It’s a bird; it’s a plane; it’s Tinker Bell flying high above Walt Disney World ® in the nighttime fireworks show, Wishes at Magic Kingdom ®. Among all of the fantastic fireworks exploding in the sky and Disney ® characters making wishes in this spectacular nightly show is the famous fairy as she flies from the tallest point of Cinderella Castle to the Plaza Restaurant all on a zip line!

If you’ve ever seen the Wishes fireworks show then you know just how awesome it is to see the tiny Tinker Bell use her wings to over the fascinated crowed at the start of every Wishes show. And while Tinker Bell’s entire performance in the production is just a small fraction of the show, it takes a lot longer to prepare for the stunt than you’d imagine.

Tinker Bell is usually played by a woman, although there has been one instance in which a petite male was hired based off of his size and facial features. There are a total of 3 Tinker Bells available at any one time - the one who is scheduled to play that day and two others on call in case something happens with Tinker Bell #1. Each Tinker Bell cannot weigh more than 95 pounds as the battery pack/ costume she wears increases her weight to 135- 145 pounds! The zip line is only anchored to the castle and the landing platform behind Main Street, which makes Tinker Bell’s weight of great importance. 

So how does the fairy get to the top of Cinderella Castle? She climbs! Using a very tall ladder from the level where the Cinderella Suite is located Tinker Bell climbs to the top where a Disney ® cast member meets her, helps attach her harness and connect her to the zip line. When its time for her to take flight, the cast member gives her a hard push trying to get her to the landing pad or at least behind Main Street U.S.A. with one fail swoop. If the push wasn’t hard enough and she doesn’t reach the landing pad she must use her battery pack to turn off her lights and then pull herself in as quickly as possible.

For the best view of Tinker Bell performing her zip line stunt try to find a spot by the rose gardens near the Plaza Restaurant. You’ll get a great view of Wishes and her flying right above your head.

To see Tinker Bell fly high above Magic Kingdom in the fireworks show, Wishes look for discounted Walt Disney World ® tickets right here on Best of Orlando.

Orlando, FL – 11/15/12