The release of new Disney Lorcana card game collections on Friday triggered widespread chaos, with thousands of fans descending upon Disney parks and stores worldwide, resulting in long queues, disruptions, and altercations.
New packs, including the Lorcana Curator’s Collection: Heroines Edition and the Disney Lorcana Attack of the Vine, released by Ravensburger in collaboration with Disney, drew unprecedented crowds to locations such as Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disneyland in California, and Disneyland Paris. In some instances, fans lined up overnight, with reports of people sleeping in streets and instances of fighting occurring outside the parks and shopping areas.
Social media footage depicted immense crowds and extensive lines. One witness described the scene as "absolutely chaotic" with people fighting security and "succumbing to the heat." Videos showed guests running through streets near Disney Springs, a shopping and entertainment complex at Walt Disney World, as police attempted to manage the situation. Other social media posts detailed experiences of waiting for hours only to leave empty-handed, with some fans blaming "scalpers" for buying up all the merchandise.
Walt Disney World News Today reported that some guests began queuing for the cards as early as Thursday evening. At Disneyland, one user noted the longest queues they had ever seen for a merchandise drop.
Similar scenes unfolded at Disneyland Paris, where videos showed people swarming a store and jumping over barricades. In London, the Disney Store on Oxford Street experienced "unmanageable crowds, aggressive behavior and a massive police presence," leading to the cancellation of the in-store release. The Disney Store UK stated that the safety of guests and staff was a priority and apologized for the disruption.
Fans expressed frustration with the disorganization of the release and the impact on genuine players. The demand for the limited collection and the subsequent actions of scalpers have led to calls for Disney to implement stricter measures for future collectible releases.