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Imagineer1981
05-04-2007, 11:52 AM
Just returned from my vacation to WDW and I saw alot of cops this trip on property. They were sitting behind signs and trees waiting for speeders, seemed to always have people pulled over. I know cops used to not be allowed to pull people over on property, but for safety I guess they changed their minds. I personally think it kind of ruins the magic, when you go onto property its like you are in another world, and flashing lights kinda take you back to reality.

DNS
05-04-2007, 12:03 PM
I know cops used to not be allowed to pull people over on property, but for safety I guess they changed their minds. I personally think it kind of ruins the magic, when you go onto property its like you are in another world, and flashing lights kinda take you back to reality.
If it is correct that they used to not pull people over, I'm glad that changed. Not much would end the magic as fast as an accident.

DVC2004
05-04-2007, 12:07 PM
One trip I saw a lady pulled over to the side and the police were cuffing her. I always wondered what happened- not something you usually see at WDW!

MOJoe
05-04-2007, 12:11 PM
Yet another good reason to stay on site and use Disney Transportation. Wonder if they also give sobriety tests?

Jared
05-04-2007, 12:19 PM
If it is correct that they used to not pull people over, I'm glad that changed. Not much would end the magic as fast as an accident.
I agree. If police were not allowed to pull over reckless drivers, I'm glad that rule was changed. People are out drinking at the BoardWalk and Downtown Disney every night, and they should not be on the same road as the family driving back from late Extra Magic Hours at Epcot.

King Triton
05-04-2007, 12:31 PM
I remember the last time I was there, which is over a year now, there was a definite increase in police activity on the roads. I do think some of the speed limits are set a little low, but I can see the need for the patrols...a few years ago people were going extremely fast on the Disney road system.

KylesMom
05-04-2007, 12:31 PM
We first noticed an unusually large influx of police with radars about two years ago. Needless to say, I don't have near as heavy a foot on the gas as I used to around Disney property!

We saw a horribly bad accident around the entrance to MK at the side road to CR, WL & FTW last year, which had traffic snarled for hours. Let me tell you, that was a serious wake-up call to remind me that alot of people don't know where they're going and are less apt to be paying attention! :mickey:

Figgyluv03
05-04-2007, 12:44 PM
For the saftey of the guest and cast members I'm glad to hear that they are now patrolling the world. (They are probably all Jersey drivers getting pulled over. Apparently us the New Yorkers are the worst out there!)

Jasper
05-04-2007, 12:54 PM
Actually, I would take issue with the idea that police used to not come on property. In fact, my father has the speeding ticket from 1975 to prove it!! We were pulled over just a few hundred yards from the entrance to The Magic Kingdom parking lot.

I remember this well because I had my learner permit at that time and had driven the final leg to Disney World. However, my father didn't want me to drive yet in the heavy traffic that you would encounter near the park. So, when we passed the signs saying welcome to Walt Disney World we pulled over and he drove the rest of the way in. (The funny part is that the amount of traffic near the park was nothing compared to what it is today!)

You can imagine having driven 13 hours to get there, seeing the ticket booths to the park come in to view and then having to get pulled over!! I don't know which was worse, my father being upset with himself for speeding or the rest of us sitting there just biting at the bit to get to the park!!

While I can't swear for other periods of time, I can say that in 1975 there were police on property and they were pulling people over! Now, what I don't remember and neither can anyone else who was in the car is if the police was some sort of Disney World law enforcement or if it was the local county police. Regardless of who it was, they were official and had the power to issue tickets.

bleukarma
05-04-2007, 12:57 PM
We saw a horribly bad accident around the entrance to MK at the side road to CR, WL & FTW last year, which had traffic snarled for hours. Let me tell you, that was a serious wake-up call to remind me that alot of people don't know where they're going and are less apt to be paying attention! :mickey:


Amen! The Orlando area is the worst I’ve ever seen as far as driving goes. Not only is it congested but a lot of that congestion is tourist who don’t know where they are going. Not to mention that Orlando is notorious for having lanes that mysteriously end without warning. That’s why when I drive over I never stay in the right lane…I never know when it will just end! I’m always extra careful when I drive over there and I’ve excepted the fact that if I ever move there I’m going to get full coverage insurance on my car.

