Abduction in Disney

[chip&dale1]

I read in the ORLANDO SENTINEL (10th June)that a couple got Abducted (at gunpoint) when walking back from Downtown Disney around Midnight.The spokes person for Disney confirmed that the couple were staying at a DISNEY RESORT but refused to name the resort.Does anyone know? I know they are both unhurt but very shook up. I can't understand why Disney refuse to say which resort.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

If they were walking back it seems it could have only been SSR, or possibly OKW. Of course, they could be mistaking the Downtown hotels as Disney hotels.

MG

 

[TenThousandVolts]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...y0610,0,5284631.story?coll=orl-home-headlines


WOW- here is the story. It says they were walking through the parking lot so maybe they were staying in one of the DTD hotels. How scary, they were taken to a remote area and beaten also. I am glad they are safe now.

If they were walking back it seems it could have only been SSR, or possibly OKW. Of course, they could be mistaking the Downtown hotels as Disney hotels.

 

[asianway]

Seeing as how they or their families may still be staying at the resort, why would they release that information? I see no relevance

 

[Sammie]

Basically all this proves, and I see no relevance to where they were staying, that parking lots regardless of where they are, can be dangerous.

But surely everyone knew that.

 

[Davids-Coco]

Basically all this proves, and I see no relevance to where they were staying, that parking lots regardless of where they are, can be dangerous.

But surely everyone knew that.

ITA... I think that some people have a false sense of security at disney. But, it shows that anything can happen anywhere!

 

[snyderla]

I certainly fall into that category of feeling a false sense of security while at WDW. Although I don't feel that way when at DTD. And I am always uneasy in parking lots. There have been robberies, kidnappings, and other violent crimes in our local parking lots, particularly in the malls. But if someone pulled up and asked me a question, I would have done the same thing.

I'm glad they didn't say where they were staying or when they were leaving! The criminals would have been able to track them down again! Perhaps they didn't intend to leave any witnesses, since they ran off after the gun discharged. Who knows. But I'm sure they are safer without the name of their hotel being advertised and their travel itinerary!

 

[doconeill]

"Good feelings gone." - Marlin

Ugh...DW and I were planning on making a few trips over to DTD from SSR while we were there in December. How we get there may change now.

The only parking lot I can see, if they were truely walking to a Disney Resort, would be the big lot off of the West Side, behind La Nouba, that leads to the walkway on the golf course (from which I think you can reach OKW) and to the main building at SSR.

Otherwise maybe it was one of the on-property-but-not-Disney places near the Marketplace side?

 

[TenThousandVolts]

The only parking lot I can see, if they were truely walking to a Disney Resort, would be the big lot off of the West Side, behind La Nouba, that leads to the walkway on the golf course (from which I think you can reach OKW) and to the main building at SSR.

That is true- you do have to walk through a lot to get back to SSR from the West Side- and it is a pretty isolated/quiet lot. DH and I went through there in the middle of the day and we were the only humans in sight. But it doesn't say they were walking back to their hotel, it just just says they were finished shopping. They could have been going to their car. I misunderstood that they were walking to their hotel when I first saw this.

 

[beattyfamily]

The article is vague.

It says they were walking to their room via a parking lot, after a night of shopping at DTD.

So they could have been walking from a rental car or from the bus stop or they could have walked from DTD to their resort/room.

The parking lot could have been at DTD or at their resort.

It's too vague to tell yet.

Scary stuff though.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Living where I live we never let our guard down . We just returned but would have never thought of going up to a car anywhere to answer a question .

It's not just that some think of Disney as a safe place but they come from areas that are very low on crime and just don't know any better or how to be safe .

I know this seems hard but it's the sad state of today . The criminals know people will have on hand or close by large sums of money while at WDW so why not target them. I know they have good security and sheriff enforcement but they can't be everywhere watching the thousands of people lost and wandering around a strange place

 

[gtrist4life]

Not to put a damper on the location, but Orlando is a high crime city,
It ranked third in a recent FBI ranking of per capita crimes.
I'm sure the law enforcement groups focus much effort to protect the tourist trade, but it also makes for an enticing target with so many visitors, who are ready to have fun, spend, and probably have their guard down.

