On Jan. 10, 2024, Mouse Trap News published an article positing that Disney World was adopting a new "open carry" policy, allowing guests to bring a gun to the theme park. The article made the claim as follows:
Disney World Now Allows Open Carry of Guns in Their Parks
When people think of Disney World, they think of a theme park for families. However, Disney theme parks are slowly becoming dangerous for families and children. For example, allowing homeless people to live in Disneyland is causing many issues. On top of that, we saw people hospitalized after fights broke out over popcorn buckets. It’s truly the Wild West at Disney, which is why they are now allowing open carry of guns at Disney World as part of their new gun policy.
The story, also posted on the site's TikTok account, gained 825,000 views and 102,000 likes, at the time of this writing.
@mousetrapnews What do you think of this controversial move by Disney? #disneyworld #disneynews #opencarry #disneysecurity #disneyparks ♬ God Bless The U.S.A. - Lee Greenwood
However, this article was written entirely for satirical purposes and was not a factual recounting of any real-life events. Mouse Trap News describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:
Mouse Trap News is the world's best satire 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.
According to the Disney World website, "firearms, ammunition, knives and weapons of any kind are prohibited." Additionally, although some states have so-called open carry laws, Florida is not one of them.
(Image via usconcealedcarry.com)
We've previously debunked other claims originating with Mouse Trap News, such as that Disney was requiring drug testing for all guests over the age of 9, and that Disney was eliminating all lines from its rides.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.