ORLANDO, Fla. — A Louisiana tourist complained he paid $15,000 for a Disney World vacation that was disrupted when he was arrested after he refused to get his temperature checked at Disney Springs, according to video footage released this week by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Kelly Sills, 47, of Baton Rouge, pleaded not guilty on a charge of trespassing following the Feb. 13 incident. Authorities confronted him outside The Boathouse restaurant after Sills skipped the temperature screening tent, refused to go back, and wouldn’t leave the property when asked by Disney and the sheriff’s office, according to the arrest report.
As deputies escorted Sills away, Sills had a change of heart and said he was willing to get his temperature checked after all.
“Will you take my temperature before you kick me out, please?” Sills asked as he was led away handcuffed, according to the deputies’ body camera footage.
“They’ll do that in jail, sir,” a deputy appeared to say.
“Well, that’s good,” Sills said.
Sills’ attorney declined to comment Thursday on the pending case.
Sills was a handful of men who were arrested earlier this year for tirades after they refused to follow Disney’s strict health rules during the coronavirus pandemic, the Orlando Sentinel recently reported. One man spit on a Disney security guard when he was asked to cover up his face on Contemporary Resort property, according to a sheriff’s arrest report.
In a previous statement, Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger had said most guests follow the rules since Disney World reopened with mask requirements, social distancing and temperature screenings.
“Millions of guests visit our theme parks each year, and in rare instances when things of this nature occur, we hold them accountable,” Finger said in the statement.
The footage shows a Disney Springs security manager saying in a frustrated tone, “He’s going to have to go for the day” after Sills argued with him.
“For what reason?” Sills said, standing in place and looking at his phone.
“Sir, it’s private property,” a deputy said.
“You’re officially being trespassed,” another official said.
“I spent $15,000,” Sills said as he was handcuffed.
“All you had to do was get temperature checked. That’s it!” one person can be heard saying.
Sills asked his companion to video his arrest, but it was already captured on film by the deputies’ body cameras.
“I paid $15,000. You can’t trespass me for paying $15,000,” said Sills, a guest at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, after he was led away. He soon began cooperating with the sheriff’s deputies. “If I take $15,000 from you, I can’t kick you out. ... Bring me to jail for 15 grand, I’m fine ... In front of my kids, too, at Disney World.”
