Disneyland Resort’s Storytellers Cafe is usually known for its cozy lodge-inspired atmosphere, hearty buffets, and popular character dining experiences tied to Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. On most evenings, families gather under the restaurant’s timber beams to meet beloved characters while enjoying breakfast or dinner.
This fall, the venue has been transformed for the season. As part of the resort’s Halloween offerings, the restaurant is hosting Clarabelle’s Enchanted Halloween Dinner — a nightly buffet featuring Clarabelle Cow and her woodland friends dressed in festive costumes. Tickets don’t come cheap: $79 per adult, plus tax and gratuity, and $42 per child.
Yet even in this carefully curated environment, where guests pay a premium for exclusive access, some visitors have found ways to bend the rules. A recent report from one diner has reignited discussion about whether guest behavior inside Disney parks is deteriorating.
Sneaking Into Clarabelle's Enchanted Halloween Dinner
The incident occurred during one of the Halloween-themed dinners when paying attendees noticed children slipping through an emergency exit. According to one guest who shared the experience on Reddit, “We are sitting and enjoying ourselves, just had some time with Goofy, and see a parent open the emergency exit door to allow his son and daughter to run in.”
The account went on to describe how the children rushed to Goofy’s table, hugged him, then darted out to grab a phone before returning for photos. “But they already got what they wanted,” the guest explained. “The cast members then had to stand at the emergency exit door to make sure no other person [was] sneaking in. What is that father teaching his children?!”
Reflecting afterward, the guest asked pointedly, “When did we become so entitled?!”
Other fans responded that the problem wasn’t new. “Sadly, I can imagine this happening even 20 or 30 years ago; I don't think it's new,” one person wrote. “It’s a particular mindset with certain people. They will likely brag about it to their family and friends. ‘Saved us about eighty bucks apiece!'”
A Broader Pattern of Recent Disruption at Disney
While sneaking into a character dinner may seem like a minor transgression, it fits into a larger pattern of troubling guest behavior at Disney parks.
In 2023, a brawl famously broke out in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom. Guests involved were escorted out and, presumably, banned. That same year, a visitor at EPCOT leapt from the Italy pavilion bridge into World Showcase Lagoon, drawing swift backlash. More recently, a man was arrested at Magic Kingdom for attempting to smuggle cocaine hidden in a wallet.
The problem hasn’t been confined to Florida. Earlier this year, Disneyland saw a high-profile arrest after a nude man climbed structures in New Orleans Square while under the influence. Cast members and Anaheim police worked quickly to remove him, but the spectacle highlighted the rising unpredictability of guest conduct.
Some believe guest behavior has only worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. Others believe alcohol should be limited across the parks – particularly EPCOT, where many guests undertake “Drinking Around the World” challenges – to reduce the number of intoxicated incidents.
But for what it's worth, Disney has always attracted some degree of poor behavior. While we obviously see more incidents in the age of social media, there are recorded cases dating back decades of guests fighting and acting out on Disney property.
For example, in 1993, a fight infamously broke out at one of the monorail stations when Phillip Harrison, the stepfather of then-Orlando Magic basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, punched a drunk guest in the chest and knocked him onto the monorail tracks.
And back when Pleasure Island still existed at Disney Springs (then known as Downtown Disney), drunken incidents – such as one in 1999 in which a member of the American World Cup rugby team sparked a brawl in the parking lot next to Pleasure Island – weren't uncommon.
Do you think guest behavior is getting worse at Disney?
