Child Abuse at Disney Skyrockets, Allegations Flood the Internet

When Guests visit Walt Disney World, they expect many things — none of which involve witnessing parents assault their child in the Most Magical Place on Earth.

At Walt Disney World Resort, Guests have access to nearly everything they need at their fingertips (literally, My Disney Experience can help you accomplish nearly anything you need). There are four incredible theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT, as well as two water parks: Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, and the currently closed Disney’s Blizzard Beach, as well as Disney Springs. That is all just scratching the surface because Guests can also enjoy the 25+ resorts on property, golf, mini golf, visit ESPN Wide World of Sports, and so much more. The large theme park mogul is plotted on a size of land that is equivalent to San Francisco — which means the theme park is truly its own functioning city.

Unfortunately, even in a place where Guests can watch Tinker Bell fly from Cinderella Castle, there is also some bad that happens. Lately, we have seen an influx of fights breaking out on property and more arrests taking place now than ever.

Unfortunately, it seems that the mistreatment of children is also an ongoing issue at Walt Disney World when it comes to parents publically reprimanding their children in a severe way. Disney Guests are flooding the internet with stories of what they have seen, and it is anything but magical. 

One Guest responded to a story of a couple divorcing with a similar tale: 

OMG. I was going to post an incredibly similar story except that ours was a couple outside of the Mexican restaurant in Disney Springs. Their young son was with them and they were trying to get him to “choose” one of them. He was sobbing. Mom was screaming. It was ugly.

ETA: This is getting more feedback than I expected! They were a British family so I imagine this was a once in a lifetime trip for the boy. I have a vivid memory of the mom ripping the boy’s teddy out of his hands to get him to follow her. It was horrible! My spouse went and alerted management because it was looking like it was getting physical and I believe they were escorted out. So horrible.

Of course, everyone who read the story replied in horror, saying things like, “Poor baby. What disgusting parents,” and “Poor guy needed an option three in that scenario, wow that’s awful.”

Another Guest took to the same Reddit thread to share their story, “I was at Animal Kingdom and saw a woman who was yelling at her child (who couldn’t be older than 7) to SHUT THE F-CK UP!! JUST SHUT THE F-CK UP!! Before storming off with the kid trailing awkwardly behind. I was also coincidentally called a b-tch by a parent at the parks (in the queue for River Journey, shoutout to anyone who saw!!), but I am an older teen and the word definitely applies lol.”

It should be noted that Walt Disney World Resort is located on private property and, because of this, has its own set of rules. Some of these rules include not causing a scene such as this, as it is not only vulgar but it ruins and disrupts the enjoyment of others. In the past, we have seen Guests removed from theme parks for using excessive profanity. If others have to get involved and ask you to quiet down, it often means you are indeed breaking the rules.

With the amount of shocking parental behavior, others have been left stunned, replying, “My mom did shit like that and it’s like, as an adult I get how annoying kids can be, but they’re just little people. They have feelings. God, it breaks my heart to see parents treat their kids like that when they’re all happy and excited to be at Disney World where they think they can have their parent’s full attention.”

Others shared stories where they saw children getting hit by family: “The most disturbing was a woman slapping her child across the face in the middle of Galaxies Edge, she then literally dragged him to the restrooms…,” as well as, “Mine is unfortunately similar to your last one. Slapped their toddler for crying at the Norway bakery. Imagine thinking hitting your kid will make them stop crying…”

It is very unfortunate to see the rise in child abuse at theme parks as of late. Recently, we reported on a parent forcing their child to jump into the waters of “it’s a small world” due to the attraction getting stuck. Watch that here.

What do you think of parental behavior at Disney World?

If you are looking to visit Walt Disney World Resort for a magical vacation, the Walt Disney World Website can be a great tool to begin planning your trip! You can begin exploring their theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. You can also take a look at their water parks where you can splash around in the chill of Disney’s Blizzard Beach (alongside new Frozen characters, Anna, Elsa, Sven, and Kristoff), or hit the waves at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. When you get hungry or want to go shopping, Disney Springs is the place to be, especially with World of Disney there ready to help you pick up some souvenirs! You can also begin looking for your Disney World Resort! If you are looking to stay at a Deluxe monorail Resort like Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa or a Value Resort where you can hop on the Skyliner like Disney’s Pop Century Resort, it is always fun to begin looking for a room that would best suit you and your party. Plus, it has all the information you need to know on Disney Genie+ so that you will be ready to go on your My Disney Experience app once you download it! Click here to check it out today.