Credit: Rick Wagner, FlickrOn May 18, a vehicle fire described by one guest as an explosion ignited at Walt Disney World Resort’s EPCOT theme park. The car owner later spoke out online, explaining the cause of the blaze.
Fire at EPCOT
Shortly before 9:00 a.m. on Monday, the scanner monitoring account @WDWActiveCrime reported on X (formerly known as Twitter) that law enforcement had responded to reports of a fire at EPCOT. At the time, the emergency response was logged only at the general address of the second Walt Disney World Resort theme park, so it was unclear exactly where the blaze was burning.
🔥 Fire Alert – 05/18/26 08:49 am
🔥: Fire at 📍: Disney’s EPCOT
#WaltDisneyWorld #Disney
🔥 Fire Alert – 05/18/26 08:49 am
🔥: Fire at 📍: Disney's EPCOT#WaltDisneyWorld #Disney pic.twitter.com/7bd5rCZnLP— Walt Disney World: Active Calls (@WDWActiveCrime) May 18, 2026
A few hours later, a Walt Disney World Resort guest using the account @DrewTheDude123 wrote that a vehicle had “exploded” in one of the parking lots at EPCOT:
A car exploded in the Epcot parking lot. Praying all are ok
A car exploded in the Epcot parking lot. Praying all are ok
— Drew TheThemeParkDude (@DrewTheDude123) May 18, 2026
Video footage of the fire eventually surfaced on TikTok from @arianed_01. The clip shows the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Fire Department dousing the flames with a hose and smoke in the Moana parking lot at EPCOT. Disney cast members are clearly blocking any other guests from entering the area:
@arianed_01 Car on fire at Epcot 5/18/2026
In the comments, a woman named Jaqueline Hill shared a photo of the damaged car, including the broken windshield, after firefighters extinguished the blaze. She identified herself and her boyfriend as owners of the 2020 Toyota RAV4 that burned at EPCOT on Monday and attributed the fire to an airbag malfunction:
“It was an airbag malfunction we literally checked into Epcot in about six minutes later we got a phone call when we came out we thought someone hit our car, but it turns out an airbag malfunctioned and deployed, causing it to go on fire. No one was hurt.
We’re just a little turned upside down it was supposed to be a magical day as it was only my third time ever in the park. So yeah not so great but Disney was utterly amazing and helping us they made sure we were OK. They made sure everything was straight, but it has 100% confirmed the airbag malfunction.”
Fortunately, no one was injured.
All attractions and experiences at EPCOT are operating normally following the vehicle fire on Monday morning. Walt Disney World Resort did not issue a public statement regarding the incident.
Were you at EPCOT when the fire broke out on Monday, May 18? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments!
