Following the wrath of Hurricane Irma, the Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, was forced to stay shut to visitors for two consecutive days, a first-of-its-kind occurrence in the theme park’s history. As Hurricane Irma was deemed a Category 4 hurricane, park authorities opted to keep it off limits to visitors on September 10 and September 11. Although the park stayed closed, the resorts were open for their guests to stay in as the storm raged on.
Disney World reopens
Hurricane Irma was a Category 4 storm when it hit Miami in Florida. As the hurricane moved inland, away from the sea, it weakened to a tropical storm and hit Orlando as a Category 1 storm.
The authorities hoped to open the park for visitors quickly if no major damage was detected in the park during its damage assessment.
Disney management stated that the conditions and extent of damage of Disney Springs and the Disney World resort was assessed and almost miraculously, the park did not suffer much damage from the hurricane. While many parts of Florida, like Miami and Florida Keys are out of power, the Walt Disney World claims that the park had a power supply although it experienced "high winds and rain." EMT Jeffrey T. Armstrong shared a picture of the iconic Disney castle undamaged by the storm.
As promised, Disney World opened the park for visitors from Tuesday, September 12, after no major damage was detected.
Water parks to open later in the week
Disney informed its patrons that the Disney World theme parks and Disney Springs would reopen on Tuesday, September 12, and operate during their normal times. The announcement was made on the company's official website. The posting also notified that some special events such as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party were canceled.
Park management, did not say whether the event was rescheduled to take place at a different date and time. Disney also said that the water parks in Disney World will be out of bounds for visitors initially but will reopen later this week. Apart from the theme parks, the Disney resorts also resumed normal operations on September 12.
With the theme parks reopening, things are getting back to normal as Disney World readies itself to welcome guests from all over the world once again. Guests can once again engage in the rides and activities of the iconic attraction. The loss Disney encountered due to the sudden closure is not known at this time.
