Disneyland swaps Peter Pan for Jack Sparrow when ‘Fantasmic’ returns

The “Fantasmic” nighttime spectacular will return to Disneyland’s Rivers of America on May 24 with a beloved Peter Pan sequence on the Sailing Ship Columbia and a new climactic battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent.

The returning scene – featuring Peter Pan and Captain Hook sword fighting amid the masts of a pirate ship – was part of the original “Fantasmic” show when the nighttime spectacular debuted in 1992.

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A Tick-Tock the Crocodile float followed the ship in the original Peter Pan segment of the show, according to WDW News Today.

The Peter Pan scene was replaced by a Pirates of the Caribbean sequence aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia when “Fantasmic” underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2017.

The Pirates of the Caribbean scene featured stunt pirates performing falls and sliding down ropes with Captain Jack Sparrow swinging from the back of the ship in the final sequence.

“Fantasmic” won’t include the dragon animatronic figure when the show returns, but will instead feature new special effects during the battle scene between Sorcerer Mickey and Maleficent.

Disneyland crews have been working to repair the “Fantasmic” dragon since the technically impressive 45-foot-tall audio-animatronic burst into flames during a performance of the nighttime spectacular in April 2023.

The temperamental 18,000-pound Disneyland dragon – mockingly nicknamed Murphy by fans after Murphy’s Law – has a troubled history of malfunctions and breakdowns stretching back more than a decade.