Hurricane Helene formed this morning with the National Hurricane Center forecasting the storm to rapidly intensify and strike Florida as a major Category 3 hurricane. Walt Disney World has already announced closures, cancellations, and adjustments as a result of the storm–here are updates on all of the changes, policies, impacts and more.
For the most, it’s currently business as usual at Walt Disney World. As of right now (September 25, 2024 at 3 pm Eastern), the company has not indicated that it plans on closing Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Disney Springs, or any resort hotels. However, there are other closures and less significant operational impacts due to Hurricane Helene.
Moreover, Disney always monitors the weather and will prioritize guest and Cast Member safety above all else. The current tracking places the worst of Helene pretty far from Walt Disney World, but it could still ‘wobble’ to the east. If that happens, and it becomes possible that Hurricane Helene will pose an actual threat to the parks and resorts–beyond just wet weather and wind–causing more announcements tonight or even tomorrow.
For starters, we have not received any indication that Walt Disney World has officially enacted its more lenient hurricane cancellation and modification policy. However, this has been been informally instituted on a case-by-case basis.
As a reminder, the policy officially applies if a hurricane warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for the Orlando area—or for your place of residence—within 7 days of your scheduled arrival date. In that scenario, you may reschedule or cancel your Walt Disney Travel Company Disney Resort hotel packages and most room only reservations (booked directly with Disney) without any cancellation or change fees imposed by Disney. Most room-only and vacation packages can be modified, or cancelled online, including changes to travel dates.
We also haven’t received word of any courtesy discounts. Normally, current guests staying at Walt Disney World resort hotels whose travel plans are impacted by hurricanes or tropical storms may receive a discounted rate to extend their stay, if needed, by visiting the front desk.
Similarly, it’s also common for Florida residents evacuating from the storm and first responders assisting in storm-related recovery efforts to receive 50% off Walt Disney World resort hotel stays on the impacted evenings. Again, this has not been officially announced, but we’re guessing that it applies since it always does. (I’m not going to clog up the phone lines trying to figure it out.)
For evacuees, please call (407) W-DISNEY for details. For first responders, please call (407) 828-3200 (Option 3). This applies to new bookings only and is based on availability. If you’re on the Gulf Coast, this is a great option–we’ve had to ride out a hurricane at Walt Disney World before, and it was about as safe as we possibly could have felt given the circumstances.
Now let’s turn to the closures, cancellations & changes to operations at Walt Disney World for September 26, 2024…
Walt Disney World has officially announced that Typhoon Lagoon water park will be closed on September 26, 2024 due to inclement weather. Additionally, Beachcomber Shack (cabanas) and Typhoon Lagoon Umbrella rentals are cancelled for Thursday, September 26, 2024.
Over at Universal Orlando, the same thing is happening with Volcano Bay closed on September 26 but expected to reopen the following day. (That’s the only UOR update so far–Halloween Horror Nights is still happening at this point.) As you’re probably aware, Blizzard Beach water park is already closed for “refurbishment” at this time, so it also won’t be open tomorrow…but for reasons wholly unrelated to weather.
Also due to the inclement weather, Winter Summerland Miniature Golf and Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf will be closed on September 26, 2024. As with the air quotes around refurbishment above, these closures are perhaps just as much due to a lack of guest demand as they are due to weather. While it’s possible cleanup will be necessary at Typhoon Lagoon, that’s the one park where ‘storm-strewn’ is literally on-theme!
The biggest news is that the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party happening the night of September 26, 2024 at Magic Kingdom has been cancelled. Here’s the message from Walt Disney World regarding the closure:
“We are always looking to deliver a great and enjoyable experience for our guests. Due to forecasted weather and the impact to our outdoor entertainment offerings, we are cancelling Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 26. Guest tickets will be refunded. Refunds will be automatically issued to the original form of payment within 7 business days.
While Magic Kingdom was scheduled to close tomorrow at 6 p.m., we are extending operating hours until 8 p.m. for guests to enjoy more time in the park.”
It’s worth emphasizing that hours are being extended for now. With past hurricanes or tropical storms, it’s become commonplace for the parks to close early, often with a same-day announcement. Walt Disney World’s intention is to stay open later as a guest courtesy, but safety comes first in the order of the Four Keys.
As for why Walt Disney World would cancel Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party while extending park hours–seemingly contradictory moves–it actually makes sense. There’s heavy rain in the forecast starting tomorrow afternoon and not relenting until late at night. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party would’ve been a total rainout, with both parades, stage shows and other entertainment almost certainly cancelled.
In past such scenarios, we’ve seen one of two things happen: either hour-plus lines at City Hall with guests requesting refunds or Walt Disney World getting ahead of that by simply offering them automatically because they anticipated as much. That almost assuredly would’ve occurred at tomorrow night’s MNSSHP, so Disney is simply acting preemptively. It might disappoint guests today, but it beats wasting everyone’s time and even more money to host the event only to end up disappointing them tomorrow.
It’s worth noting that MNSSHP is now totally sold out of the season, so if you don’t want a refund and instead want tickets to a different date, we’d recommend contacting Walt Disney World ASAP. In the past, they’ve opened up some availability for storm-displaced guests, but it’s limited and case-by-case. The earlier you call, the more likely you are to have success in getting tickets for a future date that’s already sold out. (Note that this only applies to ticket-holders of the September 26 MNSSHP; if you haven’t already bought tickets, you’re out of luck.)
Walt Disney World also announced that the following tours and Enchanting Extras Collection experiences are cancelled for Thursday, September 26:
Savor the Savanna
Up Close with Rhinos
Walking with Giants
Wild Africa Trek
Pools at Disney Resort hotels will continue to operate or close under normal conditions.
That’s it for now as far as closures, cancellations & changes go. We’ll continue monitoring announcements and will update the above accordingly. You can also follow Walt Disney World’s Weather Updates page (although everything isn’t always posted there–for instance, there’s no mention of the MNSSHP cancellation).
As of the 2 pm update on September 25, 2024 from the National Hurricane Center, Helene remained a Category 1 hurricane with 80 mph sustained winds about 110 miles north-northeast of Cozumel, Mexico and 480 miles south-southwest of Tampa as it moved north-northwest at 10 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend out 25 miles and tropical-storm-force winds extend out 275 miles from the center.
Hurricane Helene’s projected path has the center making landfall with a cone ranging from south of Tallahassee in Florida’s Big Bend region west to Panama City on the Panhandle. National Hurricane Center forecasters predict that the system will reach peak sustained winds of 125 mph with gusts up to 155 mph and storm surge that could top 18 feet. That’s puts it just shy of Category 4 storm strength.
The National Hurricane Center indicates that due to the large size of Helene, there is a danger of life-threatening storm surge along the entire west coast of the Florida Peninsula and Florida Big Bend. The highest inundation of greater than 10 ft is expected along the Florida Big Bend coast. Residents in those areas should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate if told to do so.
Devastating hurricane-force winds are expected across portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia where the core of Helene moves inland. Preparations to protect life and property should be completed by early Thursday since tropical storm conditions are expected to begin within these areas on Thursday. Because of Helene’s expected fast forward speed, damaging and life-threatening wind gusts, are expected to penetrate well inland over portions of the southeastern United States, including in the higher terrain of the southern Appalachians.
Helene will bring heavy rain along with strong wind well outside its cone. Considerable and potentially life-threatening flash and urban
flooding is expected across portions of northwestern and northern Florida, the Southeast, southern Appalachians, and the Upper Tennessee Valley Wednesday through Friday. This includes the risk of landslides across the southern Appalachians. Widespread minor to moderate river flooding is likely, and isolated major river flooding is possible.
DisneyWorld.com has added the above banner to the top of the website. This will be updated throughout today and tomorrow with info about how the parks & resorts will or will not be impacted, and whether the parks are operating normally or not.
Our guess/hope is that Hurricane Helene won’t cause a closure of the Walt Disney World theme parks. Perhaps evening entertainment will be cancelled, hours will be shortened, or maybe minor operational updates will be made at the last minute…but that’s probably about it. Hurricane Helene is approaching the west coast, rather than the east coast, of Florida. Although it’s intensifying, it doesn’t have the same strength as other storms from the last few years, and the system’s current path has the worst impacts missing Orlando.
That probably means it’ll be mostly a matter of heavy rain and wind at Walt Disney World. But, and this probably goes without saying, you should get severe weather preparedness advice from sources other than a fan blog about Disney. As it concerns our actual area of expertise, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a relocation of guests from Fort Wilderness. But even that hasn’t happened as of Wednesday, so it seems unlikely barring a last-minute forecast change. We wouldn’t be surprised if the latest update is the extent of the official Hurricane Helene operational impact.
We’ll keep you posted with updates from the National Hurricane Center and operational updates from Walt Disney World whenever one is released. If you’re planning a visit, you can also consult our Tips for Hurricane & Storm Season at Walt Disney World for generalized advice on packing, avoiding the worst of the wet weather, and even riding out a hurricane. We hope and doubt it’ll come to that with Hurricane Helene!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you concerned that Hurricane Helene will impact Walt Disney World? Are you currently in Central Florida? Have you visited during past tropical storms or hurricanes? Any additional info, thoughts, or first-hand experiences to share about riding out a hurricane at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
