Did a Drone Spy on Disney Resort?

Park employees say a pint-sized craft cruised around California Adventure last week. Disney officials question the account.

Is Big Brother spying on Mickey Mouse?

According to a Disney Resort employee who asked not to be identified, a small drone zipped around the California Adventure theme park late last week.

Numerous Disney workers saw the 3-foot-diameter craft, which sported several propellers and cruised through the park around 7:30 a.m. Friday, before the resort opened, the employee said.

"It looked like a flying spider," the employee said, adding that the drone had a flashing blue light and methodically explored the park about 40 feet above the ground. Some workers waved at the contraption, assuming it had a camera, the employee said.

The drone's origins remain a mystery. Was it sent by the government? A hobbyist? Space aliens?

According to the employee, Disney security ruled out any connection to Anaheim police or Walt Disney Imagineering, which is known for testing odd gadgets at the resort. Some speculated the drone was dispatched by Homeland Security, which sometimes parks a large bus at the resort, the employee said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security declined to comment, as did several other federal agencies.

A few officials questioned whether the flyover even happened.

Anaheim police spokesman Sgt. Bob Dunn told Patch he'd heard nothing about any drone sightings at the resort.

Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown also discounted the report. "I was at work Friday ... [so] I would have known about it," she said. Disney's security chief likewise heard nothing, Brown said.

If a spy craft did buzz the theme park, it likely would have needed FAA clearance.

The Disney Resort is a no-fly zone, which means aircraft need FAA approval to cruise overhead, Brown said.

Scores of public and private entities are authorized to operate drones. Law enforcement, military and government agencies must have an FAA certificate to use a drone. Businesses and civilians flying drones also need an FAA license, but can only operate the devices for research or flight demonstrations -- and not over populated areas.

Did the FAA authorize a Disney flyover?

"We don't comment on specific unmanned aircraft system operations," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.