Like I tell my kids, Be Kind, Be Strong, BE AWARE.

Peace,
G4L

 

[dwelty]

This is not suprising since Orlando has one of the highest per capita crime rates in the nation. In fact, on the last DIS podcast, they spoke about Orlando being one of only 5 cities in the nation that have had intervention from the FBI to try to get a handle on the problem. Disney is going to have to foot the bill for more security on property.

 

[dwelty]

After reading the article I found it interesting that the one tourist that was interviewed said that she was not suprised that it had happened. She was from Tampa. I looked up violent crime statistics for Tampa and found them much higher than the national average as well. (As were all of the big cities in Florida) I will be taking the boat to and from DTD from now on.

 

[dwelty]

See FBI 2006 Crime statistics link: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/06prelim/ucrtable4index.htm

It is interesting to note that Orlando, FL has a population of 216,819 and had 4,300 violent crimes reported in 2006 with 49 murders.

As a comparison Anaheim, CA (Home of the Disneyland resort) has a population of 334,792 with 1558 violent crimes reported in 2006 with 10 murders.

Therefore you are almost 3 times as likely to fall victim to a violent crime visiting Orlando than Anaheim. It is even more interesting to note that Anaheim is part of the Los Angeles Metropolitian area with a population of over 11 million, and it is still much safer than Orlando.

 

[kimberh]

Thanks for all the Information! We have walked across DTD parking lots before. I will now look for different modes of transporation. My Security level for Disney has been low, I will have to reset.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

While I believe the Orlando crime statistics, let's not forget that WDW is in Lake Buena Vista which is a fair distance from Orlando.

MG

 

[BroganMc]

Call my cynical but something about this story just doesn't add up for me. Two 20 year old tourists say they were hailed by a guy in a car and went to answer a question. The guy (which was actually a couple guys) pulled a gun on them and threatened them into the car. They drove around to an ATM (where there are cameras), ordered them to use their ATM cards to withdraw money (how much do 20 year olds keep in their bank accounts these days?). Then took them to an isolated landfill, ruffed them up but were startled by their own gun going off allowing the victims to runaway for help to a house.

If you're in a crowded parking lot and someone in a car threatens you, why do you meekly get inside it? A simple shout is enough to attract a lot of attention at midnight in DTD.

Why would criminals targeting tourists go to the trouble of driving them to an ATM and getting them to withdraw cash? Just take what they have in their wallets and not risk getting yourself photographed for police later.

If the criminals were bold enough to drive their victims to an isolated area and beat them up, why go all paranoid when the gun fires?

When you're running away from your kidnappers and are in the middle of nowhere, why do you escape on foot and not go for the car? In a footrace you're more likely to get caught.

 

[DebbieB]

I don't know if it was file footage or actually where it happened but they showed the parking lot near Disney Quest on the news.

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Call my cynical but something about this story just doesn't add up for me. Two 20 year old tourists say they were hailed by a guy in a car and went to answer a question. The guy (which was actually a couple guys) pulled a gun on them and threatened them into the car. They drove around to an ATM (where there are cameras), ordered them to use their ATM cards to withdraw money (how much do 20 year olds keep in their bank accounts these days?). Then took them to an isolated landfill, ruffed them up but were startled by their own gun going off allowing the victims to runaway for help to a house.

If you're in a crowded parking lot and someone in a car threatens you, why do you meekly get inside it? A simple shout is enough to attract a lot of attention at midnight in DTD.

Why would criminals targeting tourists go to the trouble of driving them to an ATM and getting them to withdraw cash? Just take what they have in their wallets and not risk getting yourself photographed for police later.

If the criminals were bold enough to drive their victims to an isolated area and beat them up, why go all paranoid when the gun fires?

When you're running away from your kidnappers and are in the middle of nowhere, why do you escape on foot and not go for the car? In a footrace you're more likely to get caught.

The way you described it, kind of what I heard on the news, it sounds like a drug deal that went sour.