(Un)Tenable Security

Went to the park this weekend for our annual HW opener and Pointfest trip.

If there was any small chance that we would be renewing our Platinum passes for next year, it was eliminated after this trip.

The resort entrance on Friday had about a half-hour wait JUST to enter the park at 5PM for early entry. Why? Because Tenable security was there doing their usual poor job performing security theatre. There are so many points of failure in how this situation was handled, I don't even care to type them all. Suffice it to say, a long line to enter the park was present all evening.

My wife and kids got there later than me, around 7. She called saying they were heading into the park from the camper. I walked to the resort gate. She, too, had a half hour wait to get in. There were only two Tenable employees with wands, taking their sweet time screening each individual person, such that a line back to perimeter road had formed. A quick shout out to stupid guests too, who contributed to the problem; if you've waited a half hour in line for security, how about being "ready" when it's your turn? Instead, everybody thought it was a big joke of getting wanded and finding, whoops!, my car keys are in my cargo shorts.

I had a rather long chat with the supervisor at that gate (since he had spare time, people were barely trickling through the turnstyles), he had radioed for additional screeners and they sent two CP security officers back to help, but without wands. So they just stood there laughing at the madness all evening.

I had an opportunity to discuss this issue with someone much higher up the food chain on the security side. He agreed that this is pointless and inefficient and that "there are a thousand other ways to get something bad into the park besides through the turnstyles".

Obviously this is here to stay for HW evenings, but I hope at least the park learned something here and deploys staff more intelligently to prevent customers having to wait this long and the outrage that ensued. I'm really surprised no fights broke out, given the anger level of park guests.

We have had Platinum passes for many, many years. 90% of our visits occur during HW, we just like the cool temps and the atmosphere better than summer. With the new "security" delays and the fact that resort guests are now getting Friday nights for free (and hence, much bigger Friday crowds), the value isn't there for us anymore. It's the end of a very fun era for us, for sure.

That was a pretty slow line. I forget how long we waited in it at 5:15ish. But, we were luckier than most. After "looking through" our bags, we were waved around the wanders and got to skip the last 1/3 of the line. My sister and brother in law missed out on Mean Streak because of the line. Granted, they didn't get there until about 6:45. But, it took them about 15 minutes just to get in the park and by the time they got over there, the line was closed.

MaverickLaunch said:

Because Tenable security was there doing their usual poor job performing security theatre.

I'm clearly no fan of security theater. But ... if you recognize they were doing "their usual poor job", why are you taken aback by them doing what you already know they do?

That's the biggest problem I see with this.

1. The checks aren't working to actually find any actual contraband or identify threats
2. The process isn't streamlined and is causing a bottleneck, thus causing large crowd

So if we're not finding anything, and it's taking so long to the point that it's creating a crowd of clients that haven't been screened outside of the venue, we're not really mitigating anything. I'm all for process improvement. If the security is deemed necessary and desired by the parks, implement processes to increase the throughput (like at KI). One wand at one gate is not acceptable. Maybe next season we will see improvements.

Noggin, it was their "usual poor job" in terms of the theatre... what took me aback was how understaffed they were, and how nothing changed when a supervisor called in about the issue. Add to that this is their second year doing this, and you think they would have learned a thing or two by now. Very disappointing. I'd make a complaint, but I've been down that road several times before, and it's borne no fruit.

New for 2017: CPreCheck.

BLAH BLAH BLAH. Man I hate WHINY ENTITLED people like this that will complain and then go out of their way to ask for supervisors and what not basically only wasting THEIR time over something they cannot control at that moment. I seriously hope you and your wife both have the Kate Gosselin "I want to speak to a manager haircut". Glad that this makes you not want to buy Platinum passes even though you will again next year and still complain. This weekend had some scary stuff in other parts of the country in case you didn't see all over the news with multiple explosives set all over NY and NJ. So you had to wait 30 mins in a line to enter and having to go through a security line LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. I really hope you follow through on your threat and not buy passes next year even though you are lying when you say that.

The real point of this post, as I already told my friends going next week, would be avoid the resort gate during evening entry times. I suggested that the marina gate was probably much faster, though I can't be sure because I didn't try it. I'd also try the beach gate, but based on the number of Tenable employees I saw heading to the front around 3:30PM when I was sitting on the beach, I'd probably just play it safe and go to the front gate.

^^^One of the best TSA investments ever. I'm considering getting it at some point. While in the military I never had issues with TSA given clearance, but back in the civilian side again, I really am going to despise flying in a month lol

^^Seriously? If people don't actually complain nothing gets changed. There's some level of complaining that is dumb, like "they didn't let me reride" or "my pizza was too small." Yes, you're at an amusement park to be happy, and generally I don't care what happens on point, I'm there to relax and enjoy a day. However, if enough people do say something about a clearly ineffective security, questions will get raised ans SOP will be rewritten.

