Disney World Has Closed Only 15 Times in Its Entire History — Here's Why

All four parks didn't resume normal hours until the morning of September 16 after Hurricane Floyd had passed. The storm ended up making landfall at Cape Fear, North Carolina on September 16 as a Category 2 hurricane and caused serious flooding in North Carolina and devastation across the Bahama Islands.

Not even a month after Hurricane Charley devastated the Sunshine State, Frances made landfall on the southern part of Hutchinson Island, Florida as a Category 2 hurricane. The slow-moving storm moved north and west across the state and right into the Gulf of Mexico before continuing to move northward into Georgia. The storm's path and slow pace led to Disney having one of its longest park closures. Magic Kingdom and EPCOT reopened on September 6, while Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom didn't reopen until September 7, according to MagicGuide.com.

All four parks shut their doors for the last major hurricane of the 2004 season for Florida, which happened just 20 days after Frances. Hurricane Jeanne, a Category 3 storm, also hit Hutchinson Island. The storm followed a fairly similar path to Frances, despite being a bit smaller and stronger.

Magic Kingdom and EPCOT were able to open in the early afternoon after Hurricane Wilma hit early morning, but Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom remained closed until October 25. Wilma struck southwest Florida between Everglades City and Cape Romano shortly before 7 a.m. as a Category 3 storm. Broward and Palm Beach counties were some of the hardest hit areas.

Although Hurricane Matthew didn't make landfall in Florida but rather McClellanville, South Carolina, Disney World park officials closed all four parks early on October 6 and left them closed on October 7 in preparation for the Category 1 storm. Matthew was especially devastating in the Carolinas due to its heavy rainfall and the flooding that followed.

Hurricane Irma led to a rare multi-day closure for the theme parks. The eye made landfall in Cudjoe Key as a 130 mph Category 4 storm on the morning of September 10. The center of Irma then made landfall on Marco Island later in the afternoon as a Category 3 hurricane and continued to move throughout central Florida as it weakened.

The longest shutdown in Disney World's history (over 100 days) began in the middle of March 2020 as reported coronavirus cases in the United States began to surge. Despite the expectation that the theme parks would be shut down for two weeks, Disney World remained closed until Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom welcomed back guests with strict safety protocols in place on July 11. Hollywood Studios and Epcot reopened a few days later.

To keep everyone safe from the potential threat of Ian, Disney World shut down all of its parks for two days, reopening in phases on September 30. Hurricane Ian landed on the southwest coast of the Florida Peninsula and eventually moved northward and made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane as it moved across the central South Carolina coast.

As Milton approached the west coast of Florida, Disney World decided to close its doors early on October 9 and remained closed the next day. The effects from Milton are still being felt across the state. The storm reached Category 5 status before making landfall as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key near Sarasota, Florida. Recovery efforts for those affected by Milton are still ongoing.

We invite you to join our parent company, Hearst Magazines, in supporting those devastated by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, and consider donating to the American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity relief efforts.

• August 31, 1985: Hurricane Elena: The only two Disney World parks in existence at the time — Magic Kingdom and EPCOT — both saw an early closure on August 31 in preparation for the storm. Leading up to Hurricane Elena's landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi on September 2, the storm moved swiftly across the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service reports that wind speeds reached over 75 mph across Mobile and Baldwin Counties in Alabama and Escambia County in northwest Florida.
• August 2, 1995: Hurricane Erin: During the early morning of August 2, Erin made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on the east side of Florida, crossing between Vero Beach and Sebastian Inlet. The timing of the hurricane hitting in the early hours of the morning caused Disney World park officials to delay the opening times for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney-MGM Studios (now Hollywood Studios) until 11 a.m.
• September 11, 2001: Disney World opened as usual on the morning of 9/11 but issued an emergency evacuation of all guests a few hours later due to the terrorist attacks. A Disney World cast member recalled to HuffPost: "We were strictly forbidden from telling [the guests] the real reason that we had decided to close the park, which caused some confusion and maybe even some irate guests at times. But it avoided quite effectively the cause for panic from our guests." The park opened the next day with increased security measures.
• August 13, 2004: Hurricane Charley: The first of several devastating storms to hit Florida in 2004 was Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm that crashed into the southeast coast of Florida right by Cayo Costa. Charley led to significant damage in Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Orlando, the Palm Coast and more. MagicGuides.com reports that Animal Kingdom was closed the morning of the storm, while the other three parks remained open until around 1 p.m. All four parks opened the next morning.
• September 3, 2019: Hurricane Dorian: All four theme parks closed early the day of September 3 as Hurricane Dorian approached the eastern side of Florida. The worst impacts of Dorian were felt in the Bahamas, where the storm hit as a Category 5 hurricane. Dorian caused plenty of damage as it skirted up the East Coast, eventually making landfall at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
• November 9-10, 2022: Hurricane Nicole:The theme parks closed early on November 9 in preparation for Hurricane Nicole's nighttime approach. The storm briefly reached Category 1 strength and made landfall along the east coast of Florida near Vero Beach during the early morning hours of November 10th. After the storm had passed, the theme parks reopened later than usual that same day.