Credit: Jeremy Thompson, FlickrGuests were evacuated from a Disney park boat over the weekend after it started billowing a “significant” amount of smoke.
Even Disney’s meticulously maintained theme parks aren’t immune to unexpected emergencies. In July 2026, for example, a guest’s portable charger caught fire aboard Magic Kingdom’s “it’s a small world,” forcing an evacuation. Two months later, fire alarms interrupted Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean and prompted the evacuation of the adjoining Blue Bayou restaurant.
Now, an incident has occurred on one of Disney’s boat rides.
Boat Starts Billowing Smoke at Disney Theme Park
The incident occurred around noon on Sunday (October 25) on Voyage to the Crystal Grotto at Shanghai Disneyland.
The slow-moving boat attraction, which opened alongside the park in 2016, takes guests through Fantasyland past elaborate scenes inspired by Disney animated classics, including The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), Mulan (1998), and Tangled (2010).
Along the way, guests encounter colorful sculptures, fountains, and musical effects before traveling beneath Enchanted Storybook Castle into a secret underground chamber filled with illuminated crystals. Notably, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto was the first Disney attraction to take guests inside one of the company’s iconic theme park castles.
According to Chinese outlet Huanqiu, passengers reported hearing a loud, unusual noise shortly after their boat departed the loading dock. Some initially assumed it was part of the ride’s special effects, only to grow concerned when smoke began pouring from the vessel.
The smoke reportedly became increasingly thick and was accompanied by an unpleasant smell. Footage shared on social media shows the boat carrying multiple guests, including children, surrounded by significant amounts of smoke. Staff quickly brought the vessel ashore and helped passengers disembark safely.
Meanwhile, guests waiting in the attraction’s queue were also evacuated as a precaution. The ride was temporarily closed following the incident, although no injuries were reported. The footage quickly attracted attention online, with some visitors initially suspecting that a fire had broken out.
However, Shanghai Disneyland subsequently confirmed that there had been no fire. Instead, the attraction’s fire protection system had been accidentally activated. According to The Beijing News, the ride reopened later that afternoon, with affected guests reportedly receiving complimentary Disney Premier Access passes (the park’s equivalent of Lightning Lanes).
Other Disney Boat Rides Have Faced Similar Incidents
This isn’t the first time a Disney boat ride has encountered trouble. In September 2026, guests aboard Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise became stranded when their boat got stuck shortly after leaving the dock. Attempts to tow the vessel failed, forcing passengers to transfer to another boat before continuing their journey.
In February 2023, firefighters were called to Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean after a boat began taking on water. Guests reportedly spent around an hour stranded aboard the vessel before being rescued via a temporary walkway. Footage of the unusual evacuation subsequently went viral on TikTok.
Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise experienced an even more dramatic incident in February 2020 when a boat partially sank during a ride. Photos showed passengers standing on their seats as water flooded the vessel. Emergency responders helped evacuate everyone safely, with no injuries reported, and the attraction reopened later that day.
Interestingly, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto itself also made headlines in June 2025 after footage emerged of a Rapunzel-themed boat submerged in the attraction’s waterway. However, unlike the vessel involved in Sunday’s incident, this was a decorative boat used as part of the ride’s scenery rather than one carrying passengers.
Have you ever experienced an incident on a Disney park attraction?
