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Disney World Says Guest To Blame for Fire on ”it’s a small world” Yesterday

Walt Disney World Resort has broken its usual silence on emergency incidents to address a viral video showing guests evacuating a smoke-filled “it’s a small world” at Magic Kingdom Park.

The Video That Sparked the Story

its a small world line queue walt disney world resort ride
Credit: Michael Gray, Flickr

The incident became public knowledge when a TikTok video posted by @coachbragg accumulated thousands of views overnight, showing guests evacuating the queue, loading, and unloading areas of “it’s a small world” at Magic Kingdom Park as smoke visibly filled the attraction space.

@coachbragg

Turning up the heat on It’s a small world 🔥 #fire #itsasmallworld

♬ original sound – Coach Bragg

In the hours following the video’s spread, unverified accounts from Disney Park guests and cast members on social media began circulating an explanation: a MagSafe portable phone charger had reportedly ignited inside a bag on the floor of a boat at the end of the ride, just before it reached the unloading area.

Disney Speaks Up

four animatronic dolls from disney's it's a small world ride
Credit: Disney

Walt Disney World Resort rarely issues public statements about emergency responses on its property, but broke that pattern on Thursday. Theme park journalist Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) shared the Central Florida vacation destination’s official response on X (formerly known as Twitter):

Got some info from Disney: A guest’s charger sparked a small fire. Cast members acted quickly, using a fire extinguisher to put it out before firefighters arrived. No injuries. Ride was shut down briefly and reopened that day.

The statement confirmed what social media had been suggesting: a guest’s phone charger was the source of the fire, a Disney cast member extinguished it before firefighters arrived on the scene, no one was injured, and “it’s a small world” was back in operation the same day after completing necessary safety checks.

Back to Normal

An overhead look at the "it's a small world" loading area at Magic Kingdom Park.
Credit: Jess Colopy, Disney Dining

The Fantasyland attraction was running normally on Thursday, July 2, with no lingering operational impacts from Wednesday’s incident.

Were you at Magic Kingdom Park on Wednesday, July 1? Share your experience with Disney Dining in the comments! 

Jess Colopy

Jess Colopy is a Disney College Program alum and kid-at-heart. When she’s not furiously typing in a coffee shop, you can find her on the hunt for the newest Stitch pin.

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