Just when you thought Fantasmic! couldn't be jinxed any more..
..DisneyFAIL strikes again!
Yes, it seems that this ill-fated 17-year-old show just won't get itself out of the line of fire of Disney fails lately; not even the recent fail of the fire-breathing dragon with a bad habit of setting rivers on fire could douse the smoldering embers on Summer Nightastic!'s marquee offering.
OC Register's 'Around Disney' blog covered the story this morning:
DAPsMagic.com managed to get a picture of the small fire:
Photo by Britt Dietz
According to eyewitnesses, during the 9 pm showing of Fantasmic! the mist screens were on longer than they were supposed to during the scene when Maleficent (who currently cannot transform into a dragon, of course) sets the Rivers of America on fire. This prevented the gas lines that create the flames from igniting on cue. Then, later in the finale of the show when the Mark Twain was making the usual bend around the mill, the river flames kicked into full force, causing the rightmost corner of the stern of the riverboat to catch flame.
The Disneyland Fire Department later released a statement saying it was exhaust from the Mark Twain that caught on fire from the river flames effect.
Luckily no one was hurt, and Disneyland's own fire department quickly controlled the small blaze and no significant damage was reported. However, what hasn't been explained to my satisfaction is how on earth did the gas lines that control the flames on the river misfire so spectacularly out of sync? Is this malfunction putting the show's entertainers - or thousands of spectators - at risk? Clearly, some major timing/piping/eletrical fixes are in order when the Rivers of America is drained in late 2009 - early 2010.
But for now, the show must go on, and rumor has it that the Mark Twain will not appear in Fantasmic! tonight and possibly a few subsequent nights while the vessel gets checked out to prevent the same DisneyFAIL from happening again. That means the lackluster alternate ending with Disney characters dancing on the island instead of the riverboat is in store for guests, which just adds to a growing list of handicaps during Fantasmic!'s big summer season.
Much like the Imagineering process, all raging DisneyFAILs begin with a small spark.
Yes, it seems that this ill-fated 17-year-old show just won't get itself out of the line of fire of Disney fails lately; not even the recent fail of the fire-breathing dragon with a bad habit of setting rivers on fire could douse the smoldering embers on Summer Nightastic!'s marquee offering.
OC Register's 'Around Disney' blog covered the story this morning:
The Mark Twain, a replica steamboat that cruises the River of America at Disneyland, reportedly caught on fire during yesterday’s showing of Fantasmic!, a nighttime show that uses the Mark Twain as a show element.
The small fire aboard the Mark Twain was apparently caused by faulty pyrotechnic effects, which failed to deploy at the proper time and ignited the exhaust emanating from the engine, according to a statement released by Disneyland’s Public Relations Department.
DAPsMagic.com managed to get a picture of the small fire:
Photo by Britt DietzAccording to eyewitnesses, during the 9 pm showing of Fantasmic! the mist screens were on longer than they were supposed to during the scene when Maleficent (who currently cannot transform into a dragon, of course) sets the Rivers of America on fire. This prevented the gas lines that create the flames from igniting on cue. Then, later in the finale of the show when the Mark Twain was making the usual bend around the mill, the river flames kicked into full force, causing the rightmost corner of the stern of the riverboat to catch flame.
The Disneyland Fire Department later released a statement saying it was exhaust from the Mark Twain that caught on fire from the river flames effect.
Luckily no one was hurt, and Disneyland's own fire department quickly controlled the small blaze and no significant damage was reported. However, what hasn't been explained to my satisfaction is how on earth did the gas lines that control the flames on the river misfire so spectacularly out of sync? Is this malfunction putting the show's entertainers - or thousands of spectators - at risk? Clearly, some major timing/piping/eletrical fixes are in order when the Rivers of America is drained in late 2009 - early 2010.
But for now, the show must go on, and rumor has it that the Mark Twain will not appear in Fantasmic! tonight and possibly a few subsequent nights while the vessel gets checked out to prevent the same DisneyFAIL from happening again. That means the lackluster alternate ending with Disney characters dancing on the island instead of the riverboat is in store for guests, which just adds to a growing list of handicaps during Fantasmic!'s big summer season.
