We’ve been following along with Hurricane Milton as it progressed from a tropical depression to a tropical storm to a hurricane.

Hollywood Studios October 7th

The predicted path of Hurricane Milton shows it heading for the West Coast of the Florida Peninsula and eventually onwards to Orlando and Disney World. Days after Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 35 Florida counties, including the two Disney World resides in (Orange and Osceola), the storm has strengthened. Let’s take a look at the latest updates.

UPDATE: As of 11:55 AM ET, Hurricane Milton has been upgraded to a category 5 hurricane.

As of 9:05 AM ET on October 7th, Hurricane Milton has been upgraded to a category 4 hurricane and is expected to become a category 5 later today. According to the National Hurricane Center on X, the maximum sustained winds have now reached 150 mph.

8:05 AM CDT Monday Update: Milton rapidly intensifies into a category 4 hurricane. The maximum sustained winds have now increased to 150 mph (240 km/h) and the minimum pressure has fallen to 940 mb. pic.twitter.com/wlJXbB5lkr

— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 7, 2024

Areas along the West Coast of Florida and other counties including Orange and Osceola are currently in a hurricane watch while the big bend region and southern tip of the peninsula are in tropical storm watches. Milton is expected to make landfall along the coast of Florida either Tuesday night or early Wednesday. The Orlando area and Disney World continue to be in its path.

©NHC

Ahead of the storm, rain will likely impact Florida on Monday, October 7th with rain already falling in Disney World. There are currently flood warnings in affect for Florida areas. However, Disney World has not made any announcements about park closures up this point. Over the weekend, Disney did restrict new hotel reservations for October 8th through October 10th as well as halt park pass reservations for those who need them for October 9th. Updates were also made to the Disney World hotel changes and cancelations policy waiving fees for trips through October 12th.

©Disney

Traffic in Central Florida was seemingly worse than normal on the morning of October 7th. It seemed that a lot of people were out prepping for the storm and the highways are crowded with evacuees. Interstate-4 was particularly bad when DFB team members were traveling along it, with travel times across Orlando doubling. If you’re in the Orlando area, be prepared for increased traffic, poor road conditions due to rain, and preparations as the hurricane grows closers.

Driving around Disney World

If you’re planning being in Disney World this week, be sure to stay updated on alerts and notifications on the Disney World app and website, and continue to monitor the weather. If Disney does close the parks, the hotels will likely add extra activities and food services for guests who are waiting out the storm there. Cast Members will be around to assist you if needed. Since the cancelation policy has been updated, you may be able to change your trip plans instead, if you choose to.

We’ll be updating this post, so keep checking back to DFB.

11 AM ET UPDATE: The hurricane is predicted to become a category 5 but downgrade to a category 4 then 3 when it hits the coast of Florida.

The NHC has just issued their 11am #Milton advisory; Here's a look… More of course today on WESH 2 News… pic.twitter.com/UhpvE4sigV

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) October 7, 2024

Should You Cancel Your Disney World Trip This Week as Hurricane Milton Approaches Florida?