Alabama YouTuber who filmed himself camped out on Disney's abandoned 11-acre Discovery Island gets lifetime ban after cops 'are forced to play hide and seek with him'

A man who broke into an abandoned Disney World attraction during the coronavirus lockdown and posted videos of it on YouTube will be fined just $100 and banned from the theme park for life.

Richard McGuire, 42, from Mobile, Alabama, was arrested after breaking into the Orlando theme park after a police manhunt on the Discovery Island attraction.

McGuire gained access to Disney World while it was closed during the coronavirus lockdown in April and used a motorised boat to get to the island, which has been closed to the public since 1999.

He stayed on the island in the middle of Disney's Bay Lake for two days before he was caught on CCTV footage and cops swarmed the 11-acre island.

Police bodycam video shows cops searching Disney World's shuttered Discovery Island in search of Richard McGuire, 42, from Mobile, Alabama, who made it his home during the coronavirus lockdown. He was arrested on May 1 and pled no contest to a trespassing charge last week, earning a $100 fine and lifetime ban from the park

McGuire posted an Escape From Discovery Island video on his Southern Pirate Outdoors YouTube channel. The video shows McGuire trying to cover himself with leaves to hide from deputies 

Since his arrest, McGuire (pictured in September) has continued to release videos on his channel

Body cam footage shows police searching the island on April 30 and they arrested him on the main land the following day after using a helicopter in the manhunt.

He told authorities he spent two days camping on the island, saying 'it looked like a tropical paradise' and he was unaware that he was trespassing.

Deputies asked McGuire why he didn’t come out during the search and he said he was sleeping in a building and did not hear them.

He was released on bail and has continued to release videos on his Southern Pirate Outdoors YouTube channel, where he originally posted an Escape From Discovery Island video. 

McGuire told authorities he spent two days camping on the island, saying 'it looked like a tropical paradise' and he was unaware that he was trespassing

The video shows McGuire trying to cover himself with leaves to hide from deputies.

Despite reportedly facing up to 12 months in jail for one count of trespassing, McGuire pled 'nolo contendere' or no contest in a plea agreement last week.

Orange County will withhold an adjudication of guilt in exchange for McGuire’s payment of a $100 fine and all court costs.

Discovery Island was once home to animal exhibits and popular walking trails, but is now full of overgrown foliage, decaying buildings and rusted-out cages. 

Footage shows the cops wandering around the island with their guns drawn as they yell out to McGuire to surrender.  

'This is the best game of hide-and-seek ever,' one officer says as he looks through empty animal enclosures. 

'Dude, this is sketchy,' his partner replies.  

However, police failed to locate McGuire on the island, but were waiting to apprehend him later that evening as he made his way back to the mainland.   

Discovery Island, which is located in the middle of Disney's Bay Lake and only accessible by boat, was closed to the public in 1999

McGuire was able to gain access to the empty Disney World theme park, which has been closed during the entire coronavirus pandemic, under the cover of darkness by using a small motorized boat to reach the island. 

He documented the adventure on his camera phone and posted several videos to his YouTube channel.  

In one video, McGuire claims he has been a frequent visitor to the abandoned island for more than a decade. 

'You guys, if you all ever do this, be respectful to the next people who are explorers,'  he states. 

Police pushed through overgrown foliage to search through decaying buildings and rusted-out cages on the 11-acre island 

'This is the best game of hide-and-seek ever': Officers had their guns drawn as they searched the Disney property 

'If you have a fire, make sure you put it out the next day. I've been doing this since 2004 and I've never caught anything on fire.' 

McGuire also recorded police searching for him on the morning of April 30, with helicopters heard hovering overhead as cops combed the island to apprehend him. 

'The island is surrounded,' he whispers to viewers in that clip.

Cops failed to find on the island, but he was detained late on the evening of April 30 after making his way back to the mainland, claiming he was 'flat wore out'. 

McGuire claimed he planned to stay on the island 'for about a week' before his fatigue set in and he handed himself in. 

He was taken into custody and charged with the misdemeanor offense before being released on bail. 

McGuire is still taking to YouTube to talk to viewers about his time on the island. 

Treasure Island was a popular attraction at Disney World prior to its closure in 1999. An old map is pictured 

In a recent clip uploaded late last month he stated: 'Luckily, I've already taken my daughter Disney World before I got a life ban. 

'Who wouldn't want to go and have it all to themselves?' 

He later told local news network WESH that the manhunt to find him 'felt like a scene from the movie 'The Fugitive.

'I never expected it to be that intense,"  he stated. 

Disney World was forced to shutter back in mid-March amid the COVID-19 outbreak, before it reopened to visitors at a reduced capacity in July.