A blaze at Walt Disney World’s Epcot over the weekend was caused by a walk-in cooler that caught fire, a Disney representative has said.
Parts of Epcot were evacuated on Saturday (22 March) after the fire led to black smoke filling the sky above the theme park.
Disney World officials told Fox 35 News that the fire started backstage, behind the park’s France Pavilion within the World Showcase land.
Some visitors had to be evacuated from the Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure ride, but no injuries were reported.
The fire was put out by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District‘s fire department by 7.20pm and there were no injuries.
Images and videos of black smoke were captured by theme park visitors and other people in the Orlando area, and have been circulating on social media.
No injuries in Epcot blaze
The blaze took place during Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival, which runs through 2 June.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a relatively new attraction at Epcot. The motion-based trackless 3D dark ride shrinks visitors to the size of Chef Remy on a thrilling chase through Gusteau’s restaurant.
The ride is part of a multi-year transformation of Epcot, which was completed last year with the launch of the CommuniCore Hall events space and CommuniCore Plaza.
The historic project at Epcot also included new attractions such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Journey of Water.
Cosmic Rewind is Epcot’s first-ever coaster, and the longest fully enclosed roller coaster in a Disney theme park, while Journey of Water is the first Disney parks attraction inspired by Moana.
Disney plans to spend $60 billion on its parks, experiences and cruises over the next 10 years.
Images courtesy of Disney, lead image credit: X/@ryanwmsn
