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We didn’t think anything could take down the mistress of evil.
For more than three decades, guests visiting Disneyland Resort have been able to enjoy the park’s most iconic experience, Fantasmic!. Fantasmic brings guests right into the mind of Mickey Mouse himself. In his dream, Mickey believes that he is the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. As the Apprentice, he meets many of our favorite Disney characters.
Credit: Disney
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Of course, a dream can quickly turn into a nightmare, and that is exactly what happens to Mickey. The villains invade his dreams and, at the show’s climax, Mickey must battle one of Disney’s most legendary ones, Maleficent. Maleficent turns into a fire-breathing dragon, but that doesn’t deter Mickey!
Credit: Disney
Sadly, in April 2023, Disneyland Park’s Fantasmic! show suffered from a devastating fire. During the dragon scene, instead of breathing fire, the pyrotechnics backfired, and, the dragon’s head caught on fire. In a matter of minutes, the entire dragon was engulfed in flames. The Anaheim Fire Department was quickly called in, and thankfully, no one was injured.
Originally, Disneyland officials said that the show would be closed through at least Memorial Day Weekend. Then, the reopening was pushed back until sometime in September. However, Disney had to once again delay the opening. They told guests that Fantasmic! would be closed through the new year.
Credit: Scott Gustin, X
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In the meantime, Disneyland Park did have a couple of performances along the Rivers of America. The Jambalaya Jazz Band crooned some classic tunes while gliding along the water. There was also the Heartbeat of New Orleans show, which featured a frog making its way down to New Orleans and experiencing the magic of jazz music.
The legendary show was closed for more than a year, as Disney worked to create a new climactic scene, but without the dragon, affectionately nicknamed Murphy.
Credit: Loren Javier, Flickr
Finally, on May 24, 2024, the Fantasmic! show returned to much fanfare. However, fans weren’t thrilled once the show began. They were disappointed to see that, instead of a dragon, Maleficent was just on a raised platform. They missed the iconic Murphy and the dramatic element that he provided.
Of course, something can always go wrong, even when Disney has completely refurbished its theme park attraction. And that is exactly what happened the other day when guests were watching the nighttime spectacular.
Credit: Disney
According to videos shared on social media, the platform that was supposed to raise Maleficent was malfunctioning, so all she could do was run and stay away from Sorcerer Mickey.
This is Maleficent in C mode during Fantasmic! at Disneyland on 6/23. I honestly hadn’t even considered what C mode might be so this was interesting
This is Maleficent in C mode during Fantasmic! at Disneyland on 6/23. I honestly hadn’t even considered what C mode might be so this was interesting https://t.co/UhuDf5kdU3 pic.twitter.com/YxcgmiBr55
— Matt DH (@DisneyScoopGuy) June 26, 2024
Commenters were incredibly disappointed to see that another Maleficent feature was not working. The show was already not the same because of the missing dragon, and now, it was even worse. Some even accused Disney of purposefully sabotaging the show, so they would have a reason to replace it.
It appears that the malfunctioning platform was only a temporary problem. Fantasmic! seems to be back up and running as normal.
Do you want Disney to bring Maleficent’s dragon back to Disneyland’s Fantasmic!? Let us know in the comments!
