The Maleficent dragon in Disneyland’s Fantasmic! caught fire and burned down on Saturday night. The fire originated in the dragon’s mouth, but quickly spread throughout the figure. The surreal scene saw guests being escorted out of the area while the dragon was consumed by flames.
Videos of the incident spready quickly on Twitter and YouTube.
The Maleficent dragon caught fire during the second showing of Fantasmic! at Disneyland Park on Saturday night.
It happened when Mickey shoots sparks at the giant dragon’s head. The Anaheim Fire Department responded to the scene.
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 23, 2023
Thankfully, no injuries were reported.
Fluid was spotted leaking from the dragon shortly before it was supposed to breath fire. Here’s the moment the unplanned fire started.
This video shows the moment the fire started:pic.twitter.com/mDG4yyIBBE
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 23, 2023
One guest spotted the leaking fluid just before the fire broke out. You could see something dripping out of the dragon’s mouth just prior to Mickey’s encounter.
We did notice that the dragon in the Disneyland Fantasmic show kinda seemed to be leaking… pic.twitter.com/GUNJmDbikl
— 𝓣𝓲𝓽𝓸 𝓑𝓪𝓫𝔂 (@neilthefurious) April 23, 2023
Understandably, Fantasmic! has been cancelled for the next few days while Disney investigates the incident. Fantasmic! will undoubtedly return in B mode (the version Disney uses when the dragon is malfunctioning) whenever it does return to the Disneyland schedule.
It’s a real shame to see this awesome show prop destroyed. Disneyland’s Maleficent dragon is one of the big differentiators between the show in Disneyland and the one shown at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. It’s a night and day difference.
Does this story sound sort of familiar? It should, as the fire-breathing Maleficent dragon in Walt Disney World’s Festival of Fantasy parade caught fire back in 2018. That incident was confined to the dragon’s head, but it’s still noteworthy that two Maleficent dragons have burned down in five years.
