Emily Jackson's 2-year-old daughter, Ellerie, couldn't wait to meet her favorite Disney characters, Mickey and Minnie Mouse. But the toddler's Disney dreams were crushed when Emily, who is 25 weeks pregnant, was denied entry onto her family's Disney Magic Cruise leaving from Miami last week.
According to Disney policy, women who have entered their 24th week of pregnancy are refused passage due to "safety concerns." Emily and her husband, Kyle Jackson, were unaware of that policy when they attempted to board the ship with Ellerie, their 1-year-old son, Eli, and other family members on March 28th.
Disney staff called the Miami-Dade Police Department to have Emily and her family (including her parents), who were all wearing matching Disney t-shirts, removed from the entrance port. Two guards, one carrying an AR-15 rifle, escorted them from Disney's waiting terminal near the ship's entrance to a location outside, where they waited in the heat for two hours until Disney could retrieve their luggage from the ship, according to Emily.
"The kids were confused because all of a sudden we were rushing outside," Emily, a YouTube vlogger on her channel The Jackson Hive, tells Cosmopolitan.com. "And I was scared because it didn't feel like there was a need to bring that much security out, because it's not like we were throwing things or threatening anyone."
Emily calls the armed escort "totally unnecessary" and "scary."
"In today's world with so many shootings, it's like [unnerving] to have a guy with a big gun standing next to your kids," she says. "Especially when you don't know their intentions or what's going on."
According to Cynthia Martinez, Disney Cruise Line director of communications and public affairs, a member of Emily's family had approached Disney staff while they were waiting to leave the terminal and got "very loud." That's when the police, who have no affiliation with Disney, were called to take over the situation.
"He was unhappy and loud with how long it was taking to get the luggage and our staff felt like they needed a little help managing the situation," Martinez tells Cosmopolitan.com. "Our staff did everything they could to help them."
Emily admits the ordeal could have been avoided if she'd known about Disney's policy ahead of time, but her parents surprised her with the trip ten days before the ship was scheduled to leave — and she "didn't read the fine print" in which Disney states their rules on pregnant passengers.
She even went to her doctor in St. Louis, Missouri before the cruise, just to make sure it was safe for her and the unborn baby, Emitt, to travel. Emily says she got a doctor's note approving her decision to go on the cruise.
But when the family arrived in Miami for the five-day cruise, Disney crew members inquired about her baby bump. She was told by a manager that she couldn't get on the cruise due to her pregnancy and was asked by other Disney staff to wait for her luggage in the boarding area.
"While [the staff] was supposed to be helping us, they were just sitting there texting," says Emily. "My dad raised his voice and said, 'Come on, we need somebody to help us!' That's when the guards came and told us to wait outside."
"Luckily the kids are so young, they might not remember, but it was traumatic for me and my husband."
Emily says they were promised a full refund by Disney, but have yet to see an actual payment.
Martinez tells Cosmopolitan.com that the Jackson family's refund is in the works and that the process could take "a couple of days."
"Our goal was not to get a refund though," says Emily. "I mean, yes, it's nice, but I just hope they fix that specific port [in Miami]. When you book a Disney cruise you expect to be treated with happiness and smiles.
"It just wasn't the Disney experience I was expecting."
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