The so-called “happiest place on Earth” turned ugly on Saturday, when several members of one family brawled in front of Goofy’s Playhouse — and dozens of young children — at Disneyland in a fight captured on video.
Footage recorded by a bystander shows the fight breaking out between a man in a red shirt and a woman pushing a stroller. The melee quickly escalates, drawing in two other men and three women, including an older woman on a motorized scooter.
Everyone involved was from the same family and refused to cooperate with investigators, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
“Now that we have video, the investigation can continue,” police tweeted Monday night.
The incident happened in Mickey’s Toontown, in front of Goofy’s Playhouse at the iconic theme park in Anaheim, California. Children can be heard crying at some points during the fracas.
The video shows the very beginning of the fight, as the man in the red shirt and the woman pushing the stroller yell at one another. The man in red towers over her, shouting at her. She appears to spit in his face, prompting him to lash out. Another man standing beside the woman jumps in immediately, and soon the two men are squaring off with their fists up, ready to fight.
The first woman and two others try to stop the fight. The second man lashes out and hits one of the women in the face, then the man in red goes after the first woman. That’s when the older woman plows into the middle of the fight with her scooter, and chaos breaks loose.
The man in red goes after the first woman again, grabbing her by the hair and punching her. More punching, kicking and hair-pulling ensues while an elderly janitor tries in vain to break it up.
Bystanders manage to separate most of the combatants for a few seconds, but the man in red remains irate. He says he doesn’t care that he’s being recorded on video.
“I’m ready to go to jail tonight!” he says.
A woman can be heard reporting the incident to police off-camera.
The man in red then goes after a second woman, accusing her of hurting his mother, who was on the scooter. He punches the woman in the face, chases her, knocks her down and starts pummelling her until three men step in and pull him away.
Finally, more than three minutes after the fight started, several security personnel show up to put an end to the altercation.
“Hey, do me a favour, calm down,” one security guard says.
Video of the incident has been viewed nearly 2 million times since it was posted on YouTube Sunday.
The incident has provoked strong reactions online, where many are questioning why security took so long to step in.
Disneyland says everyone involved was removed from the premises immediately.
“Any type of violence is inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” the park tweeted.
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