diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/ImageDialog.html b/routes/_components/dialog/ImageDialog.html
index 42cb6497..31fd59d1 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/ImageDialog.html
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/ImageDialog.html
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-<ModalDialog :label :shown background="var(--muted-modal-bg)" muted="true">
+<ModalDialog :label
+             :shown
+             background="var(--muted-modal-bg)"
+             muted="true"
+             className="image-modal-dialog"
+>
   {{#if type === 'gifv'}}
     <AutoplayVideo
       ariaLabel="Animated GIF: {{description || ''}}"
@@ -17,7 +22,7 @@
   {{/if}}
 </ModalDialog>
 <style>
-  :global(#modal-dialog img, #modal-dialog video) {
+  :global(.image-modal-dialog img, .image-modal-dialog video) {
     object-fit: contain;
     max-width: calc(100vw - 20px);
     max-height: calc(100% - 20px);
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/ModalDialog.html b/routes/_components/dialog/ModalDialog.html
index 2bdc8710..d41d6db9 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/ModalDialog.html
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/ModalDialog.html
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-<div class="modal-dialog-backdrop {{fadedIn ? '' : 'hidden'}}"
+<div class="{{backdropClass}}"
      tabindex="-1"
      data-a11y-dialog-hide
 ></div>
-<div class="modal-dialog-contents {{fadedIn ? '' : 'hidden'}} {{muted ? 'muted-style' : ''}}"
+<div class="{{contentsClass}}"
      role="dialog"
      aria-label="{{label || ''}}"
      ref:node
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
   </div>
 </div>
 <style>
-  :global(#modal-dialog[aria-hidden='true']) {
+  :global(.modal-dialog[aria-hidden='true']) {
     display: none;
   }
   .modal-dialog-backdrop {
@@ -36,6 +36,8 @@
     bottom: 0;
     top: 0;
     background: rgba(51, 51, 51, 0.9);
+  }
+  .modal-dialog-backdrop.should-animate {
     transition: opacity 0.2s linear;
   }
   .modal-dialog-contents {
@@ -51,6 +53,8 @@
     display: flex;
     flex-direction: row;
     max-height: calc(100% - 20px);
+  }
+  .modal-dialog-contents.should-animate {
     transition: opacity 0.2s linear;
   }
 
@@ -113,7 +117,31 @@
 <script>
   import A11yDialog from 'a11y-dialog'
 
