Guests planning on visiting Florida in the coming days should be aware that a major hurricane is heading towards the area.
Hurricane Ian is on a track to hit the west coast of Florida as a major hurricane as early as Wednesday. and if it tracks as expected, Hurricane Ian will likely impact operations at all theme parks here in Central Florida.
The entire State of Florida is in a State Of Emergency and all of Central Florida remains in the probable path of Hurricane Ian as the storm gains strength in the Gulf of Mexico.
Ian is currently forecast to hit Cuba as a major hurricane and then become an even stronger Category 4 with top winds of 140 miles over warm Gulf of Mexico waters before striking Florida along a stretch of coast including the Tampa Bay area, which puts Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in the major hurricane's path.
As of today, Monday, 26 Sept. 2022, all of Central Florida theme parks are now under at least a Tropical Storm Watch including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando, with Busch Gardens Tampa under a Hurricane Watch.
At this moment, none of the theme parks has announced any operational changes, but this is expected to change in the coming hours.
Theme parks are closely watching the track of the hurricane, and are co-ordinating with authorities to ready any operational changes, or closure plans.
Walt Disney World has notified all guests at the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground asking them to “remove and stow all outside items” including Halloween decorations, tents, and camper awnings.
Orlando International Airport has not announced any operational changes at this time, but are making hurricane preparations and monitoring the situation.
