Tropical Storm Nicole is on its way toward Florida, and Disney World is making preparations to keep guests and employees safe.
Clouds over Cinderella Castle
The Disney World parks will close early tonight (November 9th) in a phased closure, and Disney Springs is also going to close early. Some hotels will close, along with certain amenities like miniature golf courses. Additionally, nighttime shows and other events have been canceled. Come with us inside Disney World to see how the parks look before a tropical storm hits.
Before we check out the parks, let’s look at a quick update about Tropical Storm Nicole.
What’s Going On with Tropical Storm Nicole?
As of 1PM EST on Wednesday, November 9th, Tropical Storm Nicole was 10 miles west of Great Abaco Island and 175 miles east of West Palm Beach (Wesh 2). The storm is now moving west at 12MPH.
©Wesh 2
Nicole is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later today and continue to bring hurricane-level winds to Central Florida through Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Disney said that the parks may not open at the scheduled times on Thursday and guests should watch the My Disney Experience app for updates about opening times.
Stormy winds
Right now, Orange and Osceola counties (where Disney World is located) are both under a tropical storm warning. Experts have wanted that Central Florida is under a threat of severe storms, including hurricane winds and isolated tornadoes. The worst of the storm conditions in this area are expected to arrive late Wednesday and last into Thursday morning.
Click here for more updates about Tropical Storm Nicole.
What Does Disney World Look Like Now?
Disney has made many changes to the Disney World parks and hotel plans as they anticipate the arrival of Tropical Storm Nicole.
Notification
Here’s a quick list of closure and cancelation information you should be aware of:
- Disney World Updates Cancelation Policies Ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole
- Disney World Announces Phased Park and Hotel CLOSURES Due to Tropical Storm Nicole
- Disney Springs CLOSING Due to Tropical Storm Nicole
- ALL the Disney World Closures and Cancelations Due to Tropical Storm Nicole
- Could Tropical Storm Nicole Affect Your Flight to Orlando?
But the parks are still open right now (although the phased closures will begin soon) — so what do they look like as Disney braces for a storm? We saw that crowds have thinned out a bit as people leave to prepare for the storm, but there are still plenty of people in the parks.
Guests in Hollywood Studios
Of course, ponchos were everywhere we looked!
Ponchos Everywhere
It’s been raining for most of the day, but that didn’t stop people from coming in to enjoy the parks. (Remember that, if you have a Disney World trip planned for the next few days, you can cancel any Disney reservations with no cancelation fee.)
More people in the parks
Some people took shelter inside to grab a quick snack and take a break from the rain.
In line for a snack
In some parts of the park, Disney Cast Members have been preparing for the storm by putting away any furniture that isn’t secured to the ground.
Storm prep is starting in Disney World! 👀🌧 We saw cast members put away chairs ahead of Hurricane Ian too. pic.twitter.com/1arMFFjrmW
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 9, 2022
No chairs over here!
In some areas, snack kiosks and stands were closed as well, with the umbrellas tied securely.
Closed kiosk
We’ll continue to watch for updates on the situation with Tropical Storm Nicole and especially how it impacts Disney World. Stay tuned to DFB for more updates on all the latest news from Disney World!
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Hurricanes are one of the downsides of Disneyworld along with tropical rains and humidty seasons. It hardley rains in SoCal, so Disneyland has to never close because of bad weather. Not even Earthquakes affect the parks. The only bad thing is that it can get very hot (over 100) certain times of the year.