Universal Orlando Resort announced today that it will close at 7pm on Saturday and remain closed Sunday and Monday due to the expected arrival of Hurricane Irma in Florida.
In addition, SeaWorld Orlando has announced that it will close at 5pm on Saturday and remain closed Sunday and Monday. Legoland Florida will be closed all day Saturday, as well as on Sunday and Monday. Busch Gardens Tampa had announced a 5pm Saturday close, but has changed to being closed all day Saturday, as the Irma forecast tracks west.
From yesterday's update, Walt Disney World has cancelled Saturday's Night of Joy and Sunday's Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Universal has cancelled Saturday night's Rock the Universe event. Disney also has announced that the Fort Wilderness Campground will close at 2pm Saturday and that guests are advised to either leave the area or transfer to another Disney resort.
Orlando International Airport will cease all flights at 5pm on Saturday, so you if have a flight scheduled to arrive in or department from Orlando at any time between then and Tuesday morning, you should contact your airline ASAP to ask about alternate arrangements.
Even though Disney's and Universal's theme parks and shopping districts will be closed for the hurricane, their hotels remain open (and already booked to capacity at Universal) so guests will be sheltering in place there. Cast and team members will remain on site to assist guests, though services might be limited.
Hurricane Irma has weakened to a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 150 miles per hour, just below the 157 mph threshold for Cat 5. But the storm's reach is expanding, meaning that hurricane-force winds now extend 70 miles from the storm's eye. Irma is expected to be Cat 4 when it hits Florida early Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center's forecast.
Are you in the Orlando area? Check in with us in the comments. We're all wishing the best for you.
More storm coverage on Theme Park Insider:
For what it's worth, I was there last year for Hurricane Matthew. We lucked out because it mostly missed Orlando. Disney was extremely accommodating
Actually just saw an interview with the manager of the Miami Zoo who says that evacuating animals can be much more dangerous to them and it's better to get them into special shelters and ride it out. Although he adds the irony that often animals can handle storms better than most humans can.
There's a pretty famous photo that has been making the Facebook rounds this week of a bunch of flamingos at the Miami MetroZoo during Andrew. The staff herded the birds into one of the restrooms :-)
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