do not talk about our protocols and procedures.We are very careful of the information we share. This is a thoughtful and planned response.
I am trained and will do whatever I need to save the children in my care. I am one of many.
As a blanket statement, “shelter in place” is the worst advice. It is the response schools have come up with because, for the most part, there hasn’t been enough awareness of alternatives, plus concern about legal implications.
But it still is the worst advice. Not that there isn’t a time and place for it…but it is last resort. Yet, most schools, this is all they are teaching.
The police officer walked through, as an example, the Virginia Tech shooting. Almost everyone who followed the “shelter in place” were shot and killed (even after neglecting the first classroom, which had no warning). But in the classrooms that used ALICE training, MOST survived. The kids who had ALICE training previously in their schools before coming to Virginia Tech ultimately saved dozens of lives as a result.
This isn’t to say we set kids loose. That isn’t the point. The point is that we have to approach training for these incidences in a completely different way and stop relying on “shelter in place”.
The police officers (who do this training for a living) pointed out that a vast majority of schools still teach “shelter in place”. Very few do not.
I just want to point out before this gets started that this thread wasn’t intended to be a political thread. It was meant to reassure people that may be a,little scared about going that Disney is actually a very safe place. There is a reason the Pulse nightclub shooter changed his target from Disney to the nightclub.
It wasn’t our state, but nationally, they were talking about. Fortunately things are changing.
But I wasn’t focused on the schools that aren’t teaching this, but the schools that are. If your children attend a school in this country, MOST LIKELY they are being taught “shelter in place”. If so, it is worth looking into.
Fortunately, there is a very recent shift going on, so hopefully we’ll start to see more and more schools shifting away from “shelter in place”. Again, these officers said that they don’t have enough hours in the day to do all the training they are asked to do, so clearly everyone is much more interested!
I am going to block this thread right now. I am glad you have reports from people. I live it every single day. I am the one that spends an hour with new teachers every year listening to gun shots so that they can recognize the sounds (or not question a sound- respond without thinking). Do you have any idea what that is like?
There is one national training for ALICE. Police and school administrators in my district are certified trainers. Every single staff member (over 900) are ALICE certified. Saying all that- we have learned lessons over the last few years. How we respond will not follow any specific training. I will never share what that looks like. I take the safety of the lives that depend on this not being public information very seriously, as would Disney or Universal.
It may not have been your intent but since I have worked so very hard for so many years to make sure the children and staff are safe- but also know the reality of what could happen - please do not assume you know what it is like in all or even most schools and districts.
I have to agree with PrincipalTinker on this one. I don’t know all the protocols for adults in my kids’ school, but I know that my kids have practiced hiding places in their classroom room, which are locked, as well as evacuation. The police and fire departments are involved. Our area has had multiple threats at schools last school year (luckily just some kids trying to get out of school), so my kids have had several code red drills.
And I agree that Disney seems to be doing a pretty good job of security. I’m glad they no longer have that mass of people in front of MK at opening.
I’m afraid you have completely mistaken this. People need to be informed. If you and your school(s) are doing this already, then none of it applies.
But for a vast majority, this isn’t the case.
Yep. Went through the training, actually. We were actually shot at, etc.
But we are on the same side here, so I don’t understand why you’re taking issue with what I’m saying. You are exactly the prime example of what SHOULD be happening. So, color me confused.
I just want to take a moment and say thank you for keeping our children safe. When my oldest came home and told me the first time they practiced a lockdown drill, I literally cried. I cannot imagine the stress that weighs on you just knowing that you are responsible for those lives. Thank you!
I think the issue is twofold. You implying that schools are not looking out for the best method to protect the children and employees in their schools. There are also a lot of parents on here that send their children to school and pray daily for their children’s safety. Saying that most schools are following an outdated protocol is overreaching. You have no way of knowing if that information is accurate. We all want our children safe and I’m thankful that my kids school district is doing the best they can.
Unless the officers whose daily job is to train this were lying in the stats they were presenting, then I suppose you’re right. But it doesn’t matter. If your kids (or anyone else’s kids!) are attending a school that is still focused on “shelter in place”, it is worth perhaps starting a dialog with the schools.
If you’re school is doing what @PrincipalTinker’s school is doing, that’s fabulous. But I was shocked to learn any of this because “shelter in place” is all I had ever heard about before.
You asked why someone might be upset with what you said and I’m letting you know what my thoughts were. I am not upset, I just don’t agree with the blanket statement. I learned several years ago about run, hide or fight from our local police department, so this is not new information to me, At this point, I think I will move on from this thread.
Listen. I’m sorry I upset anyone. Never my intent. But I am apparently an ignoramus, because I still have no clue why. It was like there is an argument about the color blue, and the fact that we are both calling blue blue or something.