Earlier this year Disneyland’s fire-breathing Maleficent dragon got a little too real during a performance of Fantasmic when the massive animatronic caught fire and was completely destroyed. We already knew that we were going to have to survive the whole summer without Fantasmic (aka one of the best attractions at Disneyland) but now it looks like the show will be gone for a full year or more. And when it returns, it will be with significant changes, as there will be no direct replacement for the animatronics.
A statement from Disneyland Resort (via Theme Park Insider) states that Fantasmic is now set to be closed until Spring, 2024, which at best means the show will be down for 11 months considering the fire took place in April this year. But beyond that, while Fantasmic will still include a battle between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent, the fight will change somehow as the animatronic dragon will not be rebuilt, so the fight will be handled in some other way.
Fantasmic has always had a “B-mode” for the dragon effect, where an animated image of Maleficent as the dragon was projected on a screen of water. It was used anytime there were technical difficulties with the main dragon, which were not uncommon. The dragon had been nicknamed Murphy by Cast Members due to the frequency of problems.
It’s possible that this secondary mode will just become the main way to do the scene, but if that were the case, we’d expect Fantasmic to open a lot sooner. Fantasmic is a popular show and you’d think Disneyland would want to get it up and running as quickly as possible. As such, it’s possible that something truly new is being developed.
Fantasmic was recently replaced by performances by Queenie and the Jambalaya Jazz Band on the Rivers of America, and Disneyland has promised other new entertainment that will be appearing in place of Fantasmic in the months to come. There’s a good chance that we’ll see some holiday-themed entertainment when Disneyland's Halloween Time gets started on September 1 and then something for Christmas beginning in November.
There’s a good chance that we’ll see other changes to Fantasmic when it eventually returns next year. While the core show has remained intact for over 30 years, parts of the show have been updated if not fully replaced over time. It seems likely that could happen when the new version of the show debuts. The version of Fantasmic that reopened at Walt Disney World following its pandemic shutdown did so with new segments that have been well-received by fans.
The fact that Fantasmic is returning at all and not being replaced by something entirely new shows just how much love fans have for the nighttime spectacular. You can be sure that next spring those fans will turn out to see Fantasmic and find out just how much has changed.
