Man arrested after camping on Disney island during pandemic

Disney World has been closed since mid-March as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic. One man saw the closure as an opportunity to turn a Disney island into his personal campsite, but that didn’t last long.

Richard McGuire, 42, from Mobile, Ala., was arrested on April 30 after camping on Walt Disney World’s Discovery Island, according to an arrest report acquired by USA Today. He was banned from all Disney properties and charged with a misdemeanour for trespassing.

Orange County officers conducted a search by foot, boat and helicopter and eventually found him.

He had been sleeping in one of the island’s buildings and referred to the property as a “tropical paradise,” according to the arrest report.

“Richard stated that he had made entry to the island to go camping on (last) Monday or Tuesday and had planned on staying on the island for approximately one week,” Robert Ricks, an Orange County police officer, wrote in the report.

McGuire also told Ricks he was “unaware” that he was trespassing when he was on the property.

However, there were multiple “no trespassing” and “private property” signs on and near the island.

Disney’s Discovery Island, which was originally called “Treasure Island” and is located in Disney World’s Bay Lake, closed to the public in 1999, according to Atlas Obscura. Since then, it has been off limits, though Disney explored new ways to use the island and at one point tried to work with video game developers to turn the island into a series of puzzles to solve while exploring.

In spite of its closure, McGuire is not the first person to get onto the island.

Atlas Obscura reported that others have found their way onto the island and captured what remains on film. USA Today reached out to Disney for comment.