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Drunk man allegedly slaps Walt Disney World hotel restaurant hostess over dress code snub

By Dani Medina
Published  January 29, 2024 8:20am EST
Florida
FOX 35 Orlando

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A man is set for a pre-trial conference next month after he was accused of drunkenly slapping a host at a Walt Disney World Resort restaurant three times in the forehead after she didn't seat him due to the restaurant's dress code. 

John Munro, 64, of South Carolina, was arrested and charged with battery after the incident that unfolded at Cítricos inside Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort back in November. Munroe entered a plea of not guilty and is expected to appear in court for a pre-trial conference hearing on Feb. 16. 

On Nov. 19, 2023, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Office responded to the resort in reference to a battery, according to an arrest affidavit. Just before 7:30 p.m., a restaurant host was checking in a family who had a reservation for three. The party, however, arrived with four people – two women and two men. 

Photo: Orange County Corrections Department

One of the men, identified as Munro, wasn't dressed in accordance with the restaurant's dress code, according to the affidavit. He was wearing swim shorts and a T-shirt. Cítricos' website states that "guests are expected to dress accordingly in attire that respects the restaurant's sophisticated and upscale aesthetic," adding explicitly that swimwear isn't allowed. 

A view of Disney's Grand Floridian Resort main entrance, at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The host told Munro that he wouldn't be allowed to dine with the party, and he understood but said he'd wait with them until they were seated. The host was fine with his request, but the situation escalated when she grabbed the group to seat them a few minutes later. 

According to deputies, Munro followed the party of three to their table even though he was told he wasn't allowed to. 

"Please don't allow him to sit with us, he is really drunk, underdressed, it's my birthday and I'm embarrassed," one of the woman told the host, according to the affidavit. 

When the host told Munro that he couldn't sit with the group, he "began to repeatedly slap her forehead" three times while stating her name, which he read from the name tag on her shirt, deputies said. After the birthday girl shooed Munro away, he stopped and walked away. 

The host had no injuries and declined medical treatment, and she wished to pursue charges, deputies said. 

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Deputies caught up with Munro, who they said was apparently intoxicated based on his "slurred speech, glossy red eyes, and constant repeating that he was going to sue Disney," the arrest affidavit said. He declined to speak with deputies post-Miranda and was cuffed and transported to the Booking and Release Center. 

According to the affidavit, Walt Disney World told deputies that there was no surveillance in the area where the incident happened.