1
Credit: Inside the MagicIt looks like we won’t be glimpsing into Mickey’s imagination again any time soon.
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, was rocked by a major fire at the end of April. The blaze was ignited during a performance of Fantasmic!, Disneyland’s much-beloved nighttime spectacular. During the show, Mickey Mouse takes on the famed Disney villain Maleficent in the form of a 45-foot tall fire-breathing dragon animatronic.
During the 10:30 performance on April 22, the dragon animatronic was seen leaking fuel from its mouth shortly after it appeared, which caused its head to ignite quickly following its entrance. Its entire body soon followed, and the show came to a frightening halt as the dragon was completely engulfed in flames.
Thankfully, all Cast Members were safely evacuated from Tom Sawyer’s Island, and Guests were quickly evacuated out of Frontierland, so no injuries were reported. The same cannot be said for Maleficent (or “Murphy” as she’s nicknamed by Disneyland locals, as in Murphy’s Law), who was burnt beyond recognition. The animatronic was completely destroyed, and construction crews were seen the next morning removing her from Tom Sawyer’s Island.
Rumors stated that the show could return on April 29, but the date came and went quickly without a performance. The same could be said for Friday, May 5, which was originally on the Disneyland calendar, but Fantasmic! once again went unperformed. The Disneyland website has now given us another update that lets us know we won’t be hearing from the powers of Mickey’s imagination for quite a while.
The show has been on hiatus since the incident, and fans and Cast Members alike have been waiting for its triumphant return. Disney is currently investigating what started the blaze and suspended similar fire effects worldwide in the meantime, including the fire-breathing Maleficent float in the Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
The information on the official Disneyland website currently reads, “Performances of Fantasmic! are currently paused. We know our Guests love and miss Fantasmic!, and Disneyland Resort teams are working hard to assess when we can bring back an adjusted show as quickly and safely as possible.” It now appears that Fantasmic! will be paused until at least May 28.
While a “B-mode” dragon does exist (using water screens to play out the scene), we think it’s likely Disney is waiting to resume the show until they’re certain of the fire’s cause and that everything else in the show is safe.