Guests Fill Disney World Pools Despite Hurricane Ian

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Credit: @TroyShear

Hurricane Ian has caused many Florida hotels, Resorts, businesses, and of course, theme parks to change their operating schedules, with some deciding to shut down entirely out of caution for Guest and employee safety.

Last night, we reported that Ian had strengthened from Category 3 to Category 4 in under 24 hours. According to NPR, the storm rapidly intensified overnight, reaching top winds of 155 miles per hour.

fantasyland magic kingdom
Credit: Becky Burkett

Florida residents, as well as those heading to Florida in the coming days, have been urged to pay attention to weather forecasts from law enforcement and other local authorities and officials as the Sunshine State prepares for Tropical Storm Ian’s rapid intensification.

Some of the major closures include Busch Gardens Tampa, SeaWorld Orlando, LEGOLAND and now Walt Disney World. 

Guests riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT Walt Disney World
Credit: Disney

In the last few days alone, many amenities have been closed or at least had their availability cut. “This is going to be a nasty, nasty day, two days,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told constituents on Wednesday. Approximately 2.5 million Floridians are under mandatory or voluntary orders to evacuate.

Several Walt Disney World Hotels have been removed from the official website, meaning Guests can not make any reservations or bookings during this time. However, Disney World recently just confirmed that it, too, would be closing for a brief period.

These closures did not include the pools, however.

polynesian resort overwater bungalows
Credit: Disney

The bad weather did not stop Guests from enjoying the pool at Disney’s Polynesian Resort as you can see in a tweet from Troy Shear (@TroyShear):

A live look at the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World.

A full live stream can be seen from Streaming the Magic showing Guests having fun at Disney’s Fort Wilderness pool as well:

Credit: Streaming the Magic

This is not to say that Hurricane Ian should be taken lightly. The ongoing damage from hurricane Ian has been devastating, to say the least. In the last 48 hours alone, thousands of houses have been destroyed, buildings have been leveled, and massive amounts of water have filled the streets.

The damage has also affected all of the major theme parks in Florida, including Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa, SeaWorld, and of course, LEGOLAND. Hurricane Ian hit Walt Disney World Resort and the rest of Central Florida on Wednesday after a devastating landfall in Fort Myers, Naples, and other coastal cities. The storm reached one mile per hour short of Category Five winds.

Stay tuned at Inside the Magic for updates on Hurricane Ian.

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