EPCOT Explosion - Sept. 20

[Merriwind]

MagicalMountain.net is reporting that the Illuminations inferno barge at Epcot exploded this morning. The story is pasted below. Does anyone know more? Hope the report of no injuries is correct.

"As reported early this morning at DisneyWorldTrivia.com, the inferno barge, responsible for many of the spectacular effects for the Illuminations fireworks show in the World Showcase lagoon, exploded today at Epcot. The explosion could be heard thoughout the park and nearby Boardwalk resort area.

There have been no reports of any injuries at this time. The barge sits in the middle of the lagoon, far from Guests, but does normally contain two Cast Members inside during the show."

 

[safetymom]

I haven't seen any reports in the paper or tv here in Orlando.

 

[safetymom]

Also none of those reports state where they got the information.

 

[Merriwind]

I've been looking for more info without luck too. I came onto DIS thinking someone staying at the BC or BW would have posted something... I hope it didn't blow up, but what a dreadful hoax that would be. Thanks for looking too, SafetyMom.

 

[treehugger]

Well, I found this on another website (see link below) According to the threads on the same website this will not really effect the show. I am just a little bit stressed as I have an Illuminations cruise scheduled for Monday. Thankfully no one was hurt when this happened.

*edited to say, for some reason the address is coming up all asterisks, no idea why, is it against board guidelines to post links to other sites?*

www.*************/general_epcot_news.htm

 

[Fast Pass]

I don't know if it is the same barge or not but on 9/16 when I was watching Illuminations I did notice more of a pyrotechnic blast on one of the barges compared to last year. It was extremely loud and I just don't remember Illuminations being so loud. It was like a gigantic fireball. Disney might have changed Illuminations from last year and that might explain some of differences. . If the story is true about the 20th and it was louder than what I heard God help the people listening to it.The Illuminations I remember is a beautiful relaxing fireworks show. This one I saw was just a jumble of poorly timed fireworks.

 

[betterlatethannever]

This is a normal occurance. It happens EVERY DAY.

Normally every night at 10:30 they burn off the extra fuel in the barge before bringing backstage.

That day, they couldn't burn it off during the night so they burned it off during the day.

Here is a link to a thread which explains it. Thereis also a video of the nightly burnoff.

Ed

 

[treehugger]

This is a normal occurance. It happens EVERY DAY.

Normally every night at 10:30 they burn off the extra fuel in the barge before bringing backstage.

That day, they couldn't burn it off during the night so they burned it off during the day.

Here is a link to a thread which explains it. Thereis also a video of the nightly burnoff.

Ed

According to the story I saw, this WAS NOT due to the gas burn off. It happened at 4:00 PM in the afternoon and was due a shell malfunction in the ALF (launch system)

 

[marc1477]

I am just glad that no one got hurt.

 

[kilee]

When we stayed at the Dolphin last year we sat on our balcony and watched them let off the little explosion at Epcot every night. If you weren't expecting it I think it could take you by suprise. We were looking for it after I read about it here.

 

[Crazy Hakim]

All,
Yes, the Flame Barge had an accidental explosion, I have confirmed this with a good friend who works at Disney management. It did damage the barge and as of right now the barge is no longer part of the show. I saw IllumiNations LAST NIGHT and the barge is NOT in the lake at all. Disney is still looking at the possibility that the barge can be repaired, but until then the show will be performed without that barge.
Rest assured, the show does still play quite well without it and I would say that if you had never seen the show before you would not notice that "something" is missing.
From somebody who has seen IllumiNations a lot more that the "typical" guests, I can honestly say that there are just two minor lulls in the opening sequence. If I was scheduled for an IllumiNations Cruise, I would not fret.
If/when I get more information, I will post it here.

 

[ugadog99]

I'm glad no one was hurt. I really hope the barge can be repaired/replaced by our Thanksgiving trip. My 15 year old LOVES Illuminations and she would definitely notice it was missing. Still Illuminations is great even with the barge missing. On a different note, does anyone know if the holiday addition will be a at the end of Illuminations this year?

 

[Crazy Hakim]

On a different note, does anyone know if the holiday addition will be a at the end of Illuminations this year?

I have it from a good source that YES the Holiday Addition will be beck this Christmas Season!!!!!

 

[CarolMN]

I have it from a good source that YES the Holiday Addition will be beck this Christmas Season!!!!!

Great news! I am so looking forward to seeing it again!

Best wishes -

 

[erikthewise]

Thanks for the inside info, Mike. It is good to hear the Holiday Addition will be back.

If the barge is not reparable, then even with the best of intentions I doubt it could be replaced quickly. I would guess at least six months, but that's just a guess. And they may decide not to replace it at all.

 

[erikthewise]

News from another site indicates that the damage to the barge was serious, it is out "indefinitely", and it will take "quite a while" to repair. The silver lining is that apparently they think it is reparable.

I suggest that further discussion, and perhaps this thread as well, be moved to the Disney New and Rumors forum.

 

[ugadog99]

Great news about the holiday ending!!!!!