A massive brawl erupted at Disney World after two families got into an argument while waiting in line, sparking a fracas that landed at least one man in the hospital.
The saga kicked off in the Orlando, Florida-based theme park’s Magic Kingdom, where two families were standing in line for a performance at Mickey’s PhilharMagic theatre, according to multiple reports.
One family member left the line to retrieve her phone, which she accidentally left on her electric conveyance vehicle, according to Disney World blog “Walt Disney World News Today.” When she tried to rejoin her group, another family, all dressed identically in red shorts and white T-shirts, tried to block her from regaining her spot, the blog said.
The blog reported that the two families confronted each other at the theater’s exit, with a member of the girl’s family saying to the red short clan: “We don’t appreciate you guys pushing my younger sister.”
A shouting match ensued with both groups hurling profanities even as they gradually stepped closer to each other, eventually triggering a massive, Jerry Springer-style brawl that spilled onto the street outside the theater.
Witnesses used their phones to document the chaotic fight, posting the fracas on social media even as at least 10 people duked it out, sending onlookers running for cover and shielding their children.
Bystander video captured children crying, while panicked adults can be heard shouting for security to help. Eventually, the two groups were broken up by security and law enforcement, according to the Disney blog, and hauled to the park’s security office.
It is not yet known whether either family is planning to press charges, but the blog said that the red-shorted family allegedly “stole or broke several personal items belonging to their opponents including mobile phones and designer clothes.”
One man involved in the scrap was taken away in an ambulance due to a large cut on his chin, the blog reported. Other family members had minor cuts and bruises.
Footage of the incident set social media ablaze but it was later removed from video-sharing platform TikTok, according to the Daily Mail.
Shorter clips of the mayhem have continued to circulate on Twitter and Facebook.
While fights at Disney parks are hardly new, according to the Daily Mail, incidents of mass violence have ticked up considerably since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Florida resort reporting more than a half dozen this year alone.
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]
