Hurricane Dorian Disney World Closures & Impacts: Should You Reschedule or Cancel?
Hurricane Dorian has caused closures and cancellations around Walt Disney World. We’ll update you on the storm’s impact on WDW operations, what you can do if you’re scheduled to travel to Florida in the near future to help you decide whether to reschedule your trip, cancel entirely, or ride out the storm at a hotel. (Updated September 2, 2019 at 12:15 pm.)
We have been tracking Hurricane Dorian with updates in our Tips for Storm Season at Walt Disney World post, but that’s generalized tips about the Hurricane Policy and historical info about closures. Since most storms this time of year are not Category 5 hurricanes, most of the advice in those tips pertains to making the most of your vacation time on rainy days or when the weather is inclement during storm season.
Hurricane Dorian is obviously different, and should be taken more seriously. Now that it’s becoming apparent that Hurricane Dorian is likely to impact operations at Walt Disney World to some degree, we want to share some of the closures and cancellations that have already been announced, and what else is likely to happen before the impacts of Hurricane Dorian are felt in Central Florida…
For starters, the National Hurricane Center updates its Hurricane Dorian Advisory every few hours, at which point it shifts the ‘cone of uncertainty’ representing the range of possibilities for the storm’s center that extends up to five days into the future. The cone of uncertainty predicts the hurricane’s path, but even outside of the cone, ferocious winds, storm surge, heavy rains, and other intense weather can be felt.
On Sunday, Hurricane Dorian grew to the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall (in modern history), with 185 mph sustained winds and 220 mph gusts. Overnight, it continued battering the Bahamas, leaving one dead, several injured or missing, and huge damage to property and infrastructure.
In its 11 a.m. update, the National Hurricane Center indicated that Hurricane Dorian’s sustained winds are now being recorded at 155 mph with guests up to 190 mph, dropping it a Category 4 hurricane. The storm continues to inch over Grand Bahama Island, about 110 miles east of West Palm Beach.
Hurricane Dorian has slowed to a glacial speed of only 1 mph, delaying projections of when it’ll finally reach Florida. Nevertheless, the National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane warning for parts of Florida from Deerfield Beach up to Sebastian Inlet and a hurricane watch from Deerfield Beach south to Golden Beach.
Central Florida, including Lake, Seminole, Osceola, and Orange counties now have tropical storm watches issued, with tropical storm force winds arriving late on Monday. These areas also remain in the cone of uncertainty, with Hurricane Dorian likely having the biggest impact on these areas throughout Tuesday.
Currently, the official forecast and latest models for Hurricane Dorian from the NHC are pointing towards an offshore Florida track. However, overnight the 3-day cone of uncertainty shifted west, and now more inland areas including all of metro Orlando including Walt Disney World are still within the cone.
The 5-day projection includes more of Florida, but the consensus now has Hurricane Dorian headed for landfall near the border between South Carolina and Georgia. The forecast calls for the storm to slow down after today and make the shift from west to northwest and eventually turn to the northeast. The current track keeps the storm within striking distance of Florida’s east coast, projected to be a Category 4 hurricane with sustained 140 mph winds and 165 mph gusts when it reaches Florida by late Monday.
Typically, hurricane-force winds extend out 30 miles from the storm’s center with tropical storm-force winds extending out 105 miles. If Hurricane Dorian slowly moves up Florida’s coast as a Category 4 storm, it’s still going to significantly impact Walt Disney World for several days–and that’s the best case scenario. Landfall in Florida remains a distinct possibility.
The Walt Disney World area is projected to feel tropical storm force winds beginning on Sunday night. Even if the hurricane stays off Florida’s coast, heavy rains remain likely, with 6 to 12 inches of rain as a result of Hurricane Dorian likely in Central Florida, and up to 18 inches in some parts of the state. This level of rain could trigger life-threatening flash floods, per the National Hurricane Center.
While Walt Disney World issued some closures and warnings over the weekend (see above), the current ‘Weather Updates & Information: Important Information on Hurricane Dorian’ statement on DisneyWorld.com now simply says the following:
“Walt Disney World Resort is operating under normal conditions. We are closely monitoring the path of the projected weather, as nothing is more important than the safety of our Guests and Cast Members.“
Although not mentioned there, Walt Disney World is quietly allowing changes and cancellations with no penalties for guests arriving between now and September 5, 2019. This includes Disney Vacation Club Members or those booked using DVC points. Disney Vacation Club has also closed Vero Beach and Hilton Head Resorts for a yet-undetermined amount of time.