On Friday evening we arrived at the front gate around 5:40. I don't think we waited over five minutes to get through security and into the park.

clevelander said:

BLAH BLAH BLAH. Man I hate WHINY ENTITLED people like this that will complain and then go out of their way to ask for supervisors and what not basically only wasting THEIR time over something they cannot control at that moment. I seriously hope you and your wife both have the Kate Gosselin "I want to speak to a manager haircut". Glad that this makes you not want to buy Platinum passes even though you will again next year and still complain. This weekend had some scary stuff in other parts of the country in case you didn't see all over the news with multiple explosives set all over NY and NJ. So you had to wait 30 mins in a line to enter and having to go through a security line LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. I really hope you follow through on your threat and not buy passes next year even though you are lying when you say that.

I didn't ask for supervisors. They chatted me up while I waited for my wife.

And dude, lay off the 'roids. Rather than burst a blood vessel in anger over my post, how about taking a second to read it and understand the point I was trying to make, as well as provide firsthand experience to other guests who may be visiting for HW in the coming weeks? I can't believe I'm even taking the time to respond to your nonsense. Shame on me.

clevelander said:

BLAH BLAH BLAH. Man I hate WHINY ENTITLED people like this that will complain and then go out of their way to ask for supervisors and what not basically only wasting THEIR time over something they cannot control at that moment.

I'll echo what others have said, and point out that at least he tried to communicate the issue with the park in the hope that things can be improved for the future.

This weekend had some scary stuff in other parts of the country in case you didn't see all over the news with multiple explosives set all over NY and NJ.

BE AFRAID!!! Danger awaits around every corner!!!

Nonsensical and irrational hysteria out of the way..

So you had to wait 30 mins in a line to enter and having to go through a security line LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

Whether or not everyone is subjected to it completely misses the point. Even if we assume this security nonsense works (which is a huge, massive "if"), it's still a problem if there are significant waits due to poor implementation. There's no excuse for being so inadequately staffed at any entrance. This isn't the park's first HW, nor is it the first year with this type of security. I recall park apologists last year saying "oh, give them a break, they're just figuring out how to implement this in a way that works".

OK, fine. Exactly how long does it take a billion-plus dollar company to figure this out? What part of "best day experience" involves waiting a half-hour for a bag check or whatever?

Inconsistent security on Saturday. There were no wanding, bag checks, or lines at the front gate when I entered shortly before 4. At 7:45, security was doing both at the front gate, resulting in huge lines of folks waiting to get in.

My understanding is that security does not start until 5PM. Which means it's always there Friday, and not until 5 on Saturday. I left before 5 on Sunday, so I can't say if it was there that day but I suspect not.

The real irony is that when Pointfest ended on Saturday around 10:30, they simply discontinued security (and re-entry handstamp checks too) and opened the gates for people to pour through, carrying whatever their hearts desired with them. It's always been this way, and this year was no different, security checkpoint or not.

We entered the park Friday at the Marina gate and fortunately had a small line. When going through the wanding circus, wearing shorts, the tenable employee actually wanded my bare legs. Must be checking for contraband inserted under my skin. Rode Valravn and then went to Surf Lounge. Had beer and then went to the resort gate to go to Mean Streak. Crazy long and slow moving line to get into the park. Walked to the beach gate and entered immediately with no wait. This time I didn't get my legs wanded. Thought to myself they must put the smart ones by the beach gate. Fortunately on Sunday, Tenable and security theater was not there.

LOL well since you already pouted and said you will not buy passes next year, who cares right? Grow up.

I always thought it was interesting that MLB stadiums were the last of the four major sports leagues to mandate that metal detectors be installed at every park. Despite the lack of them, I never felt unsafe.

I went over with my family on Friday shortly before 5:00. We hoped to park in the back lot and go in through the resort entrance being the closest to Mean Streak, but because of Pointfest taking up so much of that lot, we decided to drive back around to the front and park there. We got wanded by security and were inside the front gate in less than five minutes. Valravn was only a 30 minute wait, so we grabbed a ride there first. On and off by 5:40 and then walked back to Mean Streak and got into line just a short distance away from the podium and flowers.

We stayed away on Saturday and came back over after the 1:00 football games ended on Sunday. We got there again at about 5:00 and walked right in the front gate with no lines and no security checks.

MaverickLaunch said:
[...] and the fact that resort guests are now getting Friday nights for free (and hence, much bigger Friday crowds), the value isn't there for us anymore. It's the end of a very fun era for us, for sure.

Free entry on Friday? This is news to me. I guess I won't be having and 20+ MF ride nights for a while. I've almost given up on the haunted stuff already due to crowds.

clevelander said:

This weekend had some scary stuff in other parts of the country in case you didn't see all over the news with multiple explosives set all over NY and NJ. So you had to wait 30 mins in a line to enter and having to go through a security line LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.

Are you done? Because your rant is boring. I read the objection not so much to be the presence of "security," but the inefficiency of it. That's a reasonable complaint. I went to Epcot for lunch today, Food & Wine Festival (because that's how I roll), went to the no-bags entry, and was through a magnetometer within 20 seconds of entering. They most certainly could be sure I didn't have a gun on me, too.

As for your comments about what happened elsewhere, yeah, that's a totally emotional response, because logically the screening has nothing to do with the kind of threat you describe.