It was one of the most impressive animatronics at Disneyland Resort and in any Disney theme park. Now, the Maleficient Murphy dragon animatronic is destroyed and the fallout begins.
It was a sight to behold as an apparent fuel leak in the Fantasmic show Saturday night created a situation in which one of Disney’s greatest animatronics was lit ablaze and utterly destroyed. It could have been worse. Located on Tom Sawyer island, where getting fire and rescue is more difficult, Disneyland was relatively lucky that a stray stream of fire did not shoot into foliage or a nearby building. And so, as the company looks to determine how this horrible accident occurred, they’re shutting down all effects using a similar system across all of their parks.
NEW: In an updated statement, Disneyland says the cause of the Fantasmic dragon fire remains under investigation.
Officials also said similar fire effects used during select Disney shows and experiences globally will be temporarily suspended “out of an abundance of caution.” pic.twitter.com/jBaQ0cPk55
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 23, 2023
Like with the parade float dragon at Walt Disney World when it was engulfed in flames and destroyed, “Murphy” suffered catastrophic damage and will have to be totally disassembled. The return of Fantasmic at Disneyland is undoubtedly be a long time in the making.
https://twitter.com/DasJayman/status/1650200131353079808
At this point, crews have taken down all the remaining evidence of the fire and the damage. However, it may be quite a while before such an impressive piece of imagineering can be restored. An entirely new animatronic would have to be built, a reassessment of how to prevent this from every occurring again is necessary. And building a new Murphy is no easy task.
Disneyland crews are working this morning at the site of last night’s Fantasmic! Maleficent fire. @thecalibae captured video of the clean-up efforts. pic.twitter.com/2DVZeptQZm
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) April 23, 2023
Ultimately, there are no winners in this situation. We’re just all glad here at That Park Place that nobody was injured in the situation and that the Mickey actor was safely moved via the hidden elevator out of the scene as the dragon was catching fire. Let’s now hope that Disney Parks leadership can move quickly to restore the show, the effects, and the joy that so many have experienced watching Fantasmic for years and years.
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Murphy was designed by imagineers before woke took hold at Disney, so it isn’t likely to be a flaw in the design. But woke has infected park operations so who knows how incompetent the people taking care of Murphy were.