During the 2:00 p.m. Festival of Fantasy parade on November 11, the hot air balloon atop Mickey and Minnie’s parade float deflated.
Festival of Fantasy Malfunction
The malfunction was shown in a video posted to TikTok by @uliasick, which you can see below:
In the video, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse continue their Festival of Fantasy choreography while waving at guests viewing the parade along Main Street U.S.A., as the balloon sags overhead. A similar malfunction occurred in March.
Although the float remained a part of the parade, there was also a noticeable gap as it traveled down Main Street U.S.A. It was also necessary for the float to be towed for part of the parade, so the malfunction went beyond just the balloon.
In a video posted by another TikTok user @bobbyasen, it appears that the issue started just after the parade stepped off in Frontierland.
It looks like Cast Members attempted to re-inflate the balloon as it traveled down its standard route through the park.
It’s unclear what caused the deflation or if the float will be repaired in time for tomorrow’s performance. To see the float operating normally, watch our video of the Festival of Fantasy Parade below.
Festival of Fantasy is the current daytime parade at the Magic Kingdom. It’s known for the Maleficent dragon float, which breathes fire (though that effect has suffered its own set of malfunctions over the years). Currently, the parade runs once a day at 2:00 p.m.
The parade premiered in 2014 and features “Tangled,” “Frozen,” “Peter Pan,” “Brave,” and more. The hot air balloon, known as Mickey’s Airship, is the finale float.
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