The curtains recently closed at Fantasmic!, the most popular show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. According to a Disney Park guest, the show stopped unexpectedly, disappointing thousands of Walt Disney World Resort visitors.
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Fantasmic! performs nightly at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and on select nights on the Rivers of America at Disneyland Park. The Disneyland Resort show reopened in May after last year’s tragic fire that destroyed the Maleficient dragon animatronic.
Walt Disney World Resort continued offering its version of Fantasmic! during the year-long Disneyland Resort closure. The Disney’s Hollywood Studios show features characters from Moana (2016), Frozen 2 (2019), The Lion King (1994), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Mulan (1998), Pocahontas (1995), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and more.
Last week, thousands of Disney Park guests lined up to see Fantasmic! at the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater. Unfortunately, the show suddenly stopped seconds after Mickey Mouse stepped on stage.
“Fantasmic temporarily stopped right at the beginning of the show today and put up this water’ curtain,’” Redditor u/qt3-141 wrote. They shared a photo of the water curtain:
Fantasmic temporarily stopped right at the beginning of the show today and put up this water "curtain"
byu/qt3-141 inWaltDisneyWorld
Sometimes, outdoor entertainment offerings are paused or canceled due to inclement weather. That wasn’t an issue during this performance, but other Disney Park guests chimed in with their theories about why Fantasmic! ceased its operations.
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“I think it was because the right side of the fountain wasn’t working,” u/Diligent_Ranger_8405 commented. “Before they did this, they tested the front fountains, then the sides.”
“Exactly this, we were there as well,” u/HendrixLion replied. “Once that section of the fountain was fixed they did a few tests and the show started shortly after.”
A former Fantasmic! cast member confirmed that the water curtain feature is used when technicians need to hide a broken prop or when there is an issue with the fountains themselves. From u/IDriveAZamboni:
“Usually when the whole wall goes up it’s because something on the set isn’t correct or won’t go back down or in the mountain (looking at you Vivian), but sounds like this was just an issue with the fountains themselves, seeing how at that point in the show there isn’t really anything stage wise besides the two extension light towers.”
Luckily, the Disney Park guest said that “the show resumed after about ten to fifteen minutes.”
Walt Disney World Resort didn’t publicly confirm the reason behind last week’s Fantasmic! pause. The theme park show has operated normally in the days since.
Has a show ever stopped unexpectedly during your visit to Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments.