Planning on Traveling To Walt Disney World During Hurricane Season? Since Disney World opened in 1971, the theme park has only closed 5 times due to hurricanes.
Disney World Closure History:
- 1999 for Hurricane Floyd
- September 11, 2011 parks were evacuated and closed remainder of day
- 2004 for Hurricane Frances
- 2004 for Hurricane Jeanne
- 2016 for Hurricane Matthew
- 2017 for Hurricane Irma
So should you be concerned when you book travel dates during Hurricane season (June to November)? Not really. Disney actually has a Hurricane Policy in place to deal with these acts of nature.
If a hurricane warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for either Orlando or your hometown, you may call in advance to reschedule or cancel your Walt Disney Travel Company Magic Your Way vacation package and most room only reservations (booked directly with Disney) without any cancellation or change fees imposed by Disney. Unfortunately, Disney World is not responsible for 3rd party expenses such as air fair, car rentals etc. and they will need to be contacted separately.
At least one named storm makes landfall in Florida each year. While we can all hope that it never makes landfall during our travel dates, it is important to be an informed traveler. You can read all about Disney’s Hurricane policy on their site.
If you do travel during a date when the parks are closed due to inclement weather, Disney World may impose a curfew for guests safety. In the past they have waived the cost of movie rentals in room and brought in characters for entertainment at hotel lobbies.
Learn more about planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Plus overwhelmed with all the planning? Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect trip.
Disney World was closed a third time which is not noted – last year(2016) on October 7th due to Hurricane Matthew. The park closed early on October 6th and was completely closed on October 7th. Service was based upon level of hotel booked. We were at BLT during both days. We received great services, character visits, game room for the kids, hot meals, etc. Other at the value resorts did not have such a good experience.
I’d much rather being in WDW during a hurricane than a lot of places in FL. In fact, when we had a Florida Keys trip hurricaned-out, we went to WDW instead!
I believe it was hurricane Jeanne in 2004. We were there for that and Disney was wonderful about it. They closed early on the 25th at 7 PM and were closed all day the 26th. Honestly, I’ve been through much worse storms in Illinois that this was. We stayed at the All Star Movies and they had everyone on lock down for the 26th. Disney movies played on the TV all day and once the worst was over, they had character meet n greets in the lobby. It was the least crowded trip we have had there. Disney gave us free park hopper tickets for our next trip to make up for it. They did a wonderful job warning everyone to make sure to stock up on food for their room as the gift shop and food court would be closed. And yes, there were many Florida residents and Disney employees staying at the resort that night because it was so safe.
we have gone to disney during hurricane season every year (september). ive never had any issues. the worst that happened is it rained. we love going this time of year as crowds are usually low and rates are cheap (lowest rack room rates and we get free dining). i have also read on my favorite disney message board that disney hotels are built to withstand hurricanes. it also stated that a lot of floridians book a room at disney because it is safer to stay there during a hurricane. cant wait for my upcoming trip.
just curious, the policy dosent say anything about if you are hit by a hurricane…. we are planning a trip last of November beginning December, do you know if they would work with someone who has been hit by a hurricane (we live in evacuation ally). should we have a storm and not be able to go they would give us the same options