Parent Hits Child With Dog Leash At Disney World Per Incident Report

It wasn't the Most Magical Place on Earth when a child was allegedly the victim of abuse.

According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office report, an adult struck a child in the face with a dog leash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

The incident occurred on December 14, 2022 at Disney's Hollywood Studios and it took nearly four months for the public records to be released, per WDWNT.

Their report also states that the public record is "heavily redacted", meaning details such as how old the child was, the adult’s identity, and other details are unknown.

Although certain details are not released to the public, a Disney World security guard, who witnessed the incident, gave a statement to the sheriff’s office.

“The adult male wearing a white shirt, tan pants, and tan shoes struck the juvenile male, wearing all blue, with the free end of a red dog leash,’ the security guard said according to the sheriff’s report. “Said action occurred after the adult had a misstep while the juvenile crossed in front of him. This action occurred after the adult recovered from the misstep and appeared to be a deliberate action, as he intentionally struck the child across the face with the leash.”

The boy was crying after the incident occurred and had a small red mark under his right eye.

The adult male had a dog leash as he used a service dog. He denied he struck the child on purpose and insisted he didn’t see the child when the child walked in front of him.

The man told law enforcement, “he has a habit of swinging the leash of the service animal in his hand,” per the report.

Nobody appears to have been arrested. “I am unable to determine if a crime has occurred and this report will be forwarded to Domestic Crimes for further review,” the sheriff’s deputy wrote in the report.

Last month, a Disneyland guest was caught on video dragging her child on his safety leash across the ground.

In the video, the child is seen stumbling and then ultimately turning himself over as his parent/guardian dragged him behind her to the edge of the sidewalk.

Luckily, the child appeared to be uninjured.

Both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort have added “courtesy” sections to their websites, asking guests to “treat others with respect, kindness, and compassion" as more and more situations like these occur at the Disney Parks, including fights and other abuse incidents.

The courtesy section reads, “We ask all who come to this happy place to treat others with respect, kindness, and compassion.”

The website also states, "Please show common courtesy to fellow Guests and our Cast Members by not using profanity or engaging in unsafe, illegal, disruptive or offensive behavior, jumping lines or saving places in lines for others. For your safety and the safety of others, please refrain from running."