I’m happy that they started pulling people over too. I would not want to be on the same road as someone that just walked out of Pleasure Island!

TiggerRPh
05-04-2007, 01:39 PM
Just returned from my vacation to WDW and I saw alot of cops this trip on property. They were sitting behind signs and trees waiting for speeders, seemed to always have people pulled over. I know cops used to not be allowed to pull people over on property, but for safety I guess they changed their minds. I personally think it kind of ruins the magic, when you go onto property its like you are in another world, and flashing lights kinda take you back to reality.


This has been a major area of enforcement for the Orange County Sheriff for about a year now.

indytraveler
05-04-2007, 01:43 PM
Thanks for the update. We've been going every summer for the last 7 yrs. and have stayed off site so we drive in each morning. I've had occassion to be excited and want to arrive a little sooner. I don't recall ever seeing any type of law enforcement around. Are the speed limits 45 or 50 when you enter off 535/536? (not around DTD)

WDWdriver
05-04-2007, 02:02 PM
By agreement with the state of Florida, most roads on Disney property are owned and maintained by the state. They are patrolled by Orange County sheriff's deputies and the Florida State Patrol. Late last year Disney World President, Bob Iger, asked Orange County to step up enforcement after several incidents involving speeders.

Imagineer1981
05-04-2007, 02:08 PM
[Are the speed limits 45 or 50 when you enter off 535/536? (not around DTD)[/quote]

Generally 35-45 is the speed limit on most Disney roads, I believe World Drive is 50

Polynesian Dweller
05-04-2007, 03:18 PM
I, for one, am glad to see the increased enforcement. Speeds had become much higher on the roads and getting cut off at a turn was becoming a real problem for the tourist, like me, who wasn't always sure of which turn to take (some of those signs aren't that helpful).

I've seen more than a few people have very close calls when they are arriving in their tourist confusion. Nothing unique really but when you mix people who are familiar with the roads with those who aren't even more caution is needed.

celebrationasheley
05-04-2007, 03:26 PM
while working for disney my everyday commute was world drive. Usually at 3:30 am. No one on the roads than. But one morning I was a little behind. Drove a little bit faster. And the cop was behind the tower of terror sign. I still had my illinois plates and my illinois drivers license. He could have had fun with me and left me with a huge ticket, but he let me go. I think the speed limit went from 50 to an automatic 35 by the stretch to mk parking after the epcot exit off of world drive. I still made it on time.....

Jasper
05-04-2007, 03:38 PM
I am another one who is happy to see them stepping up enforcement. As others have mentioned, with the volume of traffic and so many of us not always sure where we are going it only makes sense to slow it down some.

It is interesting to note that the traffic ticket I mentioned in my earlier post had my father going 52 in a 40 MPH zone. And this was fairly close to the toll booth going into the Magic Kingdom parking lot. I am not certain, but I think that stretch of road is now down to something like 25mph. Just another sign of how things have changed since the '70's.

mttafire
05-04-2007, 04:07 PM
I agree. If police were not allowed to pull over reckless drivers, I'm glad that rule was changed. People are out drinking at the BoardWalk and Downtown Disney every night, and they should not be on the same road as the family driving back from late Extra Magic Hours at Epcot.
Agreed, Im all for more police. More police means a more safe vacation.:thumbsup:

lindique
05-04-2007, 05:31 PM
I realize this is slightly off topic, but I saw several armed policemen at the entrances to the theme parks (right after bag search) during my March trip. First time I had ever seen that.

Jasper
05-04-2007, 05:42 PM
I realize this is slightly off topic, but I saw several armed policemen at the entrances to the theme parks (right after bag search) during my March trip. First time I had ever seen that.

We have notice this off and on ever since 9/11/01 happened. We were in The World in January of 02 and there were tons of armed guards near the entrances. Since then we have seen far fewer at any one gate but have always seen at least a few each time. Then there have been times when there were as many as 7 or 8 at one location. Naturally, Disney is not about to tell the guests why they have more guards at one time than another so as not to reveal their security plans. Of course, there can also be normal reasons like a VIP in the park or perhaps catching them at shift change or something like that.

