Disneyland Fantasmic Dragon Engulfed in Flames

[TP2000]

There are inherent risks with being in a crowded area that are impossible to fully mitigate. The vast majority of the risk comes from scenarios where crowds can become suddenly unruly or panicked. In those types of situations the best evacuation plan conceivable becomes completely worthless in an instant.

A few people have commented about the "disturbing" reaction of some of the guests. I think any safety expert would be quite happy to see people joking and being light-hearted in that situation, because the alternative is far more dangerous than an isolated fire across a wide body of water. An anxious, frenzied crowd could get people hurt or killed in a matter of seconds, and there's nothing anybody on planet Earth could do to stop it.

I agree with you that the light-hearted reactions on the videos were good to hear. Better people laugh and guffaw, than people really starting to panic and deciding they need to trample the little old lady next to them to get to higher ground.

To be perfectly honest, knowing that no one was injured as I watched the videos of the dragon burning himself to the ground, I found them entertaining and fascinating to watch. (Wait, is the dragon a he or a she? It's Maleficent reincarnated as a dragon, isn't it? So she's a she?)

I just wonder what the exact exit strategy is in an emergency for dispersing thousands of people packed together like sardines in the Fantasmic! viewing area. There's no exit signage. There's no clear exit paths. And many areas are fenced in for most of the show with poles and taught ropes. There's just a sense that if something goes wrong you should move... away, somewhere. But how?

 

[TP2000]

These types of effects use a fuel source like propane or natural gas, and while they’re stored as a liquid their boiling point is so low that they would not pour out like that. What is seen is some other fluid, not the fuel source.

I assumed it was hydraulic fluid for the robotic figure. It's got to be able to move and extend on pivot points, so it would need hydraulic fluid of some sort. Plus, it's huge and massive, so there's a lot of fluid needed to move that amount of weight and mass.

Most hydraulic fluid is flammable. Oftentimes it's highly flammable because the machinery is already hot just by nature of its operation.

Unless some Disneyland maintenance man shows up to tell us otherwise, I'm assuming we were seeing leaking hydraulic fluid pouring out of its neck and joints as it burned and failed.

 

[TwilightZone]

Briefly returning from my hiatus to post an interesting alternate angle I saw reposted earlier today. Seems like at some point a huge stream of fire squirted out of the dragon. Some theorize it might've been done to get rid of any extra flammable material that would have been in there.

 

[wtyy21]

Another wide view regarding the extent of Murphy the Maleficent dragon fire, this time from Mattercam.

 

[MisterPenguin]

How toxic is hydraulic fluid smoke?

 

[Disone]

Even when the fire-breathing worked at DHS, it was really nothing like the Murphy fire-breathing. It looked more like a firecracker or a flaming marshmallow being launched out of the mouth. At DL, it was like a flamethrower.

lol! But only because it's true.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Dragon at Disneyland’s ‘Fantasmic!’ Performance Catches Fire​

At least six workers were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire on Saturday night at the California theme park, but no one was seriously hurt, officials said.​

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By April Rubin​

April 23, 2023​

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When a fire-breathing dragon caught fire at Disneyland on Saturday night, some spectators thought it was part of the show.​

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But the prop being engulfed in flames was accidental, and officials were investigating the cause, Sgt. Jon McClintock, a spokesman for the Anaheim Police Department and Anaheim Fire and Rescue, said on Sunday.​

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At least six workers were treated for smoke inhalation but did not require further evaluation, he said.​

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The fire was reported at about 11 p.m. local time, 30 minutes after the start of a performance of “Fantasmic!”​

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The show, in which Mickey Mouse dreams that he is a sorcerer’s apprentice, uses “stunning effects, thrilling stunts, dazzling pyrotechnics and rousing music,” according to a description on Disneyland’s website.​

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A prop depicts Maleficent, one of the villains in the story, as a 45-foot dragon that breathes fire during a part of the performance.​

