Disney puts a stop to fire effects globally following a fiery incident at a Disneyland show.

Disney’s theme parks around the world are temporarily suspending some fire effects after a dragon prop meant to breathe fire became engulfed in flames during a show at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California. The incident occurred during the second performance of the nighttime show “Fantasmic!” when a dragon prop meant to be the villain “Maleficent” from the movie Sleeping Beauty went up in flames. The show was suspended, and the area was evacuated. Videos showed the fire beginning at the head of the dragon but rapidly spreading to the entire dragon. As the flames get larger, Disney employees can be heard ushering people out of the area.

Disneyland officials said that the effects suspended would be those similar to the one which malfunctioned at Disneyland and is being done “out of an abundance of caution.” The company’s top priority is the safety of its cast and guests. All cast members were safely evacuated from Tom Sawyer Island, where the show is performed. The viewing area for the show is separated by water from the performance area.

Performances of the show were canceled for Sunday, with the next scheduled performance for the show listed as April 28 on the Disneyland website. Disney says the dragon prop was a staggering 45 feet tall by 28 feet wide and weighed approximately 18,000 pounds. The show “Fantasmic!” debuted in 1992, but the dragon prop which went up in flames was introduced in 2009. The company said the show had 11,000 shows as of May 2022.

This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. A similar incident happened in 2018 at Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort, when a fire-breathing dragon float in the “Festival of Fantasy Parade” caught fire during a performance. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.

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