Hurricane resistant? See how Disney World was built

In recent days, the eyes of the world have been focused on Florida, in the United States, which is expected to be hit by Hurricane Milton between today and tomorrow, with winds reaching up to 250km/h, considered one of the worst in the last 100 years.

As reported by UOL, the city of Orlando, known mainly for its theme parks — which have already announced their temporary closure — is within the hurricane’s path. According to CNN Brasil, the United States National Hurricane Center expects the phenomenon to arrive in the region around 11pm today local time (around 12am Brasília time), with category 3 or 4 strength.

With the repercussion of the news that Hurricane Milton would hit Orlando, many international fans also began to wonder whether Walt Disney World could suffer serious damage with the storm’s passage.

Preventing climate tragedies

According to People, Walt Disney World closed its four parks and Disney Springs on the afternoon of Wednesday, 9th, and still has no reopening date. This is the sixth time in history that the resort has closed, with the other five happening in 1999 due to Hurricane Floyd; in 2001 after the September 11 attacks; in 2017 due to Hurricane Irma; in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic; and in 2022 during Hurricane Ian.

Furthermore, an Orlando Weekly article published in 2019 points out that the resort is fully prepared for situations like these, having structures capable of “withstanding at least a medium to high level category 3 hurricane, with little or no preparation”.

The vehicle also points out that all Disney World buildings have followed the so-called EPCOT Building Codes since 1970, which have extremely rigorous safety standards, described by the Central Florida Tourism Supervision District as codes that “exceed traditional regulation”, precisely to guarantee unique and safe attractions.

Proof of this special care for buildings is the famous Cinderella Castle, considered one of the resort’s main attractions. According to the official Disney parks blog, the castle was built with plaster, concrete, fiberglass, cement and steel materials, in addition to receiving in 2021 ten fiberglass ribbons designed to “deal with any hurricane”, as stated by Disney World senior project manager, Elaine Schomburg-LaFleurto the Orlando Sentinel.

Its location was even strategically designed by Walt Disney. Fox Weather points out that, before his death in 1966, the memorable filmmaker considered building Disney World in more coastal regions, however, he ended up deciding on the central region of Florida precisely to avoid the strongest hurricanes that hit the coast.

In addition to the strategic location and reinforced structures, the resort also has its own energy stations, one of which, operated by Reedy Creek Energy Services, is close to the Magic Kingdom.

Despite numerous preventions for greater consequences, with a hurricane as devastating as Milton is predicted to be, it is a fact that the parks will not emerge unscathed. In 2017, during Hurricane Irma, for example, it was possible to spot some minor damage at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and other parts of the resort.

Damage near Cinderella’s Castle 🙁 pic.twitter.com/Sg9q5UmETi

—Belle (@FiBelleFi) September 12, 2017

One of the street lights next to Doubloon Lagoon was blown down last night, damaging the railings. #HurricaneIrma#LiveFromWDWpic.twitter.com/HrfLd2QHLU

— CafeFantasia 💫 (@CafeFantasia) September 11, 2017

All Star Movies @ Disney after Irma
Looks to be only minimal damage. pic.twitter.com/KeBrdG4nYx

— Daniel McDonald (@DmcDT) September 11, 2017

@Attractions tree fell into a room at Jambo pic.twitter.com/5YnFuksCbD

— Mercuzio (@disneyquesting) September 11, 2017

However, even with the predicted losses, as soon as the hurricane passes and the situation is safe for everyone, Disney World will start a task force with its employees, known as cast members, to organize everything again. .

As reported by People and reported by the DVC Shop blog, it generally takes the Disney team around 48 hours to prepare the entire resort for the return of visitors. To date, Disney World does not yet have a reopening date.