Disney World Shooting Scare Causes Panic at The Magic Kingdom
The more you pay attention to theme park news, the more instances of traumatized guests you become aware of. Today, there was an incident at The Magic Kingdom, one of Disney World’s four parks, that caused guests to worry that there was an active shooter. Around 10:00 PM on August 29, a fight broke out “on Main Street or near the Monorail station,” according to WDW News Today, and officers from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene. Visitors described a popping sound, which many believed was gunfire. A witness told Disney Food Blog that guests were being “guided through stores to backstage areas,” and some were kept there before they were allowed to leave. Others who were headed towards the Ticket and Transportation Center were guided to buses, as the Monorail and Ferries were not running. The witness, whose name is Donna Vivino, also said that Disney World cast members were keeping guests away from “an area in front of the Main Street Confectionery,” which is in the general vicinity of where WDW News Today says the incident occurred. Disney Food Blog posted a video of the incident, or its aftermath, which you can see below:
BREAKING: Police respond at Magic Kingdom. Guests were sent out through backstage exits. pic.twitter.com/Ku2BbtnFHD
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 30, 2024
Fortunately, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced in an X post that there was no active shooter, nor was there any gunfire at The Magic Kingdom. They believe the popping sound came from a balloon, which caused guests to run, and the combination of the loud noise and fleeing parkgoers made people think a shooting had occurred. You can see the public safety alert below:
ALERT: There is NO active shooter at @WaltDisneyWorld’s Magic Kingdom. A fight occurred, and a “popping” sound was heard that we believe was a balloon. Guests began running and that’s how the active shooter rumor started. There is no active shooter. pic.twitter.com/TRKLs3NglC
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) August 30, 2024
Disney also released a brief statement about the incident, again via WDW News Today:
“We appreciate the immediate response of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office to quickly assess and clear the situation. Normal operations have resumed and the park is now closed for the evening.”
That had to be scary. In a situation like that, with tons of people running around screaming, it’s easy to get swept up in the panic. And mass shootings do occur, so as much as you have to live your life, you never know if something will happen, and you stay as careful and vigilant as you can. That means people are going to respond to a loud popping noise in a public place. It sounds like Disney World employees and the Sheriff’s Office handled everything well, doing their best to keep people calm and safe while the police assessed the situation. And, thankfully, no one was in any danger, except for whoever was involved in the fight, I suppose. People must have been really creeped out by it; the woman who spoke to Disney Food Blog told them that the music was turned off at The Magic Kingdom park and at the Contemporary Resort, a hotel in the park. I understand why they did it, but it’s unsettling for people who spent the day listening to whatever jaunty music they play at The Magic Kingdom, especially when they think some crazed gunman might be running loose. Thankfully, this one had a happy ending, aside from the mass panic caused at a family-oriented amusement park. There’s no information about the fight that started all of this, and I get it; the police are obviously more concerned with reassuring everyone that they’re not in any danger. And I don’t imagine Disney will want to get into details right now, preferring to keep people calm and coming back to the parks, particularly since it’s been confirmed that everything is safe. Based on the stories I’ve seen in the past, Orange County Sheriff’s Office reports are made public a few months after they’re filed, so we may know more down the line. For now, I think everyone is just glad it turned out well in the end.
