Credit: Inside the MagicA Disneyland Resort guest recently shared her experience with racism at the Southern California theme park. She spoke out on TikTok, hoping her story would help others in similar situations.
Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort prohibit “engaging in unsafe, illegal, disruptive or offensive behavior,” and guests who break the rules face punishments as harsh as a permanent ban. However, Disney cast members don’t always catch guests in the act.
Val (@nicunurseval on TikTok) recently visited Disneyland Park and encountered a racist man antagonizing other Southern California theme park guests. She shared her story in the video below.
@nicunurseval i still can’t believe i experienced this at whats supposed to be the happiest place on earth for EVERYONE AND ANYONE. #disney #disneyland #disneylandcalifornia #racism #racismawareness #racismneedstostop
Val decided to eat at Alien Pizza Planet in Tomorrowland before ending her night with the fireworks. The white man behind her in line reportedly started “very loudly” making racist comments about Hispanic people.
“I’m in front of him; there’s a Hispanic family in front of me,” the Disneyland Park guest recalled. “There’s Hispanics behind him… He’s saying things like, ‘You can’t enjoy it with all these Hispanics around.’”
Val was furious, but she tried to ignore the man at first. She got more upset when he started talking about how there were too many non-white kids around. After the man ignored his girlfriend’s pleas to stop talking, Val turned around and glared at him.
At this point, Val said the man looked at her and said, “Sup, dog?”
“First of all, I’m not your dog, and watch your f**king mouth,” Val replied. Then she walked away, worried about causing a scene around so many families. The incident upset her so much that she lost her appetite.
“Imagine being at Disneyland and being so bothered by people that aren’t doing anything to you,” Val said. “…These kind of people are real and they don’t care about who’s around them. They don’t have any remorse, just blatant racist and disrespectful and rude…It just makes me so sad.”
“Unfortunately, I feel like with the election coming up and the way things are with Trump, I feel like it’s raising those emotions more,” she added. “I will take this to the grave; people are like that because of him. Racism has always been a thing even before Trump, but I…blame that man for the reason why people think like that, feel like that, talk like that.”
Val said she wanted to “bring light” to the situation and hoped that no other Disney Park guests experienced what she did at “what was supposed to be The Happiest Place on Earth.”
“This is just your reminder to be kind,” she concluded. “Kindness takes literally no energy. It takes more energy to be a person like that than [it does] to just be a nice, kind person. Kindness goes such a long way.”
Disney Parks fans condemned the man’s statements and recommended she tell a Disney cast member if something similar happens again.
“People need to start getting called out so they can STOP doing that,” @xo_jesss commented. “You should’ve told an employee and got him kicked out. Sorry you experienced that.”
“Hope this don’t [happen] next time but [of] it happens, please ask to speak with Disneyland security and let them know!” @imagitaetion agreed. “If you heard or see something, say something…That [helps] them a lot to improve.”
Other Disneyland Resort guests reported similar experiences.
“I had a pass last year,” @margar1994 wrote. “Didn’t renew it since I experienced this even from cast members. Never again going there.”
“This happened to me before, my friends and I started speaking Spanish loudly and laughing & they got more mad that we were having a time while they were bitter,” @arely.soriano replied.
Harassing or speaking offensively about other guests is against Disneyland Resort’s code of conduct. If you feel bullied or threatened by another Disneyland Park, Downtown Disney, or Disney California Adventure Park guest, inform a Disney cast member.
Has another Disney Park guest ever negatively impacted your vacation? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments.
Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks guest experience. No two guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.