Orlando’s tourism machine came to a standstill on Tuesday as at least three major theme parks and a major airport announced closures ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall as a major hurricane in Florida.
Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld will close their theme parks and amusement parks on Wednesday, with the two also closed on Thursday and Disney likely to remain closed.
Universal also canceled Halloween Horror Nights scheduled for both dates.
The theme parks join Orlando International Airport, which said it will cease operations Wednesday morning. The airport is the seventh busiest in the country and the busiest in Florida.
Disney World had said earlier in the day that it was open and planned to close its campgrounds and cabin rentals ahead of the storm.
The only indication at Disney Springs that a storm was coming was the closure of the hot air balloon ride. “Closed due to storm,” read the electronic sign. “Stay safe.”
All other shops and restaurants in the outdoor shops, restaurants and entertainment within the resort were open and doing brisk business.
Milton, expected to make landfall on Wednesday, is threatening to ruin the vacations of tens of thousands of Disney World tourists.
Nicole and Zeb Downs arrived Monday after a 21-hour drive from Arkansas, expecting a 12-day vacation in Florida with their three young sons. On Tuesday afternoon, they were thinking of collecting their car and going back.
“We’re disappointed but it’s over for us now,” said Zeb Downs as he walked with his family to the bustling Disney Springs resort.
Neither of them had experienced a storm before and weren’t sure they wanted to try.
The Orlando area is the most visited destination in the United States thanks to Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and other theme parks, attracting 74 million visitors last year alone.
October is also among the busiest times for theme parks because of Halloween-related festivities, which have become major revenue generators over the past few decades. Universal Orlando hosts “Halloween Horror Nights,” with haunted houses based on blockbuster movies and other pop culture horrors, and Disney has its tamer “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.”
While Disney rarely closes its doors—save for deadly storms in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and Sept. 11, 2001, attacks—its hotels are often shelters for coastal residents fleeing incoming storms. A check of Disney World’s online reservation system Tuesday morning showed no vacancies.
Those lucky enough to get a hotel reservation have had an unexpected treat during past hurricanes. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, guests at a Disney resort hotel found themselves at odds with actress Kristen Bell, who voiced the role of Anna in the beloved Disney film “Frozen.” While in Orlando, the actor found time to sing for evacuees at a nearby hurricane shelter.
Once the storm has passed, the theme parks try to get operations back to normal as quickly as possible. After Hurricane Charley carved a tragic path through Orlando in 2004, Disney World had service vehicles picking up fallen tree limbs and reopening roads in its area within an hour of a pitch black night.
Follow Mike Schneider on social media X: @MikeSchneiderAP.
— Mike Schneider, The Associated Press
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