Credit: Martin Lewison, FlickrCentral Florida’s unsettled summer weather pattern isn’t done yet.
According to local meteorologists, rain and thunderstorms will continue popping up at unpredictable times through the weekend, with storm chances increasing into the early afternoon hours on Friday and highs holding around 90 degrees. Forecasters say a more typical mid-to-late summer pattern isn’t expected to return until the middle of next week.
For guests visiting Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, or any of the region’s outdoor attractions, that forecast carries a practical warning: expect the possibility of ride and attraction closures, particularly during afternoon and early evening hours when Florida’s fast-moving storms tend to roll through.
What Storm Closures Look Like in Practice
Central Florida’s theme parks don’t wait for a storm to fully arrive before shutting rides down. Disney, in particular, closes outdoor and partially outdoor attractions as soon as lightning is detected within a certain range of a park, regardless of whether rain has started falling onsite.
A recent example from earlier this summer illustrates just how disruptive this can be. When severe thunderstorms moved through the region, lightning in the area forced the closure of over 20 attractions across all four Walt Disney World theme parks within a matter of hours. Magic Kingdom was hit hardest, with 11 attractions going down at once, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and the Walt Disney World Railroad. EPCOT saw seven closures, among them Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track. Hollywood Studios closed three attractions, including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, while Animal Kingdom shut down four, including Expedition Everest and Kali River Rapids.
That day is not a guarantee of what will happen this weekend — every storm system behaves differently, and closures depend on exactly where lightning strikes and the heaviness of rainfall relative to each park. But it’s a useful snapshot of the kind of impact this type of weather pattern can have when it does move through.
Water parks are subject to the same safety protocols. Both Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, along with Universal’s Volcano Bay, close slides, pools, and other water attractions during lightning in the immediate area, since water and open-air platforms present an obvious safety risk during a storm. Guests planning a water park day this weekend should be prepared for possible pauses or early closures if storms develop.
What This Means for You
If you have plans at Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando Resort this weekend, it’s worth building some flexibility into your itinerary. A few practical tips:
- Check My Disney Experience or the Universal app frequently. Attraction status updates in real time, and closures from lightning typically lift once a storm clears the immediate area, with rides reopening on a rolling basis.
- Have a backup plan for storm windows. Indoor attractions, shows, shops, and table-service restaurants generally stay open during lightning holds, making them a good option for riding out a storm without losing park time entirely.
- Consider a midday break. Since storm chances tend to rise into the early afternoon, guests following the classic “rope drop, midday break, return in the evening” strategy may naturally avoid the worst of the disruption.
- If visiting a water park, have an indoor backup nearby, since water attractions are typically the first to close and can remain closed longer than dry rides during active lightning in the area.
This pattern is expected to hold through the weekend before conditions ease by the middle of next week, so guests with multi-day tickets may find it easier to shift certain attractions to a later day if storms disrupt current plans.
What are your favorite things to do during stormy weather at Disney World? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
