Disney halts some fire effects worldwide after fire during Disneyland show
Jack Birle
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Disney has temporarily suspended some fire effects at its theme parks worldwide after a dragon prop meant to breathe fire became engulfed in flames during a show at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, on Saturday night.
The company said the effects suspended would be those similar to the one which malfunctioned at Disneyland and is being done “out of an abundance of caution.”
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“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 statement said.
Near the end of the second performance of the nighttime show “Fantasmic!” a dragon prop meant to be the villain “Maleficent” from the movie Sleeping Beauty went up in flames. The show was suspended, and the area was evacuated.
Disneyland confirmed that all cast members were evacuated from the Tom Sawyer Island part of the park, where the show is performed. The viewing area for the show is separated by water from the performance area.
“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.”
Videos showed the fire beginning at the head of the dragon but rapidly spreading to the entire dragon. As the flames get larger, Disney employees can be heard ushering people out of the area.
Performances of the show were canceled for Sunday, with the next scheduled performance for the show listed as April 28 on the Disneyland website.
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Disney says the dragon prop was a staggering 45 feet tall by 28 feet wide and weighed approximately 18,000 pounds. The show “Fantasmic!” debuted in 1992, but the dragon prop which went up in flames was introduced in 2009. The company said the show had 11,000 shows as of May 2022.
A similar incident happened in 2018 at Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort, when a fire-breathing dragon float in the “Festival of Fantasy Parade” caught fire during a performance.