Walt Disney World will suspend some fire effects following fire at Fantasmic! in Disneyland

By WDWMAGIC Staff · Sunday April 23, 2023 2:34pm ET · "Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade"
Walt Disney World will suspend some fire effects following fire at Fantasmic! in Disneyland

Walt Disney World will suspend fire effects on the Maleficent float that is part of Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade in Magic Kingdom following a fire during Fantasmic! at Disneyland in California.

Disney has said that while the Disneyland Fantasmic! dragon fire is under investigation, they will be "temporarily suspending fire effects similar to those used at Disneyland park's Fantasmic at select shows and entertainment experiences globally."

No changes are planned at Fantasmic! in Disney's Hollywood Studios, as the show at Walt Disney World uses a different special effect system.

The steampunk-inspired Maleficent float at Magic Kingdom was engulfed in flames in a similar incident back in 2018 at Walt Disney World. Maleficent's head burst into flames in Liberty Square during the afternoon Disney Festival of Fantasy parade. The float was missing from the parade for 8 months as it was rebuilt with updated safety systems.

Here is the full statement from Disney regarding the fire at Disneyland and its impact on other shows.

"During the final showing of Fantasmic at Disneyland park on Saturday evening, the dragon prop caught fire. Anaheim Fire & Rescue quickly responded, and the fire was extinguished. 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. 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."

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They must be pretty darn confident in the Maleficent head on a stick at DHS.

I wouldn't be.
FoF without the dragon fire is unfortunate as it is arguably the highlight of the parade. But at least the parade with run and having a fire less dragon is better than that float missing entirely.

I’d glad to hear that the DHS F! system is different enough that it can proceed as normal.
↩ replying to Brian
The Maleficent head on a stick is the best invention known to mankind.
↩ replying to doctornick
That parade needs to be put out of its misery at this point, its a mess, this certainly wont help it.
↩ replying to Brian
She doesn't launch fire out of her mouth like the one in DL did. The fire effects are in the lake itself. I think she has a few firework launchers in her mouth instead.
↩ replying to StarWarsGirl
It has both pyro and fire built in. It also occasionally has fluid line leaks. Hopefully that was addressed when the show was dark for COVID, but I doubt it.
Whenever the dragon float's fire actually works, it amazes people. It's not my favorite float, but I always love how consistently it gets an audible reaction from the crowd.

I hope it doesn't end up permanently shut off.
It looked so good earlier this week.
Better a safety re-evaluation than injured cast members or guests. It is a pressurized accelerant after all.
↩ replying to Touchdown
Poor girl needs a mint me thinks, ;) No seriously i LOVE the fire effects, my mom does too, I didnt think she'd like the steampunk dragon, but when it breathed the fire effect, mom was like "OK, that is offically a cool effect" and she'd loved it since
The Disneyland dragon will rise from the ashes like a phoenix. It is an amazing animatronic.
I don’t think the dragons mouth fire has been working for a while anyway at DHS, right @gerarar - or some sort of b-mode?
What an utter disgrace.
↩ replying to Disney Analyst
Yeah, around early-March the mouth has been shut, presumably broken. Hopefully the refurbishment in a couple weeks gets it fixed up.