+  import { classname } from '../../_utils/classname'
+
   export default {
+    data: () => ({
+      // don't animate if we're showing a modal dialog on top of another modal dialog. it looks ugly
+      shouldAnimate: !process.browser || document.getElementsByClassName('modal-dialog').length < 2
+    }),
+    computed: {
+      backdropClass: (fadedIn, shouldAnimate) => {
+        return classname(
+          'modal-dialog-backdrop',
+          !fadedIn && 'hidden',
+          shouldAnimate && 'should-animate'
+        )
+      },
+      contentsClass: (fadedIn, muted, shouldAnimate, className) => {
+        return classname(
+          'modal-dialog-contents',
+          !fadedIn && 'hidden',
+          muted && 'muted-style',
+          shouldAnimate && 'should-animate',
+          className
+        )
+      }
+    },
     oncreate() {
       let dialogElement = this.refs.node.parentElement
       let a11yDialog = new A11yDialog(dialogElement)
@@ -121,6 +149,7 @@
         a11yDialog.destroy()
         this.fire('close')
         this.destroy()
+        document.body.removeChild(dialogElement)
       })
       this.observe('shown', shown => {
         if (shown) {
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/VideoDialog.html b/routes/_components/dialog/VideoDialog.html
index 9085bd8a..8004aa75 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/VideoDialog.html
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/VideoDialog.html
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
-<ModalDialog :label :shown background="var(--muted-modal-bg)" muted="true">
+<ModalDialog :label
+             :shown
+             background="var(--muted-modal-bg)"
+             muted="true"
+             className="video-modal-dialog"
+>
   <video poster="{{poster}}"
          src="{{src}}"
          width="{{width}}"
@@ -8,7 +13,7 @@
   />
 </ModalDialog>
 <style>
-  :global(#modal-dialog video) {
+  :global(.video-modal-dialog video) {
     object-fit: contain;
     max-width: calc(100vw - 20px);
     max-height: calc(100% - 20px);
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/createDialogElement.js b/routes/_components/dialog/createDialogElement.js
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..57a35639
--- /dev/null
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/createDialogElement.js
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export function createDialogElement () {
+  let div = document.createElement('div')
+  div.setAttribute('class', 'modal-dialog')
+  div.setAttribute('aria-hidden', 'true')
+  document.body.appendChild(div)
+  return div
+}
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showComposeDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showComposeDialog.js
index 86acde7f..bd4612cb 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showComposeDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showComposeDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import ComposeDialog from './ComposeDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showComposeDialog () {
   let dialog = new ComposeDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: {
       label: 'Compose dialog'
     }
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showConfirmationDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showConfirmationDialog.js
index 20e8847e..1fd6be09 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showConfirmationDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showConfirmationDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import ConfirmationDialog from './ConfirmationDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showConfirmationDialog (options) {
   let dialog = new ConfirmationDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: Object.assign({
       label: 'Confirmation dialog'
     }, options)
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showEmojiDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showEmojiDialog.js
index c282f3df..ba56e0d0 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showEmojiDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showEmojiDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import EmojiDialog from './EmojiDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showEmojiDialog (realm) {
   let emojiDialog = new EmojiDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: {
       label: 'Emoji dialog',
       title: 'Custom emoji',
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showImageDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showImageDialog.js
index dd5dbd21..530cda68 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showImageDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showImageDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import ImageDialog from './ImageDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showImageDialog (poster, src, type, width, height, description) {
   let imageDialog = new ImageDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: {
       label: 'Image dialog',
       poster,
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showPostPrivacyDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showPostPrivacyDialog.js
index 0f4aea99..6c38490c 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showPostPrivacyDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showPostPrivacyDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import PostPrivacyDialog from './PostPrivacyDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showPostPrivacyDialog (realm) {
   let dialog = new PostPrivacyDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: {
       label: 'Post privacy dialog',
       title: 'Post privacy',
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showStatusOptionsDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showStatusOptionsDialog.js
index aede6adb..87849ad3 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showStatusOptionsDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showStatusOptionsDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import StatusOptionsDialog from './StatusOptionsDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showStatusOptionsDialog (statusId) {
   let dialog = new StatusOptionsDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: {
       label: 'Status options dialog',
       title: 'Status options',
diff --git a/routes/_components/dialog/showVideoDialog.js b/routes/_components/dialog/showVideoDialog.js
index 6602152c..28a0295c 100644
--- a/routes/_components/dialog/showVideoDialog.js
+++ b/routes/_components/dialog/showVideoDialog.js
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 import VideoDialog from './VideoDialog.html'
+import { createDialogElement } from './createDialogElement'
 
 export function showVideoDialog (poster, src, width, height, description) {
   let videoDialog = new VideoDialog({
-    target: document.getElementById('modal-dialog'),
+    target: createDialogElement(),
     data: {
       label: 'Video dialog',
       poster,
diff --git a/templates/2xx.html b/templates/2xx.html
index e61b5c15..9f0693ae 100644
--- a/templates/2xx.html
+++ b/templates/2xx.html
@@ -120,9 +120,6 @@ body.offline,body.theme-hotpants.offline,body.theme-majesty.offline,body.theme-o
   <!-- Toast.html gets rendered here -->
   <div id="toast"></div>
 
-  <!-- ModalDialog.html gets rendered here -->
-  <div id="modal-dialog" aria-hidden="true"></div>
-
   <!-- LoadingMask.html gets rendered here -->
   <div id="loading-mask" aria-hidden="true"></div>