Much of the state is still reeling from Hurricane Helene as Hurricane Miltion approaches Florida.

©NHC

A State of Emergency has been declared for several Florida counties, including the Disney World area, and Disney has even begun restricting hotel reservations due to the storm. Now, Disney has also waived its hotel cancelation fees in preparation for the storm.

Disney World is waiving cancelation and change fees for folks with hotel reservations due to Hurricane Milton. The storm increased to a Category 4 on Monday morning and is expected to make landfall somewhere around the Tampa Bay area by Wednesday or early Thursday, according to CBS News.

Rainy Day in Magic Kingdom

Disney’s official hotel cancelation update reads:

“Due to potential weather impacts to guest travel plans, change and cancellation fees imposed by Disney will be waived for check-in dates of Sunday, 10/6 – Saturday, 10/12.

Most room-only and vacation packages can be modified, or canceled online, including changes to travel dates, without fees. Packages including air transportation or other services provided by third parties, or those with travel protection, cannot be modified or canceled online. For Guests with these reservations please call for assistance.”

What's our wind threat looking like?

Here's a glance based on the latest model trends. Could see these sustained wind threats rise… pic.twitter.com/VBPee54U19

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) October 7, 2024

Additionally, Disney World has restricted hotel reservations on property for October 9th and October 10th. This is likely because Disney wants to free up rooms for its hurricane ride-out crew, the Cast Members who will be staying at and staffing the hotel during a big storm. Disney will also hold rooms in case existing guests need to extend their stays due to a storm. This is basically a way for Disney World to make sure its existing hotel guests are taken care of during a weather event as severe as this.

Disney World during Hurricane Helene

Park Pass Reservations have also been limited — or cut off altogether — for Wednesday, October 9th, with the date being blocked off for Annual Passholders as well. This isn’t quite confirmation that Disney World will be closed on Wednesday, but it looks like things are leaning that way.

As of now, the update on the Disney World website says, “Walt Disney World Resort is currently operating under normal conditions. We are closely monitoring the path of the projected storm as we continue to prioritize the safety of our Guests and Cast Members.” We expect to see more information as the storm intensifies and gets closer to Florida over the next 24–48 hours.

Flooding in Disney World due to Helene

Disney’s official hurricane cancelation policy is below:

“If a hurricane warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for the Orlando area—or for your place of residence—within 7 days of your scheduled arrival date, you may reschedule or cancel your Walt Disney Travel Company Disney Resort hotel packages and most room only reservations (booked directly with Disney) without any cancellation or change fees imposed by Disney. Most room-only and vacation packages can be modified, or cancelled online, including changes to travel dates.”

Stormy day

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for additional updates from Disney World regarding Hurricane Milton. If you’re at Disney World or elsewhere in the storm’s predicted path, make sure you listen to local officials and news for the most up-to-date information. Don’t forget to stay tuned to Disney Food Blog for all your Disney news needs!

8 DFB Reader Tips for Riding Out a Hurricane in Disney World