Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	9 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Apr. 30, 2013 Dividend Declared	Mar. 31, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility	Mar. 31, 2012 Amended Revolving Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility	Sep. 30, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility Minimum	Sep. 30, 2013 Amended Revolving Credit Facility Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Revolving Credit Facility	Mar. 31, 2012 Senior Notes 6.25% Due 2013	Sep. 30, 2013 Swingline Loans	Jun. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Jun. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Mar. 31, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Mar. 21, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017	Sep. 30, 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	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 7.75% Due 2017 Holders who validly tendered on or prior to the early tender deadline	Sep. 30, 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	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 4.125% Due 2020	Apr. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 4.125% Due 2020 Issuance Of Debt	Apr. 04, 2013 Senior Notes 4.125% Due 2020 Issuance Of Debt	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 4.625% Due 2023	Apr. 30, 2013 Senior Notes 4.625% Due 2023 Issuance Of Debt	Apr. 04, 2013 Senior Notes 4.625% Due 2023 Issuance Of Debt	Sep. 30, 2013 Senior Notes	Sep. 30, 2013 Letter of Credit
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity				$ 900,000,000	$ 785,000,000	$ 900,000,000			$ 450,000,000		$ 30,000,000
Debt issuance costs, capitalized				2,700,000	6,000,000
Purchase of Senior Notes										335,000,000		149,600,000								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						510,000,000																						25,200,000
Line of credit facility						364,800,000
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 redemption percentage of par												103.875%	103.875%									100.00%			100.00%
Amount charged against purchase and redemption of debt														200,000
Costs associated with tender offer and redemption													36,300,000
Debt instrument due date															Jun. 30, 2017						Apr. 30, 2020	Apr. 01, 2020		May 31, 2023	May 01, 2023
Debt instrument interest rate															7.75%						4.125%	4.125%		4.625%	4.625%
Payment for dividend	$ 243,782,000	$ 39,838,000	$ 135,000,000
Net proceeds from senior notes, percentage of REIT required distribution to be funded																											20.00%