We’ve been following Hurricane Dorian since it was still a wee Tropical Storm, but since then, things have taken a turn for the worst. In our latest Dorian update, forecasters warned of an imminent central Florida impact as Hurricane Dorian intensified to a Category 2 hurricane. Latest updates indicate that while the hurricane is traveling slowly, it will intensify to a Category 3 hurricane before finally increasing to a Category 4 just before landfall.
Latest updates from the National Hurricane Center indicate the following key messages:
As far as it pertains to Orlando and Walt Disney World, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the storm’s current path has it making landfall north of West Palm Beach on Tuesday morning as a dangerously strong Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and gusts up to 160 mph.
The storm would then move inland and slowly make its way toward Central Florida. It’s projected to move right over downtown Orlando by Wednesday morning as a Category 1 storm with winds of 75 mph and gusts up to 90 mph.
Over at Walt Disney World, preparations are already underway at various parks:
Magic Kingdom
Hurricane preparations are happening around the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. A crew is currently working to secure the construction site fencing outside the park. pic.twitter.com/EEvaA0121H
— WDW News Today (@WDWNT) August 30, 2019
At the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, a crew was working to secure the construction site fencing outside the park as Walk Around The World bricks are still being removed as part of the entrance enhancements.
Over by Storybook Circus, all of the circus banners have been tied up with zip ties.
At TRON Lightcycle Run, the light-up show element that was recently installed was also removed. It could definitely fly off in 140+ mph winds, that’s for sure.
At the Liberty Square Market, the seating area currently under construction had its scrim removed from the fence to allow for better air flow.
Epcot
Cast Members at Epcot are moving large umbrellas from a nearby walkway into The Odyssey in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian. pic.twitter.com/foQULppKJf
— WDW News Today (@WDWNT) August 30, 2019
At Epcot, we saw workers schlepping umbrellas into The Odyssey pavilion for storage ahead of the storm.
Over at the China Pavilion, banners have been taken down throughout.
You can check for any further updates for Hurricane Dorian from the National Hurricane Center here, and read up on Walt Disney World’s hurricane policy here.
While Walt Disney World’s Hurricane Policy states that a Hurricane Watch or Warning must be issued for cancellation or change fees to be waived, it appears that Disney Vacation Club is already extending that courtesy to guests with upcoming reservations this weekend, and some of our readers have reported getting it waived for regular Walt Disney World resort reservations and vacation packages. Just be prepared for long hold times when you call in. Wait times as long as two hours or more have been reported, so do be patient.
Please be safe out there, readers! We’ll be posting updates as further announcements are released by official weather centers and government agencies.
Thats funny, Hurricane Michael was bigger than Andrew and that was just last year.
Called this morning, hold time was 1 hour, 11 min before I was able to get through.
Be safe Jessica.
Stay safe everyone. I’m glad to see that Disney is taking the storm seriously.