Disney World Closes Early As Hurricane Milton Approaches Florida: Parks Brace For Impact

Walt Disney World owned by the Walt Disney Co. DIS will be closing early on Wednesday as Florida braces for the impact of Hurricane Milton.

What Happened: Disney World announced that it will be closing its Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by the closure of EPCOT, the Magic Kingdom, and Disney Springs at 2 p.m., reported Business Insider. The parks are expected to remain closed on Thursday, with Disney Springs possibly reopening in the afternoon.

The Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and the TreeHouse Villas will also close and are likely to remain shut until Sunday. Most transportation services will also be suspended, with only a few taxi services available. All prepaid bookings and experiences will be automatically refunded, and the company will not enforce cancellation policies.

Disney World has only closed nine times due to hurricanes in its five decades of operation. The most recent closure was due to Hurricane Nicole in 2022. The park also closed in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and was evacuated on Sep. 11, 2001.

“Please know these adjustments have been made to leave plenty of time for our Guests and Cast Members to return to their Resort hotels or homes safely hours before higher winds are expected to reach Central Florida,” the company said in a statement, according to the report.

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Hurricane Milton, which was recently downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday evening. The National Hurricane Center has described it as “extremely dangerous.” The park remained open during the recent Hurricane Helene, although it experienced poor weather.

Why It Matters: Florida is bracing for another hurricane less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the state.

Disney is not the only major company affected by the hurricane. Universal Orlando’s parks, including Universal Studios, will also close early on Wednesday and remain closed on Thursday. SeaWorld Orlando and Aquatica Orlando will be closed on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, Tesla Inc. has instructed its vehicle owners to charge their electric vehicles fully at home before Hurricane Milton hits the Florida peninsula. The company also plans to deploy mobile superchargers after the hurricane to assist its vehicle owners.

Amid the hurricane, Carnival Corporation & plc‘s stock has not been negatively impacted and is in rally mode, despite predictions of historic devastation in Florida. Large parts of the state are being evacuated.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote