Disney World Will Close All Parks as Hurricane Milton Barrels Toward Orlando

Walt Disney World will close due to Hurricane Milton.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Disney announced that “on Wednesday, October 9, our theme parks and Disney Springs will be closed in phases beginning at 1:00 p.m..”

Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom close at 1 p.m., and Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney Springs close at 2 p.m.

“It is likely that the theme parks will remain closed on Thursday, October 10. We will consider opening Disney Springs on Thursday in the late afternoon, with limited offerings,” the statement continued.

The closing also means the cancellation of the park’s popular Halloween event, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, on Thursday. Tickets for the event will be refunded.

Disney previously announced on Monday, October 7 that its more rustic accommodations will close at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 9. These include Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground (including dining and recreation areas), Copper Creek Cabins at Wilderness Lodge and Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

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Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground.

Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty

Universal Orlando also announced that it expects to close Tuesday afternoon.

“On Wednesday, October 9, Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Universal CityWalk will be open until 2 p.m., weather permitting, and will be closed on Thursday, October 10,” it said. Universal’s water park, Volcano Bay, will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

Other attractions in the region have already called for closures because of Milton.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced Monday that it will be closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and directed visitors to check the company’s social media pages for further updates. SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando, which share the same parent company, remained open as of Tuesday morning.

Hurricane Milton was downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane early Tuesday after strengthening to a Category 5 storm on Monday. Just before noon ET Monday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph.

The NHC predicted Milton would make landfall as a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) in the Tampa Bay area on Florida’s Gulf Coast late Wednesday.

Universal Orlando Resort.

Universal Orlando Resort

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As of Sunday, October 6, Disney World has already paused new hotel bookings for Wednesday and Thursday in anticipation of the hurricane making landfall.

However, as of Monday morning, a Disney representative told PEOPLE that the Orlando resort was still operating “under normal conditions.”

“We are closely monitoring the path of the predicted storm as we continue to prioritize the safety of our guests and cast,” the statement added.

Busch Gardens.

James Borchuck/The Tampa Bay Times via AP

The park closure is the 12th time in Disney World’s 53-year history.

Nine of the past 11 closures were due to hurricanes: Floyd (September 1999), Charley (August 2004), Frances (September 2004), Jeanne (September 2004), Matthew (October 2016), Irma (September 2017). ), Dorian (September 2019), Ian (September 2022) and Nicole (November 2022).

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The parks were also closed after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, marking their longest closures ever. The park closed in March 2020 and reopened in phases starting in July 2020.

Milton is the second major hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in the past two weeks.

Hurricane Helena made landfall in the Big Bend area of ​​the state on September 26 as a Category 4 hurricane and wreaked havoc across the Southeast, also affecting Georgia, South and North Carolina.

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