Disney is hoping that good luck and a healthy helping of fairy dust protected the company’s Orlando theme parks from the thrashing Hurricane Irma delivered to Florida.
Damage assessments are underway at Walt Disney World, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And while the parks remained closed on Monday, there was some good news from the Magic Kingdom: Officials said the parks did experience high winds and rain, but that power remained on throughout the storm.
Hurricane Irma forced the shutdown of the Disney parks on Sunday. It was just the sixth shutdown in their 45-year history, but the second one in less than a year after Hurricane Matthew also forced the parks to close their gates last October. An initial notification about the closures indicated the parks would reopen Tuesday, though the company hedged that a bit Monday, saying it was working with local officials before making any further operational decisions.
Walt Disney World is the world’s most popular theme park. It employs 73,000 people in the Orlando area and was visited by 20 million people last year.