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View Full Version : No bag/contraband check at GCH entrance to DCA?



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tonytone
07-09-2008, 09:14 AM
This probably could fall under the "So what?" category but I thought I'd mention it anyways because of the fact that it was the first time I noticed it--during our recent visit to DLR over the Fourth of July weekend...on two separate occasions while entering DCA via the GCH entrance we noticed that the bag/contraband check station/table was unmanned. IOW--we were able to enter DCH w/o having any of our bags checked for any contraband; the CM at the ticket-scanning station didn't even say anything regarding the bag check, even after my wife had her bag out ready to open for him to view.

So is this absence of a bag check a somewhat-infrequent--but not entirely rare--occurrence? I mean, if I had seen this happen only once--that's one thing...but on two different occasions? :confused:

neverlander
07-09-2008, 09:22 AM
Were you staying at the GCH? Did they recognize you? On occasion, we've noticed the absence of the inspector at the table. The scanners usually take a look in my purse. Toward the end of one of our vacations, the lady kind of chuckled when I opened by purse and said not to bother, that she had my contents memorized by that point.

Bytebear
07-09-2008, 10:09 AM
I was there this past Saturday, and the table was gone completely. No bag check at all. This was in the early evening.

cstephens
07-09-2008, 10:45 AM
Waiting for the obligatory snarky remark about DCA...

DaDuckFan1955
07-09-2008, 11:46 AM
Why even bother to check at the other entry points unless the whole purpose is not to actually check for anything, but just hassle the guests?

Someone should be fired for not manning that table unless my point above is accurate.

Maybe Goofy really is in charge of Security....

adriennek
07-10-2008, 07:27 AM
Maybe Goofy really is in charge of Security....

Just as a comment: The tables aren't actually staffed by security CMs. They're not a Security check. They're a bag check. The CMs that staff the tables are the main gate CMs that rotate through the ticket taking turnstiles.

Adrienne

evrythngwmn
07-10-2008, 10:38 AM
Just as a comment: The tables aren't actually staffed by security CMs. They're not a Security check. They're a bag check. The CMs that staff the tables are the main gate CMs that rotate through the ticket taking turnstiles.

Adrienne

Totally correct. Read my signature.

DisneyFamilyOf6
07-10-2008, 11:42 AM
The many times we've gone through there they're not checking.

Christyvoltron
07-10-2008, 11:48 AM
We went into DCA through the GCH entrance on the 8th and nobody looked in our bags. That was new to us -- they always looked before.

AVP
07-10-2008, 12:02 PM
Just as a comment: The tables aren't actually staffed by security CMs. They're not a Security check. They're a bag check. Technically they are "guest screening," because the check applies to visitors without bags as well.

AVP

Bytebear
07-10-2008, 03:18 PM
I don't mind the bag check, other than it puts the picnic area far from the bathrooms, which can be a pain. And it pretty much removes the far side of the Mickey tram stop from being used. I would love to see the check go away completely though, and re-open the central plaza like it was pre-9/11.

DangerMouse
07-10-2008, 04:53 PM
Does anyone remember the name of the sweet grey haired older gentleman that is typically doing the bag check at the GCH private entrance? I can't remember his name. Such a wonderful CM!

adriennek
07-10-2008, 08:52 PM
Does anyone remember the name of the sweet grey haired older gentleman that is typically doing the bag check at the GCH private entrance? I can't remember his name. Such a wonderful CM!

OH! I think we had him last week!! He stopped and talked to each of my boys.

Adrienne

Katlovett
07-10-2008, 09:01 PM
Perhaps I am the only one who feels this way, but I LIKE the bag check. I am old enough to remember the tear gas episode at Knott's Berry Farm back in the 1980's and quite frankly, I feel safe knowing that there is this additional layer of safety at Disneyland. Sure, maybe someone who was very determined could smuggle something in but IMO some precautions are better than no precautions.

Of course, I am used to going through metal detectors and having my belongings x-rayed on at least a weekly basis at the entrance to the courthouse. Perhaps I am just numb to any "intrusion" in this regard.

Katprint
Always only my own opinions

Matterhorn Yodeler
07-11-2008, 03:18 PM
Perhaps I am the only one who feels this way, but I LIKE the bag check. I am old enough to remember the tear gas episode at Knott's Berry Farm back in the 1980's and quite frankly, I feel safe knowing that there is this additional layer of safety at Disneyland. Sure, maybe someone who was very determined could smuggle something in but IMO some precautions are better than no precautions.

Of course, I am used to going through metal detectors and having my belongings x-rayed on at least a weekly basis at the entrance to the courthouse. Perhaps I am just numb to any "intrusion" in this regard.

Katprint
Always only my own opinions

I can't go so far as to say I "like" bag check, and I honestly don't feel any more secure because of it. However, others feel differently. I will say that I don't mind bag check, because it is handled very efficiently and quickly. Most importantly, I appreciate the attitudes of the CM's who do not make you feel as if you are "guilty before being proven innocent". They are looking for items which might be a safety issue to others and YOU while inside the park.

