Active Shooter Scare/Lockdown at Magic Kingdom (Ended up being no shooter)

[rubydoo2]

I was in MK on Tuesday and saw 3 “fight” incidents during the day- one where a Dad was shouting so loudly and going for members of his family that it was really quite scary, people were backing away. I can see how easily things could escalate into panic.

I’m from the UK and was on my first solo trip and this would’ve really scared me, I hope people who were there are okay.

 

[gorillaball]

I was in MK on Tuesday and saw 3 “fight” incidents during the day- one where a Dad was shouting so loudly and going for members of his family that it was really quite scary, people were backing away. I can see how easily things could escalate into panic.

I’m from the UK and was on my first solo trip and this would’ve really scared me, I hope people who were there are okay.

And I’ve been probably 100+ park days and never seen a fight. I’ve been to Disneyland once and saw a heated escalated “argument” between 2 dads in a scramble to secure opening day seats to the Frozen theater show

 

[Mr. Sullivan]

This just goes to show how invaluable CMs are to these parks. A scary situation but it was handled so wonderfully by the CMs who I have no doubt helped a lot of really scared people stay calm and feel like there was someone there who knew what to do to help.

I’ve always felt incredibly safe at Disney and this is why. CMs took incredible care of the guests and even though it was a false alarm, it’s incredibly admirable to see how quickly and fearlessly they sprang into action.

 

[Splash4eva]

I suspect balloons are about to be axed, possibly overnight. They can't take the risk of this happening again.

I really hope this is a joke & sarcasm…. Lets get rid of fireworks and stage shows as well because that “pop” at the end of the castle show sounds like a “shot” as well…

 

[Splash4eva]

This is so true. Remember how easy it was for the wdw company to 86 plastic straws in the name of saving the environment? Balloons are 1000x worse that plastic straws, not only bad for the environment but bad for wildlife

Straws didnt make them money… and hmmm did you really think they were “saving” the environment. Add this to the list of things to cave to the “outrage”.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

And I’ve been probably 100+ park days and never seen a fight. I’ve been to Disneyland once and saw a heated escalated “argument” between 2 dads in a scramble to secure opening day seats to the Frozen theater show

Same. I’ve seen people make nasty comments, but I’ve never seen anything physical, and I’m also in the 100+ park day range. Social media makes this seem like a common occurrence because every incident blows up, but given the sheer number of people who go through the parks every day it’s almost amazing that there aren’t more fights.

 

[flynnibus]

Same. I’ve seen people make nasty comments, but I’ve never seen anything physical, and I’m also in the 100+ park day range. Social media makes this seem like a common occurrence because every incident blows up, but given the sheer number of people who go through

You could have been in the park during 100 fights and probably still never actually seen one.

A fight scene happens and clears in just minutes. The park is so big any incident is only seen by a tiny tiny percentage of people who are actually in the park at the time.

Unless you happen to be in the spot already - you’re not going to see it. And think of how many dozens upon dozens of different spots’ you’d have to chance being in to see it happening. Now multiply that by multiple parks… the probability gets incredibly small.

But now compare to having people in every spot… every day…. It just becomes a question of if those people record…. And with literally almost 100% of people carrying a video recorder…. That probability is extremely high.

Tldr - you as one person can only be in one of dozens of potential spots at a time. Your probability of seeing everything that happens is almost impossible

 

[Splash4eva]

Is there any video of said “fight” last night?

 

[DisneyHead123]

Glad everyone is ok. Did the fight happen at the monorail or in the park as people were headed towards the monorail? Just wondering because if it was the monorail, wouldn’t people have to go back through ticketing (and maybe even security, can’t remember where the monorail lets you out) to get back into the park? It seems like a stampeding crowd wouldn’t have waited to go through checkpoints and then resumed panicked running.

 

[DisneyCane]

One other thing they train us, that I think is good advice for everyone, is not to panic and blindly start running, that’s how most people get hurt, it’s almost always a false alarm and even on the rare occasion something is happening (usually a fist fight) blindly running is just as likely to lead you directly towards the problem rather than away from it.

That is great advice. If you think about it logically, even if there was a shooter, how would blindly running make you more safe? Dropping to the ground could help and that should be your first instinct if you think there is a shooter. For other things like a fire, you are always better off to at least take a moment and try and assess the situation and come up with a plan to try and reach safety. Just panicking and running somewhere is a lot more likely to lead to injury and not getting to safety.

Also, people really need to stop by a gun range and hear what a gunshot sounds like. A balloon popping which I think most people have heard isn't really easy to confuse with a gunshot. It's bad enough to have the possibility that some nut or terrorist would actually shoot people at WDW but it is worse in a way that a stampede might start and end up with people injured or killed because a balloon popped. Thankfully, this didn't seem to happen in this case.

 

[asianway]

Is there any video of said “fight” last night?

Curiously no

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’ve seen a couple fights where CM’s / Security got involved - they definitely happen. The ones I’ve seen were only verbal but obviously things can escalate quick.

 

[Splash4eva]

Curiously no

Extremely strange we have videos of the aftermath yet noone was recording even before the fight escalated in this day in age.

