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Credit: Hong Kong DisneylandOne Disneyland park has remained closed for two days as of today (September 2).
Disney Park closures are incredibly rare. Over the years, Disney’s 12 theme parks across the globe have only shut their gates on a handful of occasions – usually because guests may be at risk if they do enter the park.
The longest closures have occurred over the past few years. This is, of course, due to COVID-19, which shut down Disney Parks worldwide, starting with Shanghai Disneyland in early 2020.
As of 2022, every Disney Park has reopened. However, a global pandemic isn’t the only thing capable of locking out guests. Over the years, natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes have closed multiple Disney Parks.
Hurricanes at Disney World
Walt Disney World is a hotspot for hurricanes. While it took 28 years for the resort to experience its first closure, in 1999, the oncoming Hurricane Floyd closed all four Orlando Disney Parks for the first time.
Related: Disney World Shut Down Approaches, State of Emergency Begins
Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom reopened after a day and managed to go another five years without a hurricane closure. In the meantime, it faced an additional unplanned closure due to the September 11 attacks.
When hurricanes did close the parks again, they weren’t messing around. In 2004, Disney World was forced to close on three separate occasions due to Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, and Hurricane Jeanne.
Later closures came in 2005, courtesy of Hurricane Wilma, which only closed the parks for a morning. The parks closed for one day due to Hurricane Matthew in 2016, two days for Hurricane Irene in 2017, half a day in 2019 for Hurricane Dorian, and another two days in 2022 for Hurricane Ian. They also closed early for Hurricane Nicole that same year.
Natural disasters at other Disney Parks
Disney World isn’t the only park to face numerous disaster-related closures. Disneyland Park closed for a day in the 1990s after the Northridge Earthquake and even faced its first hurricane in August when Hurricane Hilary passed over Southern California.
Beyond the United States, Tokyo Disney Resort is also vulnerable. Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea closed in October 2019 to wait out Typhoon Hagibis. In 2011, both parks also famously closed for over a month when Japan was hit by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Meanwhile, Shanghai Disneyland has closed twice for typhoons (once for Typhoon Lekima in 2019 and again for Typhoon Chanthu in 2021). Hong Kong Disneyland has also closed in 2018, 2022, July 2023, and again this September for typhoons.
Hong Kong Disneyland typhoon closure
This time around, Hong Kong Disneyland lies in the path of Typhoon Saola. The strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong in five years, its top wind speeds hit 220 km per hour (135 mph) – making it the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane – as it made landfall on September 1.
The park first closed on September 1. As of September 2, both Hong Kong Disneyland and the surrounding Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre are still closed. That means in-park attractions such as Hyperspace Mountain, Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, Jungle River Cruise, and “it’s a small world” are currently off-limits to guests.
Saola has ripped up trees, detached scaffolding, and triggered 18 cases of flooding and at least one landslide as the storm batters Hong Kong.
As per the Hong Kong Disneyland website, the park is closed for today, and Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre remains closed until further notice.
Due to the inclement weather, Hong Kong Disneyland is closed for the day. Inspiration Lake Recreation Centre will remain closed until further notice. Please check the website for the latest information. Please see the Weather Arrangement details.
The park’s Weather Arrangement policy allows guests with unused tickets to visit the park on another day within the ticket valid period.
Have you ever visited a Disney Park during a hurricane? Share your experience with us in the comments!