LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – As Noor Salman goes on trial for allegedly helping her husband Omar Mateen carry out the Pulse nightclub attack, jurors will likely hear about the couple’s visit to Walt Disney World just days before the June 12, 2016, massacre that left 49 people dead.
Hours after the mass shooting, Salman reportedly told FBI agents about a trip she, Mateen, and their son took to Downtown Disney, now known as Disney Springs.
"While at Downtown Disney, (Mateen) left me and my son for 20 minutes, but I don't know what he was doing," Salman said, according to an FBI agent’s handwritten notes of the conversation. "When leaving Downtown Disney, Omar said 'What would make people more upset, an attack on
Downtown Disney or a club?"
Walt Disney World officials have never disclosed what specific safety measures they may have taken after learning about Mateen’s visit to the shopping and dining district.
However, budget records show that spending on outside law enforcement at the resort has increased significantly since the Pulse attack.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is comprised of the Disney-controlled cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, budgeted $15.8 million for outside law enforcement in the 2018 fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
Reedy Creek's 2018 public safety budget more than doubles the $7 million that was allocated for deputies annually from 2011 through 2015.
Following the terrorist attack at Orlando's Pulse nightclub in June 2016, Reedy Creek hiked its law enforcement budget to $13.7 million.
Months later, the agency's board approved an additional $1.4 in funding for deputies, records show.
[READ: Reedy Creek's public safety budget]
Under the current budget, Reedy Creek now pays the Orange County Sheriff's Office more than the city of Winter Park spends on its entire police department.
For security reasons, Walt Disney World representatives and Orange County Sheriff's officials do not disclose the specific number of deputies who patrol the resort at any given time.
But the increased spending suggests Walt Disney World is continuing to expand the presence of law enforcement officers at the same time concerns about domestic and international terrorism grow.
"We have a comprehensive approach to security that includes measures that are visible and some that are not," said Jacquee Wahler, Walt Disney World's vice president of communications. "We continuously review and adapt security procedures in coordination with law enforcement officials, but do not discuss specifics in order to avoid compromising their effectiveness."
Reedy Creek's 2018 public safety budget was finalized less than two weeks before a gunman opened fire from a Las Vegas resort hotel, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500 who were attending a concert across the street.
With the additional law enforcement spending, Disney World visitors are now more likely than ever to encounter armed sheriff's deputies standing outside ticket booths, walking around inside the theme parks and hotels, or driving around the resort's property in marked and undercover patrol cars.
Reedy Creek hires nearly 70 deputies, detectives, supervisors and administrative staff as part of an $8.3 million annual contract with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The agreement also covers the cost of vehicles, uniforms, weapons and other county-owned equipment.
Besides those on-duty law enforcement officers provided under the Sheriff's Office contract, Reedy Creek will hire an undisclosed number of additional off-duty deputies at a cost of more than $7 million, records show.
The Walt Disney Co. independently hires even more off-duty deputies to supplement those brought in by Reedy Creek. But unlike Reedy Creek's government budget, which is a public record, Disney is not required to disclose its spending on law enforcement.
Both Disney and Reedy Creek pay $40 per hour for each off-duty deputy, according to the Sheriff’s Office. That’s $10 more than the $30 minimum hourly rate required by the deputies’ union contract.
All organizations that hire off-duty deputies must also pay an additional $5 per hour fee to the Sheriff’s Office to cover the costs of equipment.
Some Disney World visitors feel the presence of law enforcement injects a bit too much reality into the resort's crafted fantasy world.
"It's a little bit concerning that they think they need that much security. You're walking around and you see the cops and wonder, 'Why are there so many cops?'" said Geavin Channels, a frequent park-goer from Ocala. "It gives you that brief moment of anxiety."
But others, like Aimee Olmedo, try not to let security concerns distract them from their vacations.
"I don't think about those type of incidents," said Olmedo, who was visiting the resort from Phoenix with her family. "I think (the law enforcement presence) is great if it makes people feel safe."