Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, both located outside of Orlando, Florida, will reopen on Friday, Oct. 11, after closing for Hurricane Milton.
Disney confirmed the news on their official website, stating that the theme parks, Disney Springs (the company’s shopping, dining and entertainment complex) and “possibly other areas” will be open on Friday.
Universal also released a statement that “all our theme parks,” as well as CityWalk (Universal’s shopping, dining and entertainment complex) and Halloween Horror Nights, their seasonal after-hours event, will reopen ahead of the weekend.
Walt Disney World has only ever closed a handful of times since opening in October 1971. The first closure was in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and most of the closures since then have been for similar storms. Between 1971 and 2000, the resort was closed twice due to hurricanes. Since 2004, the resort has been closed 10 times due to hurricanes. In 2004 and ’05 alone, it closed four times. If you want a real nuts-and-bolts argument for our worsening climate crisis, the frequency of Walt Disney World shutdowns is a pretty good barometer.
Other reasons Walt Disney World has been closed include the 9/11 terrorist attacks, when the resort was seen as a possible target, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
During hurricane Milton, Disney advised guests to shelter in place at the resort’s many hotels and listed activities that could be conducted while staying indoors, such as character visits to the lobby, free Disney movies in their rooms and the continued operation of the hotels’ fitness centers and arcades.
Hurricane Milton reached Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night, with high winds, tornadoes, extreme flooding and power outages that impacted millions of Floridians.
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