On July 5, 2024, Mouse Trap News published an article positing that Disney World banned all tattoos from its theme parks in an effort to make them more "family-friendly." The article began:
Disney Bans All Tattoos Inside Their Theme Parks
Disney World bans all tattoos inside their theme parks. This decision is an effort to make the theme parks more family-friendly.
In fact, Disney may permanently ban anyone who is caught displaying a tattoo in their parks. Those who have permanent tattoos have a few options. The first and easiest option is to no longer go to Disney World. In fact, many people are saying that if Disney doesn't respect their choices, then they don't want to give them any more of their money.
The claim also was posted on the Mouse Trap News TikTok account, where it racked up more than 2.4 million views and 45,500 likes, as of this writing. "Disney went down hill when Walt passed," one user commented. "They allow other things that people find offensive for children and families but choose tattoos to ban."
This item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature on its "About" webpage, as follows:
Mouse Trap News is the world's best satire and parody site. We write fake stories about Disney Parks stuff. From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun.
Disney does, in fact, reserve the right to deny admission to anyone with inappropriate tattoos, as explained on the official Walt Disney World Resort property rules webpage:
We reserve the right to deny admission to or remove any person wearing attire that we consider inappropriate or attire that could detract from the experience of other Guests. Visible tattoos that could be considered inappropriate, such as those containing objectionable language or designs, are not permitted.
In 2016, we debunked this same rumor when it stemmed from a different source and rated the claim "False." We've previously debunked other claims originating with Mouse Trap News, such as that Disney was removing Trump from the Hall of Presidents ride, and that Disney was eliminating all lines from its rides.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.