Walt Disney World resort hotels have also lifted the pet restriction policy for arrivals between now and September 3, 2019. This is done because Disney’s resorts are a popular relocation option for coastal Floridians who must evacuate from their homes. (During Hurricane Irma, we met several families from the coast who brought their pets–seeing all of the pups was easily the biggest silver lining of being stranded here.)
Disney Cruise Line announced modifications to two itineraries between now and September 6, 2019 due to Port Canaveral being ordered closed by the U.S. Coast Guard in advance of Hurricane Dorian. The Coast Guard set what’s known as “Hurricane Condition Zulu” at the port, effective at 8 a.m. on September 2, 2019.
Disney Dream’s current sailing was scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on Wednesday, September 4, 2019. Now, with Port Canaveral closed, DCL has (again) extended this sailing and the Disney Dream will return to Port Canaveral one day later, on Thursday, September 5, 2019.
Another sailing on the Disney Dream has been cancelled entirely due to this latest extension. Guests are eligible for a full refund of their voyage fare. Additionally, Disney Cruise Line is providing guests with a 20% discount on a future cruise.
Finally, some DCL Crew remained on Castaway Cay. As forecasted, sustained winds on the island did not extend beyond tropical force strength and DCL Crew has returned to their living quarters after spending a few hours in our storm shelter yesterday.
Elsewhere around Central Florida, Orlando International Airport announced that it will *not* close, reversing its previous announcement that it would cease operations on at 2 a.m. on Monday, September 2, 2019. (Orlando Melbourne International Airport will be closing Monday, but that’s not a popular airport for Walt Disney World guests.)
Per Orlando International Airport’s official @MCO Twitter account, key airport, airline, and federal agency representatives will continue monitoring the weather and determine whether any future closures may be necessary. The airport has advised travelers to check with their airline regarding flight information and schedules.
Currently, none of the Central Florida area theme parks have announced any closings. If past precedent is any indication, Walt Disney World, Universal, etc., will all wait for a Hurricane Warning to be issued, and issue closures if or when that occurs. The only major Florida attraction closure at this point is Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex, located on the coast, which will be closed Sunday and Monday.
Should You Cancel or Reschedule Your Walt Disney World Trip Due to Hurricane Dorian?
That’s a personal question and the answer largely depends upon your arrival and departure dates, expectations, and myriad other factors that are unique to your specific trip. Rather than being presumptuous and making broad and sweeping statements, we’ll offer thoughts from our experience being stranded at Walt Disney World two years ago during Hurricane Irma. From that, you can reach your own conclusions.
That hurricane caused Walt Disney World to be closed for two full days and resulted in some damage around the resort. We got stuck in Walt Disney World after our Disney Cruise Line Bahamas sailing was canceled. The cancellation of this itinerary occurred relatively last minute, and rather than being proactive and cancelling the trip ourselves, we took a wait and see approach.
That was a mistake, and one we immediately regretted. By that point, we were unable to rebook our flight due to the mass exodus of people trying to leave Florida. We spent countless hours on the phone with Delta, and checked constantly as flights were added and modified, but kept coming up empty.
If you’re on the fence about whether to cancel or reschedule a Walt Disney World vacation right now, we’d strongly encourage you to read our more detailed Our Hurricane Irma Experience at Walt Disney World, which covers what we did to prepare for the storm, how Walt Disney World’s “ride out” Cast Members handled operations, and much more.
One thing we will here (which is also in that post) is that, contrary to popular reassurances, Walt Disney World is not the safest place to be during a hurricane. Wherever you live–where the hurricane isn’t–is safer. While the latest National Hurricane Center update is positive news for those visiting Walt Disney World, it’s also not definitive or set in stone.
Despite losing around 3 days of park time (and that’s not counting the hours spent wandering around Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios essentially doing nothing while on hold with Delta), our experience with Hurricane Irma turned out fine. Cast Members were great, we felt safe throughout our stay, and Disney went above and beyond to make the most of the situation via entertainment and activities.
The hurricane itself didn’t cause much damage beyond some downed trees, which meant everything was back up and running quickly. Things could’ve gone worse; the parks could’ve been closed longer or attractions could’ve gone down, etc. Moreover, MCO could’ve stayed closed longer, and we could’ve had more difficulty booking a return flight home.
