Controversy Erupts: Disney Bars Entry to Numerous Guests Over Appearance

Disneyland Resort isn’t The Happiest Place on Earth for countless Magic Key Pass holders after they were denied entry based on their physical appearances. After using the frustrating theme park reservation system and dealing with parking, it’s devastating to deal with the rejection.

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To avoid fraud, Disneyland employees compare the person entering Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park to a photo attached to their Southern California theme park tickets. If a Disney Park cast member believes the guest doesn’t look enough like their identification photo, they’re allowed to deny entry.

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While guests can appeal the cast member’s decision and ask for a leader, the delay keeps them from their favorite Disney attractions, restaurants, and entertainment experiences. Unfortunately, a recent online conversation suggests this mistake is more common than one might think.

Changed Appearances

An appearance change is one of the most common reasons for denied Disney Park entry. You’ll always have the same face, but a hair color change or haircut, a drastic makeup look, or weight loss or gain can impact how strangers perceive you compared to an older identification photo.

“Because my most recent driver’s license photo was just automatically renewed, I didn’t get to take a recent photo….,” u/Gold_Journalist_2869 wrote. “Also, I managed to survive the pandemic I forgot happened and…. I’ve aged drastically from the stress. So my photo and my current stressed out self apparently do not even remotely resemble each other lmaooooo. It usually ends with an awkward moment and they let me through.”

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“Every now and then there’s a lady that questions me if it’s my pass because my pass photo I have pink hair and I now have my natural color,” u/eese256 said. “I’m just like, yes, it’s me, pink is not my natural color.”

For one guest, facial hair caused such issues that they had to fight for their right to enter Disneyland Resort.

“In our AP pictures we had fairly large beards,” u/Zen604 recalled. “We decided to shave before going on our family trip to the parks. We were entering through the California Grand entrance and the cast member wouldn’t allow us in, claiming we were not the people in the ID picture. We kept waiting and continued to try and convince the cast member that those were our AP passes. Eventually a higher up cast member showed up and let us in.”

Updated Accessories

For some guests, the lack of a key accessory caused issues.

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“This happened to a friend of mine!” u/musenna wrote. “He had just gotten Lasik surgery and the [cast member] wouldn’t let him in because he was wearing glasses in his picture. I guess Superman’s disguise isn’t so unrealistic after all lol.”

“This happened to my brother,” u/THE_Lena replied. “He was wearing glasses in his picture, but was wearing contacts that day. They asked for his ID to verify.”

Other Disneyland Guests Rejected From Park Based on Appearance

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Sometimes, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for a cast member’s decision to reject guests from Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park. Multiple guests insisted nothing had changed.

“Disneyland employee almost wouldn’t let me into the park because she didn’t believe I looked like my picture…after she scanned my pass she wouldn’t let me through initially,” u/BlackBeanMamba wrote. “She then showed me my own picture because she didn’t believe I was me. We stood there awkwardly for a few moments before she hesitantly let me in.”

“I wonder if I had the same lady one time,” u/AudreySharkDooDooDoo said. “My husband has pretty distinctive features, and is a creature of habit – he wears the same rotation of clothes. We had an older lady say that my husband didn’t look like his picture and almost not let us in. My husband was literally wearing the same outfit as in his photo! I thought she was joking for a second and laughingly said ‘are you serious?’ Before realizing she was.”

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Another Disney park guest’s child was nearly rejected for not looking her age.

“Many years ago I took my daughter a few days before she turned 3,” u/serendipity_aey recalled. “An older lady refused to let us in without a ticket and we argued for forever. I even had her immunization record and offered to show her to prove she was 2 and she refused. Eventually a lead came over and made her let us in, which is policy anyway. Policy even says whatever age they are at the start of the trip counts for the whole 5 day trip. It was so upsetting.”

Has a Disney security cast member given you any trouble about entering Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park based on your identification photo? 

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