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Disney World joins theme park closures ahead of Hurricane Milton
Walt Disney is joining other theme parks including SeaWorld and Universal that are battening down the hatches and readying to close before Hurricane Milton hits Florida.
Walt Disney parks in Orlando are slated to start shutting down in phases beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, with its resorts likely to remain shuttered on Thursday, according to the company. A water park, miniature golf facilities and campgrounds will also be closed.
The Magic Kingdom’s announcement came after United Parks and Resorts said it would close its Florida theme parks, including SeaWorld Orlando, on Wednesday and Thursday. Busch Gardens Tampa was closed as of Tuesday and will remain so through Thursday, United Parks said.
The Orlando area is the most visited destination in the United States due to Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and other theme parks, attracting 74 million tourists last year alone. October is also among the busier times for theme parks because of Halloween-related celebrations, which have become major money generators over the past couple decades
Among those tourists are Nicole and Zeb Downs, who arrived on Monday after a 21-hour drive from Arkansas, expecting a 12-day Florida vacation with their three young sons. By Tuesday afternoon, they were contemplating packing up their car and heading back.
“We are disappointed but it’s kind of out of our hands at this point,” said Zeb Downs as he strolled with his family along a still-bustling Disney Springs shopping and restaurant district at the park resort.
United Parks said it would rely on safety protocols to keep its animals safe during Hurricane Milton.
“A dedicated team of animal care experts, including veterinarians, will remain onsite 24/7 to monitor the animals, safely housed in buildings designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes,” a United Parks spokesperson stated in an email. “Once weather conditions improve, our recovery team will ensure the habitats are safe for the animals to return.”
Universal Orlando Resort said it would close Universal Studios Florida and other locations.
Florida cruise ships and travel disruptions
The storm is disrupting many other Florida industries and travel, including cruise ship operations, with the port in Tampa already closed and the Jacksonville port set to close as of Wednesday. The storm’s track means some ships will extend their calls in Mexico and other locations, while other voyages will not depart on schedule.
The port in Miami is currently open but will likely close as conditions worsen.
Airports in Tampa halted operations on Tuesday while airports in Clearwater, Fort Meyers, Orlando and Sarasota are scheduled to cease operations on Wednesday.
contributed to this report.
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Scope of Hurricane Milton damage emerges as power outages and fuel shortages remain in Florida
Florida residents repaired damage from Hurricane Milton and cleaned up debris Friday after the storm smashed through coastal communities and tore homes to pieces, flooded streets and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes. At least 16 people deaths are linked to the storm, officials told CBS News.
Arriving just two weeks after the devastating Hurricane Helene, the system flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. Dozens of rescues have been conducted across the area.
Tampa evacuee Lillian Bicart, 80, told “CBS Mornings” that flooding severely damaged her home.
“I have to sit down and think what I’m going to do, because I lose everything, everything too wet,” Bicart said. “I never think about this. This is a bad dream, very bad.”
Tornadoes also left a swath of damage across Central and Southern Florida.
“Even with the hurricanes, it’s never been this bad ever,” Jashanti Williams, whose family hid in the bathroom as the tornadoes ripped through the neighborhood, told “CBS Mornings.”
As residents assessed damage to their property, over 2.5 million customers in Florida remained without power Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
A flood of vehicles headed south Thursday evening on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the middle of the state, as relief workers and evacuated residents returned to assess the aftermath. Bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed by, along with portable bathroom trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles.
As residents raced back to find out whether their homes were destroyed or spared, finding gas was still a challenge. Fuel stations were still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a two and a half hour drive north of where the storm made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on Wednesday night.
Natasha Ducre and her husband, Terry, were just feeling lucky to be alive. Milton peeled the tin roof off of their cinderblock home in their neighborhood a few blocks north of the Manatee River, about a 45-minute drive south of Tampa. She pushed to leave as the storm barreled toward them Wednesday night after he resisted evacuating their three-bedroom house where he grew up and where the couple lived with their three kids and two grandchildren. She believes the decision saved their lives.
They returned to find the roof of their home scattered in sheets across the street, the wooden beams of what was their ceiling exposed to the sky. Inside, fiberglass insulation hung down in shreds, their belongings soaked by the rain and littered with chunks of shattered drywall.
“It ain’t much, but it was ours. What little bit we did have is gone,” she said. “It’s gone.”
With shelters no longer available and the cost of a hotel room out of reach, they plan to cram into Terry Ducre’s mother’s house for now. After that, they’re not sure.
“I don’t have no answers,” Natasha Ducre said. “What is my next move? What am I going to do?”
Meanwhile, Florida theme parks including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld planned to reopen Friday after an assessment of the effects of the storm.
Orlando International Airport, the state’s busiest, said departures for domestic flights and international flights would resume Friday, after resuming domestic arrivals Thursday evening. The airport had minor damage, including a few leaks and downed trees.
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