A man from South Florida said he brought his AR-15 and a handgun on his trip to Walt Disney World to protect himself and his family from “civil unrest” in Central Florida.
The 43-year-old man was from Palm Beach Gardens, a coastal town about 80 miles north of Miami. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the man checked into Disney’s Polynesian Resort Resort on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.
The bellman was carrying the man’s bags to his room and noticed that a tennis bag was particularly heavy. When he discovered the bag contained an AR-15, a handgun, three rifle magazines with 90 total rounds and two 9mm magazines with 20 rounds total, he notified his manager, who then contacted the sheriff’s office.
Upon being questioned by the Orange County sheriff, the man said, “he brought the rifle with him for their safety because of the riots and civil unrest going on down south and in the Central Florida area,” the incident report said.
Central Florida has been the location of several protests and demonstrations in Downtown Orlando, as well as closer to the theme park areas, in the past several months.
According to WDW’s general rules, “Firearms, ammunition, knives and weapons of any kind are prohibited” on WDW property.
The man had a concealed weapon permit. After confirmation of the same, the sheriff’s office “…gave [the man] back his firearms and told him we appreciated his cooperation,” as per the incident report. No arrests were made since no laws were broken.
According to the incident report, the man allowed Disney to store the two weapons for the remainder of his family’s stay. The handgun was held at Disney’s Polynesian Resort and the AR-15 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Feature Photo: Disney
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
