Lights remain on at Walt Disney World and damage appears minimal

Sep 11, 2017 in "Severe Weather impacts to Walt Disney World"

Gallery / 2 Photos
Magic Kingdom post Irma

Posted: Monday September 11, 2017 8:30am EDT by WDWMAGIC Staff

Hurricane Irma took a last minute shift east overnight, hitting Central Florida harder than expected, but it appears at least initially that Walt Disney World escaped without major damage.

Reports from around the resorts suggest that power is still on, and damage appears to be limited to landscape damage, fallen branches, tipped over trash cans and the relatively minor damage.

Magic Kingdom post-Irma viewed from the Contemporary. Photo by @andysol

See more photos from the area.

The full extent of the damage won't be known until the post-storm teams evaluate the situation. Previously, Animal Kingdom's landscape was hit particularly hard.

Irma has now been degraded to a tropical storm, and is still pushing 35mph winds into the area. The clean-up effort should be possible later this morning.

As of now, all Disney World theme parks are closed, but are expected to reopen to guests on Tuesday September 12 2017.

Orlando International Airport operations are expected to resume in a limited capacity on Tuesday.

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andysolSep 11, 2018

1 Year anniversary. Still the best Disney trip I've ever had and loads of fun sharing it on here too!

wdwjmp239Oct 08, 2017

Even though we had IRMA tear through Florida a few weeks ago, we're open and ready for business! Come on down and bring your Disney face! Have fun! :)

Chef MickeyOct 07, 2017

Monthly bill doesn't matter. Too many factors go into utilization. Simply look at the price per kwh. Florida power prices are on par with most southern states at around 11 cents and lower than national averages of around 12.5 cents. Sydney Australia is around 23 cents per kwh while Hawaii is around 37 cents per kwh, just for some perspective. But never let facts get in the way of a good story. Carry on.

JoeCamelOct 07, 2017

While I can see 3600 ft with kids generating a bill of $400 I have a very leaky house/windows and an old heat pump system and my average here on the west coast (FL) is $100. My utility says my consumption is about average for Florida.

Bullseye1967Oct 07, 2017

I don't find that to be an exaggeration. I have no clue where you would get a figure like $125. For the years i lived in Kissimee and paid KUA (Kissimmee Utility Authority), we averaged around $400 a month and kept our thermostat at around 74. Yes we had kids and our house was about 3600 sq ft, but I can't see a studio apartment paying $125.

rocketraccoonOct 07, 2017

With the original facade it reminds me of something you'd see at Universal Studios more than anything. Maybe they decided that it might not've looked great to have just the building and bit of track. Maybe it would've been slightly annoying to get rid of and re-do the area when they resigned it so they just printed some new banners. It's a nice escape from the rain at least.

Chef MickeyOct 06, 2017

I guess I'll say it...why is/was that even there to begin with? The "reimagined" photo above looks so much cleaner anyway. This is like the hat in front of the Chinese Theater.

WDWtravelerSep 28, 2017

Photo update as of Thursday, September 28. Debris removal via barge at Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom. The trees used to be thick enough you couldn't see the windmill on the hill.

psherman42Sep 27, 2017

I was actually there Saturday night and it was running.

Tom P.Sep 25, 2017

We were at Disney Springs on Thursday evening and it was still closed. I haven't seen any update on it since then.

Gabe1Sep 25, 2017

Thanks for updated photos Being at WDW before and after Irma I was impressed with how the resorts and parks held up. I never worried during lockdown at Wilderness Lodge. 24 hours post Irma the parks looked overall fantastic and most areas were free from any obvious damage. My town looked worse after a low level tornado and still does 7 weeks after. I slept through the worst of Irma. I expected at least noise to the glass doors to balcony. Nope. Overwhelmingly the parks held up incredibly well.

Clamman73Sep 25, 2017

I did some retro-imagineering to your pic.

RiderSep 24, 2017

Animal Kingdom update. Still some big trees down and some stumps that will need to be removed. Big tree near the entrance destroyed the fence around the swan pond. A temp fence has been installed. The lemurs lost one of their trees. I think this is hurricane damage: The door near the tiger habitat has been repaired/replaced. A huge tree fell over the river near the new Pandora/Africa walkway. This one might be around for a while until they figure out how to remove it. Other items spotted but no pictures: A few trees fell around Pizzafari but only stumps remain now. One looks like it tore up some utility line and there is a barrier setup to keep guests away. Also the African Crown Crane habitat in the Safari queue had a tree fall on part of the fence. The birds are MIA until that gets fixed.