Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando will reopen Friday after Hurricane Milton forced an unusual closure of Florida theme parks.
Both companies had previously announced plans to phase out the closures starting Wednesday and continuing the closures Thursday. Their hotels continued to serve guests.
Now, both Disney and Universal say they expect their theme parks to reopen on Friday.
“We are grateful that Walt Disney World Resort weathered the storm and are now preparing to reopen our theme parks, Disney Springs, and potentially other locations on Friday, October 11th,” Disney said in a statement. We are currently assessing the impact on our facilities.” Go to that website. “Our hearts are with our fellow Floridians affected by this storm.”
Meanwhile, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said Universal could resume some operations on Thursday.
“The great news for theme parks is that CityWalk (Universal Orlando’s shopping and entertainment district) will open tomorrow and probably tonight as well,” Roberts said Thursday at the Bloomberg Screen Time conference.
“I think the media did a great job of warning people and it was taken pretty seriously,” he added. Comcast also had a significant number of cable TV customers affected by Hurricane Milton, and Roberts said the company has 1,000 people on the ground to respond to the aftermath.
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by Hurricane Milton and we are dedicated to helping our communities recover. We would also like to thank our team members for their hard work during this difficult time. We are also grateful for this,” Universal said in a statement on its website. “All theme parks, CityWalk and Halloween Horror Nights will return to normal operations on Friday, October 11th, and we look forward to welcoming guests back.”
Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s west coast Wednesday night, but its effects were felt across the state with strong winds, tornadoes, flooding, and widespread power outages. Disney World, in particular, rarely closes in its more than 50 years of operation, but hurricanes are the main reason for closures.
