Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando to Close Parks as Hurricane Ian Nears Florida

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/Shutterstock

As Hurricane Ian nears Florida, the state’s major theme parks are closing their gates.

While the storm is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast, it will also move across Central Florida, per theNational Hurricane Center. On Tuesday,Disney Worldannounced that its Orlando parks — Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios — will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, along with Disney’s waterparks.

Additionally, Disney Springs will be closed on Wednesday, while the theme park “anticipates” it will be closed on Thursday, too.

“We are monitoring weather conditions so we can make timely decisions for the safety of our Cast and Guests, including when it’s safe for Cast to return to the site to prepare for reopening,” Disney World said in a statement posted on Twitter.

On Tuesday, Universal Orlando Resort also announced plans to close on Wednesday and Thursday, including City Walk. This extends toHalloween Horror Nights, as well. In a statement, Universal Orlando said they anticipate reopening on Friday. Hotels on the property are at full capacity and will remain open.

Other major theme parks in the state will also be closed, includingSeaWorld Orlando, which is closed Wednesday and Thursday, while Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has been closed since Tuesday and will remain so through Thursday.

Universal Orlando Resort.

The last timeDisney World adjusted its hoursas a result of a major storm threat was in2019 when Hurricane Dorianmoved toward the United States.

At the time, Disney World announced that, as part of its “longstanding commitment to safety,” the park’s hours would be adjusted on September 3, closing most of its attractions in the mid-afternoon. It reopened the next day.

As Florida prepares forHurricane Ianto hit the state on Wednesday, it is dangerously close to making landfall as a Category 5 storm.

In an address on Wednesday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the approaching storm had strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane “withmaximum sustained winds of up to 155 mph,” which is just two miles shy of a highest designation.

“We expect landfall in south west Florida later today as a major hurricane [that] will slowly move across the central Florida peninsula before exiting the northeast Florida coast probably sometime on Thursday,” the governor continued.

source: people.com