A bizarre incident at Tokyo Disneyland brought the annual Christmas parade to an abrupt halt in front of Cinderella Castle when an unemployed 51-year-old man had to be gang tackled by employees and forcibly removed from the Japanese theme park.
The surreal disruption at the fantasyland playground occurred beneath the Donald and Daisy Duck float during the Disney Christmas Stories parade just as the afternoon procession passed through the park’s central hub on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
#東京ディズニーランド #キャスト神 pic.twitter.com/WmnZNYo2tT
— (ももや) (@momoyaaa2) December 13, 2022
A Disneyland visitor watching the parade barged into the middle of the route directly in the path of an oncoming float and began jumping up and down and waving his arms, according to local media accounts.
The middle-aged man charged toward a costumed elf performer who ran out of the way. The man was almost immediately tackled by several cast members — Disney parlance for employees.
なんかパレルに人突っ込んできた！#TDR_now pic.twitter.com/iy523SmuE5
— しめさばちゃん( ◜◒◝ ) (@pienpienna) December 13, 2022
Social media video showed six employees attempting to subdue the man with their collective body weight until Disney security officers arrived. It took seven Disneyland security guards to forcibly remove the “indecipherably shouting” man from the theme park as shocked visitors looked on, according to WDW News Today.
Yahoo News Japan described the man as an “intruder” and Sankei News called the incident an “attack” on the Disneyland parade. No injuries were reported and the man had no weapons, according to Sankei News.
何事かと思った
ディズニーで不審者 pic.twitter.com/nD2TxPveIw
— mai (@maichimu34) December 13, 2022
Police received an emergency call about a man “making a fuss during the Disneyland parade and causing trouble,” according to Sankei News.
Chiba Prefectural Police arrested the 51-year-old unemployed man from Ichihara City on suspicion of forcible obstruction of a business, according to Japan Today.
つれてかれました#TDR_now pic.twitter.com/xpDFE3xmwT
— (@_panda415) December 13, 2022
Police said the man rambled incomprehensibly in custody and has a history of mental illness, according to Japan Today. “It was not my intent to cause any trouble,” the man told police.
Tokyo Disneyland officials said the man interrupted the Disney Christmas Stories parade for about six minutes, according to Sensei News.