Dragon at Disneyland's Fantasmic! destroyed by massive fire

Apr 23, 2023 in "Disneyland Resort"

Posted: Sunday April 23, 2023 10:08am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

A massive fire at Disneyland Fantasmic! last night resulted in the total loss of the Maleficent dragon that is featured in the finale of the show.

During the second showing of Fantasmic! last night, the show appeared to be running as normal, with Melficent shooting fire out to ignite the water between the audience and the stage.

Just after the planned fireball, fuel could be seen leaking from the head of the dragon, which soon ignited. The fire continued uncontrolled and quickly accelerated, engulfing the entire dragon in flames.

The show was halted, and all cast and crew were safely removed from the area. Disneyland reports that there were no injuries to cast or guests.

Performances of Fantasmic! have been halted, and the show is likely to be unavailable for the foreseeable future.

You can see the full sequence of events in the video below.

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MisterPenguin4 hours ago

TEMPORAL PARADOX!! QUICK! KILL ONE!!!!

𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖗974 hours ago

Interesting glimpse at the contingency plan if something goes awry!

waltography5 hours ago

Some imagination, huh?

Squishy5 hours ago

Tonight's 9pm show had two Mickeys in the finale on the stage.

chadwpalm15 hours ago

I did the Rancho del Zocalo dining package on Saturday which was like $37 after tax and I sat at this red dot: And we got to sit through the show, not stand. I thought it was a mistake because it was so close to center, but no, that's where they seated us. It was the 2nd show at 10:30pm. I watched the fireworks in Galaxy's Edge then walked over to the spot around 10:00pm and still got a good spot near the front because the Rancho seating area is so big. I personally got the carne asada meal and it filled me up. Came with dessert too.

Disneyson1 day ago

Thanks so much for the replies! We did one-park per day tickets. There are a lot of really interesting options at Red Rose and, weirdly, Galactic Grill. I think that’s where we’ll do an on-the-run breakfast now that I consider it. A hop into Tiki Room/Tropical Hideaway should be sufficient. I like the idea of Carnation for lunch and BB for dinner. I also think they’re the some of the best veggie options in the park aside from Star Wars, but I can do that in WDW. I saw Rancho Del Zocalo on the list, and the potato tacos are right up our alley! I wonder if it makes more sense to do Blue Bayou lunch (no dining package) and then doing dinner at Ranchero? But, I don’t know, if I’m going to do Fantasmic I may as well get the best spots, yeah? My partner isn’t such an early person, so I’m not too concerned about the early entry guests. But that’s a good thing to keep in mind. Part of the reason I chose the parks the way I did was to end off on a positive note, you know? The best for last. And, to be honest, the D23 days at DCA looks like at least half of the events will be focused on the Disney Junior celebration… which, well. I’m not too sad to miss. I’m already primed to be missing things this trip as I wasn’t able to grab studio or parks panel tickets, and I imagine the thing that will be most interesting to me will end up being at Disneyland anyhow. Agreed that he knows I love Fantasmic, and I’ve told him that it’s different now. But I think he’ll be into sitting and watching it anyhow. I just hope it isn’t as anticlimactic in person. Oh NO! Mickey’s Mix Magic is almost universally panned! Ah well. I wonder how it fares against Dragonless Fantasmic. To remain on topic… it’s just. Such a difficult decision to determine if the magic is going to still be there at Fantasmic, and if it’s worth the price….

ajrwdwgirl1 day ago

Blue Bayou isn't the only Fantasmic dining package, River Belle Terrace and Rancho del Zocalo have packages. I think the the Rancho one is about $35 (maybe a bit more) and I remember seeing a vegetarian option on the menu. Do you have one park per day tickets? Just wondering if you are rope droppers because your DCA day is a early entry day for resort guests and your DL day is early entry for resort guests. Since I don't stay on site I try to avoid early entry days so I'm not "behind" everyone. I saw the D23 is having a special D23 at Disneyland on Aug 8th but it also said that there would be events at both parks so if you have a park hopper you could enjoy the special events at both parks.

