ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Major theme parks Walt Disney World and Universal remained open Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Milton ’s expected hit as a major storm in Florida even as other parts of Orlando’s tourism machine shut down.
Disney said it was operating under normal conditions and planned, for now, only to close its campgrounds and rental cabins in wooded areas.
Both theme parks said they would continue monitoring the weather and adjust accordingly.
Meanwhile, other parts of Orlando were shutting down — including Orlando International Airport, which said it would cease operations Wednesday morning. The airport is the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most trafficked.
Milton, which is expected to come ashore Wednesday, threatened to ruin the vacations of tens of thousands of tourists at Disney World.
Nicole and Zeb Downs arrived on Monday after a 21-hour drive from Arkansas, expecting a 12-day Florida vacation with their three young sons. By Tuesday afternoon, they were contemplating packing up their car and heading back.
“We are disappointed but it’s kind of out of our hands at this point,” said Zeb Downs as he strolled with his family along a still-bustling Disney Springs shopping and restaurant district at the park resort.
Neither of them had experienced a hurricane before and weren’t sure they wanted to try it.
The Orlando area is the most visited destination in the United States due to Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and other theme parks, attracting 74 million tourists last year alone.
October is also among the busier times for theme parks because of Halloween-related celebrations, which have become major money generators over the past couple decades. Universal Orlando hosts “Halloween Horror Nights,” with ghoulish haunted houses based on slasher films and other pop culture horror, and Disney has its tamer “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.”
While Disney rarely shuts its doors — save for dangerous hurricanes in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Sept. 11 attacks — its hotels are often havens for coastal residents fleeing impending storms. A check of Disney World’s online reservation system on Tuesday morning showed no vacancies.
Those lucky enough to get a hotel reservation have gotten unexpected treats during past storms. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, guests at a hotel on Disney property found themselves stranded with actress Kristen Bell, who voiced the role of Anna in the beloved Disney film, “Frozen.” While in Orlando, the actress found time to sing songs for evacuees at a nearby hurricane shelter.
Once a hurricane passes, the theme parks try to return operations to normal as quickly as possible. After Hurricane Charley charted a devastating path through Orlando in 2004, Disney World had utility vehicles picking up downed tree limbs and clearing roads on its property within an hour in the pitch-dark night.
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