Here Are ALL of the Times in History That Disneyland and Walt Disney World Have Closed!
Yesterday, The Walt Disney Company announced that Disneyland, Disney World, Disneyland Paris, AND the Disney Cruise Lines will all be temporarily closing in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland
This is an unprecedented move closing the parks for this long. We’ve already seen the closures of Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disneyland due to the virus. But just how rare is the closure of a Disney park? Let’s take a look back at all of the times Disneyland and Walt Disney World have closed in the past.
It was announced today that Disneyland Resort will be closed starting Saturday, March 14th in response to the coronavirus outbreak. This will be the longest amount of time on record that Disneyland has ever closed since it first opened in 1955. Disney World will be closed starting Monday, March 16th. This will also be the longest amount of time Disney World will have ever been closed.
Disneyland
November 1963
The first unexpected closure of Disneyland came 8 years after the park opened. Disneyland closed its gates on November 23, 1963, the day after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The park remained closed for one day.
©Disney
January 1994
Disneyland went over 30 years until their next unexpected closure. On January 17, 1994, the 6.7 magnitude Northridge Earthquake struck Los Angeles. Disneyland was shut down following the quake to allow for inspections for one day.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
September 2001
Most recently, Disneyland was closed following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The park reopened the following day.
©Disney
Walt Disney World
September 1999
Disney World made it nearly 28 years until it experienced its first unexpected closure. But the streak was ended on September 14, 1999. With Category 4 Hurricane Floyd approaching, Disney World closed all of its theme parks, water parks, and Downtown Disney (now known as Disney Springs) early in the afternoon. Most parks were closed the next day as well, but when the storm changed course, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney were reopened on September 15. The other parks opened the following day.
Cinderella Castle
September 2001
Disney World was also closed on September 11, 2001 following the terrorist attacks. But unlike Disneyland, the Disney World parks had already opened for the day. Cast members in each park were instructed to form “human walls” to slowly push guests to the exits. The parks were reopened on September 12th, with new security measures in place.
Flag at Epcot Entrance at Half-Mast
August 2004
Disney World saw its next hurricane-related closure on August 13, 2004. Category 4 storm Hurricane Charley was the offender this time around. Most of the parks reopened the following day, but storm damage kept some attractions closed for longer.
Cloudy Skies Over Epcot
September 2004
Unfortunately, Central Florida didn’t get much of a break. Disney World closed again on September 4 and 5, 2004, due to Hurricane Frances. The parks began reopening on September 6th.
Magic Kingdom
September 2004 (part 2)
The hits kept coming in 2004. Disney World parks were closed again on September 26, 2004 because of Hurricane Jeanne. Luckily, this was the last closure for over a decade.
Walt Disney World
October 2016
On October 6, 2016, Disney World closed all of their parks at 5 p.m. because of the approach of Category 5 storm Hurricane Matthew. The parks were closed the following day as well.
Epcot Japan Pavilion
September 2017
The next year, Hurricane Irma forced another Disney World closure. Parks were closed starting at 9:00 p.m. on September 9, 2017, and they stayed closed until September 12th.
Tree of Life
September 2019
Most recently, Disney World closed all of the parks early on September 3, 2019 in preparation for Hurricane Dorian. Most parks were closed at 3:00pm, but since the storm changed course, Epcot hours were extended until 7:00pm. Since the storm continued to move away from Central Florida, all of the parks were reopened on September 4th.
Hurricane Dorian Radar – September 3rd
While closures of Disneyland and Disney World are rare, they do happen occasionally! As bummed as we are to see all of the Disney Parks in the U.S. scheduled for an upcoming closure, we’re glad to see that they’re considering the safety of the guests! We’ll keep you posted with any other information as it’s released!
Did you have a Disneyland trip planned for this month? Let us know in the comments below!
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