Hurricane Helene is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida this evening.

As a result, both a tornado watch and tropical storm warning have been issued for the Disney World area. Typhoon Lagoon is closed today, along with Disney World’s miniature golf courses, while tonight’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been canceled. However, the parks are open as normal, so we’re checking out what they’re like ahead of the storm arriving in the area.
We started our morning by parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center. There, we noticed that the trashcans were wrapped. It was also rainy and a little windy.

By the time we made it into Magic Kingdom and onto Main Street, U.S.A., we noticed that the crowd levels for the day were pretty low.

We also saw some amazing wait times. In Tomorrowland, Space Mountain only had a 10-minute wait.

In Frontierland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad only had a wait of 5 minutes.

One thing that really surprised us, considering the rain, was that all the rides were open at this time. This means the weather isn’t bad enough to close outdoor rides.
Rain & wind from Hurricane Helene have entered the chat pic.twitter.com/GPpFFU8uCh
— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) September 26, 2024
We did, however, notice that some snack carts were closed. We also noticed that while it was raining (it’s been off and on today), the Guest Experience umbrellas were closed and wrapped, but they reopened once the rain stopped.

Things were also pretty quiet when we visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios. There, we also noticed that some canvas umbrellas were tied shut, but snack stands remained open, although it was windy when we visited.

Hurricane Helene is expecting to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida around 7PM this evening. Forecasters expect it to become a Cat 4 hurricane by that time, meaning it would have sustained wind speeds of at least 130 mph. This makes it a potentially very dangerous storm. Disney World will be monitoring the weather in Orlando and taking precautions as necessary.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more updates concerning the weather in Disney World, so check back with AllEars again soon for more.
Why and (When) Weather Closes Rides in Walt Disney World
Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!
Is Hurricane Helene changing your Disney World plans? Let us know in the comments!

It really was slow. I was able to knock out Big Thunder, Space, Mine Train, Tiana’s, and TRON all before noon! I was a soggy mess, but…WORTH IT!! 🙂