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Credit: s.yume, FlickrWill Walt Disney World Resort have to leave Florida because of climate change? Following Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton‘s devastating impacts on the Southeastern United States and amid rising sea levels, Disney Parks fans recently discussed the possibility that Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney Springs will have to pack up and move.
Experts predict that sea levels will rise by up to 31 inches by 2060, rendering parts of Florida’s coastline uninhabitable. Higher sea levels and more frequent, intense hurricanes and tropical storms also lead to more dangerous, deadly flooding. These weather events will likely send countless coastal communities inland in the next century.
Although Walt Disney World Resort is tucked away in Central Florida, some guests fear that increasingly unreliable weather could send the Mouse packing. Disney Parks fans on Reddit recently discussed potential new locations for the beloved theme parks and Disney Resort hotels.
“I would think they’d go for a Great Lake State as a safe investment; and bonus if it were Minnesota…,” u/R83h31 began. “Ya know Minnie puns?”
However, most Disney Parks fans argued that Walt Disney World Resort would want to stay in a state with a temperate climate 365 days a year instead of risking winter closures.
“Should it reach a point where Disney has to ‘move’ (aka abandon much of) [Walt Disney World Resort], they’ll very likely choose another southern state like Alabama or Mississippi since there’ll likely still be cheaper land than other options, plus those will have a more year-round friendly climate than states above Tennessee,” read the most popular reply from u/StormWindAdventures.
“The answer is Texas,” said u/FelixEvergreen. “They wouldn’t go somewhere they couldn’t be open all year.”
Still, others doubted that Walt Disney World Resort would ever bear the expense and logistical nightmare of leaving Florida.
“Disney World is 92 feet above sea level,” u/Search4UBI replied. “The bigger problem will be is that if lower elevations get lost to rising seas, there may be nowhere to go as major cities around the world at lower elevations see their populations relocate. Even if Florida becomes uninhabitable for other reasons, some of the areas closer to the equator will have likely been evacuated for a generation or more.”
What alternate location would you propose for Walt Disney World Resort? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments.