Walt Disney World Resort has upped its security presence at its shopping and dining district, Disney Springs. The security screening process for guests arriving via bus transportation now looks much more like that of the four Central Florida Disney theme parks.
Before entering Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, all guests must go through metal detectors and submit to bag checks if requested. Security cast members thoroughly search strollers and mobility devices that can’t go through metal detectors.
Ahead of this latest update, not all guests arriving at the Disney Springs shopping and dining district had to undergo similar security screening. Metal detectors were posted at several parking garage entrances, but not where guests enter from Disney Resort bus transportation. At most, guests would walk by a security cast member or two and their working canines.
However, according to recent reports, Walt Disney World Resort has upped the security protocol at Disney Springs. On Monday, Redditor u/RStrongfox shared that they were forced to go through a metal detector when arriving at the shopping and dining district via Walt Disney World Resort’s complimentary bus transportation.
“Disney Springs Resort Drop Off Now Has a Security Check Point,” the social media user wrote. “The bus drop off spot for Disney hotels now has 1 Metal detector and a security check point. Might want to plan an extra 15 minutes getting into springs from a Disney Resort.”
Disney Parks fans overwhelmingly supported the increased protocols. Calls for increased security at Disney Springs aren’t unprecedented; the outdoor mall was the original intended target of Omar Mateen, the man who murdered 49 people at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, in June 2016.
“GOOD!” said u/nephie1990. “As someone who works at Springs, I was shocked when I first learned they don’t make resort guests go through any additional screenings the way they do with everyone else, especially since it’s so easy to park at many of the resorts.”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” u/Mark_Venture replied. “No screening was done at the resorts, and Disney Springs already had security coming in from the parking garages and ride share drop points. Someone could have skirted security by potentially parking at a resort, or taking Uber/Lyft to a resort under the pretense of a dining reservation, then taking the bus to Disney Springs without getting checked.”
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