Ian Nearly Category 5 Hurricane As It Nears Florida
More than 2.5 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders, but by law no one could be forced to flee.
LEARN MOREDisney World Is Closing Its Gates Due To Hurricane Ian
As Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, Disney World and many other amusement parks are closing — forcing tourists to cancel their trips.
Disney World Is Closing Its Gates Due To Hurricane Ian
Janelle Cogan / AP
September 28, 2022
It's a rare occurrence for the Disney World gates to close, but Hurricane Ian forced them to shut down. Tourists are taking it in stride. "Wow, mom, we're not going to Disney tomorrow," said Emily Bohinski, who's visiting from Pennsylvania. Trips to Disney World aren't cheap, any many people spent a lot of time planning and spent a lot of money. Bob Berry is visiting from Chattanooga, Tennessee. This trip was a year and half in the making to celebrate his twin daughters seventh birthday. "I'm a little disappointed, but I understand. I mean, you have to do what's right for people. So, yeah it was that we're missing day nine of a nine-day trip," said Berry.
NEWSY'S TAMMY ESTWICK: Will you come back?
BOB BERRY: Oh, definitely. Definitely. We have a Disney problem. We will be back either on the cruise or to the parks or somewhere.
But many tourists like 13-year-old Bohinski say they also understand that the staff needs to be safe and they need to be safe. "It's kind of a good idea to get people safe, but I feel bad for the workers, the cast members, for all of those people," said Bohinski. Right now the plan is to keep the parks closed on Wednesday and Thursday, and it's not just Disney that's shut down. Universal Orlando Resort, LEGO Land and Seaworld all closed and they say they’re watching the storm closely. Many hotels in the area are at capacity as many Florida residents evacuated to Orlando to get away from the brunt of the hurricane. Hurricane Ian is forecast to bring tropical storm and even hurricane conditions to Orlando through Thursday.
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