This isn’t the kind of nighttime parade return that Disney World had planned.
Guests at the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday saw a fire truck and ambulance roll down Main Street USA after a small fire was reported in the park around 6:45 p.m. Disney confirmed in a statement to Theme Park Tribune that a fire had occurred.
“The fire was quickly extinguished by fire extinguishers,” an unnamed Disney spokesperson said. “No one was hurt.” This latter claim turned out to be inaccurate, as one security guard was treated by fire personnel for inhaling dry chemicals from the extinguisher.
#magickingdom #smoke #fire #WaltDisney #WDW
Smoke outside of the castle. We caught the exact moment on camera. pic.twitter.com/rXnRFQX2Zn
— Beth 🏁🇬🇧🏎 (@higginsonbeth14) December 15, 2021
This is definitely something we have never seen in all our years of visiting The Magic Kingdom… @WDWNT @InsideTheMagic pic.twitter.com/vWR7Cdhzw5
— The Coaster Crew (@Coastercrew) December 14, 2021
There is an active fire call at the Magic Kingdom, cast members are pointing guests off the walkway. pic.twitter.com/5AdsS2Iuga
— Patricia Tolley (@ptolley__) December 14, 2021
Jon Shirey, president of the Reedy Creek Firefighters Association, told the Orlando Sentinel that the incident was reported as an electrical fire on a junction box outside Cinderella Castle, but once firefighters arrived, they saw a tree on fire. Guests were evacuated from the area, including from Cinderella’s Royal Table.
Walt Disney World said there was a small fire at Magic Kingdom. It was quickly extinguished by fire extinguishers. Nobody was hurt. 📸: @NadeenNews6 pic.twitter.com/Yd8OdvVEyv
— Landon McReynolds (@LandonProducer) December 15, 2021
Looks like guests are being escorted down the back of #CinderellaCastle. Smoke visible. #MagicKingdom #MagicKingdomFire #DisneyWorldpic.twitter.com/k0kJIdEbX6
— Mickey Central (@Mickey_Central) December 15, 2021
Despite being a small fire, the incident did lead to the unusual sight of emergency vehicles driving through the heart of the world’s most popular theme park — and plenty of jokes.
This never used to happen when you could bring in loose ice.
— BofM_Jeremy (@BofM_Jeremy) December 15, 2021
This isn’t the first time a small fire has occurred at Magic Kingdom. A December 2019 fire at Big Top Souvenirs in the Storybook Circus section of the park forced the shop to close for several days.
Correction: An earlier version of this article included a statement from Disney that “no one was hurt,” which was later confirmed to be inaccurate, as a security guard was treated by fire personnel. The article has been updated to clarify that the earlier statement from Disney was wrong.