One Walt Disney World trespasser wasn’t very festive at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party in the Magic Kingdom.
He made a scene that led to his dramatic arrest in front of hundreds of people there to watch the holiday parade.
On November 22, a day when the special ticketed party was happening, 56-year-old Robert Raimondo entered the Magic Kingdom without having a ticket, according to a newly released Orange County Sheriff’s arrest report. (We’re writing about it now because it took the sheriff’s office months to release the public document.)
Raimondo was told to leave the park but wouldn’t go, the arrest report said.
Law enforcement got involved.
Local deputies and Disney security tried to escort Raimondo, who is from Calabasas, California, out of the Magic Kingdom, but he began arguing. Tensions ran high.
“Security Manager Chris Grubman stated Mr. Raimondo has been rude the whole time and wanted him out of the property immediately. Deputies on scene advised Mr. Raimondo to stop stalling and make his way out of the park immediately,” a deputy wrote in the arrest report. “Mr. Raimondo argued instead of following orders in which I lightly place my hand on his shoulder advising him to leave. Mr. Raimondo then turned around and began placing his hand on my shoulder, still not moving.”
“I grabbed his arm and told him to place his hands behind his back. At that moment, Mr. Raimondo began screaming, “My back,’” the deputy wrote. “Mr. Raimondo chose to make a scene where hundreds of people were standing for a parade in which myself and additional deputies escorted him to the ground in order to secure him. While on the ground, he continued to refuse to put his hands behind his back.”
Raimondo, who complained of back pain, eventually got up and was taken to a security office.
The Walt Disney World firefighters checked Raimondo to make sure he was okay. He was then taken to the Orange County Jail. He is charged with trespassing and resisting an officer without violence, which are both misdemeanors, according to Orange Circuit Court records.
Earlier this month, Raimondo pleaded not guilty. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
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