A new video circulating on social media captures the terrifying moment lightning hit a building in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park during the severe thunderstorms that swept through Walt Disney World Resort on July 5.
Caught on Camera During the Storm
Instagram user @kenyabarisone was already recording the torrential downpour from an alcove near the Storybook Circus area when lightning struck a nearby Fantasyland building with a deafening crack. The video captures the collective fright of the group sheltering in place. One guest immediately responded to the sound, saying, “That hit the building.”
July 5th, 2026 – the lightning struck right outside the building we were in. It was so unbelievably loud! #MagicKingdom #DisneyWorld
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The July 5 lightning strike came during one of the more disruptive weather events to hit Walt Disney World Resort this summer. Severe thunderstorms that afternoon forced the closure of outdoor attractions across all four theme parks: Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Several indoor attractions also went down during the event, apparently due to a power outage connected to the storms.
Why It Sounded So Bad But Caused No Damage
As alarming as the video sounds, the outcome was about as good as it could be. Walt Disney World Resort has installed lightning rods on tall buildings and vulnerable structures across its theme parks specifically to handle direct strikes. By all accounts, the safety systems at Magic Kingdom Park functioned exactly as designed on July 5.
No injuries were reported as a result of the lightning strike, and no long-term structural damage to any buildings or attractions at Magic Kingdom Park appears to have occurred. Operations across all four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks had returned to normal by the time this report was published.
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