Guy tries to camp out on abandoned Disney island, gets arrested

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida has been shut down since March on account of the coronavirus, and we have the creepy look-at-the-abandoned-public-places videos to prove it:

But some attractions have been closed down for much longer than that. Take Discovery Island, which for decades delighted park-goers with all kinds of exotic wildlife. The exhibit was shut down in 1999 and all the wildlife moved to the new Animal Kingdom. Discovery Island, which is accessible only by watercraft, has been largely abandoned since that time. Just last year, a couple of guys snuck onto the island and filmed a video of what it looked like all abandoned:

That is one popular pastime.

Anyway, these guys got away with it, but 42-year-old Richard McGuire wasn’t so lucky. According to Variety, the Mobile, Alabama resident was arrested after being discovered camping on the island. He was charged with a misdemeanor for trespassing and banned from all Disney properties.

“Richard 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,” reads the police report. The island has plenty of “no trespassing” signs, but apparently McGuire missed them. He said it just looked like a “tropical paradise.”

And that probably was Disney’s original idea, so maybe they can take it as a compliment?

As for when the non-abandoned parts of the Disney parks will reopen officially again, no one seems exactly sure, and when it does happen, visitors may be in for additional restrictions like tape markings and bans of anyone over the age of 65. It’s a long, theme park-less period we’re going through, but if you’re itching to break into the Magical Kingdom anyway, probably better don’t.

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h/t The A.V. Club