Suspicious device found under Disney bus

[Tink1]

The Orange County sheriff's bomb squad is at Walt Disney World now investigating a suspicious device found underneath a Disney bus, authorities confirmed.

Bus operations have been suspended, but taxi service has been expanded, a Disney spokeswoman said.

__________________

[GrumpyFan]

OMG!!! THIS IS KINDA SCARY! :eek:

Hopefully, this isn't an explosive, and nobody is hurt. But, I can't imagine what this does to transportation. Talk about a nightmare! Yikes!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I had trouble with the link not working - if you have the same problem, try this one: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-disney-bomb-squad-091709,0,4515206.story

[Tink1]

Kathy is in WDW amd just reported in. Buses which have been checked are running again. They have "OK" written on their windshields

Nanc

[GrumpyFan]

The news is reporting that they've resumed bus service as of 7pm.

I'll be interested to hear what their findings are for the "suspicious package".

[BrerGnat]

Oh, how scary! I cannot even imagine the backup caused by this type of transportation scenario. Families with infants and toddlers can't take taxis safely without carseats...

[chick20679]

My mom is there now and missed her ADR!
What a hassle, but better to be safe than sorry! :thumbsup:

[Mousemates]

:(:(:(

[Figment!]

Statement from the Sherffi's Department:


... {the device} was not explosive or hazardous.

[Pirate Granny]

Just an fyi...we found that all taxi's had at least one car seat in their trunks...most were for the infants over 20lbs...but you could specifically request a taxi with an infant seat under 20 lbs.
:pirate:

[seanyred]

Yikes...glad to hear no one was hurt. And kudos to the Bus Driver for doing his job correctly and noticing the "suspicious device".


Not that this matters....but do you think Disney will reimburse for cab fair during those hours there was no buses? I don't think they have too but It would be a nice gesture.

[Ian]

You know a lot of times I think these "suspicious devices" are really just probes or tests so that people can examine the way Disney and law enforcement responds to a threat and then look for holes or possible areas of vulnerability.

[seanyred]

You know a lot of times I think these "suspicious devices" are really just probes or tests so that people can examine the way Disney and law enforcement responds to a threat and then look for holes or possible areas of vulnerability.

I hope that this is not something that leads to anything bigger down the road. And I hope that Disney and law enforcement also look at those holes and figure out how to cover it up. With how big WDW is I'm sure its a challenging task to make sure everyone is safe.

[VWL Mom]

There was a thread earlier this week about increased security in uniform and I wonder if this is related.

[Ed]

Not that this matters....but do you think Disney will reimburse for cab fair during those hours there was no buses? I don't think they have too but It would be a nice gesture.

According to this morning's paper, WDW picked up the tab for all the extra taxicabs used while the buses were out of service.

[Jasper]

In reading the Orlando Sentinal article it was interesting that they said that the device was actually attached to the bus. In reading the earlier posts here I took it as the device was laying under the bus. I bet they end up finding out that this was some kind of maintenance thing that went wrong.

[gueli]

The Maintenance worker see's something odd during routine inspection. He/She does right thing, contacts supervisor...here we are now.

I am glad Disney responds so rapidly once something is found.
Again, Kudos for the disney staff for following procedures and keeping guests safe...even if the device is just some wall-e robot trying to get out :D

[GrumpyFan]

You know a lot of times I think these "suspicious devices" are really just probes or tests so that people can examine the way Disney and law enforcement responds to a threat and then look for holes or possible areas of vulnerability.

Perhaps this was a drill/test to see how they would respond. The incident makes me wonder though, just how long the "suspicious package" was there, and how they will handle this kind of thing in the future. I have to wonder how often they do such inspections to check for things like this. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Disney is such a huge draw for people, that also makes them a huge target for terrorist-like or people with ill-will to strike at. Hopefully, we will never see the day when such an incident is actually carried out against Disney. There is some comfort in seeing how well they responded to this and took action to take care of their guests safety.

[Joannelet]

Ian I totally agree with you!

[Joy2theworld]

I have to admit this scares me. :( We leave next week and well, I hate to say it, but part of me would rather stay home.

[Joannelet]

my friend just came home today...she said it was really scary :(
I'm glad that they caught it though and handled it in the best manner possible.
I can't even think about something like this happening at Walt Disney World. It makes me sick to my stomach. I was shaking when I heard this info from my friend.....

[RockinRollerMom]

I was at EPCOT yesterday and guests didn't know at all what was going on. There was an overhead announcement made around 5:30ish that bus service was temporarily suspended and would be running again in 45 minutes. We thought it was real strange. Thankfully the delay didn't affect us because we were traveling by monorail.

