A Gun Guy Goes to Disneyland.

About a month ago, Caleb Giddings with Gun Nuts Media, of which I am a free subscriber here on Substack and enjoy his work regularly, released an article titled “A Gun Guy Goes to DisneyWorld.” This was fortunate for me because I took a trip to Disneyland the very next week. His article was great, filled with solid advice that I would wholeheartedly stand behind myself. If you haven’t read it and have a trip planned to the happiest place on Earth, then it is worth the time to go over and check it out. The only reason I decided to write this article is that I had a shockingly different experience from him in Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Before I share my experience, let me explain why I think I might have a unique insight into the security situation at the house Mickey built. Before joining the glamorous ranks of home-based gunsmiths, I worked in security. I had a career that was just shy of 20 years until I saved enough for early retirement, which is why I now have time to bore you all with my gun projects. Now, to be completely fair, the bulk of my security work was dedicated to asset protection, not threat prevention. I spent about 8 years as a guard at one of the largest gold mines in the country, and the rest of my time there was spent doing physical installations of equipment. I was a much better tech than I was a guard; I’m too trusting. It’s safe to say our goals at the mine were not the same as Disney’s, but I do know my way around a metal detector. I also know when physical security is phoning it in, and that is where my experience differed from Caleb’s

It’s important to note that Caleb and I went to two different parks on opposite sides of the country, with very different political climates, workforces, and, most importantly, security directors. The differences in our experiences may not be because we viewed them differently, but because they were actually quite different. As a security technician, my work spanned multiple mines across Nevada and a few in other states. While all of these mines used the same corporate SOPs, priorities at each mine could be quite different depending on who the managing director was. I have no doubt this works exactly the same at various Disney parks.

What you will see.

Caleb didn’t want to blow up their system; I will. I feel like you should know what to expect. Upon entering the park, you will see a row of Ceia walk-through metal detectors. These are industry-standard, very good metal detectors when used properly. In the case of Disney, they were actually on, which is a step in the right direction. You would be surprised how many times I have seen metal detectors that are not even plugged in. Ceia metal detectors are very good; they can be adjusted to detect the level of metal you are looking for. I have personally tested Ceia metal detectors and found they can sound off on a third of a staple! They can even sound off on people with high iron in their blood. We would tune our detectors to each individual. Disney doesn’t have this option; they are simply using it as a red-light, green-light solution. The thing about this is, everyone who isn’t in sweatpants and flip-flops is going to set that machine off. The detector picks up zipper pulls, wedding rings, shoe-eyelets, watches, etc. So when you step through, and the detector shows red, the guard then has a judgment call to make. Is this person worth wanding or sending back through? I spent four days in the park, and every day I probably saw about 30 people go through the detectors, including my family and myself. Everyone set off the detectors, and no one was double-checked. The guard walking you through has a handheld wand for detecting metal. In my time, I saw zero people get wanded. The guard who walks you through the detector is also responsible for checking strollers, which we had. The stroller search was thorough but not exhaustive. Each station had a second guard responsible for checking bags and anything you might put in a tray to pass around the detector. This search was actually impressive. Our bags were searched very thoroughly and quickly.

A throng of people first thing in the morning. This was at 8 AM; by 10 AM, the population had tripled.

Now that we have discussed what you will see at the gate, let’s talk about the rest of the park. First of all, their camera system is extensive and very well hidden. I enjoy looking for security cameras out in the wild since that is what I did for a living. They have that park covered thoroughly, so rest assured that if you get killed at Disneyland, they will have the footage to give to the cops…if that lets you rest assured. I have no idea whether those cameras are passively recording or actively being monitored by guards at an SOC (security operations center). Hopefully, they have at least some active monitoring at the park’s entrances. As a former screen-watching guard, I can attest to how big and difficult a job this would be for Disney, but it would be a priority in my eyes. As for on-the-ground security, they had quite a lot. I saw many people walking around in branded security uniforms. I would hope there would also be plainclothes security, but I don’t know. Unfortunately, every time I saw guards on the ground, they were clustered in small groups, chatting. There wasn’t as much patrolling as I would have liked to have seen. The guards did look capable, unlike those at many public events I have been to. Whether they carry weapons, I don’t know. I would hope so.

What I did.

So now you’re asking me what I got away with? Nothing, I didn’t sneak any weapons into Disneyland, sorry. For the first time in nearly 20 years, I didn’t have a gun on me, and for the first time that I can remember since I was about eight, I didn’t have a pocket knife. It’s safe to say I felt exposed. I also didn’t really feel like my security was assured. I wasn’t completely defenseless; I did have a metal-bodied pen with me. It was certainly not designed to be a weapon, but if I struck a bad guy with it, it would pull a DNA sample out of the attacker that they wouldn’t forget for a long time. On day one, going through the metal detector, I stripped off everything metal and put it in the tray, just like you would at an airport. Each day, when I passed through the metal detectors, I left a little more stuff in my pockets until, finally, the only thing I was putting in the tray was my phone. I never received any further screening.

Caleb had great advice in his article about having an emergency plan with your family. If anything did happen, chaos would ensue, and having an escape plan for your family would bring order to the situation. Unfortunately, my kids are five and seven. Telling them to meet me at the Matterhorn would work about as well as telling your dog to drive the car. Honestly, there were times I was not sure I could get myself back to the Matterhorn. In our case, we just tried to stay together for most of it. We did split up a couple of times, so the kids could see things they each wanted, but for the most part, we were within arm’s reach of each other. To be honest, that’s not much of a security plan, but it’s what I had. I shudder to think of what might happen at that place if terror erupted. I don’t know how many people showed up at that place on spring break, but I can tell you it was more than I have ever stood next to at one time in my life. I have a pretty low tolerance for people and crowds, but I do have to say, even though the crowds were thick and the lines were long, people seemed to stay positive. I was pleasantly surprised by that. Most people seemed more consumed with their own agenda than anything else.

What to do?

I’m not going to tell you to sneak a weapon into Disneyland. I honestly can’t imagine the looks on my kids’ faces if Dad got them banned from the happiest place on Earth. That being said, I can’t honestly tell you that you are safe either. I saw nothing during my time there that would prevent anyone from harming others should they wish to, and the response time, should that happen, would be slow at best. As with most large public venues, I find that security seems more like a cover-your-ass kind of situation for the company than actual security for customers. It is tough being in Disney’s position, though. Imagine needing to funnel thousands of people through a checkpoint without disgruntling them and then integrating real physical security throughout the park without breaking the “magic.” It’s a tall order, and they did no worse than other large venues I have been to. I guess the best advice I could give is to stay vigilant. Don’t become one of those people so invested in the next ride or your next churro that you become oblivious to the throng of people around you. Stay sharp, stay safe, and may the force be with you.