Disney World and Universal Orlando Closing Ahead of Tropical Storm Nicole
Tropical Storm Nicole forced Walt Disney World and the Universal Orlando Resort to close their parks early Wednesday. The parks are planning for delayed openings on Thursday if they open at all. Other attractions in Central Florida have made changes to their schedules as well.
Disney's Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom parks will have "phased" closings on Wednesday, starting at 9 p.m. They will remain closed through the morning of Thursday, Nov. 10. Resort guests were encouraged to get food and drinks at the park before heading back to their hotels. Disney is not expecting any of the parks to open at their regularly scheduled time Thursday morning.
With new computer model data in, I wanted to share how the NEW model data looks with the OLD cone.
— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) November 9, 2022
New cone coming out shortly;
I'll post it for you... pic.twitter.com/MZuv0ovREh
Animal Kingdom will be the first park to close at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Hollywood Studios will close next, at 6 p.m. EPCOT and Magic Kingdom will both close at 7 p.m. The extended evening park hours at Magic Kingdom were canceled.
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon park will be closed on Thursday. Winter Summerland Miniature Golf and Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf will close early Wednesday at 7 p.m. and will be closed all day Thursday. The hotels will remain open, although guests at Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and the Treehouse Villas at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort will be required to leave Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser voyage scheduled to start on Thursday was canceled, and guests will be contacted about their reservations.
Over at Universal, Volcano Bay has closed, while the rest of the resort, including CityWalk, will close at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Hotels will remain operational for guests. Universal officials are expecting a "phased and delayed reopening" on Thursday morning.
The Universal and Disney resorts aren't the only attractions feeling the impact of the upcoming storm. SeaWorld Orlando is closing at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and will be closed all day Thursday. Aquatica Orlando closed earlier on Wednesday and will stay closed Thursday. Both parks are expected to reopen on Friday. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will also be closed on Thursday. The Kennedy Space Center Complex will remain closed on Thursday and will offer refunds for those who have tickets.
Tropical Storm Nicole is expected to reach hurricane strength later today. As of 1 p.m. ET, it was about 175 miles east of West Palm Beach, with winds at 70 mph and moving west at 12 mph, reports WESH. There are tropical storm warnings covering most inland Florida counties and hurricane warnings along the coast. Flagler County is under a hurricane watch. Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties are under tropical storm warnings.