It’s officially hurricane season and Florida is experiencing its first major storm of the year.
Storm in Magic Kingdom
Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm as it passed through the Gulf of Mexico, and then made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane in the Big Bend area of Florida. Some of Disney World’s experiences have closed due to the extreme weather — like Typhoon Lagoon and some of its miniature golf courses — but its four main parks have remained open. So, what is it like being in Disney World during this type of storm? Come find out.
Hurricane Idalia is a major storm and is causing a lot of serious damage throughout the state, but the Orlando area has thankfully been spared from the worst of it. While it is important to take this type of weather seriously, Disney World has a lot of systems in place to make sure its guests stay safe.
Rain from Hurricane #Idalia is falling in Disney World, and the theme parks are operating as normal today. We’re thankful that our Orlando team is safe and we’re sending love to those heavily affected by the storm! pic.twitter.com/9JiHHTQxPf
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 30, 2023
Magic Kingdom during Hurricane Idalia
If you are heading to the parks today, you might want to reconsider an umbrella and instead opt for a rain jacket or poncho. The wind can make carrying an umbrella tricky!
The wind is pretty strong in EPCOT and we’re using our umbrella as a shield ☔️ #Idalia pic.twitter.com/xRgkKFmG3K
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) August 30, 2023
The parks have seemed rather quiet today, starting with a fairly empty parking lot in EPCOT and pretty low wait times.
Empty parking lot
Some rides have temporarily closed due to the weather, and Disney also canceled one showing of its stage show — Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire — at the time of writing.
©Disney
Throughout the day, we noticed that some of the outdoor dining locations remained closed. In Fantasyland, the Storybook Circus Popcorn and Pretzel Carts were closed due to inclement weather.
Snack carts closed
A sign directed guests to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe, an indoor location, for a bite to eat.
Closed due to inclement weather
Prince Eric’s Village Market also remained closed through part of the day.
Prince Erics Village Market
Some of the outdoor merchandise kiosks were also closed during this inclement weather.
Merchandise kiosk
Over in EPCOT, the Outdoor Kitchens were taking orders and processing payments in the booth itself, rather than at the ordering kiosks they usually use.
International Food and Wine Festival booths
We’ll keep updating you throughout the day, so stay tuned to DFB for more.
The Perfect Disney World Rain Gear Doesn’t Exist
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Has a hurricane ever impacted your trip to Disney World? Let us know in the comments below.
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Many think it’s an adventure to go to the theme parks in this kind of weather. I disagree. It’s messy.
True, some lines may be shorter, but many rides and attractions are closed, so there’s that. Sometimes, cast members make you stay inside an attraction if it gets dangerous to be outside. You enter heavily air conditioned (freezing cold!) venues while soaking wet. Not comfortable at all. I’d rather hunker down and wait out the storm at my hotel.
Hurricane Andrew in 1992, we had to postpone our vacation for several days.
We were there during the “hurricane”. Wait times were so low, it was so nice. We were even able to get a virtual que for Guardians and rode it for the first time. We loved it. My son keeps asking when we are going back.
We rode 5 rides and got food in 5 hours.
It was a little wetter than we expected but we had our ponchos and still had fun. ☺️
In our house if someone asks how we plan to ride out the hurricane we answer, “We’re going to Disney.” The lines are shorter and usually they suspend dining reservations so you can go to any restaurant you want to. Being lifelong Florida residents we can usually judge when to go to Disney and when to head the other way.