Disney World Closes For 2 Days Due To Hurricane Ian

On Tuesday, Disney World announced that its Orlando, Florida theme park would be closed in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Ian. While all areas of the theme park are expected to be closed for Wednesday and Thursday as Disney continues to “closely monitor Hurricane Ian,” customers who purchased tickets to visit on those days will not be receiving refunds.

The National Weather Service issued an alert for the area around Disney World on Tuesday, upgrading what had previously been a Hurricane Watch to a Hurricane Warning. The powerful Category 4 storm reached Florida today after knocking out power in nearby Cuba. The rain and wind prompted Disney World to close operations until the hurricane passed. Per its hurricane policy, Disney World has instead offered to extend the remaining unused tickets through Sept. 30.

As the company’s hurricane policy posted on its website reads, “Partially used multi-day theme park tickets with a validity window impacted by closure due to Hurricane Ian will be automatically extended to allow use of the remaining unused ticket days through September 30, 2023. In order to enter a park, both a park reservation and valid ticket for the same park on the same date is required.”

While park tickets are not being refunded, Disney World is offering refunds for special events like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at the Magic Kingdom, which was scheduled for Thursday evening, as well as other experiences like the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue at Fort Wilderness.

As for guests who were planning on staying at Walt Disney World Resort, “all Guests including our Disney Vacation Club Members must check in to our resorts on Sept. 28, by 3 p.m. Guests may reschedule their trip or cancel their stay with us; any customary cancellation fees will be waived.” Guests staying on the property are being asked to shelter in place during their stay in an effort to keep everyone safe.

Hurricane Ian’s arrival marks the ninth time Disney World has been forced to close due to a hurricane since it first opened its doors in 1971. The last time was in 2019 with Hurricane Dorian.