"Traumatizing" Disney Jail Captures Criminal at Magic Kingdom

If you are ever at a mall and you do something wrong, like an attempt to steal from a store, you may end up in a jail-like structure. It won’t be a real jail or prison, but there will be bars, and you will be detained while the proper authorities arrive and take you to the police station, where the real-life panic of jail will certainly set in; at Disney, things are similar.

The “Most Magical Jail on Earth” does exist, however, it certainly is not somewhere you want to be whilst on your Walt Disney World vacation. Disney has a lot of rules and regulations that Guests must follow, and being on private property, they are allowed to enforce them. That being said, Guests must also follow the actual law while in the theme parks, and assaulting or injuring others is not at all permitted.

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.

If a Guest severely breaks any rules or laws and authorities need to be involved, Disney will use their jail system. Instead of making a public scene, unless an active fight is not ongoing, they will deal with issues behind closed doors in their “Disney jail”. If Disney has an entire underground system (utilidoors) so that Guests don’t see Adventureland Cast Members walking through Tomorrowland, you bet they will find a way to conceal any negative sighting of an arrest when possible. 

Recently, one Guest spoke out on their time visiting Disney jail, they said:

“I ended up in “Disney jail” as a witness. Full grown Dude was in a pathway taking video of the fireworks. Female employee asks him to please move. Dude just pushed her to the ground and ran off. I was standing right there so I volunteered to give my account. They found the dude and I’m pretty sure he was banned from the parks. It was a “what the heck just happened” moment when I left the security office.”

Getting banned from Disney Parks for life is a normal punishment for someone who assaulted a Cast Member. There is also a good chance that this person ended up going to the police office as well. 

More on Disney’s Jail

Have you ever wondered what happens when you get in trouble at Disneyland? Some may think that a serious infraction would have you removed from the park, but it seems that at times it could have you brought to an interrogation room, at least according to some celebrities.

That is exactly what Gossip Girl star Blake Lively had to endure as a child. The actor, who is married to Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds once discussed the traumatizing experience with David Letterman. Lively told Letterman:

“I grew up going to Disneyland like twice a week…my mom would take me out of school and take me to Disneyland But I was banned from Disneyland for a year because I went to Disney prison.”

If you are like me, the only Disney prison that I could think of at Disneyland was the one in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but it seems that Lively experienced a more serious version, but this version did not have any bars or locks. Lively continued to explain what caused the trouble:

“You get a stamp when you leave the park.  If you spray hairspray on it, you can transfer them to someone else’s hand.”

This is when Disney security had eyes on the siblings and caught them trying to pull a fast one on Disney! Lively continued:

“So we go downstairs in Disneyland – it’s all white rooms, everyone is dressed in all white, the furniture is all white, and they just interrogated us…it was really scary and traumatizing.”

After the two were caught, they were reportedly not allowed back in Disneyland for a full year.

Of course, this instance occurred years ago when Lively was just a child, and when Disneyland relied on a stamp system for reentry — something you would not see nowadays, since the parks have tightened security associated with Guests entering and reentering the parks. Disneyland now takes Guests photos upon entry as a way of associating Guests with their specific park tickets.

All of this being said, Disney having a “jail” is something that is quite well known, and it is a place — more of a security office than an actual jail — that Disney Parks use to reprimand Guests who are breaking the rules or causing trouble. According to CheatSheet,

“While Disney keeps its so-called “jail” under wraps, most have described the jail to look more like a security office or holding area. Depending on the incident, Disney security will hold perpetrators in the office until they figure out whether or not a more serious action needs to be taken.”

Guests cannot be arrested by Disney security. However, depending on the circumstance, the “Disney jail” can be used as a place to hold a disruptive Guest until police arrive. Typically, Guests who are not going to head to the police station are brought down to the security-like room, asked questions, at times detained for a few hours, and then released.

In many cases, Guests who cause problems are banned from the Disney Park for a minimum of one year.

Marvel Iron Man trilogy and Avengers franchise star, Robert Downey Jr., has also previously shared that he, too, went to “Disney jail”. According to Fox News. Downey was caught smoking marijuana on the Disney Skyway at a young age.

The actor stated, “I was brought to a surprisingly friendly processing center, given a stern warning, and returned to, if memory serves, one very disappointed group chaperone.” This is an example that proves that the result of a Guest infraction can change depending on the day and the issue at hand — and depending on the security measures that are in place at the parks.

Did you know Disney had a jail? Let us know in the comments below.