Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)		3 Months Ended								3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			1 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility	Mar. 31, 2012 Amended Revolving Credit Facility	Mar. 31, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility Minimum	Mar. 31, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes 6.25% Due 2013	Mar. 31, 2013 Swingline Loans	Mar. 31, 2013 Letter of Credit	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Mar. 21, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017 Holders who validly tendered their 7.75% Senior Notes before the early tender deadline on April 3 2013	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017 Holders who validly tendered on or prior to the early tender deadline	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017 Holders who validly tendered following the early tender deadline but on or prior to the expiration of the tender offer on April 17, 2013	Apr. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017 Tender Offer	Apr. 30, 2013 Senior Notes Four Point One Twenty Five Percent Due Twenty Twenty Issuance of Debt	Apr. 04, 2013 Senior Notes Four Point One Twenty Five Percent Due Twenty Twenty Issuance of Debt	Apr. 30, 2013 Senior Notes Four Point Six Twenty Five Percent Due Twenty Twenty Three Issuance of Debt	Apr. 04, 2013 Senior Notes Four Point Six Twenty Five Percent Due Twenty Twenty Three Issuance of Debt	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity		$ 900,000,000	$ 785,000,000			$ 450,000,000		$ 30,000,000
Debt issuance costs, capitalized		2,700,000	6,000,000
Charge against write-off of loan costs						100,000
Purchase of Senior Notes							335,000,000								315,400,000
Revolving Credit Facility maturity extension period		1 year
Revolving Credit Facility maturity date		2017-12
Line of credit interest on outstanding borrowings		At CCA's option, interest on outstanding borrowings under the $900.0 Million Revolving Credit Facility is based on either a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.25% to 1.0% or a London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus a margin ranging from 1.25% to 2.0% based on CCA's leverage ratio.
Base rate plus a margin		0.50%		0.25%	1.00%
LIBOR plus a margin		1.50%		1.25%	2.00%
Line of credit facility, aggregate principal amount of additional borrowing		100,000,000
Percentage of commitment fee to unfunded balance		0.30%
Borrowings under credit facility		560,000,000							25,700,000
Line of credit facility		314,300,000
Sublimit for issuance of standby letters of credit		50,000,000
Percentage of capital stock of foreign subsidiary secured by pledge under Revolving Credit Facilities		65.00%
Maximum cash tender offer										465,000,000
Early tender deadline date										April 3, 2013
Aggregate principal amount											675,000,000						325,000,000		350,000,000
Total consideration offered upon tendering of senior notes												1,050	30	20
Principal amount of Senior Notes for which consideration is offered												1,000	1,000	1,000
Cash tender paid															315,400,000
Debt instrument due date										Jun. 30, 2017						Apr. 01, 2020		May 01, 2023
Debt instrument interest rate										7.75%						4.125%		4.625%
Debt instrument redemption percentage of par										103.875%						100.00%		100.00%
Amount charged against purchase and redemption of debt										200,000
Expected write-off of loan costs, discount and fees associated with purchase and redemption of notes										$ 36,500,000
Net proceeds from senior notes, percentage of REIT required distribution to be funded																				20.00%
Period of commercially reasonable efforts to register the New Notes	270 days