Case in point is someone recently brought up a person bringing in a very large kitchen knife to cut up carrots. Now they were not thinking about a terrorist act of holding someone hostage at knifepoint. But they also were not thinking of the potential dangers of having a knife like that in you bag. What if you are on the Matterhorn straddling one of your kids, get jostled and the knife pokes through the bag and stabs your child?

So, even though the measures of installing the bag check were 9-11 related, perhaps it has positively evolved into a general safety precaution. Believe me, I am still "irked" at the ridiculous hoops one has to jump through at the airport (how many shoe bombings have they prevented lately?:confused: how many toothpaste explosives have been confiscated?:p). But I don't seem to mind the DL version.

DaDuckFan1955
07-11-2008, 03:38 PM
it gives the perception of being a security 'bag' check though...

DaDuckFan1955
07-11-2008, 03:44 PM
Technically they are "guest screening," because the check applies to visitors without bags as well.

AVP
'
What are they screening for?? :D:D

HisKid
07-11-2008, 04:22 PM
Here's my thought:

I don't like undergoing extra inconvenience. I really don't. I have done everything in my power to minimize my wait, and the wait of those behind me. We have all read (and many of us have expressed outrage) at the hostility and rudeness shown toward CM's and guests when people are disappointed or don't get their way. The combination of long days, large financial investments, people running on empty, huge expectations, crabby children, hot weather, general fatigue, and some spark to set them off can create a dangerous and volatile situation. There ARE assaults in the park.

Say what you will about bag check, and I DO admit that they are inconsistent at best. It IS a fact, however, that they confiscate or prevent some weapons from entering the park on a regular basis. Preventing a volatile situation from getting truly dangerous or deadly even a few times a year might be worth it. <shrugs> I'm not saying I'm beating the drum in the "Bag Check is the Best" parade, but it's just another thought is all.

All of that being said, I think that failing to have a separate line for those with no bags is just punitive. Also, large groups, should have to be processed separately, I think. A couple of times I have arrived JUST after huge groups of people that are together (Jr. High groups, cheerleaders, etc.) and they flood the entire area, yet it seems that each person (although they hardly have anything with them) takes FOREVER! Stop talking for 15 seconds, and unzip your bag already!!!

AnotherJenny
07-11-2008, 10:46 PM
Well, the way they do it now is better than the individual screenings for each park. When you had to get checked every time you crossed back and forth. I don't mind it at all. But sometimes I wish their was a line for people who don't have strollers, because those take for-ev-er.

AVP
07-12-2008, 10:05 AM
'
What are they screening for?? :D:DYou'll have to ask them, but try to get past the bag check because you don't have one, and you'll quickly be informed that it's "guest screening," not bag check.

On that note, I recently witnessed a situation where someone wearing cargo pants was required to empty all of the pockets in his pants and show his waistband to the checker. He was *not* amused.

AVP

Another Dimension
07-12-2008, 10:09 PM
Does anyone remember the name of the sweet grey haired older gentleman that is typically doing the bag check at the GCH private entrance? I can't remember his name. Such a wonderful CM!


"Chappy" is always wonderful to see as I enter DCA.


A place I never fail to have fun at!!!
:D

sendkeys
07-13-2008, 05:31 AM
The bag check does nothing to help safety. Someone could put 12 sticks of dynamite under there shirt or a gun in a leg holsters and get in without a problem. All it really doesn't is make people "feel safe" and stop others form sneaking in a lot of food.

Over all i don't mind if i don't have to wait but then again i like to sneak in food :) hehe If they really wanted to make it safe they should have metal detectors. This would at least screen out firearms.

Bytebear
07-13-2008, 09:08 AM
You'll have to ask them, but try to get past the bag check because you don't have one, and you'll quickly be informed that it's "guest screening," not bag check.

On that note, I recently witnessed a situation where someone wearing cargo pants was required to empty all of the pockets in his pants and show his waistband to the checker. He was *not* amused.

AVP

Wow, I wear cargo pants there all the time, usually with a bottle of water in each side pocket, snacks, wallet, keys, cell phone all making them bulge out pretty significantly on the sides. I have never been stopped. Only occasionally, when I am wearing a jacket have they asked me to show that I had nothing underneath it and usually only when it is zipped up.

DangerMouse
07-13-2008, 09:53 AM
"Chappy" is always wonderful to see as I enter DCA.


A place I never fail to have fun at!!!
:D

Chappy!! :D Thanks so much -- I was going crazy trying to figure it out. Kept wanting to call him Marty for some reason. . . :rolleyes:

AVP
07-13-2008, 09:59 AM
Wow, I wear cargo pants there all the time, usually with a bottle of water in each side pocket, snacks, wallet, keys, cell phone all making them bulge out pretty significantly on the sides. I have never been stopped. Only occasionally, when I am wearing a jacket have they asked me to show that I had nothing underneath it and usually only when it is zipped up.And that is why bag check is nothing more than theater, because it's completely inconsistent. *I* was once asked to show my waistband when I was wearing a t-shirt that covered it. Not a jacket, not a coat, not a sweater or sweatshirt or overshirt, just a single-layer of loose t-shirt.

AVP