[marlaine]

We were there yesterday and already by the pool at the Poly when all of this happened. (We were at Animal Kingdom at 8:00 for B'Fast and were done touring by 3:30). While by the pool, I heard a man talking about it on his cell phone. We had no idea anything was going on. I saw it on the news first thing this morning.
It seems so strange to me that we were right there in WDW and didn't even know anything about it because we didn't need any transportation. :confused:

[seanyred]

We were there yesterday and already by the pool at the Poly when all of this happened. (We were at Animal Kingdom at 8:00 for B'Fast and were done touring by 3:30). While by the pool, I heard a man talking about it on his cell phone. We had no idea anything was going on. I saw it on the news first thing this morning.
It seems so strange to me that we were right there in WDW and didn't even know anything about it because we didn't need any transportation. :confused:

Actually I'm not surprised that some people who were there did not notice. When you really think about it WDW is really the size of a City. And when you think of it that when something bad happens in Chicago's West Side it doesn't always affect the North Side. I know this is an over generalization...but you get my point.

I'm just glad no one was hurt and that WDW CM's and law enforcement are doing their jobs and looking out for us vacationers.

[tinksmom02]

The Orange County sheriff's bomb squad is at Walt Disney World now investigating a suspicious device found underneath a Disney bus, authorities confirmed.

Bus operations have been suspended, but taxi service has been expanded, a Disney spokeswoman said.

__________________

We just got back and were at Epcot when this happened. I got a phone message from the resort GM apologizing for any delays, but we'd used the monorail all day so it didn't affect us at all. My mom saw it on the news the next day.

[Scott C]

We were there yesterday and already by the pool at the Poly when all of this happened. (We were at Animal Kingdom at 8:00 for B'Fast and were done touring by 3:30). While by the pool, I heard a man talking about it on his cell phone. We had no idea anything was going on. I saw it on the news first thing this morning.
It seems so strange to me that we were right there in WDW and didn't even know anything about it because we didn't need any transportation. :confused:

We were in the world July 4th -- we had similar circumstances with the monorail accident. It seems that there should be some way to better communicate to the guests.

Thanks
Scott C

[brownie]

Perhaps this was a drill/test to see how they would respond.

Doubtful. I don't think they would have done something with this kind of impact on guest service.

[KevMcNJ]

I have to admit this scares me. :( We leave next week and well, I hate to say it, but part of me would rather stay home.


If its your day, its your day
Aint nothing gonna change that fact and it
doenst matter if your in a plane 35,000 feet above Missouri, riding the monorail or sitting on your couch watching Seinfeld re-runs.

[Dixie Springs]

Related personal story: I recall leaving MK one night during the post-Wishes cattle-drive down Main Street. There were some WDW security folks guiding the crowd's path away from a particluar storefront (sort of forming a large human perimeter onto the sidewalk & street)). We thought it was just some VIP exiting the store, but when we looked back we saw what looked like a special ops dude approach a backpack leaning against the store, with a flashlight. I'm not sure if this guy was an actual police bomb-squad rep, but he sure didn't look like the WDW 'mall-cops' clearing the way. Must have been a false alarm because we never heard any news on it.

[Ed]

The device still hasn't been publicly identified, but the sheriff's office keeps emphasizing that it was "neither explosive nor hazardous". Some sources say it was some type of electronic transponder and that it may have even been installed by the bus manufacturer to track data on how the bus is used. That remains to be verified.

All in all, I have to say that I am pretty impressed with how WDW handled the entire situation. Once a possible problem was identified, they quickly made the correct decision to do an immediate inspection of the entire bus fleet - - no small task given the size of their fleet. The buses were all inspected and back on their routes in a relatively short time.

It shows me that WDW is well prepared for such situations.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

While I think Disney did an extremely good job reacting to the bus shutdown by paying cab fares and extending park hours, I personally feel like suspending all bus service was an over-reaction. I suspect that it didn't take very long to determine that this device was not explosive, and I would be willing to bet they knew it wasn't explosive before they even had time to ground all the buses to a halt. I can't imagine being the parent of a two small children knocking on cab doors looking for a cab with two car seats in the trunk.

But that is just my :twocents:

[Ed]

While I think Disney did an extremely good job reacting to the bus shutdown by paying cab fares and extending park hours, I personally feel like suspending all bus service was an over-reaction. I suspect that it didn't take very long to determine that this device was not explosive, and I would be willing to bet they knew it wasn't explosive before they even had time to ground all the buses to a halt. I can't imagine being the parent of a two small children knocking on cab doors looking for a cab with two car seats in the trunk.

