Character meet-and-greets are a staple of any Walt Disney World Resort getaway—from Mickey Mouse to Stitch, and even the occasional Flik from A Bug’s Life. But one recent guest experienced a character encounter of a different kind: a roach emerging from a wall outlet at checkout.
The moment was captured in a short video posted by Reddit user midnight_doodles in the Walt Disney World subreddit. According to their post: “Was checking out yesterday and I unplugged my watch charger from the wall and a little fella came out of the socket.”
Was checking out yesterday and I unplugged my watch charger from the wall and a little fella came out of the socket
byu/midnight_doodles inWaltDisneyWorld
The brief footage shows a roach crawling in and out of the plug socket. Although the hotel isn’t explicitly named, décor in the background points to a Moana-themed room—placing the incident at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, one of the most iconic and premium hotels at Walt Disney World.
While bugs and wildlife are part of the Florida environment, few guests expect to see them inside their resort room. Florida’s heat and humidity create ideal conditions for creatures like lizards, insects, and even snakes, but the presence of a roach inside a deluxe hotel raises eyebrows.
The online reaction was immediate. Fellow Redditors weighed in, with many urging the guest to report the issue to resort cast members. Wrong-Neighborhood-2 commented: “Please let the front desk know or a CM so this can get dispatched to Pest Management as soon as possible.”
Some commenters recognized the insect as a German cockroach, a species known for its fast-spreading tendencies and ability to infest structures. I_am_the_Brent offered a serious warning: “They will infest structures fast and cause health problems. Tell them about this and check every bag… You don’t want these to come home with you.” User rdenney88 echoed the concern, suggesting the outlet was only the tip of the problem: “German roach. That wall is infested. 100% those don’t come out unless their home is overcrowded.”
Another commenter, CharaRen, pointed out the expectations that come with staying at high-end resorts like the Polynesian: “Eek, at the Poly too… I know it’s unavoidable in Florida living here but for those prices I’d hope they’d be a little more on it for cleaning.”
Encouragement to speak with cast members came with examples of how Disney has handled similar situations in the past. Caderjames shared their own experience: “My grandmommy found a bed bug once at Art of Animation… They upgraded our room, cleaned and sanitized all our stuff, and gave us a future stay credit. Probably $1,000 of free merch and a free stay.”
ReformedEngineer reminded readers that while bugs may be a part of Florida living, Disney takes reports seriously: “Disney 100% wants to know to immediately fix the issue and see if it’s a bigger problem.”
The conversation expanded when another Redditor, Tryingtodothisright, described their stay at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort: “We had an uncountable amount of German roaches… The front desk offered to spray, but we declined because of our kids. They gave us a $50 refund and a fresh toothbrush when I showed them the photo. I spent 6 hours checking every bag and diaper to make sure nothing came home with us.”
So while It’s Tough to Be a Bug! may no longer entertain guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, these creepy crawlers are still making surprise appearances in real life.
Have you encountered unexpected wildlife or pests at Walt Disney World? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.