BrerSchultzy
05-04-2007, 05:48 PM
We saw a horribly bad accident around the entrance to MK at the side road to CR, WL & FTW last year, which had traffic snarled for hours. Let me tell you, that was a serious wake-up call to remind me that alot of people don't know where they're going and are less apt to be paying attention! :mickey:

We were there in June of last year when a cast member in a corvette was involved in a very serious wreck (the corvette was in four large chunks spread out over a lot of area). Rumor had it that the cast member was killed, but we were quickly told that wasn't true. I do have to say, as a frequent pedestrian crossing either the Contemporary to MK crosswalk or the Shades of Green to Polynesian crosswalk....THANK GOODNESS THEY'RE ENFORCING THE SPEED LIMIT. I can't tell you the number of times we thought we were in the clear, only to see someone going 60 or 70 through the intersection.

Now...if one of the Disney Buses gets pulled....that'd ruin the magic for sure.

dumbo ears
05-04-2007, 06:17 PM
:mickey: another reason to use the resort tramsportation.lol

DizneyRox
05-04-2007, 07:38 PM
...as a frequent pedestrian crossing either the Contemporary to MK crosswalk or the Shades of Green to Polynesian crosswalk....THANK GOODNESS THEY'RE ENFORCING THE SPEED LIMIT. I can't tell you the number of times we thought we were in the clear, only to see someone going 60 or 70 through the intersection.
Those areas are pretty much backstage so I would imagine that they aren't going to be really checking those roads. You will however see a number of cops on the roads leading up to the 4 parks and DTD though I would imagine. So keep an eye out for speeders still, and remember that chances are they are a cast member.

gueli
05-04-2007, 08:51 PM
Yeah Police !!!
1) believe it or not: the unoffical guide to disney (2007 edition) makes note of the increased traffic enforcement.
2) If you are on vacation, maybe we should slow down, even us new Yorkers (who are not necessairly bad drivers or people).
3) I would believe that having guards with guns/police officers assigned to gate duty in a visible way helps protect everyone else. I would also imagine that there are a number of unseen police/guards that are also there.
4) Remember police are people too.:blush:
5) Please do not drive drunk-either at home or on vacation. Save a life (one day it could be mine).:thumbsup:
again support your local police, and respect those who work in such a difficult job.
:)
:mickey:

Speedy1998
05-04-2007, 09:14 PM
[QUOTE=bleukarma;1278257]Amen! The Orlando area is the worst I’ve ever seen as far as driving goes. Not only is it congested but a lot of that congestion is tourist who don’t know where they are going. Not to mention that Orlando is notorious for having lanes that mysteriously end without warning. That’s why when I drive over I never stay in the right lane…I never know when it will just end! I’m always extra careful when I drive over there and I’ve excepted the fact that if I ever move there I’m going to get full coverage insurance on my car.


When I lived in Florida, I found that the traffic problem was not so much the tourist who did not know where they were going, but the retiries who forgot where they were going or worse where they are. I remeber an incedent when I lived there when a lady got out of her running car and started walking down the street. The car which was still in drive ended up in a mall.

CM~Mserrano
05-04-2007, 09:33 PM
Driving on disney property everyday when I worked there was always "fun" trying to grt to work on time when it seemed everyone around you was lost. (Not saying it's bad, I know, I drove around like I was lost too for a while!!) There is definately an increase of police activity. I agree that it is needed with the way people drive nowadays whether it be the speedy CMs or the lost family swerving from lane to lane or the drunk driver after a night at PI, but it should be used for that, not to take advantage of the property that they are on and to know they can score easy tickets. The time that you see the police is greatly determined by the day of the week or time of the month.

