Disneyland offers some pretty spectacular attractions and events for its visitors. Among those are the “Magic Happens” parade and the newly opened Mickey And Minnie's Runaway Railway, which features references hardcore fans will appreciate. Of course, another beloved show that’s held at the park is Fantasmic!, the nighttime spectacular that occurs on the Rivers of America and across the Tom Sawyer Island waterway. And among the staples of the performance is the Maleficent dragon. Unfortunately, the giant structure turned into a giant fireball this weekend after what looked to be a significant accident. Attendees also captured video of the ordeal.
The Maleficent Dragon caught fire during the final Fantasmic! performance on Saturday night. As it occurred, a number of visitors pulled out their phones and began recording and, since then, videos have made their way to social media. You can a clip captured by one person in the Twitter post below:
Fantastic Fantasmic fail - wow! #fantasmic #disneyland pic.twitter.com/MZhNJhEXrBApril 23, 2023
As dangerous as the situation looked, there is some good news. Disneyland subsequently released a statement that was shared with Deadline and, in it, park officials say that “Anaheim Fire & Rescue quickly responded and the fire was extinguished.” The organization also provided comment on park staffers as well as how guests were handled throughout the event:
All cast members were safely evacuated from Tom Sawyer Island. Due to smoke and wind, attractions near the island were safely evacuated of any guests, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time.
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The show originally opened in Disneyland in May 1992 and takes place in the Frontierland segment of the park. The elaborate display follows Mickey Mouse, as guests take a trip inside his imagination and watch him do battle with some of the most despicable villains the House of Mouse has ever created. That’s where the aforementioned giant dragon, which was iconically featured in the 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, comes into play. To pull this spectacle off, park technicians use a combination of fireworks, water, pyrotechnics and more. There are also alternate iterations at other parks, with the Disney World variation having added characters like Elsa and Aladdin in 2022.
Fantasmic!, which had its most recent re-opening this past February, has gone viral before. Last summer, some shared a clip of the Mickey Mouse actor making a recovery after slipping on stage. And it’s a good thing that they did get back up, because the slip happened right before fireworks were set to shoot out of the hands of the actor’s costume.
As mentioned in the statement, the cause of this most recent hiccup is still being looked into. Meanwhile though, theme park analyst Scott Gustin noted on Twitter that one could see fluid leaking from the dragon before the fire started:
A photo from @neilthefurious appears to show the dragon leaking fluid before the fire started: https://t.co/KxwIwu4NRiApril 23, 2023
Regardless of how it happened, it’s comforting to hear that neither staff nor visitors were harmed due to what happened with Fantasmic!. One would hope that the show will be back up and running as per usual sooner rather than later.
While you wait for more updates, you can read up on how future Disneyland expansion could be more substantial than we thought. Also, keep tabs on the new and upcoming attractions heading to Walt Disney World.