But that is just my :twocents:

I strongly disagree.

It took the bomb squad over four hours to remove the object from the bus and transport it by using a robot to a safe location where it could be analyzed; that's when it was determined not to be explosive or hazardous. A lot can happen in four hours. Disney did the only logical and smart thing by taking the fleet out of service for a quick inspection. If a real destructive device had been planted on this one bus, it stands to reason that the same thing could have been put on other buses.

Just imagine the immense liability if they had failed to do so and something happened with a different bus loaded with guests! The old adage "better safe than sorry" definitely applies in this case.

[It'sWDW4me]

I strongly disagree.

It took the bomb squad over four hours to remove the object from the bus and transport it by using a robot to a safe location where it could be analyzed; that's when it was determined not to be explosive or hazardous. A lot can happen in four hours. Disney did the only logical and smart thing by taking the fleet out of service for a quick inspection. If a real destructive device had been planted on this one bus, it stands to reason that the same thing could have been put on other buses.

Just imagine the immense liability if they had failed to do so and something happened with a different bus loaded with guests! The old adage "better safe than sorry" definitely applies in this case.

I completely agree. My first thought was - ok, this one's not hazardous but is it the decoy? Yes, I would rather be safe and inconvenienced.

Remember what "only" four out of how many airplanes were able to do in less than an hour?

[Ed]

MYSTERY SOLVED !!!

Disney says suspicious device found on bus was tire-pressure monitor

Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writer

7:10 PM EDT, September 21, 2009

The mysterious object found mounted on a Walt Disney World bus last week -- prompting the giant resort to temporarily shut down all bus service until the other vehicles were searched -- was a newly designed tire-pressure monitor, Disney said Monday evening.

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said the device was a prototype that had been installed on a single bus to monitor tire pressure with wireless technology. Tire pressure can affect the fuel efficiency of a vehicle.

The device set off a mini-scare Thursday, when it was discovered by a maintenance crew that was unfamiliar with it. They reported a suspicious object to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which called out a bomb squad to investigate.

Disney, meanwhile, opted to pull its entire bus fleet out of service until each of the roughly 300 vehicles was inspected. Thousands of Disney World visitors were stranded for a few hours while the buses were searched.

Finger said Disney made the decision to temporarily shut down its bus service before the mystery object was identified "out of an abundance of caution."

CASE CLOSED. :judge:

[Joannelet]

um why wouldn't the bus company come forward to the bomb squad right away and tell them that a bus had the monitoring system on it?
or at least identify the object immediately for them....
That just sounds ridiculous to me!

[Mousemates]

CASE CLOSED.

Glad to hear it was all pretty benign. :thumbsup:

[seanyred]

um why wouldn't the bus company come forward to the bomb squad right away and tell them that a bus had the monitoring system on it?
or at least identify the object immediately for them....
That just sounds ridiculous to me!

And maybe this is another reason with their is a new VP of Transportation. Communication is key...

[VWL Mom]

um why wouldn't the bus company come forward to the bomb squad right away and tell them that a bus had the monitoring system on it?
or at least identify the object immediately for them....
That just sounds ridiculous to me!

I'm with you on that! Talk about one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Jeez.

[Joannelet]

No I'm thinking more along the lines of Disney is sugar coating the information....
I know from Disney execs in July had said that Disney was going to start really feeling the economy starting in September. Something like this would have really really hurt them financially.
If they were "testing" a new tire gauge on the buses...only one bus was given this new device? Seriously Disney not everyone is as dumb as you think.....
There has been an increase in the visual of security for a reason......and as to not have guests panic and/or cancel trips they HAVE to say this......
I know I wouldn't cancel my trip to Disney but at least I would be a little bit more aware of my surroundings...(although I already am...I live in the tri state area) I just wish that Disney would tell us the truth....and I have a HUGE feeling that they are not. (and I am a past cast member-so I know for a fact that they sugar coat things....-they are Disney :) they are allowed to and are able to. (except now they have to report deaths....)-but if you even remember about that they didn't have to before.....
Did you honestly think that if it was something that they would have told us that? I know all about Disney magic and this is definitely one of those spread only pixie dust times :)
I still love them of course :) but I hope others see right through this.....and not take it for anything less......
They are however doing really well handling the situations at best. I am very pleased as to how all buses were called off the road. I am aware that they know how to handle a situation like this and it makes me feel better knowing that they are prepared and that they have the security to help keep us safe while enjoying the happiest place on earth :)
They have also done a wonderful job of keeping this out of the news (except in Florida) and of course keeping it away from the guests. I know that my sister in law was there with her family and had no idea that this was even going on. (they had their own car). So again Disney gets an A+ for not having panic spread.... but still I don't believe the results of this situation for one minute.....

