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Extreme Weather Update: Disney Park Closes 9 Rides, Operations at a Standstill

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Posted on by Chloe James
Illustration of Mickey standing in front of a bustling street scene at Disney Park with lights and buildings, covering his eyes with his hands in an exaggerated pose.

Credit: Inside the Magic

Extreme weather has caused massive disruption at one Disney theme park today.

While Mickey Mouse has a pretty tight grip on most things at Disney parks, the one thing he can’t control is the weather. Disney parks take their fair share of severe conditions throughout the year, with some parks being harder hit than others.

Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort after a rainstorm
Credit: Brett Kiger via Flickr

Related: Entire Disney Park Closes Down, Reopening Date in Doubt

Walt Disney World Resort tends to get the brunt of poor weather. Florida may be the Sunshine State, but it’s also no stranger to hurricanesĀ (or the odd tornado warning), with all four theme parks ā€“ Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom ā€“ closing their gates due to storms on multiple occasions.

Further afield, Tokyo Disney Resort has also closed due to hurricanes (or typhoons, as they’re known over the Northwest Pacific Ocean), as has Shanghai Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Mickey Mouse Disney100 statue with Main Street, U.S.A., and Sleeping Beauty Castle in the background at Disneyland Park
Credit: Ed Aguila

On a smaller scale, there isn’t a single Disney park in the world that hasn’t been affected by a storm in the past. Even Disneyland Resort ā€“ located in the notoriously balmy Southern California ā€“ was forced to close early in February due to a “Pineapple Express” storm system.

Today, it’s Hong Kong Disneyland’s turn. The park has been hit by a series of strong storms, causing mass closures across the entire park.

Fireworks above the castle at Hong Kong Disneyland
Credit: Disney

Related: Confirmed ā€“ All Fireworks Axed From Two Disney Parks for the Entire Summer

At several points today, all outdoor attractions were closed due to heavy rain. That meant that a total of nine rides were inoperable for most of the late afternoon and evening, including Jungle Cruise, Wandering Oaken’s Sliding Sleighs, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars.

As of 19:10, due to heavy rain, outdoor attractions are closed.
Also, “Hyperspace Mountain” is for system adjustments. The operation is suspended.

#HKDL_now
#HKDL

In a stroke of bad luck, Hyperspace Mountain ā€“ the park’s version of Space Mountain, which has had aĀ Star WarsĀ overlay since 2016 ā€“ was also hit by technical issues today, meaning that it was also largely closed.

Beyond Hong Kong Disneyland, today’s weather was so poor that local authorities were forced to issue the first red rainstorm warning of the year. The South China Morning Post has reported widespread flooding, as well as the suspension of multiple businesses and cases of trapped hikers in the most affected areas.

Hong Kong Disneyland during a toilet break at 12:30 today šŸš» ā€¼ļø The rain is terrible šŸ˜‚ā˜”
Thanks to this, I was able to do a parachute drop with an RC racer in under 10 minutes šŸ˜‚ and take a real shower šŸšæ lol, there was even a tiny frog šŸøā™”
#香ęøÆćƒ‡ć‚£ć‚ŗćƒ‹ćƒ¼ #ćƒˆć‚¤ć‚¹ćƒˆćƒ¼ćƒŖćƒ¼
#č±Ŗé›Ø #ćƒćƒ³ćƒćƒ§ #å¤§ę“»čŗ
#hongkong #Disneyland

Located on Lantau Island, Hong Kong Disneyland managed to evade the worst of the flooding, which struck the eastern parts of Hong Kong ā€“ such as Sai Kung, Tseung Kwan O, and Kwun Tong. However, guests still reported “terrible” conditions (and short lines) across the park.

 

Have you ever been to a Disney park during severe weather? Let us know in the comments!

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