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A large fire at Disneyland in California Saturday evening caused theme park officials to quickly close the popular ride, according to reports.
“The blaze started during the theme park’s “Fantasmic!” show at the Tom Sawyer Island attraction. Multiple videos posted on social media captured the Maleficent Dragon’s head engulfed in flames mid-performance,” the New York Post reported.
A large plume of thick black smoke was observed rising from an area within the 100-acre theme park. As a result, the show was immediately halted, and guests, as well as Disneyland cast members, were quickly evacuated from the area while emergency responders worked to put out the fire, which had spread along the body of the massive dragon.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, this performance of ‘Fantasmic!’ cannot continue,” an announcement informed park guests. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Moments before the whole dragon caught on fire 🔥 😬 #DisneyOnFire #disneyland #Fantasmic pic.twitter.com/aWkoqHmLUG
— MR.B1ZZ.eth (@LearnThisBiz) April 23, 2023
According to ABC7, the Anaheim Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the flames.
In several videos posted to Twitter, attendees could be heard screaming as the dragon was covered in flames.
not murphy the dragon from fantasmic catching full on fire pic.twitter.com/tVN2StMp2K
— getaway carlos (@car_losing) April 23, 2023
So Murphy caught on fire tonight during Fantasmic! #disneyland #fantasmic #fire #disneylandfire pic.twitter.com/9ysfk6wOB4
— the scarlet bitch 🍒 (@AlyssaNiccolee) April 23, 2023
🚨#BREAKING: A massive fire breaks out during performance at Disneyland
Currently Disneyland staff are asking everyone to evacuate the area as a Disneyland, prop dragon catches on fire during a Fantasmic show at DisneyLand in Anaheim California. The… pic.twitter.com/F3fCaQTgms
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 23, 2023
“During the final showing of Fantasmic at Disneyland park on Saturday evening, the dragon caught fire. Anaheim Fire & Rescue quickly responded and the fire was extinguished,” Disneyland told KTLA. “All cast members were evacuated from Tom Sawyer Island. Due to smoke and wind, attractions near the island were safely cleared of any guests.”
The fire is just the latest in a string of incidents that have plagued the entertainment behemoth. The company has been battling Florida officials, where there is a second theme park — Walt Disney World — over who will control a special district established for the company in the late 1960s after its former CEO warred with Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-controlled legislature over a law that protects the state’s youngest students from racist, sexually inappropriate content.
During a press conference this week, now that the state controls the land near Orlando, where the park is located, the governor proposed the idea of building a state prison nearby.
“Come to think of it, what should we do with this land?” the governor said. “Maybe create a state park. Maybe try to do more amusement parks. Someone even said, like, maybe you need another state prison. Who knows? I just think that the possibilities are endless.”
DeSantis openly speculating about what the state could build next to Walt Disney World:
“Someone even said, maybe you need another state prison…” pic.twitter.com/dlZ2r2OAqZ
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 17, 2023
Earlier this month, DeSantis said he was planning new legislative and administrative actions against Disney after it secretly negotiated an agreement with an outgoing management board to retain control over the vast swaths of land surrounding its Orlando site.
“Come hell or high water, we’re going to make sure that policy of Florida carries the day. And so, they can keep trying to do things. But ultimately, we’re going to win on every single issue involving Disney, I can tell you that,” DeSantis said during a speech this week. “They are not superior to the people of Florida.”
DeSantis, along with Republicans in the legislature, is threatening to levy new tolls on roads leading into the park as well as additional taxes on the park’s hotels.
“The Republican governor also vowed the state legislature, which his party controls, would undo Disney’s agreements with the oversight board it controlled before authority switched to a board DeSantis appointed,” the Daily Mail reported.
Disney had struck a deal that granted it control over development for the next 30 years, but officials in the DeSantis administration have raised concerns that the agreement violates the state’s growth laws. According to Politico, one of the laws specifies that development agreements must be modified or revoked to conform to laws, even if the laws are enacted after the agreement is made.
“Disney is refusing to stand down – saying all its actions were within Florida’s law – and DeSantis was left grasping when the last-minute deals the company cut came to light,” the Daily Mail noted further.
The GOP governor acknowledged that Disney utilized an obscure legal provision connected to King Charles III to circumvent his takeover bid, but he refuted suggestions that the theme park company deceived him.
“They’re acting like somehow that they pulled one over on the state – there’ll be a lot of that coming out of the next month or two, but suffice it to say, you know, the legislature is going to void anything Disney did on the way out the door,” he noted.