I was once pulled over, not for speeding, swerving, nothing bad, but because my ex-fiancee had put illegally dark window tint (I dind't know it was illegal) on my windows. I was at the stoplight that's on the way to the AKL making a left to go out to 192, and had a cop step in the middle of the road and just wave me over and give me a whopping ticket for that nonsense, then threaten to send me to jail because I hadn't changed the address on my license yet to my new Orlando address. (Didn't know that was illegal either.) Spend time looking for people that are blatantly disregarding the rules, not ones that are following the rules and just pulling over CMs or guests that are just trying to get from point a to point b safely.

mttafire
05-05-2007, 12:15 AM
Yeah Police !!!
1) believe it or not: the unoffical guide to disney (2007 edition) makes note of the increased traffic enforcement.
2) If you are on vacation, maybe we should slow down, even us new Yorkers (who are not necessairly bad drivers or people).
3) I would believe that having guards with guns/police officers assigned to gate duty in a visible way helps protect everyone else. I would also imagine that there are a number of unseen police/guards that are also there.
4) Remember police are people too.:blush:
5) Please do not drive drunk-either at home or on vacation. Save a life (one day it could be mine).:thumbsup:
again support your local police, and respect those who work in such a difficult job.
:)
:mickey:
:thumbsup:

JPL
05-05-2007, 01:13 AM
I have to say this is actually a good nothing like a couple 100,000 people driving around trying to figure out the signs and where they are going. I have seen some amazing stupidity with people cutting across lanes and lanes of traffic to make turns without even looking. People are speeding to make park openings and ADRs it really is a mess. Add to that the fact that these are from all over world and driving conditions vary from place to place. Imagines the differences between driving around Iowa and Driving around a place like NYC.

A Big Kid
05-05-2007, 11:15 AM
. I personally think it kind of ruins the magic, when you go onto property its like you are in another world, and flashing lights kinda take you back to reality.

Yeah, cuz there is nothing quite as magical as a family member tragically injured or killed because someone was in a hurry.

BY the way, you post might have been better titled, SPEEDERS!!!! instead of POLICE!!!!

merlinmagic4
05-05-2007, 12:36 PM
I am one of those people who are happy to see a strong police presence. I find a sense of comfort when I pass by a cruiser. I despise drunk drivers and people driving recklessly. I am very patient with people who are obviously tourists and don't know which way to go. Just my .02 :thumbsup:

ghost999
05-05-2007, 07:08 PM
For the saftey of the guest and cast members I'm glad to hear that they are now patrolling the world. (They are probably all Jersey drivers getting pulled over. Apparently us the New Yorkers are the worst out there!)

FLORIDA drivers are the WORSE :mickey: i know for a fact

LudwigVonDrake
05-05-2007, 07:51 PM
Being safe on the road should extend well past the Walt Disney World property :drive:

DisnIse
05-06-2007, 04:57 PM
I totally "earned" a speeding ticket on Western Way last trip. I was going about 20 over when I actually said, "Why would they have the speed limit be 35 when there is no traffic, and no thru streets on this stretch of road?"

OOPS!

The police man was REALLY nice, even though I had to do online Florida traffic school for it :thedolls: .

The one interesting thing is that he had me step out of the car. He said that many a parent said things that they REALLY shouldn't in front of their children, and set horrifyingly bad examples. Yikes!

I did learn my lesson, however...

battle beast
05-07-2007, 12:29 AM
I personally think it kind of ruins the magic, when you go onto property its like you are in another world, and flashing lights kinda take you back to reality.

I don't care where you are or what your excuse is; if you are caught speeding, you deserve everything comming to you. I have no sympathy or time for excuses of speeders.

You do the crime, you do the time.

That said, I too feel it would ruin the magic if I were to get a ticket. It would probably be a black mark on ANYBODIES holiday. MAjor downer. :(

BrerSchultzy
05-07-2007, 10:06 AM
The one interesting thing is that he had me step out of the car. He said that many a parent said things that they REALLY shouldn't in front of their children, and set horrifyingly bad examples. Yikes!


Okay...that's cool. Not that you got a ticket, but that the cop is lookin' out for the kids.

Ian
05-07-2007, 03:46 PM
:mickey: another reason to use the resort tramsportation.lolWhy? I'd much rather be in my nice safe car with it's airbags and seatbelts than rattling around in some Disney bus when I get slammed into by some idiot who can't drive.

And I agree ... there's definitely more police around these days. We commented on it last week.