Credit: Inside the MagicDisney has increased prices across several elements of the park experience in recent months, spanning everything from tickets to parking. That’s led some guests to find creative ways to break the rules in an effort to enjoy the magic.
Recent visitors to Disneyland Resort reported that some guests took extreme measures to meet characters at an exclusive Halloween offering – without paying the steep admission price.
Disney Guests Scam Their Way Into Halloween Dinner
The Halloween offering in question was Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner – a spooky-themed character buffet experience that takes place in Storytellers Cafe at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa every evening until October 31 and features Clarabelle Cow and her woodland pals in their finest Halloween attire.
Obviously, this dining experience is exclusive to this specific restaurant and comes with a hefty price tag. Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner costs $79 per adult, plus tax and gratuity, and $42 per child.
That’s why attendees were so shocked to see some guests sneaking into the experience without paying.
“We are sitting and enjoying ourselves, just had some time with Goofy, and see a parent open the emergency exit door to allow his son and daughter to run in,” one guest recalled on Reddit. “They run to Goofy (as he’s at a table with paid guests) and start hugging him. The boy then runs out the emergency door to yell at his dad to give me your phone so he can run back in to take photos with Goofy.”
The children then took more pictures with Goofy before running away after realizing a cast member had clocked them in the restaurant.
“But they already got what they wanted,” the guest added. “The cast members then had to stand at the emergency exit door to make sure no other person [was] sneaking in. What is that father teaching his children?!”
The guest went on to question, “When did we become so entitled?!”
As noted by other Disney fans, this kind of behavior definitely isn’t new. “Sadly, I can imagine this happening even 20 or 30 years ago; I don’t think it’s new,” one wrote. “It’s a particular mindset with certain people. They will likely brag about it to their family and friends. ‘Saved us about eighty bucks apiece!'”
A Concerning History of Guests Breaking Into Disney
This isn’t the first time guests have tried to bypass paying for the Disney experience.
In 2021, a man was spotted scaling a wall to break into Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. After entering the park via a cast member-only door, he was caught exiting Tony’s Town Square Restaurant and later faced charges of trespassing and petty theft for entering the park without paying for a ticket.
More recently, in 2024, a woman was handcuffed and arrested at Disney California Adventure Park – which sits on the outskirts of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa – after refusing to cooperate when approached by cast members and police officers regarding the ages of her two children. The implication was that she had lied about their ages in an effort to avoid paying for their tickets, which are free for children under the age of three.
Beyond breaking into the parks, there’s been a surge of violent and disorderly Disney guest behavior in recent years.
Some of the most infamous incidents include the multiple guests who have tried to scale the Mexico Pavilion at EPCOT while intoxicated, as well as the male guest who jumped into World Showcase Lagoon on a bet in 2023.
Guests have also been arrested for assaulting Disney cast members and trying to sneak drugs into the parks. Earlier this year, a man was arrested after attempting to smuggle a wallet stuffed with cocaine into Magic Kingdom.
Have you ever spotted a guest breaking the rules at Disney?