UPDATE, FEB. 20, 2:44 P.M.: Disney Resort officials released a statement saying the booze-fueled incident next to the Tower of Terror Saturday was “uncharacteristic” for the California Adventure theme park in Anaheim.
The Mouseketeers are right about this: no characters in costumes were involved . . . only costumed cast members were.
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Disney also praised the actions of guests who stepped in–and sat on–Glenn Horlacher to assist cast members before park security officers arrived.
ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 20, 10:48 A.M.: Most any adult who found him/herself routinely imprisoned at Disneyland applauded in 2001 when California Adventure opened with alcohol availability.
“Better to help you cope, my dear . . .”
However, in the same breath, we must acknowledged that booze and theme-parking don't always mix, as folks near Tower of Terror discovered Saturday.
The video below (courtesy of LiveLeak.com) begins with a sloppy drunk taking swings at Tower of Terror bellhops. Once security gets the belligerent fellow on the ground, he is seen getting maced. Not that it stopped the Hillbilly Ray Robinson from taking another swing at an employee before burly guests essentially sat on the attacker.
Yes, the lads capturing the spectacle via a cellphone camera are funny, especially when they are heard saying, “You didn't wind up being so tough anymore, huh?” to the fellow on the ground, “So, there isn't any security around?” to a bellhop, and “I think this guy's been drinking vodka!” to anyone within earshot. But my personal fave is the blonde in sunglasses repeating, “There are kids here, there are kids here, there are kids here. Does this guy not get that? You're at Disneyland.”
Anaheim Police eventually managed to gain clearance from Mickey to enter the park around 3:30 p.m. so 53-year-old Glenn Horlacher could be popped on suspicion of battery and assault and hauled away to the police station for booking. He was later released on a citation.
An unnamed security guard was treated at and released from a local hospital for minor injuries, not the least of which must have been enduring the chap's boozy breath.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.