Credit: DisneyA Walt Disney World Resort vacation is supposed to be a magical experience where families and friends make memories that will last a lifetime. Between the fun rides and attractions, the incredible character interactions, the mouthwatering food, and the stunning nighttime spectaculars, a Disney World vacation is something people look forward to months, or even years in advance.
While millions of people leave their Walt Disney World Resort vacation full of happiness and ready to book their next trip, not everyone has the experience they were hoping for.
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Reddit user u/mewuzhere claimed they were visiting the Magic Kingdom last week when they noticed a father abusing his young son. The OP (Original Poster) said that they were standing outside of a Belle meet and greet area when they noticed a father throw his young son onto the ground.
Op claimed they confronted the father, who defended his actions, saying people have to “discipline their kids.”
Two days ago while in Magic Kingdom, I watched a father throw his 10 year old kid onto the concrete outside of Belle’s Meet and Greet. I called him out and he aggressively defended himself that you have to “discipline your kids”. I alerted guest experience to what I saw and pointed to the guy who did it, but I keep feeling like there is more I could have done. Has anyone else experienced something like this and have suggestions if I ever see something like that again?
Witnessed Child Abuse in Magic Kingdom, What Should I Have Done?
byu/mewuzhere inDisneyWorld
While the OP thought they should have done more, commenters said they really did everything they could. The OP quickly found a Disney cast member and alerted them to what they had seen.
One commenter, who said they worked as a Disney security guard in the past, said that the OP did the right thing. Unfortunately, since the cast member did not see what happened, there was little they could do. They also encouraged others to immediately begin filming when they see something disturbing like that.
I work for Disney Security. We encourage you to have the nearest CM contact Security and you wait to talk to the Security CM who responds. Describe what you saw and then provide a description of the person you saw involved. Security will monitor them for awhile, but if we don’t actually see them doing something like this, then just like law enforcement, we can’t really do anything about it.
If you’re able to record something like this, then we’d be happy to have one of the OCSO deputies come watch the video and determine if any laws were broken. I will say, however, that Florida law allows for a pretty wide latitude in what people do to discipline their children.
That same commenter revealed that, while Disney does have cameras covering much of the property, very strict rules must be followed when deciding whether or not to review the footage. For example, the commenter claimed that if there was an accusation of sexual abuse, a Disney investigator would be much more likely to go through the footage to see what happened.
However, in the incident outlined by OP, there was a debate about whether the child was being abused or if the parent was disciplining their child.
Many commenters thanked the OP for having the courage to speak out when they saw something they thought was wrong.
Ugh, that is awful. Thank you for what you did. It was dangerous for you, but I’m sure it meant a lot to the kid to see an adult stand up for them.
The only other thing I can think of that you could have done would be to call the police, but I’m not sure how they respond to reports like that. Maybe someone else knows more.
And of course, we can all pray for that poor kid’s physical and emotional safety.
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Ultimately, we do not know what happened to the father who was being accused of abusing his child. We do not know if the police were called, if the child was removed from his father’s care, or if any arrests were made.
If you witness something like a child being abused at Disney, find the nearest Disney cast member, security guard, or police officer and alert them to what is happening. And according to a former Disney security guard, you may want to consider filming the incident, so there is evidence of what is happening.
Have you ever witnessed a distressing moment while visiting a Disney park? What happened? Share your story with us in the comments.