Visiting Downtown Disney? You’ll have to go through metal detectors from now on
Visitors to the Disney resort will be screened as they walk into the Downtown Disney shopping district, west of the theme parks.
The metal detectors that were added at the Disneyland resort last year are being moved Thursday so they can be used to also screen visitors to Disney’s adjacent shopping district.
The metal detectors that are used to randomly screen visitors were originally installed last December around the large promenade that separates the entrances to Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
But starting Thursday, visitors to the resort will be screened as they walk into the Downtown Disney shopping district, west of the theme parks. Parkgoers will also be screened after they leave the Mickey & Friends parking structure to board the trams to the theme parks.
The metal detectors on the east side of the promenade will remain in place.
With the metal detectors moved to the entrance of the adjacent shopping district, visitors don’t have to be screened twice if they leave the theme parks to eat or shop in Downtown Disney, Disney representatives said.
When Disney installed the temporary walk-through metal detectors, they also announced several other moves to increase security, including a ban on visitors carrying toy guys and a ban on people over age 14 wearing masks or costumes that conceal their identities. The park also stopped selling replica guns.
In Florida, metal detectors were also added last December at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Universal Studios Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando. Theme park representatives wouldn’t say whether the addition of the security measures was a coordinated effort among the parks.
Although the deadly San Bernardino mass shootings took place two weeks before the metal detectors were installed at the parks last year, theme park representatives said no specific incident prompted the security increase.
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