In an episode of the “Fake Doctors: Real Friends” podcast with Donald Faison and Zach Braff, Faison told the story of how he and his friend gained a year-long ban from Disneyland Resort.
Donald Faison was Once Banned from Disneyland
Editor’s Note: The podcast clip shared by Faison includes some strong language. Viewer discretion is advised.
In one of the most recent episodes of the “Fake Doctors: Real Friends” podcast, Faison shared a story of once being banned from entering Disneyland for a year.
Donald Faison is an actor and comedian best known for his role as Dr. Chris Turk in the series “Scrubs,” in which Braff also starred as Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian. Faison shared a short clip of the story on his @donald_aison Instagram account:
According to Faison, the incident took place back when he was actively filming the series “Scrubs.” Faison was a longtime Disneyland fan who was in the habit of attending the parks one or two times every month. On one occasion, he was joined by his friend, Kevin Jordan. Jordan begged Faison to help him take a picture with Pluto, saying it was his childhood dream.
Faison spoke with a Cast Member about getting Jordan a special moment with Pluto. After a little while, the Cast Members returned to escort Pluto to meet Jordan as a surprise. The Cast Members had also sent for a PhotoPass photographer to be in place for the special moment, so the group quickly drew a crowd of guests observing from the sides. Then, Faison remembers with horror, “He [Jordan] picks Pluto up. Uh oh.”
Faison says he and his friend were quickly surrounded by members of the Disneyland security team, who were acting to protect Pluto. Faison humorously recalls that he had no idea there were so many security personnel in the whole park, and that they seemed to appear out of nowhere. Faison concludes the story by saying, “I wasn’t allowed back into Disneyland for over a year because of this s***.”
Braff, who was listening to the story, says simply, “Don’t pick up Pluto.”
Following the interest in the story on social media, Faison also shared a picture on his Instagram account. The picture shows the exact moment Jordan picked up Pluto, who has one arm flopped over his eyes dramatically.
Of course, the ultimate moral of the story is that guests shouldn’t pick up any of the costumed characters at Disneyland Resort, or they may risk getting a year-long ban like Faison.
The Disney Parks are no stranger to guest incident stories like these. At Walt Disney World, a guest jumped out of a log aboard Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and wandered around the attraction for 40 minutes. A video showing the aftermath of a guest pooping all over the floor and walls of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT recently circulated on social media. A drunk woman was also arrested, trespassed, and tasered at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel after attacking her own mother. At Disneyland, a guest got mad at the Evil Queen for her “ugly attitude,” while Snow White called them “grumpy.”
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