Credit: CanvaLess than 24 hours after Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm with near-Category 5 wind speeds, leadership at Disney World was diligently working on a reopening plan, and though a plan has been implemented, some things at the Disney World will not reopen with the rest of the Resort.
On Thursday morning, Cast Members had reportedly already been told that the parks would remain closed on Friday. But on Thursday afternoon, Disney World posted an announcement about its plans for a “phased approach” to reopening on Friday. The initial announcement did not include hours of operation at each park on Friday, but a subsequent announcement included Friday’s park hours.
Disney World’s Resort hotels remained open as the hurricane approached, and Guests in the hotels were given shelter-in-place directives, and various activities were made available to Guests, such as complimentary arcade games, arts and crafts, and character encounters. Many Cast Members stayed at the hotels and worked tirelessly to make a difficult situation as enjoyable as possible.
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All four theme parks are included in the reopening, as well as Disney Springs. But not everything will be open on Friday with the rest of the Resort. Locations and venues at the Resort that will remain closed on Friday include the following:
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
- Treehouse Villas at Disney’s
- Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
- Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
- Winter Summerland Miniature Golf
- Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser
These areas remain closed on Friday:
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Winter Summerland Miniature Golf— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 29, 2022
Hurricane Ian is one of the worst hurricanes to hit Florida, bringing with it tornadoes, torrential rainfall, near-Category 5 winds, and flash flooding. Millions were left without power, and homes and vehicles in many counties were under water.
This continues to be a developing story, and more updates will be shared as they become available.