Fantasmic! Is BACK in Disneyland!

After being on hiatus for over a year due to a forced refurbishment caused by the fire that took down the show’s iconic dragon animatronic back in April of 2023, Fantasmic! has FINALLY returned to Disneyland…and WE GOT TO SEE IT.

While Fantasmic!’s closure was obviously unplanned, Disney took the opportunity to refresh the show a bit, introducing a few updates with its return. The show still includes lots of returning fan-favorite elements, but there are two BIG changes this time around.

Of course, the biggest change is in the finale showdown between Mickey and Maleficent. Previously, Maleficent transformed into a dragon during this scene, which was the animatronic that caught fire back in 2023 and led to the show’s hiatus for over a year.

Now, Maleficient remains in human form during her final duel with Mickey, rising high above the stage on a tower 35 feet tall.

There are still pyrotechnic effects during the scene, as Maleficent sets the river below her on fire. There are other special effects as well, including lasers, water effects, and sparks that Mickey shoots from his hands.

The show itself — and the final battle between Mickey and Maleficient — still retains its original premise, just with the removal of the iconic dragon.

And that’s not the only scene that got an update! The revamped Fantasmic! also brings back the Peter Pan pirate ship scene, which previously featured characters from Pirates of the Caribbean before the show went on hiatus.

In this scene, Peter Pan and Captain Hook duel high above the deck of the ship while The Lost Boys battle Hook’s crew below.

After over a year-long hiatus, it felt good to see Fantasmic! BACK in its longtime rightful home on the banks of the Rivers of America at Disneyland. Stay tuned to DFB for MORE Disneyland updates!

A LONG-AWAITED Feature Has Come to the Disneyland App

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by Disney to attend their media preview of Fantasmic! at Disneyland. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ

Are you a fan of the new updates to Fantasmic? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 2 HUGE Changes Debut in Disney’s Returning Fantasmic! first appeared on the disney food blog.