What It’s Like to Be at Disney World During Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian is now starting to hit Florida.

Rainy day in Magic Kingdom

We’ve been watching the storm since last week where it started as a tropical wave and then later became a tropical storm and now a hurricane. Areas of Florida have been asked to evacuate and big theme parks including Universal Orlando, Legoland, and Disney World have temporarily closed. Even though nobody is in the parks, we have plenty of team members who live right by Disney World. So, what is it like being at Disney World during a hurricane?

Here’s a current look at Hurricane Ian. Disney World is currently under Tornado Watch after being under a Hurricane Warning on Tuesday.

©WESH2

Several of our reporters who live in the Orlando area have been giving updates on what the weather is like. This was the view this morning from Celebration, Florida.

By about 10:30AM, winds were starting to pick up in the Orlando area.

We saw a few days ago that there was no availability for any of the Disney World hotels, however we do have a reporter staying at one of the Disney Springs hotels.

The wind was getting so strong that doors were blowing open.

The rain is coming in

This afternoon we noticed the wind and rain got more intense.

Thanks to reader Sammy who shared a look at the savanna at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge — Kidani Village.

Another reader shared a look at the weather from about 10 minutes away from EPCOT.

Here’s another look at that same area.

By the morning of September 29th, we’re still seeing high winds and rain, with more rain expected throughout the day.

We also explored some of the rideshare and food delivery apps to see what they said. On the Uber homepage, there was a banner that said “storm may impact service.”

Uber Screenshot

At around 2:30PM today, there were some Uber options available.

Uber Screenshot

DoorDash had some food options however everything we saw was pickup only.

DoorDash Screenshot

If you are in Disney World during Hurricane Ian there are a few things you should know. Disney just added some hotel rules to keep everyone safe and that includes checking into your Disney World hotel by 3PM today. After 3PM, Disney asks that you remain inside your hotel.

There will be limited food options and no dining reservations will be required for the table service restaurants that are open.

Disney Springs Hotel

If you want to learn more about how Hurricane Ian is affecting Florida and Disney, check out these posts:

We’ll continue to keep you updated on the latest with Hurricane Ian in Florida, so stay tuned.

Hurricane Ian Is Approaching Florida — Here’s How to Prepare

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Did you have plans to visit Disney World this week? Let us know in the comments.

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One Reply to “What It’s Like to Be at Disney World During Hurricane Ian”

  1. Currently hunkered down in Animal Kingdom Lodge and not going anywhere until after the storm passes. Heavy rain, intermittent thunder and fast moving clouds currently. Should have been in Magic Kingdom today. As long as everyone is safe 🤞🏼