Disneyland Guests Forced to Use Backstage Exits After Suspicious Bags Spark Bomb Squad Response
Marbles and Disney-style crowns were among the items found inside two bags that caused police to close part of Disneyland’s entrance Monday night. Visitors leaving the California park had to use different exits while a bomb squad checked the bags.
Disneyland employees noticed the bags near the Harbor-East Shuttle Area on October 12. One had wires hanging out of it, and the other was wrapped in duct tape with pointed objects sticking through.
Anaheim police closed the Esplanade and called the Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad to examine what had been left behind. The Esplanade is the area between Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure.
Guests trying to leave through the east entrance were sent toward Downtown Disney instead. Police eventually cleared the bags, but they still wanted to find out who had left them there.
Disneyland Guests Had to Find Another Way Out
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Disneyland’s east entrance and access to the Toy Story parking shuttles were closed while police worked near Harbor Boulevard. Some guests leaving the park were taken through backstage areas normally used by cast members.
Disneyland reporter Matt Desmond posted updates on social media as the exits were being closed. He said guests were using a side exit because they couldn’t leave through the front gates.
Videos shared by The Disneylanders on Instagram also showed the unusual activity near the park. By 11:24 p.m., one side of the Disneyland Park exit had closed, and guests were being sent in another direction.
Anaheim Police Sgt. Eric Anderson told The Disney Scoop that the entire Esplanade and Harbor-East Shuttle Area had been closed to keep people away from the bags. Disneyland also confirmed the closure to KTLA. The resort said it expected to operate normally Tuesday.
Bomb Squad Finds Some Unusual Items Inside the Bags
Police said the bags were left near the bus roundabout, with one sitting on a dolly. The wired bag was a satchel, while the other was made of nylon and had been taped shut.
Disneyland security used a bomb-sniffing dog to check the area first. The dog didn’t alert to explosives, but Anaheim police still requested the sheriff’s bomb squad.
The satchel turned out to contain marbles. The other bag had Disney-style crowns, belt buckles and several other metal objects inside, Anderson told KTLA. The bomb squad found no explosives in either bag. Police finished checking the items around 11:45 p.m., and the area was reopened.
Police Want to Find the Man Who Left the Bags
Investigators believe the bags were deliberately placed near the entrance to make them look suspicious.
Anderson said police had surveillance footage and witness statements that could help them identify the man believed to have left the items there. Police had not identified the man publicly or released any pictures of him at the time of writing.
