A 42-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for living out my most precious fantasy. Richard McGuire was found trespassing on Walt Disney World’s abandoned Discovery Island. The real kicker, is that the man told authorities that he was unaware he was trespassing and called the island a “tropical paradise.”
Discovery Island has been closed to the public since 1999. According to Orange County arrest report, the man “stated that he had made entry to the island to go camping on Monday or Tuesday and had planned on staying on the island for approximately one week.”
Disney security spotted McGuire camping on the island and snitched on him to authorities. This incited a search complete with helicopters and boats. When confronted by deputies, the man claimed that he didn’t hear them calling out to him via loudspeaker because he was sleeping inside one of the buildings on the island.
In its heyday, Discovery Island, originally called Treasure Island, was an 11-acre zoological park that featured lush greenery, and walk-through aviaries with more than 500 species of birds.
Sadly, our dear friend Richie was charged with a misdemeanour count of trespassing and has been banned from Disney properties.
“This serves as a reminder that trespassing is not permitted at Walt Disney World Resort,” a Disney representative shared. “We appreciate our security team and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for assisting in this matter.”
I didn’t realise that Disney embodied such big cop energy and I will certainly be cancelling my Disney + subscription stat.
