A teenager reportedly threw an anti-gay slur at a Disney Park guest last week while his father mouthed violent threats. The Disneyland Resort guest shared his experience on X (formerly Twitter) after Disney cast members could not locate his harassers.
The Walt Disney Company is one of the most progressive major media corporations, having offered employees with same-sex partners the same health and investment benefits as their straight-married colleagues decades before it was popular to do so. Since those early days, Disney has introduced numerous Rainbow Disney/Pride Month collections to support LGBTQIA+ charities, celebrated Pride Month with After Dark events and decorations at Disney Parks worldwide, and created queer characters like Ethan Clade in Strange World (2022) and Hawthorne in Lightyear (2022).

In 2022, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s Parental Rights in Education Act (known popularly as the “Don’t Say Gay” law). The former Republican presidential candidate responded by passing legislation to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a municipal privilege held by Walt Disney World Resort since 1967. Still, Chapek and current CEO Bob Iger both stood by the company’s stance and vowed continual support to LGBTQIA+ employees amid discriminatory legislation in Florida.
The Disney theme parks also have a zero-tolerance policy for violence and harassment, going so far as to ban guests who don’t follow the rules: “Please show common courtesy to fellow Guests and our Cast Members by not using profanity or engaging in unsafe, illegal, disruptive or offensive behavior.”

Related: Disneyland Drops 2024 After Dark Events, Including Pride and Disney Channel Nites
Unfortunately, Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park security can only stop violence or harassment if they get to the perpetrators in time. For Dave Cobb (@davecobb on X), it was too late.
“Minding my own business and enjoying my day at @Disneyland when a teenage kid randomly calls me and my friends the f slur — and his dad backs him up, locking eyes with me and silently mouthing the slur and threatening violence,” Cobb wrote to thousands of followers. “I just smiled and waved as he walked away. SMDH.”
Minding my own business and enjoying my day at @Disneyland when a teenage kid randomly calls me and my friends the f slur — and his dad backs him up, locking eyes with me and silently mouthing the slur and threatening violence. I just smiled and waved as he walked away. SMDH.
— Dave Cobb 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🐻 (he/him) (@davecobb) March 3, 2024
The incident outraged hundreds of Disney Parks fans, many of whom recommended the guest follow up with security. He explained that he made a report but never saw the other two guests again.

“Please tell me you talked to guest relations,” @Lt_Pippa wrote.
“I did,” Cobb replied. “But there were no cast members nearby when it happened, and the family in question had moved on by the time I found one.”
I did. But there were no cast members nearby when it happened, and the family in question had moved on by the time I found one.
— Dave Cobb 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️🐻 (he/him) (@davecobb) March 3, 2024
Some Disney Parks fans were surprised such an incident would occur in Southern California, a more left-leaning area, rather than the stereotypically conservative Florida.

“That just angers me,” @jrvr1031 wrote. “There is no place for it. One of my points of pride in Disneyland is that the biases are less than in Florida. It looks like we still have a long way to go. I’m in awe you stayed calm.”
That just angers me. There is no place for it. One of my points of pride in Disneyland is that the biases are less than in Florida. It looks like we still have a long way to go. I’m in awe you stayed calm.
— jeff (@jrvr1031) March 3, 2024
“Completely oblivious to the fact that hundreds of members of the LBGT+ community played a major role in what they enjoyed at the park,” said @ThemesRenewed.
Completely oblivious to the fact that hundreds of members of the LBGT+ community played a major role in what they enjoyed at the park.
— Joe Kleiman (@ThemesRenewed) March 3, 2024
If you witness inappropriate or violent behavior at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, or any Disney Park, notify a Disney cast member immediately.