Disney Rule Now Heavily Enforced, Ticketed Guests Refused Entry into Parks

It looks like Disney is cracking down on one of their rules that many have been able to “slide by” for years, as the theme park continues to reject ticketed guests from the theme park.

Walt Disney World has so much to explore, and for those who get the chance to visit, it is not a surprise that they want to find a way to encapsulate their experience so that their memories will exist in more places than their mind. One thing that you will see almost every guest do at some point during their Magic Kingdom day is take a photo in front of Cinderella Castle, snap a picture in front of the Haunted Mansion, record the Festival of Fantasy Parade, take a family selfie with Mickey Mouse, and raise their hands as high as they can to record Happily Ever After in the evening.

At EPCOT, guests might make a video showing all of the different food and drinks they got while eating and drinking around the World Showcase, and of course, they will get the perfect photo in front of Spaceship Earth.

In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, parents everywhere are doing what they can to get a photo of their kid in front of Woody in Toy Story Land, while Star Wars fans are filming every aspect of Batuu in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge! Thousands are making TikTok’s daily of Mickey Mouse and his nightmare battle in Fantasmic!, while others are filming entire ride POV’s to relive the magic later on.

At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you would be lying if you said you never took a photo of the floating mountains in Pandora — The World of Avatar!

Overall, there is one common thing that all guests do at Disney World, and that is take photos and videos of their experience.

While some guests do this for themselves and their memories, others do this to share the magic of Disney with others online. The Disney vlogger and influencer space has boomed since the pandemic, with so many different YouTubers, live-streamers, TikTokers, and Instagrammers finding new ways to share the parks online.

Some creators like to give history lessons; others share food; others keep you up to date on park changes, while others just share their daily experience living near Disney. For those who do not live by Disney, watching a Disney vlog of the new rooms at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa is the perfect way to decide if that is the hotel they want to book on their upcoming trip! It provides a fountain of knowledge and for many, a way to kick the Disney blues away while they are not in the most magical place on earth.

But, although many creators film, Disney does have a rule that prohibits it.

Their website states, “Photography, videotaping or recording of any kind, or otherwise engaging in any activity, for unapproved commercial purposes,” as an unapproved activity. In addition, the site notes that both “Selfie sticks, hand-held extension poles for cameras or mobile devices, flags and banners are not allowed in any theme park or water park,” and “Tripods or monopod stands that cannot fit inside a standard backpack or that extend over 6’ (182 cm) are not allowed in theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, or ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex,” are not allowed in the theme parks.

While guests are typically allowed to film, Disney is able to ask any guest to stop doing so, especially those who are looking to post their videos and gain money from their video on YouTube or other social media platforms. While this is not a rule Disney had been enforcing in the past, it is one that they are certainly enforcing much more now.

Recently, we shared that live-streamer N3ON was banned and trespassed from Walt Disney World Resort. The YouTuber was asked to put away his filming equipment, which seemed to be a little more complex than just a camera or phone, but he refused. N3ON went on to mock Disney security and cast members, caused a massive disturbance in the park, and for that, was removed.

He is not the only one.

Content creators are now not just using Disney as a fun place to film but a place to break the rules for social media clout, controversially. One of the more “popular” rule breaks has been to be caught getting “dress-coded”. Many females entered the park knowing their shirt was too revealing, hoping to get a free shirt from Disney and document the process.

While Disney used to do that for guests who innocently did not know their outfit was prohibited, they have had to stop due to social media exploiting their kindness. 

Now, creators are being turned away due to the equipment they have.

Main Street Moments, a podcast YouTube channel, shared a vlog of them being rejected entry at Magic Kingdom. While the creator did not seemingly do this for views, they did try to bring a portable podcast set up, which included two microphones, into the park. Security stopped the creator, and management noted that the microphones were the issue.

The creator did ask to put the mics in a locker, but since the lockers were inside the park, that was not an option for Disney.

If you want to see the full video, you can below!

The interesting thing to note here is that Disney is certainly getting more and more serious with the type of equipment that guests are bringing into the park. While this set-up did not look alarmingly professional, the fact that it was more than just a simple camera had this guest heading back to a resort instead of in the Magic Kingdom.

This rule can certainly affect many who are visiting Disney World, especially since it hasn’t been heavily enforced and, therefore, left it unknown to the average guest.

One thing that this creator could have done is go to one of the walkable Disney resorts, such as Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (which he did go to) or Disney’s Contemporary Resort, to have his bag held while he went to the parks.

Do you think that Disney is cracking down on filming equipment and content creators as of late? 

This post originally appeared on Inside the Magic.