Credit: Inside the MagicWith Hurricane Milton on the way, many are wondering what Disney will do in terms of its operations.
Walt Disney World is known for being a resilient and magical destination, open nearly every day of the year. However, even the “most magical place on Earth” isn’t immune to the forces of nature, particularly hurricanes.
Since its opening in 1971, Disney World has closed its doors to guests a handful of times due to impending hurricanes. These closures, while rare, were necessary to ensure the safety of both guests and cast members. Here’s a look at each time Disney World has closed for hurricanes and the storm strengths that led to these unprecedented shutdowns.
Disney World Hurricane Closures
While Cinderella Castle can withstand a Category 5 hurricane, it does not mean that the park would be safe to operate with thousands of guests if the weather was in a life-threatening state.
The first hurricane closure came in 1999 with Hurricane Floyd. As a massive Category 4 storm barreled toward Florida, Disney made the difficult decision to shut down for the first time in its history.
Floyd caused mass evacuations along Florida’s eastern coast, and although the storm ultimately skirted the state, the park remained closed on September 15, 1999, as a precautionary measure. The closure lasted for only one day, and Disney World reopened shortly after the storm had passed.
In August 2004, Disney World faced its second closure due to Hurricane Charley, a powerful Category 4 hurricane. Charley hit Florida with winds of 150 mph, making landfall near Punta Gorda and causing widespread damage across the state.
Disney closed all four theme parks on August 13, 2004, as the storm moved through Central Florida. Charley’s quick progression through the state allowed Disney to reopen the following day, with minimal damage to the resort.
The 2004 hurricane season was particularly brutal for Florida, with three closures for Disney World. Just weeks after Charley, Hurricane Frances, a slow-moving Category 2 storm, forced Disney to close from September 4 to September 5, 2004.
Frances brought heavy rains and winds to Central Florida, but once again, Disney’s structures weathered the storm with minimal damage. Later that same month, on September 26, Disney World shut down due to Hurricane Jeanne, a Category 3 hurricane that followed a similar path as Frances. Disney’s closures during Frances and Jeanne lasted two days each.
The full list of Disney World hurricane closures is as follows:
- Hurricane Floyd: Early closure on September 14, 1999, partial day closure on September 15
- Hurricane Charley: Early closure on August 13, 2004
- Hurricane Frances: Closed on September 4-5, 2004
- Hurricane Jeanne: Closed on September 26, 2004
- Hurricane Matthew: Early closure on October 6, 2016, remained closed on October 7
- Hurricane Irma: Early closure on September 9, 2017, remained closed on September 10-11
- Hurricane Dorian: Early closure on September 3, 2019
- Hurricane Ian: Closed September 28-29, 2022
- Hurricane Nicole: Closed early November 9 through mid-day November 10, 2022
So, will Hurricane Milton be next on that list?
Latest Hurricane Milton Update
Hurricane Milton weakened slightly on Tuesday but remained an extremely dangerous storm that could double in size before hitting west-central Florida late Wednesday.
“Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” National Hurricane Center specialist John Cangialosi warned in a Tuesday update. He emphasized that damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge, and heavy rainfall would extend far beyond the forecast cone.
Milton underwent a period of rapid intensification on Monday, with its sustained winds reaching 180 mph. By Tuesday, those winds had slightly decreased to 150 mph, but the storm remained a powerful Category 4 hurricane. Cangialosi added that fluctuations in strength are expected as the hurricane nears the coast.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents in Milton’s path that “time is running out” ahead of its expected landfall, likely as a Category 3 storm.
“There’s no guarantee what the weather’s going to be like starting Wednesday morning,” DeSantis said during a briefing on Tuesday. “You may have a window where it may be safe, but you may not. So use today as your day to finalize and execute the plan that is going to protect you and your family.”
Hurricane warning maps showed Florida covered in red and orange alerts, signaling the widespread risk.
“Basically, the entire peninsula portion of Florida is under some type of either watch or warning,” DeSantis added.
Orlando International Airport will also be shutting down at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Will Disney World Shut Down?
At Disney World, we have already seen Park Pass Reservations blocked out for October 9, as well as hotel reservations ceasing booking on the 9 and 10. This is because cast members are preparing to be part of the “Ride Out Crew.” After talking with a cast member we learned these are select cast members that apply to be part of this team.
They stay at the resort or location they are assisting (another reason Disney stopped taking resort reservations). They bunk with each other at the resort, and no family or pets are allowed. Once they clock in for their “ride out” shift, they don’t clock out until it’s done.
They are told to expect multiple days of being “on” and ready to go as needed. Cast member roles in the ride-out crew aren’t just the emergency response team you’d expect but also include entertainment cast members, bartenders, and more as they prepare to entertain guests stuck in resorts.
Disney has also extended their cancelation timeline, removing fees.
Yesterday, Deadline confirmed the following closures:
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground (including dining and recreation locations), the Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa will temporarily close beginning at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa are likely to remain closed until Sunday, Oct. 13.
- The Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge will likely reopen on Friday, Oct. 11.
Now, we noticed that when booking a dining reservation on the My Disney Experience app, you can no longer book a dining reservation after 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.
While this does not mean the resort will shut down the theme parks by 2:00 p.m., as we shared earlier, Disney has shut down the parks early in the day in the past to prep for a hurricane, and with Milton coming in Wednesday night, it would make sense for the park to remain operation until some of the more dangerous storm bands come rolling in.
So, if I were a gambler, I would project that Walt Disney World Resort will close Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will likely close early tomorrow, but at the moment, Disney World has not stated if they will be shifting their theme park operations.
Do you think Walt Disney World is set to close?