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As a crowd watched, the fire started around the dragon’s head and then spread to its body and along its neck, according to a TikTok video.​

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“Your attention, please,” a voice said over a loudspeaker as the fire spread. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, this performance of ‘Fantasmic!’ will not continue. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”​

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When the prop began to catch on fire, Tim Turensek, an accountant who was visiting from Minneapolis, said he briefly thought the blaze was an intentional part of the show.​

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“My sister and I were talking about how it was impressive,” he said. “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.”​

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From where he stood from about 150 feet away, Mr. Turensek could feel the heat from the fire.​

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It was not immediately clear what the dragon prop was made of or what fueled its fire effects.​

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The area immediately around the fire was evacuated and closed, while the rest of the park remained open. Workers were safely evacuated from Tom Sawyer Island, where the performance takes place, Disneyland said in a statement.​

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“We are temporarily suspending fire effects similar to those used at Disneyland park’s ‘Fantasmic!’ at select shows and entertainment experiences globally out of an abundance of caution following the ‘Fantasmic!’ prop fire,” Disneyland said.​

Dragon at Disneyland’s ‘Fantasmic!’ Performance Catches Fire

At least six workers were treated for smoke inhalation after the fire on Saturday night at the California theme park, but no one was seriously hurt, officials said.

www.nytimes.com

 

[BagOfGroceries]

(Wait, is the dragon a he or a she? It's Maleficent reincarnated as a dragon, isn't it? So she's a she?)

I’ve always called Murphy a she.

 

[flynnibus]

So long as the safety concerns that caused accidents are addressed so that they don’t happen again, there’s no real reason to end something. If they can’t be fixed that’s another story.

You could have said that about props overhead too... but that didn't stop Disney from changing their posture on that. The whole point here isn't "can it be done safely" -- it's "What's Disney's appetite for exposure/risk?". And the latter has been shrinking to be extremely conservative.

 

[flynnibus]

I'd be interested to know if Disneyland had to meet any sort of requirements or regulations for outdoor seating with the Fantasmic! viewing areas. Especially that lowest tier directly along the river, where everyone is seated on the ground packed tightly together.

Disney does keep traffic lanes open and one should presume these are designed for not just through-traffic but access to the seating areas as well.

Short of holding people back into pens - which has it's own issues - you have a hard time preventing a stampede scenario anywhere because the issue is the people more than anything. They can stampede in a wide open courtyard. The issue (I think) at Disneyland is guests would be confused over which direction they should be going.. and again without more barriers to funnel people it would be difficult. Best thing Disney could probably do is make your exit path for your spot plainly clear and obvious in case of a issue... think big exit this way kind of signage viewable all the time from where a guest would be standing.

 

[shambolicdefending]

You could have said that about props overhead too... but that didn't stop Disney from changing their posture on that. The whole point here isn't "can it be done safely" -- it's "What's Disney's appetite for exposure/risk?". And the latter has been shrinking to be extremely conservative.

This is the key point, IMO.

Contrary to some sentiment I've seen online, I think this incident shows that Disney is actually quite well-prepared and safe in events like this. A huge four-story prop went up in flames in a matter of seconds, but trained personnel were immediately on the scene to isolate the fire and prevent any spread, while all other cast members were quickly whisked out of harms way. Public emergency responders were given quick access, and there was ultimately only some minor smoke inhalation to check out. No guests were ever in any danger, the affected areas were evacuated without incident, and they've immediately taken precautions in their other parks while they investigate.

That all indicates to me that Disney is doing things right with regards to safety. But, the fact that so many assumptions are loudly circulating on social media about "management failure" and "maintenance cost cutting" by people who have absolutely no clue what happened and why, is a significant thing. It's the type of thing that could very well make Disney say, "These effects are big and expensive, and if one unforeseen thing goes wrong we get skewered online for the next year? Even when our emergency response is pretty near flawless? Screw it! Not worth it. No more big pyro effects."

