Disney Erases Captain Jack Sparrow, Replaces Him With Peter Pan

One of the great things about visiting a Disney Park is that the excitement doesn’t go down with the sun. In fact, things can get even better at night, because so many of the Disney theme parks have their own nighttime spectaculars. And they aren’t just fireworks shows, either.

Disneyland Paris is currently running a nightly drone show! And then there is the iconic show, Fantasmic!

Related: Disney Changes ‘Fantasmic!’ Because of Audience Response

Fantasmic! is shown at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort and in Disneyland Park over at the Disneyland Resort in California.

Sadly, Disneyland guests were unable to watch Fantasmic! for half of 2023 after a large fire broke out during one of the shows. For months, guests found themselves waiting for Disney to give updates about the future of the popular show.

After the fire broke out, Disney first claimed that the show would be delayed for a couple of weeks. Then, they said that the show was canceled through Labor Day, which turned into canceled until further notice as the extent of the damage was finally realized.

Finally, in early November, after months and months of waiting, Disney revealed that the show would be returning to the Rivers of America on Memorial Day Weekend 2024!

Then, as we began to wrap up 2023 and look forward to 2024, Disney finally gave fans more details about what was to come. Disneyland officials announced that when the show returns, there will be a major change that guests are sure to notice.

Disney has decided to remove the Pirates of the Caribbean scene aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia and will be replacing it with characters from Peter Pan (1953).

Peter Pan was a part of Fantasmic! for a long time, but was replaced with the Pirates of the Caribbean scene in 2016.

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Beginning May 24, the nighttime spectacular “Fantasmic!” will once again illuminate the Rivers of America in Disneyland park, featuring new special effects, a thrilling new battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent, plus the return of the iconic “Peter Pan” scene. In this treasured show, fantastic events and images from Disney stories come to life through soaring music, dozens of live performers, character appearances and state-of-the-art projections.

The removal of the Pirates of the Caribbean fight scene is not the only major change that will be a part of Fantasmic! when it returns over Memorial Day weekend.

The same day officials announced that Fantasmic! would return, they also shared that the fight scene between Mickey Mouse and Maleficent’s dragon would be altered, and no pyrotechnics would be used.

Back in April. 2023, the fire was caused by a malfunction in the dragon. This devastating malfunction caused the dragon’s head to catch on fire, and the flames quickly engulfed the entire animatronic.

In order to avoid such an issue possibly happening in the future, the dragon will no longer shoot fire. Instead, new special effects will be used to make the scene memorable.

Are you excited to see Peter Pan return to Fantasmic!? Or would you like Disney to keep the Pirates of the Caribbean scene? Let us know in the comments!