 

[gorillaball]

You could have been in the park during 100 fights and probably still never actually seen one.

A fight scene happens and clears in just minutes. The park is so big any incident is only seen by a tiny tiny percentage of people who are actually in the park at the time.

Unless you happen to be in the spot already - you’re not going to see it. And think of how many dozens upon dozens of different spots’ you’d have to chance being in to see it happening. Now multiply that by multiple parks… the probability gets incredibly small.

But now compare to having people in every spot… every day…. It just becomes a question of if those people record…. And with literally almost 100% of people carrying a video recorder…. That probability is extremely high.

Tldr - you as one person can only be in one of dozens of potential spots at a time. Your probability of seeing everything that happens is almost impossible

That's kind of the point... it feels like when one pops up and makes it's rounds it sends the message of "Better not go there, it's chaos" when in fact the chance of ever seeing anything, let along it impacting you... is microscopic.

Normal social media always connected over dramatization, not a specific Disney thing.

Similar to a conversation I had recently with someone about cruises where they said, "I'd never go on a cruise, so many people don't return and vanish or come back in a giant box of disease infested population".

 

[DisneyHead123]

That is great advice. If you think about it logically, even if there was a shooter, how would blindly running make you more safe? Dropping to the ground could help and that should be your first instinct if you think there is a shooter. For other things like a fire, you are always better off to at least take a moment and try and assess the situation and come up with a plan to try and reach safety. Just panicking and running somewhere is a lot more likely to lead to injury and not getting to safety.

Also, people really need to stop by a gun range and hear what a gunshot sounds like. A balloon popping which I think most people have heard isn't really easy to confuse with a gunshot. It's bad enough to have the possibility that some nut or terrorist would actually shoot people at WDW but it is worse in a way that a stampede might start and end up with people injured or killed because a balloon popped. Thankfully, this didn't seem to happen in this case.

If there is an actual shooter the standard advice is run, hide, fight, in that order. Do not drop to the ground as a stationary target is much easier to hit.

That said, crowd crushes and stampedes are also incredibly dangerous, so don’t run blindly and look for open pathways, I would think.

 

[Lilofan]

My other question is do cast members ever receive training on what to do during an active assailant situation (e.g. "Run, Hide, Fight" or something along those lines)?

I am not sure but 2013 at Epcot Food and Wine a recent graduate of the Naval Academy who was training to be a pilot in FL was drunk and went on a violent rampage going to the cast areas and was finally subdued by guests and cast in one of the gift shops. He assaulted 3 cast members with a metal pipe with the CMs getting injured. When he was finally subdued he received injuries while being taken down.

 

[DisneyCane]

If there is an actual shooter the standard advice is run, hide, fight, in that order. Do not drop to the ground as a stationary target is much easier to hit.

That said, crowd crushes and stampedes are also incredibly dangerous, so don’t run blindly and look for open pathways, I would think.

If somebody is firing indiscriminately into a crowd you'll be safer pressed to the ground where you won't get hit by a bullet flying through the air randomly. If there is something to get behind quickly that would be the better option. Yes, if the shooter is specifically aiming at you they can hit you easily if you are stationary on the ground. If, God forbid, there was ever a shooting in the middle of MK, it's more likely somebody is just going to open fire into a crowd and fire until security and the police (hopefully quickly) take them down.

 

[Ayla]

That is great advice. If you think about it logically, even if there was a shooter, how would blindly running make you more safe? Dropping to the ground could help and that should be your first instinct if you think there is a shooter. For other things like a fire, you are always better off to at least take a moment and try and assess the situation and come up with a plan to try and reach safety. Just panicking and running somewhere is a lot more likely to lead to injury and not getting to safety.

Also, people really need to stop by a gun range and hear what a gunshot sounds like. A balloon popping which I think most people have heard isn't really easy to confuse with a gunshot. It's bad enough to have the possibility that some nut or terrorist would actually shoot people at WDW but it is worse in a way that a stampede might start and end up with people injured or killed because a balloon popped. Thankfully, this didn't seem to happen in this case.

There are many variables that can change the sound of a gun shot.

 

[DisneyHead123]

If somebody is firing indiscriminately into a crowd you'll be safer pressed to the ground where you won't get hit by a bullet flying through the air randomly. If there is something to get behind quickly that would be the better option. Yes, if the shooter is specifically aiming at you they can hit you easily if you are stationary on the ground. If, God forbid, there was ever a shooting in the middle of MK, it's more likely somebody is just going to open fire into a crowd and fire until security and the police (hopefully quickly) take them down.

A person on the ground is an easy target and also going to get injured by people tromping on their head as they run past. Run hide fight, but again, look for open passageways. Don’t go anywhere that there’s a crowd crush and run away from crowds if possible.

 

[Tha Realest]

This is so true. Remember how easy it was for the wdw company to 86 plastic straws in the name of saving the environment? Balloons are 1000x worse that plastic straws, not only bad for the environment but bad for wildlife

Straws cost money.

Balloons print money.

Their feigned “concern” for the environment is excuse.

Balloons aren’t going anywhere.