Cinderella Castle in Walt Disney World.
Roberto Machado Noa | Lightrocket | Getty Images
As Hurricane Ian nears the west coast of Florida, the Walt Disney Company is preparing to close all four of its Orlando-based theme parks for at least two days.
The company announced Tuesday that Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Magic Kingdom would shutter on Wednesday and Thursday. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm is headed toward Tampa and will likely pass over central Florida, where the Disney parks are located.
Already, Disney has moved guests lodging at its exterior resort locations, like the campground at Fort Wilderness and treehouse villas at Saratoga Springs, to interior rooms at its other hotels. Additionally, the company has canceled Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser voyages set to depart Tuesday and Thursday due to potential impacts on guest experiences.
The company has also said it will not enforce cancelation policies for in-park experiences like Savi’s Workshop in Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios or the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at Magic Kingdom.
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park will also close Wednesday and Thursday and its Blizzard Beach location is already closed.
This is not the first time in Walt Disney World’s 50-year history that it has closed due to hurricanes. Most recently, in September 2019, the Florida-based parks briefly closed due to the forecast path of Hurricane Dorian. The park reopened a day later when Dorian’s path shifted.
Neighboring theme park operator Universal did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment about its operations. The Universal Studios Orlando website indicates that the company is monitoring the weather, but has yet to make a determination if it will close.
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