Much like the Imagineering process, all raging DisneyFAILs begin with a small spark.
Hahaha.
ReplyDeleteClearly Fantasmic needed another Summer of prep before it was ready for the big times.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that for the last 20 years or so, Disneyland has had a bad case of "We'll fix it in Post." mentallity.
Remember Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin having serious day long shutdowns? Months and months after it was opened.
What happened to Goofy's Bounce House? I was a cast member when Toon Town was opened. We all thought, "that's a bad idea." If 18 y.o. Churro Vendors knew that was bad, why didn't the Imagineers?
Jolly Trolly, same thing, it was a cute thing. But often people were so oblivious they would step out in front of it and nearly get crushed. Toon Town does not equal Main Street.
Rocket Rods, a unfun attraction that was consitently under maintainance. Plus took away my precious People Maker.
The Kinetic Water Sculpture in Tomorrowland. It was so fun to watch. But that was there for a Summer then no more. Now it's still being renovated.
Disneyland was trying to expand the Park size since Walt passed on.
Disney by the Sea near the Queen Mary comes to mind. With all those years of thought, we get, (DRUMROLL!)
Disney's California Adventure. Premade un-original Carnival rides.
Yes, the new stuff should be amazing. But why didn't it happen that way first? Why did it take all these years and wasted attraction space?
Fingers crossed that it will be enough to balance the crowd loads between the parks.
How do we contact you to send a fail pic?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you asked, Just Another Gal. Fail pics as well as additional comments & suggestions are welcomed and can be emailed to disneyfail@gmail.com.
ReplyDelete(I cannot guarantee that sent pics, ideas etc. will be used in the blog, however.)
Robby, now annual passholders are the beta testers. The show didn't work out the way it should have? They can just come next week. It just sucks for the once-a-year or once-in-a-lifetime folks who visit the park.
ReplyDelete@Robby
ReplyDeleteWhen you create a new ride system it will ALWAYS open with a few bugs, which is why a lot of those attractions had problems. Rocket Rod's made sense on paper and SHOULD have worked, it's just that support that got into the way.
@Article
As for the gas that's released into RoA everynight for Fantasmic... that's natural gas, the same stuff everyone uses for their stoves (unless you have electric). If the stuff isn't lit when it goes up into the atmosphere the chance of it catching and creating a giant fireball that could hurt guests and entertainers is 0, that stuff disipates WAY too fast.
This is not the first time that the Mark Twain has caught on fire, and it wont be the last. That's an expected risk that comes with paddling so close to the flames- it is the same risk that's associated with the fireworks in Toon Town.
This isn't a "FAIL", Fantasmic is just being scrutinized by everyone because it's just reopened with Dragon issues...
Spokker.. this blog shows you as nothing more than the condescending jerk that you really are. It's sad really, a bunch of losers nitpicking Disney like their lives depended on it.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder Iger wanted us to "lighten up".
A bunch of losers defending Disney like their lives depended on it. It goes both ways.
ReplyDeleteLook at Disneyland opening day it wasnt pretty but now it is one of the most visited attractions on earth will see better things on the days ahead
ReplyDeleteThe "fire" on the Mark Twain was just the "wet stack" unburnt diesel fuel residue in the exhaust pipe (from the Onan electric plant in the stern) lighting off, the river flames acted as a pilot light. Fifties hot-rodders worked hard to get that effect...
ReplyDeleteRocket Rods wasn't engineered properly - they never figured for tire scrub geometry in the turns, so each car ate a $400 set of tires every few weeks. (Axle steering corrections could have fixed it.) Or for that much mass making corners at much faster speeds on a reinforced concrete structure not stressed for it. And the steel-pipe central guide track was failing in spots too, that could have been >_< interesting...
The New Dragon *is* a true Fail. They never thought through what happens AFTER they hit the E-Stop button - shutting off all power and having the figure collapse and break is not a proper reaction. Parse it out - if there is an Emergency, you want all motion to Stop.
--<< Bruce >>--
Thanks for the insight, Bruce.
ReplyDelete