LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Disney World will temporarily suspend the fire effects on one of its fire-breathing dragons following a fire during the Fantasmic! show at Disneyland in California on Saturday.
The steampunk-inspired Maleficent dragon float in the Festival of Fantasy parade at Magic Kingdom won’t be breathing fire for the time being, however, it will remain in the parade.
The temporary suspension comes after the 45-foot-tall Maleficent prop at Disneyland went up in flames during a Saturday night performance of “Fantasmic!”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
“We are temporarily suspending the 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,” Disneyland officials said in a statement.
Disney World’s version of “Fantasmic!” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will not be impacted by the suspension, a Disney World spokesperson told Spectrum News. The show, which debuted at the Florida park in 1998, also features a fire-breathing dragon, but that prop uses a different system for the special fire effects.
This is not the first time one of the dragons caught fire at a Disney theme park. In 2018, the head on the Maleficent float caught fire during Magic Kingdom’s Festival of Fantasy parade. The fire was quickly extinguished and no injuries were reported.
The float was removed from the parade lineup following the incident. Several months later, a restored Maleficent returned to the parade with its fire effects intact.