The point is that our experience with Hurricane Irma represents what’s more or less a best case outcome given the circumstances. With Hurricane Dorian, the best case outcome is the path continuing to shift east, and the biggest effect on trips being several days of torrential rains and heavy winds at Walt Disney World, but no theme park closures.
Things could’ve just as easily been far worse for us, and could still be worse for Hurricane Dorian. Unfortunately, that’s something truly unknowable in advance. Walt Disney World is located in Central Florida and is less likely to see the same levels of devastation as coastal areas, but that doesn’t rule out catastrophic damage.
It seems that whenever there’s a hurricane forecast to impact Walt Disney World, it’s met with a lot of positive wishful thinking and people touting the best case scenario outcomes. This is probably a mix of reassurances to those who are freaked out, and naivety about the potential dangers of hurricanes. We’re not here to fear-monger, but we’re also not here to offer rosy platitudes about the magic of Disney or safety. Whether to cancel or reschedule is obviously your call, but traveling to Florida when a hurricane is forecast is a decision you should not make lightly.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Are you currently at Walt Disney World or Central Florida? Have you visited during past hurricanes? Any additional info, thoughts, or first-hand experiences to share about riding out a hurricane at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We drove down from Atlanta on Thursday and our original plan was to go to HS tomorrow for GE to take advantage of the extra-morning hours for resort guests. We were going to cancel all together (even called and confirmed we could) but decided not to and just thought we would come back tomorrow instead of Monday (original plan). We have a full tank of gas that will get us all they way back to Atlanta. I have been not stop checking the reports/ models and felt we could get the whole trip in safely and leave Monday morning. Obviously if there is a swift left turn we are out! But am I underestimating driving out of here on Monday even if Dorian is so far away?
Safely back in Georgia without issue. Weather seemed typical the entire time. I stayed glued to https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at5+shtml/154449.shtml?gm_track#contents and monitored the earliest likely and earliest reasonable tropical storm force winds map to make sure we had time to safely get out.
Stay safe everybody. We glad our vacation and my birthday went unhindered but my heart goes out to all of those affected.
Just to let you know, we had to reschedule due to Irma and shortly before our trip “extra” fastpasses good for any if the 3 orginal rides we had fastpasses for magically appeared! It was awesome because they could be used anytime. My son and I rode FOP about 6 times. A little magic dust maybe coming your way…
that would be nice. we reschedule from 9/1 to 9/7 and i lost our fps for slinky, FoP and 7dmt, would be nice if this happened to us!!
We actually drove down from NC 2 days after Irma on 9/12/17. What is normally a 9 hour drive became a 16 hour drive. We thought the park crowds were great once we finally got there. (TouringPlans.com documents crowd levels were 1 out of 10, 1 out of 10, and 2 out of 10 for 9/13, 9/14, and 9/15.) Our problem was we were heading to FL at the same time all the residents that had evacuated were heading back home. I-95 was like a parking lot.
We were going to fly into Orlando today and out tomorrow (driving around Fla. in the interim) to introduce our infant to his great grandparents. On Wednesday we changed our dates to 9/14-9/15; we weren’t going to risk it with a baby. The silver lining is that with the changes to our flight times, we can add a lunch in Disney Springs on Sunday.
We had booked a bounce-back free-dining offer for Sept 2-9. We got idea to do a split stay add a couple days, changed my flights and was planning to get there early ahead of storm. Then As Dorian got much stronger and tracks didn’t look favorable for Florida coast I called and changed everything again. Just couldn’t logically feel right about heading into it and with all the uncertainty of this hurricane. Disney was great! They helped cancel my 2 day and adjusted my trip to 5th-12th. Also able to keep existing ADRs and fp and rescheduled others. Only added about $90 on since we had to get a room upgrade from standard. Fly in Thurs 5th at 4pm hope MCO will be reopen by then. Hope this turns out to sea and everyone is safe. Positive thoughts!!
We were supposed to fly in 2 days early leaving today rather than our original Sunday depart. But as reports began saying a stronger storm entering, i just couldn’t go into a hurricane! Our Disney planner changed all our plans and reservations to a Christmas stay instead. We lost our free dining package but i still feel much better in the end. My kids were pretty bummed but understood our safety. Now to get all our priceless hard to get dinner reservations back!
