Woman took her daughter to Disneyland, California. Then, a stranger started snapping photos of her child: ‘They don’t wanna ruin the Disney magic’

Megan (@purelymegs) took her daughter to Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. But while taking photos with a cast member, she alleged that a stranger started snapping up-close photos of her child.

“This is a PSA to parents who take their kids to Disneyland, which is the majority of the world. I have had not one, but two occassions, of someone who is not related to my kids taking pictures of my kids,” Megan told TikTok. She said that the first time it happened, her daughter was taking a photo with Pluto. Megan took photos of her daughter, and as they were leaving, two women approached her.

The women asked Megan if she knew the woman nearby. Megan said no, and they told her the woman was allegedly taking zoomed-in photos of her daughter. Megan confronted the woman, but she denied taking photos of Megan’s daughter. She asked if she could see the woman’s device, and Megan alleged the woman acted confused as she went through her photo album. There, Megan alleged she found ten zoomed-in photos of her daughter’s face.

Irked by her discovery, Megan instructed the woman to delete the photos of her daughter from her phone. However, the woman allegedly pretended she did not know how to delete the photos. Because of that, Megan asked the woman to hand over her phone so she could delete the photos herself. She deleted her daughter’s photos, then went to the recently deleted photos and permanently scrubbed them from the stranger’s device. Megan felt “icky” about the experience and was confused about why a stranger was taking photos of her daughter. But some people aren’t only after photos. One was reportedly tailed by a stranger at Walmart while she was shopping, and in these cases, being vigilant counts.

Another stranger allegedly took her daughter’s photos at Disneyland

On October 21, Megan returned to Disneyland with her friend and their daughters. After taking photos with Anna, Megan alleged that she saw a “grown, older man” zooming in on her friend’s daughter’s face. Megan confronted the man and asked if he was taking pictures of her friend’s daughter. The man allegedly insisted that he was only taking photos of the character. She asked for the man’s device and allegedly found fifteen photos of her daughter and fifteen photos of her friend’s daughter. Contrary to the man’s claim, Megan alleged that she didn’t find photos of the Disney character on his phone. She asked him to delete the photos and told him she would report him for taking photos of people’s children without consent.

Although Megan acknowledged that Disneyland is a public space and that their children could be captured in background photos of other people. However, she hoped other people would be more aware of alleged strangers intentionally taking photos of children in the park.

In an update video, Megan said some Disneyland cast members reached out to her. She claimed that Disney is aware of the phenomenon, but allegedly refuses to intervene. “They told cast members not to say anything to these people taking pictures of minors who aren’t theirs, because they don’t wanna ruin the Disney magic for them,” Megan claimed. She accused Disneyland of protecting ‘Disney magic’ over children.

Megan also said she emailed Disney about the issue. She allegedly asked them what safety measures they planned to take to prevent similar incidents. However, Megan alleged that Disney would no longer keep her updated on the situation. But parents aren’t the only ones with complaints about Disney. One woman took issue with accessibility at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

The Mary Sue has reached out to Disneyland for comment.

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