Central Florida and Walt Disney World Resort might have been spared from Hurricane Dorian, but it appears Disney Vacation Club’s sleepy outpost in South Carolina is now hunkering down for the storm and closing ahead of any potential damage or further landfall.
Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort is located on the picturesque coast of South Carolina, only 5 hours from Walt Disney World Resort. This elegant, relaxing home-away-from-home—fashioned after a 1940s hunting and fishing lodge—combines local charm and simple pleasures with outdoor fun for the entire family. The resort features multi-roomed villas and many recreational activities, including 12 miles of heavenly beaches.
The resort closed on Monday ahead of projected weather due to Hurricane Dorian, but with the storm currently affecting the area, it appears the resort remains closed for the time being.
Hurricane Dorian is currently skirting the South Carolina coast en route to North Carolina.
Hurricane Dorian started to move northward toward the U.S. Tuesday morning after stalling over the Bahamas and causing widespread devastation. Millions of people in Florida and the Southeast were anxiously watching the storm, a powerful and menacing threat sitting miles off the Florida coast.
Dorian was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph as of 8 a.m. EDT, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane slammed into the Bahamas as a Category 5 — as powerful as a hurricane can get.
It unleashed massive flooding, shredding roofs, hurling cars and forcing rescue crews to take shelter. By late Monday afternoon, the storm’s top sustained winds fell to 130 mph — down from 185 mph hours earlier — as it crept along on its path of destruction. Storm surges in some places raised water levels more than 20 feet above normal.
Dorian has caused Walt Disney World to adjust its park hours to increase the safety of its guests.
Walt Disney World Resort has issued a statement and is adjusting their operating hours beginning Tuesday, September 3.
Magic Kingdom Park: 8 AM – 3 PM (7 AM Opening for EMH)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9 AM – 2 PM (6 AM Opening for EMH)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 8 AM – 2 PM (7 AM Opening for EMH)
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will be closing on September 3 at 3 PM and will reopen when safe to do so.
Guests with current and upcoming reservations at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, Copper Creek Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and the Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort have been contacted so they can be relocated to other resorts on property and to help plan for anticipated weather impacts.
Special Events
Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom – Cancelled on Tuesday, September 3
Guests are able to exchange tickets for different options as listed here.
Dining & Other Experiences
On September 3, Theme park dining reservations will be honored up to one hour prior to park closing
On September 3, Resort dining reservations will be honored until 5:30 PM
Effective immediately, Disney will not be enforcing cancellation policies for dining and other experiences.
Pre-paid dining and other experiences outside of the modified operating hours for September 3 will be automatically cancelled and refunded.
The National Hurricane Center has issued their 5 PM update and Hurricane Dorian has become nearly stationary this afternoon. A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is expected to resume overnight and into early Tuesday. The hurricane will move “dangerously close to the Florida east coast late Tuesday through Wednesday evening.” This means that life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of the Florida east coast and Georgia and South Carolina. Dorian’s hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles and tropical storm winds extend out 150 miles from the center.
A hurricane warning and a storm surge warning have been issued for parts of Florida’s east coast. What part of the coast experiences hurricane conditions remains uncertain and is dependent on the exact track.
The track has caused changes to Walt Disney World Resort, Disney Cruise Line and Orlando International Airport.
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World Resort has issued a statement and is adjusting their operating hours beginning Tuesday, September 3.
Magic Kingdom Park: 8 AM – 3 PM (7 AM Opening for EMH)
Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9 AM – 2 PM (6 AM Opening for EMH)
Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 8 AM – 2 PM (7 AM Opening for EMH)
All Disney Resort hotels remain open. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will be closing on September 3 at 3 PM and will reopen when safe to do so.
Special Events
Disney After Hours at Animal Kingdom – Cancelled on Tuesday, September 3
Dining & Other Experiences
On September 3:
Theme park dining reservations will behonored up to one hour prior to park closing
Resort dining reservations will be honored until 5:30 PM
Effective immediately, Disney will not be enforcing cancellation policies for dining and other experiences.
Pre-paid dining and other experiences outside of the modified operating hours for September 3 will be automatically cancelled and refunded.
Orlando International Airport
Orlando International Airport will stop operation on Tuesday September 3 due to Dorian’s track. Please check with your airline for update regarding your specific flight.
Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line has issued an advisory and changed the itinerary of the Disney Dream sailing on Friday August 30 to extend another day and cancelled the Monday September 2 sailing of the Disney Dream.
Disney Dream – Current Sailing
Disney Dream’s current sailing was scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on Wednesday, September 4. However, after careful review of the currently forecasted path, and conversations with port officials in Florida, it does not seem likely that Port Canaveral will be available for our return on Wednesday.
Because of this, we will need to further extend this sailing and now expect Disney Dream to return to Port Canaveral one day later, on Thursday, September 5.
Since Disney Dream will now have additional time at sea, we have arranged a port call for tomorrow, Monday, September 2, in Grand Cayman.
Disney Dream – Monday, September 2 changed to Wednesday, September 4
While we had hoped to preserve some portion of the voyage for our Guests’ enjoyment, we have had to change our plans given the inherently unpredictable nature of tropical storms and hurricanes. After careful review of the currently forecasted path, and conversations with port officials in Florida, we have decided to cancel the sailing completely.
We understand this may be disappointing news, but we feel this was a necessary decision. The safety of our Guests and crew members is always our foremost concern.
Castaway Cay – UPDATED
Many of our Guests have asked questions about Castaway Cay. Some of our Crew remained on the island and their care and safety is our highest priority. As forecasted, sustained winds on the island did not extend beyond tropical force strength and our Crew has returned to their living quarters after spending a few hours in our storm shelter yesterday. Our thoughts continue to be with the people in areas of The Bahamas that are being impacted by this storm and we stand ready to contribute to recovery efforts.
Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas yesterday as a Category 5 major hurricane, with sustained winds of 185 mph and gusts over 220 mph, making it a “catastrophic” storm with “devastating winds,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
As the current forecast stands, Central Florida will feel impacts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Additional Hurricane Warnings have been issued for Jupiter, Inlet Florida to the Brevard/Volusia County, Florida Line and Hurricane Watches issued for Volusia County.
Per the Orlando Sentinel,
Central Florida is not projected to take a direct hit but could begin to see residual impact from the slow-moving storm Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
Governor Ron DeSantis’ warnings to Floridians about Hurricane Dorian grew more dire Sunday, as he also ordered the suspension of tolls.
“It’s important for people to understand if you’re in an evacuation zone and you’re given an order to evacuate, please heed that call,” DeSantis said during a briefing at the state Emergency Operations Center. “This storm at this magnitude could really cause massive destruction, and do not put your life in jeopardy by staying behind when you have a chance to get out.”
“More tropical watches are expected through the day for Central Florida, as we anticipate the worst weather arriving on Tuesday and lingering through early Wednesday,” FOX 35 meteorologist Brooks Tomlin said Sunday after the 2 p.m. update.
Orlando International Airport stated it would lift its original plans to close on Monday, September 2nd and will be continuing commercial flights until further notice.
As a reminder, tolls have also been suspended to help ease congestion with evacuees leaving the southeast coast of Florida ahead of Hurricane Dorian. The following tolls have been suspended:
Florida Turnpike
Beachline (SR 528)
SR 417
SR 408
SR 414
SR 429
Sawgrass Expressway (SR 869)
Alligator Alley
You can read up on Walt Disney World’s hurricane policy here.