I’m not due to visit Disneyworld untill Sept.13. Although Dorian will be long gone by then, I’m hoping that the parks as well as the water parks like Typhoon Lagoon will be fully operational by then.
My thoughts & prayers go out to all of those down south who have this hurricane headed their way. I pray for minmal damages and no lives lost. Stay safe & best wishes.
We were supposed to be cruising on the Dream this weekend and then going to MNSSHP on Monday. I rescheduled our trip for late Oct. While it was fabulous for many that theybethany turned our cruise into a five day (at least), I didn’t want to risk getting stuck even longer because we have elementary age kids who would have to miss extra days of school for the trip extension. I also don’t feel great about adding to the potential chaos that Fl. residents could be facing and having to use potentially scarce resources.
I am coming 9/9… I called this am they are only dealing with reservations through the fifth but they said they will work with people if things are bad.
In 2016 we rescheduled due to hurricane Mathew when we got there you could not even walk it was so crowded. So be careful for when you reschedule !
ugh… but t here’s like no way of knowing ahead of time if it’s going to be any more crowded. we were limited in when we could reschedule so just did next week. i hope dorian scares people off enough to push their schedules out further…
We had a trip scheduled the week after Irma. It was crazy busy for that time of year. We never figured out why but just assume it was from people that had rescheduled or stayed over from the week before. We had never seen Disney anywhere near that busy in September and have been several times.
oh great, i hope that doesn’t hold true this time… supposed to be there starting today and we pushed it back a week. i was hoping most people would either just cancel or reschedule for further out…
We actually drove down from NC 2 days after Irma on 9/12/17. What is normally a 9 hour drive became a 16 hour drive. We thought the park crowds were great once we finally got there. (TouringPlans.com documents crowd levels were 1 out of 10, 1 out of 10, and 2 out of 10 for 9/13, 9/14, and 9/15.) Our problem was we were heading to FL at the same time all the residents that had evacuated were heading back home. I-95 was like a parking lot.
We were there for Irma, we actually arrived 3 days ahead of it knowing it was coming. We live in Oregon and are used to massive storms and our way of thinking was all the “rats would leave the ship” andit was accurate. The 3 days before and the 2 days after we pretty much had the parks to ourselves! We did more in those 5 days then we have ever done on a trip there (yearly wdw trippers) it was definitely one of our best trips there ever!!
‘All the rats would leave the ship’?? How thoughtless. Thinking of all the search and rescue crews on standby and putting their lives at risk in the event that a storm turns catastrophic, shame on you
I can’t believe the amount of people who look at these horrible, destructive storms and think “Oh goody, I won’t have to wait in lines at a theme park,”.
We due from UK on the 10th Sept so hoping all would have calmed down by then and fingers crossed everyone is safe over in florida we lucky in UK
We had plans for September 1-7 and were able to cancel without penalty (deposit was refunded). All lines were busy last night and finally we tried the Passholder number and were helped after 20 or so minutes on hold. As Tom mentioned this is a passive policy on Disney’s part. We personally were getting very uncomfortable with the prospects of even the best-case scenario, Hope this helps someone.
We were also there during hurricane Irma, and honestly, it was our family’s favorite trip. The staff was very accommodating, even letting us switch our last day of park tickets to Halloween party tickets (a huge monetary loss on their end). The resort brought in characters and camp counselors to keep the kids busy. We dropped some (non-refundable) serious cash for that trip and Disney made sure to make it “magical” despite the park closures and resort lock-in.
i had read about the activities they plan in those circumstances. our concern was, due to being at a resort with so many separate buildings instead of one with a huge lobby that we wouldn’t be able to safely leave the room to even walk there for anything.
We are currently here and older kids flying out tomorrow early afternoon back to NY–hopefully.
Husband and I staying till Saturday. We were here for Irma as well; we always said that if hurricane again we would choose to stay at a hotel with a large lobby and /or walk area.
So we r considering giving our current room to Florida kids and moving to Boardwalk or WL
My husband and I are heading there September 5-9. I’m being positive. Never been in this situation. Thoughts? No kids this time to WDW.
Looks like the storm will have passed by the 5th.
Looks like the storm will have passed by the 5th so you should be fine. This is the reason I switched my annual trips from September to February.