PiratesMansion1 day ago

I don't think most people posting in this thread have actually seen the new iteration of the show in person yet, unfortunately. If you're eating at Blue Bayou anyway, I'd say you might as well just do the dining package. It's not a tremendous difference in cost, so why not make the viewing experience less complicated? IF you've talked to your partner a lot about what is important to you, and knows that Fantasmic is one of your most important things, it might seem weird to him that you WOULDN'T be doing Fantasmic. Unless you specifically mentioned the dragon to him in the past, he might well enjoy it anyway without it. If I only had one day at Disneyland, I wouldn't personally do a table service breakfast. Mornings at DLR are typically cool and moderate temperature wise (and it is also, by far, the best time of the day to do attractions efficiently), so he may not even need the break yet at that point in the day. If he does, you could potentially do an emergency Tiki Room showing or something like that instead. I wouldn't do Cafe Orleans and Blue Bayou on the same day unless you are certain you will need table service for every meal and lack other options. If I had to do TS meals all day, I would skip breakfast in the parks (or do something counter service), then do Carnation for Lunch, followed by BB for dinner. As for Fireworks, they actually put a calendar out early in the year and I'm almost 100% positive that Mickey's Mix Magic will be the show playing.

Touchdown1 day ago

If your inpatient partner is willing to stay late to see show #2 he will have a much easier time finding a spot with minimal waiting.

Disneyson1 day ago

Sort of a planning question, sort of a comment: Should I take my boyfriend to see Fantasmic during D23? For context, my partner has never been to Disneyland before, and we’ve planned on spending our time at Disneyland during “D23 Day”. This will be his first time at Disneyland, and (because we skipped DHS on our last vacation) his first time in Galaxy’s Edge. I’m usually only able to get to Disneyland for a combo trip to D23, every 2-4 years, due to timing, finance, and bang for my buck. I’m doing DCA on the 7th and DL on the 8th. I want to show my partner, not a huge Disney fan, all of the magic that isn’t necessarily at WDW, which he only just visited for the first time two-ish years ago, only MK and AK. I want to show him Snow White and Alice, Indiana Jones, Pirates, etc etc, but also Storybookland, Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, the Tiki Room pre-show, all that nerd stuff we love. The places where Walt was, the love and care. A lot of this trip is about sharing what is so important to me, and making the trip as smooth and easy as possible. He overheats easily and I plan to do sit-down meals for Lunch and Dinner. We’ve got Genie+, though I’m pretty good at navigation so I’m not sure I needed to do that. I intend to plan breaks at the Cantina & Tropical Hideaway, too. He’s a vegetarian, so I’m gaming out the best places to take him for the best food. Blue Bayou is inevitable. Thinking of doing Carnation Cafe for breakfast or Red Rose Taverne, and maybe Cafe Orleans or Carnation or Star Wars for Lunch/Dinner. I’m not sure what the fireworks will be like during our visit, as it is only 4 days after Pixar Fest. I hope they bring back “Remember…” for the D23 Day as a shout-out to to fans, but mostly I just hope he gets to see Tinkerbell fly. And then there’s Fantasmic. This is my favorite show, and a huge part of who I am. I’m the type that cries during this show. But without the dragon I’m afraid both of us will be extremely disappointed. And the question is: do I pay money to get disappointed? Aren’t reservations at Blue Bayou going to come out to the same price, more or less, if I don’t do Dining Package? If I decide on Fantasmic, isn’t the best option for my impatient partner to get the Dining Package anyway, or would it be a regrettable choice…? Mostly… and most pertinent to the discussion… Is this show in this iteration good enough to end the night for a first-timer guest to sell them on the Disney Magic? The reservations go out sometime around June 9th, so I have some time to think about it. But I wanted to put it out there so I could get some ideas.

IMDREW2 days ago

The return of Peter Pan is such a great change. The reveal, the music, the costumes and colors. It's everything the last version missed. On the other hand, I do really miss the color they infused in the last version. This feels like a step backwards in a lot of technical areas. I admit the last version had some moments of sensory overload, but they toned it down way too much imo. It's now missing some sparkle and color, besides the obvious missing dragon.

gerarar2 days ago

Found this article from 2015. https://d23.com/gallery/fantasmic-maleficent-dragon-head-arrives-at-the-ronald-reagan-library-and-museum-for-the-treasures-of-the-walt-disney-archives-exhibit/ So I'm pretty sure they just lug it around to various Disney events. Most recent was a couple years ago but can't find the source.

𝕴𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖗972 days ago

Interesting, I wonder what happened to the Tokyo one.

gerarar2 days ago

I recall seeing it online at one of those D23 ticketed events/showcase. But it was just the head piece, so the entire prop is gone at this point and doubt it could be reused.