We have been following the development of Tropical Depression 9 and its potential impact on Florida over the last few days. Tropical Depression 9 (now Hurricane Ian) is being monitored. The path of the storm is not certain, but it could become a major hurricane threat for Florida.

In anticipation of this, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency for 24 Florida counties as the storm has continued to strengthen. Note: This post is written chronologically and you can find the most up-to-date info from today near the bottom of the article. 

One of the counties listed is a Disney World county, so we want to make sure that all of our readers are informed! Below is a list of the following counties under state of emergency.

Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, and St. Lucie. We will continue to update this list as counties are removed or added.

UPDATE as of September 24th: The state of emergency is now for the entire state of Florida.

WPBF shared the following statement from DeSantis, “Today, I signed an executive order issuing a State of Emergency due to the threat of Tropical Depression 9,” DeSantis said. “This storm has the potential to strengthen into a major hurricane and we encourage all Floridians to make their preparations. We are coordinating with all state and local government partners to track potential impacts of this storm.”

We have also shared the Orlando International Airport is also preparing for the potential hurricane. You can get all of the details on those preparations here.

UPDATE: As of September 24th, Tropical Depression 9 has strengthened to become Tropical Storm Ian. Here is a look at the 5PM update. The storm is still expected to intensify as the weekend progresses and Central Florida is currently still expected to be in the cone of the storm. The storm has shifted to the west just a bit as well.

News sources are sharing that those in Central Florida should take some time to make storm preparations.

UPDATE as of September 25th at 8AM, Topical Storm Ian has shifted back to the east.

Most of yesterday the models trended west but since late last night they have edged back eastward. Here’s a look at the trends! We all remain in the cone with impacts to be felt here Wednesday/Thursday. Stay with @WESH for updates. pic.twitter.com/AdTg2zBzKv

— Tony Mainolfi (@TMainolfiWESH) September 25, 2022

Since we have a few days until the storm is set to hit Disney World, the weather in the Orlando area is expected to be quite nice with a high of 89° and a 30% expected chance of rainfall. That chance of rain is expected to increase to 40% tomorrow according to Click Orlando.

Here is a look at the 11AM update for the day!

Now, let’s take a look at the 3PM update for the day. (We know this says Friday, but it was just released today.) We are interested to see how things shift this evening.

And here is a look at that 5PM update. As we shared above the storm has moved to the east just a bit. At this time, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the Lower Florida Keys.

You can get a really good movement visual with the video below.

Here's at look at the models for #IanL. Still a good spread across the Easter Gulf of Mexico but the trend has inched eastward today with two camps setting up. We will get active weather Wednesday/Thursday either way. Stay with @WESH for updates. #weshwx pic.twitter.com/ZgERXBeEt6

— Tony Mainolfi (@TMainolfiWESH) September 25, 2022

UPDATE as of September 26th at 8AM ET: Tropical Storm Ian strengthened into Hurricane Ian this morning. It is a Category 1 hurricane that’s now expected to make landfall just north of Tampa Bay by Wednesday or Thursday.

On September 26th, 2022, Disney World announced upcoming closures for select hotels along with the mini golf courses and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. They have also adjusted the dining and experience cancellation policies until further notice.

The Orlando Sentinel has reported that Hurricane Ian is continuing to gain strength and is moving on a path to target Florida’s Gulf Coast. There is also a threat to Central Florida, which is currently under a tropical storm watch.

UPDATE as of September 27th, 2022: Hurricane Ian has been upgraded to a category 3 hurricane. 

And a Tropical Storm WARNING and hurricane watch have been issued for Orange County, Florida, and Osceola County, Florida. Those are the two counties that Disney World is located within.

BREAKING NEWS: Disney World, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld, and more local theme parks have announced multi-day closures ahead of Hurricane Ian. Airports in the Orlando area are closing as well. Disney World will close its theme parks and water parks on Wednesday, September 28th, and Thursday, September 29th. Disney Springs will be closed on Wednesday, September 28th. They expect Disney Springs will also be closed on Thursday, September 29th, but more updates on that will be coming soon.

Get all the details on the Disney World closure HERE!

UPDATE as of September 28th: Hurricane Ian has been upgraded to a category 4 hurricane and winds are expected reach upwards of 155MPH.

The NOAA has released what we can expect from Hurricane Ian today and in the days to follow.

A Tornado Watch has also been issued for Central Florida. Later in the day a Tornado Warning was issued for Osceola and Brevard counties.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cayo Costa, Florida with winds of 150 mph — making it officially landing as a Category 4 storm at 3:05PM ET.

On September 29th, Hurricane Ian was downgraded to a tropical storm and significant flooding has taken place around Disney World and Orlando. Due to this flooding, the Orlando International Airport will remain closed today. You can read their most recent statement below.

Disney has also released a statement. We have shared the park pass reservations are not available for tomorrow but as of now, Disney has only announced that they will remain closed through September 29th.

BIG UPDATE: Disney World will officially begin a phased reopening on Friday, September 30th. 

We will continue to monitor this situation and how it could impact you and your trip to Disney World in the coming days. For now, you can watch our video below on what we wish we knew before going to Disney World during hurricane season.

You can also see our list of the BEST hurricane ready hotels in Disney World here!

Are you visiting Disney World this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.