There is a good side to being locked down during a hurricane. We were in Disney in August 2004. My daughter got engaged while we were shut-in at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Only lost two days. It was a trip we will always remember.
we were originally scheduled to arrive today through 9/8. when things got started and they said dorian would fizzle before landfall we were fine, then it started defying all the odds by the day. when they started cat 1 and even cat 2 talk, my family was still ok with going (i started getting leery) thinking we could handle a day of heavy rain. then cat 3 talk started, and comparisons to hurricane andrew popped up more and more and we started to get concerned about park closures and losing out on time/money as well as safety concerns. then it was cat 4 and we started getting calls and texts from family telling us they were really concerned about us going. that combined with stores and gas stations already being empty and being worried about being potentially stuck in our AoA room unable to walk to the main building due to wind/rain convinced us to reschedule just yesterday morning for a week later, new arrival 9/7. my TA, bless her, spent hours on hold yesterday just for us.
we got extremely lucky that we didn’t lose our free dining and were able to get the same room rate (free dining may have been a new promo but since there were no fees nothing changed pricewise) and we were able to transfer halloween party tickets and surprisingly we were able to snag almost every dining and FP we had previously (though RIP slinky and FoP, knew we wouldn’t get those back). vthough i had to get creative on some times and such, but we now don’t have as many super early morning reservations which might wind up being better in the long-run.
now we just need NO MORE STORM SYSTEMS to materialize between now and then!!! there is no way i could survive having to change things again!! if that were to happen and dorian winds up not making landfall…
We were booked on a cruise leaving Mon Sept 2. We did not get the option to completely cancel our trip. Your post says that’s an option.
Per DCL’s notice, you do have the option to cancel that itinerary: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/advisory/?4
The way your post reads it makes it sound like you can cancel your cruise entirely and get money back. You can only reschedule. They would not allow us to completely cancel.
Ah, thanks for the clarification–I’ll update the post to reflect that!
We just left Hollywood Studios and waited about 5 min for Galaxy Edge using single rider entrance. If you live here and can get to Hollywood studios it’s a beautiful day and no line at star tours or toy story!
We’re scheduled to fly down 9/7 and arrive at WDW 9/8. Do these dates seem “safe” as far as being affected by Dorian or is it still too soon to tell?
From a weather perspective, you’re looking at the after-effects of Hurricane Dorian by that point.
I think it’s still a good idea to take a “wait and see” approach and closely monitor the storm, but I personally wouldn’t be too worried with those travel dates–at least at this point.
In your opinion, do youthink crowds will be heavier the week of 9/8 due to this whole thing?
we just switched to arrival on the 7th, as we were due to arrive today. we are certainly assuming these dates will be safe (we just don’t want a new storm to form and travel in the interim). but the effects of dorian should be more or less out of orlando by then, especailly if the latest models come to pass. if it’s still lingering by Saturday then the state has a Harvey situation on it’s hands.
For areas of Central Florida like Orlando, the worst part of the storm is not the rain and wind, it is the aftermath. Often for days sometimes weeks power is out, stores are closed gasoline is gone, restaurants are closed and all groceries are gone! Hopefully this will not be the case at all for Walt Disney World but you never know.
We had a trip scheduled the week after Irma. It was crazy busy for that time of year. We never figured out why but just assume it was from people that had rescheduled or stayed over from the week before. We had never seen Disney anywhere near that busy in September and have been several times.
We are scheduled the same days and I’m on edge…
I have a Sept 4 thru 11 trip booked at AKL Kidani village with rented DVC points, and I cheaped out on vacation insurance, so it’s non-refundable and I’m unable to change the dates. After dropping nearly 2 grand on this trip, cancelling is not an option! The only question is when to head to Orlando. Thankfully it’s only a 6 hour drive, so we don’t have to worry about the nightmare of air travel on top of everything else. I’m more concerned with mandatory evacuations, highway closures, gas shortages, and unsafe driving conditions. Will be closely following the storm this weekend, and will hope for the best!
*nearly 2 grand on the resort. Much more than 2 grand was invested in the trip. Lol. If we can make it to Orlando safely and we miss out on less than 2 days of park time, I’ll call that a win.
That’s a really tough dilemma with so much money on the line. For your sake and that of everyone else coming down to Florida, I hope the storm continues drifting east and the worst that happens is rain and wind!
Because you’re arriving September 4, they may not help you but if you are concerned, I would call Disney and ask about cancellations. They are very good about giving your money back even though you do not have insurance.