Disneyland And Universal Studios Install Metal Detectors; Theme Parks To Ban Toy Guns?

Disneyland and Universal Studios have begun using new security measures and metal detectors Thursday, to strengthen guest screening, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The newly added measures include an increased number of bomb-sniffing dogs at Disneyland. The $55 billion-a-year theme park industry has now moved from the behind-the-scenes and discrete kind of security.

"We want our guests to feel safe when they come here," said Universal Studios spokeswoman, Audrey Eig. "This test is a natural progression for us as we study best practices for security in today's world."

California Adventure and Disneyland have also added walk-through metal detectors to be used on randomly selected guests and Universal Studios started to use metal-detecting wands to screen visitors.

These parks have also banned the use of toy guns and guests who are over 14 years old, are prohibited from wearing costumes and masks that conceal their identity, revealed CNN Money.

"We continually review our comprehensive approach to security and are implementing additional security measures, as appropriate," said a Disney spokeswoman.

In Orlando, Florida, Sea World Entertainment Inc. said, for the holiday season, they are also "enhancing" security at all 11 parks but declined to specify what measures are being taken.

Crowds can grow as big as 80,000 people a day in these parks and according to Martin Lawson, adding metal detectors have been resisted by the amusement parks because they do not want guests to feel that they are vulnerable to terrorism or gun violence.

"The parks want people to come and forget their cares, and that is the attitude they want to maintain," he said.

Lawson is a business management professor at Farmingdale State College and theme park expert in New York.

Disney has stopped selling toy guns at its parks due to worries that a toy could be mistaken for a real firearm.

After the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., Disneyland, Universal Studios and other theme park companies felt they had no choice but to make security visible, reported The New York Times.

The theme park industry has a great track record when it comes to guest safety but recent incidents have shown the challenges they face. Last week, a man from Florida was arrested on suspicion of trying to bring a handgun into Disney's Magic Kingdom Park and in April, a man shot himself inside Universal Studios Hollywood.