Current:Home > ScamsDisney World and Universal Orlando remain open ahead of Hurricane Milton -Dynamic Wealth Solutions
Disney World and Universal Orlando remain open ahead of Hurricane Milton
View
Date:2025-04-14 07:03:27
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Major theme parks Walt Disney World and Universal remained open Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Milton ’s expected hit as a major storm in Florida even as other parts of Orlando’s tourism machine shut down.
Disney said it was operating under normal conditions and planned, for now, only to close its campgrounds and rental cabins in wooded areas.
Both theme parks said they would continue monitoring the weather and adjust accordingly.
Meanwhile, other parts of Orlando were shutting down — including Orlando International Airport, which said it would cease operations Wednesday morning. The airport is the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most trafficked.
The Orlando area is the most visited destination in the United States due to Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and other theme parks, attracting 74 million tourists last year alone.
October is also among the busier times for theme parks because of Halloween-related celebrations, which have become major money generators over the past couple decades. Universal Orlando hosts “Halloween Horror Nights,” with ghoulish haunted houses based on slasher films and other pop culture horror, and Disney has its tamer “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.”
While Disney rarely shuts its doors — save for dangerous hurricanes in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Sept. 11 attacks — its hotels are often havens for coastal residents fleeing impending storms. A check of Disney World’s online reservation system on Tuesday morning showed no vacancies.
Those lucky enough to get a hotel reservation have gotten unexpected treats during past storms. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, guests at a hotel on Disney property found themselves stranded with actress Kristen Bell, who voiced the role of Anna in the beloved Disney film, “Frozen.” While in Orlando, the actress found time to sing songs for evacuees at a nearby hurricane shelter.
Once a hurricane passes, the theme parks try to return operations to normal as quickly as possible. After Hurricane Charley charted a devastating path through Orlando in 2004, Disney World had utility vehicles picking up downed tree limbs and clearing roads on its property within an hour in the pitch-dark night.
___
Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform X: @MikeSchneiderAP.
veryGood! (756)
Related
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- As Trump Enters Office, a Ripe Oil and Gas Target Appears: An Alabama National Forest
Ranking
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot, watchdog finds