[VWL Mom]

Well, that too had crossed my mind, more so because of the increased mass transit alerts in our area announced today but I thought I was becoming paranoid.

[Scar]

No I'm thinking more along the lines of Disney is sugar coating the information....
I know from Disney execs in July had said that Disney was going to start really feeling the economy starting in September. Something like this would have really really hurt them financially.
If they were "testing" a new tire gauge on the buses...only one bus was given this new device? Seriously Disney not everyone is as dumb as you think.....
There has been an increase in the visual of security for a reason......and as to not have guests panic and/or cancel trips they HAVE to say this......
I know I wouldn't cancel my trip to Disney but at least I would be a little bit more aware of my surroundings...(although I already am...I live in the tri state area) I just wish that Disney would tell us the truth....and I have a HUGE feeling that they are not. (and I am a past cast member-so I know for a fact that they sugar coat things....-they are Disney :) they are allowed to and are able to. (except now they have to report deaths....)-but if you even remember about that they didn't have to before.....
Did you honestly think that if it was something that they would have told us that? I know all about Disney magic and this is definitely one of those spread only pixie dust times :)
I still love them of course :) but I hope others see right through this.....and not take it for anything less......
They are however doing really well handling the situations at best. I am very pleased as to how all buses were called off the road. I am aware that they know how to handle a situation like this and it makes me feel better knowing that they are prepared and that they have the security to help keep us safe while enjoying the happiest place on earth :)
They have also done a wonderful job of keeping this out of the news (except in Florida) and of course keeping it away from the guests. I know that my sister in law was there with her family and had no idea that this was even going on. (they had their own car). So again Disney gets an A+ for not having panic spread.... but still I don't believe the results of this situation for one minute.....You don't come right out and say this so forgive me if I'm misunderstanding, but, are you saying that you believe this really was a dangerous device planted by someone (possibly a terrorist?)

[brownie]

And maybe this is another reason with their is a new VP of Transportation. Communication is key...

Exactly what I was thinking, although didn't they put the guy in charge of Maintenance into the overall position?

[Ian]

I don't know what I'm saying here, but honestly the whole tire pressure thing? Really? That makes ZERO sense.

You're telling me that no one in Disney's Transportation organization could put two and two together and identify that thing to the extent that they inconvenienced their entire guest population for hours, incurred added costs in paying for cabs for people, and tied up valuable private and public security resources investigating a tire pressure gauge????

There's only two possible explanations for this that I can see ... #1, they're lying through their teeth or #2, someone monumentally messed up!

[jeffbdw]

There's only two possible explanations for this that I can see ... #1, they're lying through their teeth or #2, someone monumentally messed up!

I'm gonna go with someone monumentally messing up. That's probably why heads just rolled and they have a new transportation head.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Could this discussion at least be based on the facts? They WERE NOT testing a new tire device IT WAS installed in 1998 on a single bus. The article about it being new was corrected by the Sentinel.

So, maybe it was forgotten about or the people involved in the test had left the company or moved to other areas. Here's another thought. The police knew quickly it wasn't dangeours so perhaps they were told. But here's another bit of fact from my police friends. Once the bomb squad had been called in they MUST complete their ibvestgative procedures. That's because the risk of declaring a device safe when it isn't means people being hurt while the risk of declaring a device dangerous when if isn't just means inconvenience. So they err on the side of safety and caution, wouldn't you?

Second, the story has hardly been kept out of the press as suggested. It was carried on news here in Canada, again hardly part of Florida so the story got out didn't it.

My take, for what it's worth, not lying, not a monumental screw up, but rather something out of place noticed and everybody doing what they should: report it, investigate it, and ensure safety first. And that is exactly what you are supposed to do in this type of situation.

[Ian]

Could this discussion at least be based on the facts? They WERE NOT testing a new tire device IT WAS installed in 1998 on a single bus. The article about it being new was corrected by the Sentinel.It might be just a tad unreasonable to suggest people discuss something based on "facts" that are not in evidence in this thread.

The last story posted here from the Sentinel specified that it was a "new" device being tested.

I think it was perfectly reasonable for people to make asssumptions based on a story they had every reason to assume was factually correct.

[Joannelet]

No I don't think it was dangerous...I think that someone is testing things to see what they can get away with.....
like what can get by without getting noticed.....

[Ed]

Sheesh, people.... the bottom line of this whole thing is that somebody saw something that didn't look right to him/her, reported it, it was thoroughly investigated and found to be harmless. Everybody involved did what needed to be done to make sure nobody got hurt - - or worse. No harm, no foul.

