PHOTOS & VIDEOS: What Orlando and Disney World Look Like Ahead of Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian is making its way into Florida, causing a state of emergency, closures, evacuations, and more.

©NOAA

Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld are all closed for today and tomorrow (September 28th & 29th) as the area prepares for the storm. A tornado watch is also in effect for the area, grocery stores are shutting down, and hotels are modifying their services. Let’s check out what Orlando looks like as Hurricane Ian approaches.

This morning, the rain wasn’t too bad in the Orlando area.

Rain

The majority of the storm isn’t supposed to impact Orlando until the afternoon.

The rain isn’t too bad right now in #Orlando ahead of #HurricanIan making landfall. The bulk of the storm is supposed to start this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/gQlpTR7B1X

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

But, winds were starting to pick up a little around mid-morning.

Another view of #HurricaneIan where winds have picked up a bit outside of #orlando 🌀 pic.twitter.com/vEoFMTS8JC

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

Take a look at those palm trees blowing.

Seeing a little bit more wind in the #Orlando area 💨 #HurricaneIan #waltdisneyworld pic.twitter.com/vDR7gn1CdZ

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

We expect to see things get much windier later on.

Storm is coming

Over in the Disney Springs area, we were just seeing rain for the most part.

This morning in #Orlando. Just rain so far. We’ll keep you updated. #HurricaneIan #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/2pdq57529k

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

The skies are overcast and cloudy.

Clouds and rain

Clouds can be seen for miles in the area.

Clouds

A reader reached out to us (@StrategyGoddess) and said that Disney housekeeping came to their villa at their hotel and removed their outdoor furniture, while also giving them extra towels and toiletries.

@DisneyFoodBlog @TouringPlans mousekeeping just came into our villa and removed our outdoor furniture. They loaded us up with toiletries and extra towels

— Mary Ann (@StrategyGoddess) September 28, 2022

In the afternoon, one of our reporters noticed that a lot of guests were in the common areas of the hotel they were staying at.

Lots of guests are hanging outside of their hotel rooms before the storm hits and they have to hunker down. #HurricaneIan #orlando #WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/fOsVkFGxvE

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

And, around the same time, winds began to pick up some more.

Winds are picking up near #WaltDisneyWorld as #hurricaneIan moves in ⛈️ pic.twitter.com/OMAckah7dH

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

The rain has continued to fall.

Rain near Disney World

As for services in the area right now, delivery services like Instacart and DoorDash are unavailable.

Instacart

DoorDash is pickup only.

DoorDash services are currently pickup only in the #orlando area due to #HurricaneIan 🌀#WaltDisneyWorld pic.twitter.com/6hUwaUFuch

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

But, a lot of hotels have extra supplies available in the lobbies.

While ordering on Instacart is currently unavailable in some locations, many hotels in the #waltdisneyworld area still have some supplies available for guests needing necessities during #hurricaneian 🌀 pic.twitter.com/f09D1cCbCV

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

So, it’s good to know that there are options!

Pharmabox

If you’re looking for a ride somewhere, we were seeing options available through Lyft…

Lyft

…and Uber, but Uber’s rates were pretty high for a short ride.

Uber

The monitors in the hotels are showing how all of the Walt Disney World parks are closed right now.

Not our favorite sight to see, but it’s all in the name of safety ⛈️ #WaltDisneyWorld #hurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/f0TWYs4k5N

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

And, they’re also giving weather updates.

Weather updates

If you try to use the My Disney Experience app right now, a message will pop up about the hurricane and the closures.

My Disney Experience

Another reader (@georginamitchener) sent us a look at what was going on over at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

@georginamitchener

Pre-packaged meals were being organized in one of the conference rooms.

@georginamitchener

And, one reader (@aarti1021) sent us this photo from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. It shows a Cast Member setting up some indoor recreation activities in the hotel to help guests pass the time.

@aarti1021

Wednesday afternoon, things were starting to get a bit more intense. One of our reporters shared that a screen had broken on their lanai.

Aaaaand there goes a screen as the wind picks up in #Orlando 🌀 #HurricaneIan pic.twitter.com/AZdLhK918c

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

Here’s a look at things near Walt Disney World around 4:30PM ET.

Views of #HurricaneIan near #waltdisneyworld pic.twitter.com/ddJPMEMveN

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 28, 2022

The hurricane moved through Disney World overnight from Wednesday into Thursday and was downgraded into a tropical storm in the early morning.

Hurricane near Disney Springs

The parks remain closed, and we have seen some damage around Disney World. Our reader (@dakotadickey.mp4) shared this photo with us of the damaged awning at the Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney’s BoardWalk.

@dakotadickey.mp4

Another reader (@kristennichols) sent us a video of water being pumped from the sidewalks at the Coronado Springs Ranchos rooms area.

Cast Members are on site at Coronado Springs pumping water from the sidewalks after some flooding at the resort. #hurricaneIan #waltdisneyworld

Credit: kristennichols on Instagram pic.twitter.com/aBn6wTvDuo

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) September 29, 2022

We’ll be keeping you updated if/when we see more damage around or near Disney World.

For more on Hurricane Ian, check out our following posts: