How is Hurricane Dorian Impacting Disney World?

Published on 8/31/19 by Craig Smith

The hurricane season is upon us and we have our first real threat to central Florida working its way west. Dorion is likely to bring some pretty nasty weather to the Disney World area over the next few days. This will likely result in a number of warnings and some closures. This post will serve as a live blog of what I am hearing about Dorion’s impact throughout the holiday weekend. Be sure to check back regularly for the latest.

8/31/19 at 5am EST Update:

Dorion’s path has moved a decent bit east. Central Florida is still well within the cone of impact, but it is looking more and more likely that the eye of the storm will not pass over the Orlando area (or any of Florida) and travel more northward instead. Of course, this could change pretty quickly, so stay tuned…

What is closed at Disney World:

Currently not much. Disney says they are monitoring the weather, but have not made any big moves.

Closed: Blizzard Beach on Sunday (would you really want to go to a water park in a hurricane anyways?)
Canceled: Sporting events on property
Warnings: Fort Wilderness, Copper Creek Cabins, Treehouse Villas and the Bungalows at the Polynesian

It is also worth noting that Orlando International Airport has canceled commercial flights beginning on Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 2am ET. They have not announced when the airport will open back up to flight. A great place to keep up to date on the Orlando International Airport closure is their Twitter feed here.

This may change as the weekend progresses. Be sure to check back to see updates….

Current path of Dorion as of 5am (source):

hurricane dorion disney world impact

8/31/19 at 8am EST Update:

Dorion’s path hasn’t changed much from the 5am update.

Current path of Dorion as of 8am (source):

hurricane dorion disney world impact

8/31/19 at 11am EST Update:

Dorion’s path has moved even further to the east, now putting Orlando right on the edge of the cone. The forecast keeps getting more and more favorable for central Florida as the hours pass. Of course, this can change quickly…

Current path of Dorion as of 11am (source):

hurricane dorion disney world impact

8/31/19 at 8pm EST Update:

Dorion’s path has moved even further to the east, and at this point, it looks like central Florida dodged a big one.

Current path of Dorion as of 8pm (source):

hurricane dorion disney world impact

9/2/19 at 5pm EST Update:

So as you can see from the latest storm path projection, Dorian continues to look like it will hug the eastern coast of Floridan and then head northeast. It appears Disney is erring on the side of caution with this one as they just announced a number of important park and resort updates. You can read the full announcement here, but below are the highlights:

Disney World Closures and Modified Park Hours for Tuesday, September 3:

Park Hours Changes:

Magic Kingdom: 7-8am (Extra Magic Hours) and then 8am-3pm
Epcot: 7am-3pm
Hollywood Studios: 6-9am (Extra Magic Hours) and then 9am-2pm
Animal Kingdom: 7-8am (Extra Magic Hours) and then 8am-2pm; Disney After Hours is canceled
Disney Springs: 10am-3pm
Typhoon Lagoon: 10am-3pm

Closures:

ESPN Wide World of Sports: Closed all day
Blizzard Beach: Closed all day
Fort Wilderness: Closes at 3pm and will not reopen until the storm is over
Copper Creek Cabins, Treehouse Villas and the Bungalows at the Polynesian: Guests are being relocated

Current path of Dorion as of 5pm (source):

hurricane dorian disney world closures

9/3/19 Update:

Disney has added back a bit of park time in their most recent round of storm-related updates. Rather than closing at 3pm today (Tuesday), Epcot and Disney Springs will now close at 7pm and 8pm, respectively. Additionally, Disney announced that they will be resuming park operations on Wednesday with the exception of Blizzard Beach, which will remained closed. Here are the updated park hours:

Updated Disney World Closures and Modified Park Hours for Tuesday, September 3:

Park Hours Changes:

Magic Kingdom: 7-8am (Extra Magic Hours) and then 8am-3pm
Epcot: 7am-7pm
Hollywood Studios: 6-9am (Extra Magic Hours) and then 9am-2pm
Animal Kingdom: 7-8am (Extra Magic Hours) and then 8am-2pm; Disney After Hours is canceled
Disney Springs: 10am-8pm
Typhoon Lagoon: 10am-3pm

Closures:

ESPN Wide World of Sports: Closed all day
Blizzard Beach: Closed all day Tuesday and Wednesday
Fort Wilderness: Closes at 3pm and will not reopen until the storm is over
Copper Creek Cabins, Treehouse Villas and the Bungalows at the Polynesian: Guests are being relocated