I'll refer you to our friends at the Orlando Sentinel for ongoing coverage of the attack, in which the gunman ultimately was killed. The shooting — now the deadliest recent mass shooting inside the United States — came one day after another shooting in Orlando that attracted international headlines — the killing of singer Christina Grimmie.
In both cases, according to local police, the shooters were not from Orlando, but came to the city to carry out their attacks. Obviously, that's troubling for everyone in the Orlando area. No one wants the community to become an attractive target for outside criminals and terrorists. Nor does anyone in the tourism industry want the public to begin conflating easily the words "Orlando" and "shooting," and thereby reconsider their vacation plans to the area.
The Pulse nightclub was located on South Orange Avenue, well way from the traditional tourist zones of the city. But it certainly was known and frequented by cast and team members of the Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando resorts, as well as employees of other area attractions. We've not seen a list of the victims, but it is hard to imagine that cast and team members will not be among them.
The challenge today is to embrace and comfort the survivors, and the friends of families of the lost. Then, to promote and ensure the continued safety of all other residents and visitors to the area. It's a rough, rough day today in Orlando. But here's our message to our friends throughout the community — we're all here for you, no matter where we are.
(Note: I'm not in the mood for hateful comments right now. Not that I accept or condone what happened, but I recognize that hate and anger is what led us to this horror. More hate and anger will lead only to more horrors, somewhere down the road.)
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Thoughts are with all those affected.
I do think that allowing things like this to change the way we live and travel is pointless. These kind of attacks can happen at any time, in any place. There is no evidence yet that it was religiously motivated, but whether it was or not living in fear solves no problems, and only further harms those already affected (in this case the Orlando community who rely on the tourism dollar for their income).
I Respond: Please provide us with all of your in depth insight into the WDW and DLR security operations that would lead you to make such an assessment. Please tell us about how you gained unique and detailed awareness/knowledge of the company's procedures.
The simple truth is that there is NOTHING a government can do to stop terrorism. And if you choose to stay at home bear in mind that statistically you are more likely to die from a domestic accident in the home than from leaving it.
The only answer is to carry on as normal, but just be vigilant and sensible.
My heart is with Orlando, my adopted second home. I hope that all of us who use this website, and those you love, were safe.
As for modifying travel plans, I'll just say this: I do not currently have any plans to visit Orlando, but if I did I would not change them. One isolated incident is not an indication of increased danger because an isolated incident can occur anywhere. The goal of terrorism is to place terror into a population, and the best way to fight that is to avoid being terrified and go on with life. In my opinion, if a terrorist commits a horrible act and 1% of the population changes their daily routine due to it, the terrorist has won. Besides, there are things the average person does on a daily basis that, according to statistics, they should be much more afraid of.
Federal law enforcement says that Disney Springs at Walt Disney World was a potential target of the Orlando Pulse nightclub gunman, Omar Mateen.
Mateen visited Walt Disney World in April with his wife, Noor Zahi Salman, who told investigators that he had been “scouting Downtown Disney (now known as Disney Springs) and Pulse for attacks.”
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Our only response is to be vigilant, to be careful, but to carry on and be ourselves. If we change ourselves in any way or change our behaviours the terrorists have already won.