ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, planned to reopen Friday after an assessment of the effects of Hurricane Milton.
Disney World said in a statement that its theme parks, Disney Springs and possibly other areas will be open. The parks said some special Halloween events won’t be offered and won’t necessarily operate fully Friday, but the public is welcome back.
If Milton came ashore like a big storm Wednesday, all three Parks in Orlando are closedwhich put a damper on the holidays of tens of thousands of tourists, many of whom holed up in hotels. SeaWorld is closed all Wednesday, Disney World and Universal are closed for the afternoon. All three were closed all day on Thursday.
Orlando International Airport, the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most heavily trafficked, suspended commercial operations Wednesday morning and had not yet announced a reopening time when officials assessed damage Thursday.
With the parks closed, mini golf was one of the few activities available to tourists confined to their hotel rooms and rental apartments during the storm. There was a line at Congo River Golf on International Drive, a major tourist strip.
Craig Greig of Glasgow, Scotland, would have been at the Magic Kingdom with his wife and 10-year-old if the theme parks had been open. Instead, he held a putter, ready to throw golf balls over a man-made lagoon full of baby alligators.
“We just wanted to stretch our legs and get out of the hotel,” he said. “Especially for the little ones.” Even though it was his first experience with a hurricane, he was unfazed and slept through the night as it roared through central Florida.
Disney World, Universal and other attractions make Orlando the most visited destination in the United States, with 74 million tourists last year alone.
And Halloween-related celebrations have made October one of the busiest and most lucrative times for the parks.
Hurricanes in the Orlando area are uncommon, but not unheard of. Three people crossed the area in 2004: Charley, Frances and Jeanne. Hurricane Irma passed just west of metro Orlando in 2017, and Hurricane Ian caused some flooding in 2022 as it plowed through as a downgraded tropical storm.
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AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed from Los Angeles.
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