The new year got off to a violent start at Walt Disney World Resort when a shocking altercation erupted near Magic Kingdom Park’s ferry dock, resulting in criminal charges and lifetime bans for multiple guests. What should have been a magical New Year’s celebration turned into a nightmare for one family after an adult man allegedly attacked a teenage boy while Disney cast members looked on in horror.
Emergency Response in the Early Hours of 2026
Just after the clock struck midnight, ushering in 2026, chaos unfolded at the Most Magical Place on Earth. Orange County Sheriff’s deputies rushed to the Magic Kingdom Park area after receiving reports of a battery around 1:00 a.m. on January 1.
Scanner monitoring account @WDWActiveCrime broke the news on X (formerly known as Twitter), posting:
🚨 Police Alert 🚓 – 1/01/26 1:00 AM
🚨: Battery (Unwanted Touching or Striking Someone) at 📍: Disney’s Magic Kingdom / Contemporary Area
#WaltDisneyWorld #Disney
🚨 Police Alert 🚓 – 1/01/26 1:00 AM
🚨: Battery (Unwanted Touching or Striking Someone) at 📍: Disney's Magic Kingdom / Contemporary Area#WaltDisneyWorld #Disney pic.twitter.com/qtD6qrXf4e— Walt Disney World: Active Calls (@WDWActiveCrime) January 1, 2026
Initial reports provided minimal information about what transpired or who was involved. Because emergency calls at Walt Disney World Resort get tracked using centralized addresses rather than pinpoint locations, readers couldn’t immediately determine whether the violent incident occurred inside Magic Kingdom Park or at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
Disturbing Details Emerge About Battery at Magic Kingdom Park
A police report released on January 2 painted a troubling picture of what unfolded during those early morning hours. When Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at Magic Kingdom Park, they headed straight to Disney security’s backstage office, where Walt Disney World Resort’s security team had already separated and detained everyone connected to the violent confrontation.
The battery incident took place near the ferry dock platform, where guests typically board boats headed to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Three separate Disney cast members provided deputies with sworn written statements describing what they witnessed—all three alleged that two adult males “aggressively” attacked a minor and his father. Each Disney cast member agreed to testify in court if prosecutors require their testimony.
A Father’s Account
The victim’s father, identified in the report as Andrew, gave his own sworn statement to law enforcement describing the terrifying sequence of events. Andrew explained that he and his 14-year-old son Matthew were standing on the ferry dock shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve when things took a violent turn.
A verbal dispute erupted after a man named Christopher physically pushed Andrew and Matthew aside to clear a path for a female in his group who was using a mobility scooter. Christopher’s brother, Jesse, then stepped in and restrained Andrew, preventing him from approaching Christopher.
According to Andrew, Christopher responded by punching Matthew, a 14-year-old child. Multiple witnesses later corroborated that Christopher repeatedly struck the teenage boy and threw him to the ground while Andrew desperately tried to break free from Jesse’s grasp.
Conflicting Stories and Video Evidence
Jesse offered his own police statement admitting to punching Andrew in the face twice while restraining him. He claimed to have acted in self-defense, but couldn’t provide any details, evidence, or witnesses to support that version of the events.
Christopher initially denied any wrongdoing when questioned by authorities. However, he changed his story and admitted to punching Matthew after police informed him that multiple witnesses and video footage contradicted his claims.
Paramedics evaluated both Andrew and Matthew at the scene, though the father and son declined further medical treatment. Andrew told deputies that he wished to press charges against Christopher for battery against his 14-year-old son. However, he declined to pursue charges against Jesse for restraining and punching him.
Swift Consequences
Deputies arrested Christopher for battery and transported him to the Orange County Booking and Release Center to face criminal charges. Meanwhile, Walt Disney World Resort security worked alongside law enforcement to issue trespass warnings to both Christopher and Jesse, permanently banning them from all Disney property.
Walt Disney World Resort has remained silent about the violent incident, declining to issue any public statement addressing what happened at one of its theme parks during what’s typically the busiest vacation week of the year.
Has the behavior of another guest impacted your visit to Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort? Share your experience with Disney Dining in the comments.
Well, yes, it was about 14 years ago. When we took my granddaughter to Disney, when she was 2 and the electric parade was still there at magic kingdom. And after the parade, we was going back down main street, and we went to cross and somebody in a scooter, just ran slept into me on one of those electric scooters. And if it would have been my good cowboy boots and not my steel toad boots, they would have ran slap over my foot and probably broke it. I would have had to restray myself from punching him but? I just think that people with the scooters should know that they need more time and other people needed. Just calm down about trying to make a hole, make a hole. You know, like somebody’s coming through? And you’re supposed to get out of the way. I mean, like right now, that’s how it was with me. But that’s a problem that all parks have with people on scooters in walkers and strollers. When Walt first thought of the place, a lot of these things wouldn’t end place. You know, or have these things. But with the Money that Disney is charging you somehow another they should just be able to widen the sidewalks tear down buildings and build Em back
But that won’t do nothing. But just get charged more money because the Jews that are running. Disney are American Jews who are just all about the money. That’s my take on it. And I’ll go to some other part close to where I live like Dollywood, Carowinds! What’s now both of those parts aren’t perfect. Their self, they have problems during seasonal stuff. And especially with the electric scooters, cause older folks will put their grandkids on it. And let them steer Em, you know which, the people at those parks don’t do anything about it. Because they’re teenagers, and they don’t want to get in a confrontation. And they’re told not to, so how do you take care of it? You just have to put up with it even at Disney but I’m not going pay their kind of money to put up with it. Disney seems to be sure having a lot of problems in the last few years but they charge so much the only people that I see they get in there is people that just have too much money. People that are willing to load up their credit cards. And for one trill, they have to take 10 years to pay it off, or either, their drug dealers would a big role of money.
The above poster should be reported and banned for the antisemitic comments.