In the wake of Saturday’s fire incident during “Fantasmic!” at Disneyland, Disney Parks is taking extra precautions across their theme parks globally by temporarily suspending flame effects.
The Details
In a statement released by Disney, officials said: “We are temporarily suspending fire effects similar to those used at Disneyland park’s ‘Fantasmic!’ at select shows and entertainment experiences globally out of an abundance of caution following the ‘Fantasmic!’ prop fire at Disneyland park. The continued safety of our cast and guests is of the utmost importance.”
The temporary suspension of fire effects doesn’t include nightly fireworks at various parks, but does include things like the fire-breathing of the Maleficent float in Magic Kingdom’s “Fantasy of Fantasy” parade.
It is not known how long this suspension will last, but we’ll let you know when it’s lifted.
As for “Fantasmic!” at Disneyland, it appears they are still planning to reopen the show to guests this Friday, April 28, 2023, but it is not known if Maleficent will be rebuilt by then, or if the show will be altered.
The show can operate without the dragon, and often has, but there are likely other repairs that will need to be made besides to the dragon itself.
What Happened?
As we reported on Sunday, during the final 10:30pm “Fantasmic!” show of the night at Disneyland park, the Maleficent dragon erupted in flames, and the area was quickly evacuated.
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, Disneyland explained the incident:
“During the final showing of Fantasmic at Disneyland park on Saturday evening, the dragon prop caught fire. Anaheim Fire & Rescue quickly responded and the fire was extinguished. 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. We are temporarily suspending fire effects similar to those used at Disneyland park’s Fantasmic at select shows and entertainment experiences globally out of an abundance of caution following the Fantasmic prop fire at Disneyland park. The continued safety of our cast and guests is of the utmost importance.”
Unfortunately when you work with flame effects, unplanned fires are always a risk. Thanks to the cast members present for making sure there were no injuries in the exodus from the show’s viewing areas on Saturday night.
If you were there, let us know in the comments.