SALT LAKE CITY — Security experts told The Orange County Register that Disneyland followed proper safety protocols when a serious brawl broke out at the park.

What happened: Last weekend, a serious brawl broke out at Disneyland in Toontown outside of Goofy’s Playhouse, which I wrote about for the Deseret News. The fight went viral in a YouTube video. The profanity-filled video shows men hitting men, men hitting women, and children screaming as they watch the fight unfold before them. The video ends with park officials jumping in to break up the fight. NBC News reports that the Anaheim Police Department was called to the park and is now investigating the fight.

What they’re saying: Michael Downing, who works for the Oak View Group, which monitors security for sports and entertainment events, told The Orange County Register that Disneyland acted “really fast” and followed proper procedures.

  • “It seemed like they followed all their emergency procedures and standard operating procedures,” Downing told the OC Register. “They did exactly as they were supposed to do.”

Ron Martinelli, a security expert, told the OC Register that he was surprised the fight lasted so long, though.

  • “I was pretty surprised that situation went for as long as it did without a response from security,” he said.
  • “Picture Disneyland like a town and picture Disneyland security as a police department,” he added. “Just like any other police department, where you have the most crime or where you have the most incidents, you put the most police. And that’s where you have the most mitigation strategies — (closed-circuit TV), uniform people. Because they act as a deterrent.”

Read more: Disneyland followed safety protocols in Toontown family brawl caught on viral video, security experts say (Brady Macdonald, The Orange County Register)

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Similar: Downing told The Los Angeles Times that an employee acted correctly to call the police for backup, too.

  • “It would be different if it’s a one-on-one fight, but to have five people duking it out, it’s probably going to exacerbate the situation,” he said. “This was a very nasty family dispute, so I think she did everything the right way.”
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