Starting today, guests staying at the Magic Kingdom resort areas can go through security screenings at their resort. This replaces the security checkpoint and bag check in front of the Magic Kingdom park entrance. Hopefully this lets the long lines and bottlenecking that was happening in front of the park during busy hours, like opening, die down. Disney starts this right before the height of their busy park season too.
Other Security Procedures
Guests taking water transportation and busses will still be screened at the park entrance, but it has been moved to a new location. Guests at the Transportation and Ticket Center will go through the screening after departing from the parking tram, but before boarding the monorail or ferryboat.
My Opinion
I think guests staying on the monorail system (Polynesian Resort, Grand Floridian Resort and Spa and The Contemporary Resort) will see a time saving benefit from the new resort security screenings. It’s convenient and out of the sun, which will be great during the heat of the Summer.
My only concern is Disney seeing the new advantage of adding this feature and raising the price per night of these resort rooms. They are already “Deluxe” resorts and Disney seems to charge extra for convenience. Only time will tell if it changes anything.
No word yet if this changes things for Run Disney security measures on race mornings. I’m sure we’ll find out more information during Star Wars Darkside race weekend.
Doug
Friday 7th of April 2017
Kimberly,
With all due respect, I don't agree that this is an "advantage," for several reasons. First, this is an inconvenience for anyone not going to the MK, but merely hopping between the monorail resorts for dinner or shopping. Second, the lines for the security stations will likely back up deep into the resorts (especially at the Contemporary, where the stations are respectively positioned before the up escalator and elevator) at peak times and during peak seasons. Third, how will people transport the things they have bought between the monorail resorts? For example, if you buy a bottle of wine or liquor at one monorail resort, you cannot bring it back to another monorail resort, since it is not allowed in the MK and thus won't be allowed past security. For all these reasons, I don't think guests or Disney will see this as a benefit worthy of an upcharge. Instead, I predict that tempers will flare (when the monorail is coming into the station and someone is stuck in the security line behind three persons with strollers and numerous bags) and that people will get annoyed when they are screened but are not going to the MK. The security stations should be moved out of the monorail resorts to the MK exit of resort monorail--this way, the screening targets only those monorail resort guests actually going to the MK.
Kimberly Stroh
Friday 7th of April 2017
Thank you for the response! I agree, that we could definitely see some hiccups caused from this. That's a perspective I didn't see. Hopefully they can work out any issues and it does become a benefit to the guest. I do think Disney loses sight of that sometimes. We'll have to see how it causes the traffic flow to change. They may very well move the security stations back to the park entrance. Solid points, Doug! Thank you!