Disneyland took special effects to a whole new level over the weekend. During a performance of the live show “Fantasmic!” at the Anaheim, Calif. theme park, a pretend fire-breathing dragon caught on actual fire.
Dazzled audiences assumed it was part of the show, which entails Mickey Mouse dreaming that he is a sorcerer’s apprentice.
“My sister and I were talking about how it was impressive,” audience member Tim Turensek told the New York Times. “I was like, ‘Man, they can set that head on fire and it just stays perfectly intact?’ So we were kind of amazed at Disney at first and then realized it was not part of the show.”
The loudspeaker commanded patrons to exit the building, and apologized for any “inconvenience this may cause.” (Note to Disney: it would definitely be more inconvenient to just sit there and burn to death.)
Watch events unfold, as captured by one audience member and uploaded to TikTok:
@hhaannaahhll Dude… #fantasmic #fantasmiconfire #dragon #maleficent #maleficentonfire #disneyland #disney #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #omg #fire ♬ original sound – Hannah
Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt in the incident. Six workers were treated for minor smoke inhalation and released from care.
Disneyland said in a statement that they were “temporarily suspending fire effects” similar to those used in the show “out of an abundance of caution following the ‘Fantasmic!’ prop fire.” Anaheim Police Department and Anaheim Fire and Rescue are investigating the cause of the accident.