I'm taking a long flight tomorrow. The very LAST thing I want to hear at 35,000 feet is another passenger saying "I saw something really strange in the forward lavatory a few minutes ago, but I decided not to say anything to the crew because it's probably nothing."

Would the ones among us who have never in their lives drawn an incorrect conclusion based on something they saw that "just didn't look/smell/feel/taste/sound wrong" please raise your hands?

As I said earlier - - better safe than sorry.

[gueli]

A 1998 tire pressure device...I had a feeling it was something like that...not that I thought it was specifically a tire pressure device, but some old outdated piece of equipment that some mechanic (who might never had worked on that bus before) didn't know what it was. He called his sup, who had even less of an idea.
Now had they called some older guy who had been there for years & years- he might have said Oh I know what that is or that thing has been on there forever...
Best to play it safe with the guests...
:mickey:

[Polynesian Dweller]

It might be just a tad unreasonable to suggest people discuss something based on "facts" that are not in evidence in this thread.

The last story posted here from the Sentinel specified that it was a "new" device being tested.

I think it was perfectly reasonable for people to make asssumptions based on a story they had every reason to assume was factually correct.

Except, that everyone can read the Sentinel on line like I did before I posted anything. Its not hard to find and easily referenced as are other sources online. Also, the corrected story was available before many comments were made.

[Polynesian Dweller]

A 1998 tire pressure device...I had a feeling it was something like that...not that I thought it was specifically a tire pressure device, but some old outdated piece of equipment that some mechanic (who might never had worked on that bus before) didn't know what it was. He called his sup, who had even less of an idea.
Now had they called some older guy who had been there for years & years- he might have said Oh I know what that is or that thing has been on there forever...
Best to play it safe with the guests...
:mickey:

True gueli. Better safe than sorry. I have been through bomb scares and when dealing with them you have no idea if the thing reported to you is going to go off immediately our in 8 hours. So, when you get a report, you clear the area first and call the authorities, second. Later in the process you would look for the older employee of that's relevant. But you can't assume you have the time to handle the situation in the opposite order. Definitely, safety first!

[Polynesian Dweller]

No I don't think it was dangerous...I think that someone is testing things to see what they can get away with.....
like what can get by without getting noticed.....
Have to ask you, what do you base that on? Is there anything of factual substance in this story that can lead to that assumption when everything known suggests other explanations?

[Joannelet]

Yes, MOST of us did read the Sentinel online before posting.
Did anywhere else have this reported on their news station BESIDES Florida and Canada?
I'm just interested in knowing if any other state had reports on this.......

[VWL Mom]

Yes, MOST of us did read the Sentinel online before posting.
Did anywhere else have this reported on their news station BESIDES Florida and Canada?
I'm just interested in knowing if any other state had reports on this.......

Not in NJ, we're to busy with our own NY/NJ high alert news.

[Joannelet]

I'm from NJ too :)

[Ian]

Not in NJ, we're to busy with our own NY/NJ high alert news.I work in NJ ... Are you referring to the ring they just broke up that was supposed to be threatening "a large transportation hub in the NYC area?"

That was creepy .... it seemed like a really big operation.

[VWL Mom]

I work in NJ ... Are you referring to the ring they just broke up that was supposed to be threatening "a large transportation hub in the NYC area?"

That was creepy .... it seemed like a really big operation.

Yes, and this morning they've expanded their concerns to sports arenas, hotels, & entertainment venues. Also, concerns about the UN.

[Ian]

Yes, and this morning they've expanded their concerns to sports arenas, hotels, & entertainment venues. Also, concerns about the UN.Fabulous .... Since I work in En-Jay and live in PA, I don't get much of the New York/Jersey news.

I kinda wish that was still the case. :(

[John]

**MODERATOR NOTE **

Lets keep the speculation to a minimum here folks and not get crazy with the conspiracy theories.

Thanks.

[GothMickey]

The good news here is that this wound up being nothing and no one was hurt. I applaud Disney for taking the proper precautions for safety of their employees and guests.

[NewDVCowner]

Yes, MOST of us did read the Sentinel online before posting.
Did anywhere else have this reported on their news station BESIDES Florida and Canada?
I'm just interested in knowing if any other state had reports on this.......

Nada out in California, at least the San Francisco area.

~A~

[brownie]

The good news here is that this wound up being nothing and no one was hurt. I applaud Disney for taking the proper precautions for safety of their employees and guests.

Yes, it's good to see they're willing to put it on the line to ensure the safety of everyone.