Disney World is the happiest place on earth, but the happiness for folks was deflated as Disney decided to close their gates due to Hurricane Matthew. The monster storm has been hammering the Caribbean, and was anticipated to cause wide spread damage on the east coast of Florida.
This is only the fourth time since opening day that Disney has closed its doors–three times in anticipation of hurricanes. The first was on Sept. 15, 1999 for Hurricane Floyd. The next closure followed in September of 2004 for two days for Hurricane Frances. Right on the heels of Frances, Disney closed their doors again on September 26, 2004 for Hurricane Jeanne. And while not due to a hurricane, the park was evacuated on 9/11.
For Hurricane Matthew, Disney has already evacuated their Fort Wilderness campground, the bungalows on their Polynesian Village property and the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs Resort. These guests have been moved to alternate accommodations by Disney as a safety measure.
Their Orlando properties are not the only ones that Disney is closing. Disney’s Vero Beach Resort and their Hilton Head Island Resort in South Carolina have also been closed due to Hurricane Matthew with the Vero Beach property being evacuated as of 11am this morning.
It’s incredibly rare for the parks to close their doors to guests.
Luckily the storm at the last minute shifted towards the east, and the catastrophic damage predicted did not happen, but it is good of Disney to take these precautions. Hopefully the mouse will be back at it tomorrow.
Hurricane Matthew is still churning in the Atlantic, so please keep everyone on the coast in your prayers.