As Hurricane Milton made landfall this week in Florida, Walt Disney World announced a rare temporary closure. However, there were still guests in hotels and employees at the parks as the storm tore through the area.
Here’s a glimpse of what it was like to be at Disney World during a catastrophic event.
When did the parks close?
Before we get into what it was like at the parks, here is some background on Hurricane Milton.
According to CBS News, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla., around 140 miles southwest of Orlando. As of Saturday morning, 17 people had died due to the Category 3 storm and 1.7 million people were without power Friday evening.
This storm came on the heels of Hurricane Helene, and it moved across the Florida peninsula Thursday to the Atlantic Ocean. Disney announced Wednesday that its parks would be closed the following day. By Friday, the park announced that its parks, the Disney Springs shopping center and mini golf had reopened. Typhoon Lagoon, a water park, was expected to reopen Saturday.
“Our hearts are with our fellow Floridians who were impacted by this storm,” said the parks in a statement.
Since it opened in 1971, Disney World has only closed for weather and two national emergencies, the Florida Times reported. It said “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party” scheduled for Thursday at Magic Kingdom park was also canceled. These closures were for 11 hurricanes from 1999 to 2022, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic, per People Magazine.
What was it like during the storm?
Disney had paused new hotel reservations last Sunday, days before it announced the park closures, according to People. However, the parks and hotels were still operating as usual Monday, a park representative told the outlet.
Business Insider spoke to four people who work for various parks at the Walt Disney World resort. They told the outlet that the Walt Disney Company refused to let them go home early in the hours leading up to Milton’s landfall.
These employees were expected to stay on hand after the parks were shut down to make sure things were ready for the storm. They said this obligation made them feel unsafe. Even as rain came down on empty parks Wednesday, “cast members” were asked to work, Business Insider reported.
For hotel guests, things were less stressful, according to an article also published by Business Insider.
According to the article, 53-year-old Sandra Guadarrama-Baumunk, the co-owner of an advertising agency in Phoenix, Ariz., planned to visit Disney World for the fourth time this fall.
Even though they knew Milton might hit Florida, the family decided to keep their plans. Guadarrama-Baumunk said she felt Disney World would be the safest place to be during a hurricane. On Wednesday, an alarm at the Disney Resort hotel went off at 9:30 p.m.
“Hurricane Milton was predicted to strike in the early hours of the morning, and guests were instructed to be in their rooms by 8:30 p.m. for safety reasons,” she said. An hour later, the alarm sounded and the guests evacuated to the lobby.
Guadarrama-Baumunk said the evacuation was calm and well-organized. While rain lashed at the windows, Disney offered her family – including her husband, two daughters in their 20s and one daughter’s boyfriend, also in his 20s – a discount on an extended stay since their flight was canceled amidst the storm.
“The hotel has been very accommodating. The park closed at 2 p.m. Wednesday, so we spent the afternoon in the lobby,” she said. They had activities for families, such as crafting and making s’mores.”
They bought Uno at a gift store and hung out at the hotel bar. Since some of the restaurants had a limited menu, they got a discount there too.
“We’re glad we trusted Disney,” Guadarrama-Baumunk said. “Its employees are working hard to keep us safe and ensure we still have a great vacation.”
Although the parks were closed, they were not flooded, as artificial intelligence-created images circulating on social media seemed to indicate. Cinema Blend reported Thursday that the images were fakes.
How are things now?
As of Friday, things were getting back to normal at Disney World. Animals that were protected during the storm were even getting back into their habitats, according to Dr. Mark Penning, vice president of experiences and products at Disney Parks.
“From beautiful birds (like flamingos) to the smallest butterflies and our family of mighty western lowland gorillas, cast members monitored conditions, kept a watchful eye on the animals and assessed and carefully removed storm debris before moving the animals back into their habitats, after the storm passed,” he said in the caption of a Friday Instagram post that showed flamingos running into their habitat.