 

[flynnibus]

I assumed it was hydraulic fluid for the robotic figure. It's got to be able to move and extend on pivot points, so it would need hydraulic fluid of some sort. Plus, it's huge and massive, so there's a lot of fluid needed to move that amount of weight and mass.

Most hydraulic fluid is flammable. Oftentimes it's highly flammable because the machinery is already hot just by nature of its operation.

Unless some Disneyland maintenance man shows up to tell us otherwise, I'm assuming we were seeing leaking hydraulic fluid pouring out of its neck and joints as it burned and failed.

It's flammable, but not at a very low flash point. There are also more fire retardent variants that use water-based components to further increase their fire resistance. What most of the burning material falling looks like the skin material of the figure. Eventually we see that high pressure spurt... which is likely a hydraulic system component failing and bleeding out. Probably a hose finally melted or other assembly broke apart... and then it bleeds out the existing pressure in the system. But notice that fluid doesn't really ignite right away.

 

[Disgruntled Walt]

Did anyone else notice that the actual fire-breathing effect didn't work that well this time? I wonder if this is the liquid that was leaking out when it first rose up.

 

[JohnD]

The dragon's mouth has been broken for about a month now, so the fire effect has been off long before the incident at DL last night.

I saw the DHS show Friday night and didn't think much of it at the time. Yeah, that dragon wasn't breathing fire. If I had thought anything it would be this one doesn't do that.

 

[Andrew25]

On Friday, DHS didn't have the lagoon catching on fire effect.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

You could have said that about props overhead too... but that didn't stop Disney from changing their posture on that.

Did they actually change anything? I’ve heard that they did but there are still props overhead at some attractions. Not sure what it changed.

 

[flynnibus]

This is the key point, IMO.

Contrary to some sentiment I've seen online, I think this incident shows that Disney is actually quite well-prepared and safe in events like this. A huge four-story prop went up in flames in a matter of seconds, but trained personnel were immediately on the scene to isolate the fire and prevent any spread, while all other cast members were quickly whisked out of harms way.

I'm not ready to praise them in those elements.

1 - they clearly did not stop the show at the first signs of the pyro failure. The prop clearly failed with an uncontrolled burn emerging and the show continued (with the performer near by) for some time before they hit the show stop. Their monitoring and assessment of these effects or the safety officer decision here was delayed.
2 - they did not have an immediate response, and the 'containment' pitch is weak at best. They didn't deploy any resources that could have contained the fire. They were aided by the fact the prop is basically physically isolated and all the burning materials were heavy and dropping in it's own footprint. If there were embers flying off and going into the trees or the cabin... you think the guy with the little 50lb water fire extinguisher was gonna contain it?
3 - It's obvious they did not have a plan in place to self-address any sizable fire - likely only issues thought to be spot or performer issues. What happened here was not something they were prepared to address with onsite resources. It's debatable what scope they should be prepared to handle with onsite on standby resources vs a FD response... but the loss of a major show element like this with what is likely significant infrastructure damage would certainly cause anyone to reassess if their prior posture was the correct one to have.
4 - They did not have a planned response ready for the crowd - or at least didn't activate it - to ensure there wasn't a crowd panic. I would have expected a more direct crowd engagement when faced with something this dramatic to help keep the crowd calm and ensure a controlled movement of the crowd. I'm not saying anyone was in immediate danger from the fire, but you have to keep the mob from exploding on its own.

These points lead me to believe this accident was not one they had prepared for. It suggests they had probably too high of confidence in their safety systems and were not expecting to have to deal with a breach of those systems.

Some FOIA requests to see when the radio calls went out would be interesting

 

[flynnibus]

Did they actually change anything? I’ve heard that they did but there are still props overhead at some attractions. Not sure what it changed.

Big Thunder for instance...

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Big Thunder for instance...

Right but that’s the actual attraction that had the issue.

 

[Phroobar]

Whenever I'm on Big Thunder, I get a little scared at the head chopper section where the train dives into the tunnel.