Disney Headlines for November 9th, 2022
This week, Disney park visits led to the arrests of two different fugitives. Meanwhile, a third went unpunished, although they paid for their crimes.
Welcome to Law & Order: Orlando, aka the latest set of Disney Headlines!
The Fugitive
The song doesn’t lie, my friends. It’s a small world, after all.
The latest proof of the wisdom of the Sherman Brothers occurred at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Yes, the siren song of Pandora – The World of Avatar lured another guest, but this one quickly lived to regret it.
The individual in question was currently on the run from the law. This Brooklyn, New York resident had committed COVID-19 fraud multiple times during the pandemic.
Not coincidentally, the criminal was flush with capital since he’d stolen $150,000 from the government.
So, the man took his ill-gotten fortune and vacationed at Walt Disney World. But, alas, he wasn’t the only one.
In a coincidence for the ages, someone else happened to spend that fateful day at Animal Kingdom.
The other vacationer was the federal official who had signed the criminal’s arrest warrant. You can’t make this stuff up.
This person, a federal postal inspector, noticed the fugitive thanks to a unique H-shaped tattoo around the neck.
So, the law enforcement official quietly informed Disney’s security team, who notified the police.
Soon afterward, the criminal found himself answering some uncomfortable questions while awaiting a Disney bus.
The fugitive first gave a fake name. Then, he later attempted to evade arrest. Finally, however, the local authorities did bring this person to justice.
That wasn’t easy since the criminal was pretty smart. Here are some details of the illicit activities:
“During the scheme charged in this case, the defendant used fraudulent email accounts, fake identification documents, bank accounts and bank cards in the names of other individuals, and stolen personal identification information in a manner that created a complex web of identities that made his crimes difficult to investigate.”
He would have gotten away with it, too, if not for that meddling Mickey Mouse!
“No Ticket”
There’s a law of averages aspect to park visits. With hundreds of thousands of guests visiting Walt Disney World each day, somebody will commit some crimes.
We’re covering three such instances today, including the dumbest one. A 37-year-old parent decided he would take his child to Walt Disney World.
Alas, this father didn’t want to pay for the privilege. And I don’t think he possessed a Park Pass for that day, either.
Lacking the necessary tools to enter the park as a paying customer, this person did the expected. He jumped the turnstile and grabbed his child.
The two of them attempted to enter the park. Obviously, security officials notice behavior like that. So, a guard questioned the parent about their actions.
At this point, the encounter turned mildly physical. The father shoved the security guard. He also pretended not to understand English.
Needless to say, several other security guards started to follow as the man entered Main Street, U.S.A.
Eventually, the security staff arrested the individual, who was charged with petit theft and battery.
Law enforcement officials also doubled the cost of the bond since the individual wasn’t a Florida resident.
I’ll save you the trouble of doing the math here. It would have been MUCH cheaper to buy tickets to Walt Disney World instead.
To a larger point, if you ever meet someone who has worked in security at a Disney theme park, buy them a drink and ask them to tell some stories.
Some of the stuff you hear will blow your mind!
More Like Beat to the Beat!
I treat many social media posts with a wary eye. After all, we never know how sincere someone is with their comments.
Still, a Reddit horror story went viral last week. This person posted a picture of their car.
On the date in question, the Disney fan had attended the Eat to the Beat concert series at EPCOT.
Hanson was the band on the evening in question. We won’t music shame here, as the Hanson fan stayed for the entire performance, which…isn’t something I would do.
Once the person returned to their car, they discovered the image you see in the picture. Someone had bashed the front of their vehicle.
The contact had caused the front fender to fall off this Nissan. Whoever had struck the car was kind enough to leave a note.
The message apologized and included a $100 bill. There wasn’t any information that would help with filing an insurance claim, though.
I want to give the driver the benefit of the doubt here. The car may not have appeared this badly damaged at first, which is a thing that happens with car wrecks.
Still, the person must have known that they’d made solid contact. Similarly, they were likely aware that $100 wouldn’t cover the charges.
So, the message borders on “sorry, not sorry.” But at least this person had $100 in churro money!
RIP Alice Estes Davis
Finally, let’s take this opportunity to pay tribute to one of the most extraordinary women ever to work at Disney.
If you’ve ever heard the term “designing women,” you partially have Alice Estes Davis to thank for it.
The fashion designer worked with Disney on several park attractions like It’s a Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean. Yes, some of those pirate costumes are her creations!
She even designed the first batch of outfits for Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress!
Davis didn’t start with Disney, though. Instead, she made a name for herself in lingerie design. Later, an old professor of hers, Marc Davis, coaxed her to work with Disney.
While Marc may not have admitted as much at the time, he had an ulterior motive. He had a crush on Alice Davis that had lasted for 15+ years. She’d helped him run a class at Chouinard Art Institute.
Even before Davis worked at Disney, she had earned the respect of the company’s founder and namesake.
During a dinner date with Marc, Alice met Walt Disney for the first time. His famous last words to her that fateful night were, “You know, you’re going to work for me someday.” And she did!
Alice Davis took a job at WED Enterprises in 1962 and remained with the company for 16 years. She technically retired in 1978, but that undersells her accomplishments.
Davis continued to work on projects after her retirement. She even had input on some elements of 2009’s UP!
The designer and engineer became a Disney Legend in 2004 and gained a place on Main Street, U.S.A., at Disneyland in 2012…one right beside her husband!
Davis lived a life of tremendous achievement, and I suspect that Disney+ will highlight many of her accomplishments in the coming years.
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Feature photo: Disney