Credit: Disney Parks BlogA guest was arrested and banned from Walt Disney World Resort after attacking a cast member while waiting for a meet-and-greet with Mirabel from Encanto (2021). The man was reportedly angry that he couldn’t take a photo with the character performer.
Disney World Guest Arrested for Attack During Character Meet-and-Greet
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies responded to EPCOT at 3:14 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, following reports of a battery near CommuniCore Hall. A Disney Character Attendant was assisting Mirabel and managing the line when a family approached, attempting to cut the line to meet the Encanto character.
The Character Attendant repeatedly informed the family that they needed to wait until Mirabel finished her interaction with the family she had been greeting. The Disney cast member had to reiterate the rules to the family’s child multiple times, intervening as the child tried to run up to the Encanto character.
At this point, according to the police report, the child’s mother became confrontational. She stuck an autograph book in the Character Attendant’s face, even after the Disney cast member informed her that Mirabel was only posing for photos at this time.
Moments later, the child’s father, identified in the police report as Diego Rodriguez, intervened. The Disney Character Attendant stated that the guest grabbed her right arm, shook her, and yelled at her. He reportedly continued to assault the Disney cast member verbally and attempted to lunge at her before intervention.
Several other Walt Disney World Resort guests and cast members, including the character performer playing Mirabel, corroborated this version of events. One witness said Rodriguez yelled, “Why everyone can take a picture but us?”
Security and Law Enforcement Respond
Walt Disney World Resort security responded quickly, escorting Rodriguez and his family to their office at EPCOT. There, they met Orange County Sheriff’s deputies, who arrested Rodriguez for battery.
Rodriguez was transported to the Orange County Jail for processing and issued a lifetime trespass notice (a.k.a. a permanent ban) from Walt Disney World Resort property.
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