Disney World and Universal Orlando will reopen their resorts in a “phased approach” starting Friday after Hurricane Ian closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Disney, which first announced its reopening plan at around 2:45 p.m. Thursday, also revealed its reopening times on Friday. In Magic Kingdom, early entry time is 8am with general admission at 10am. Epcot’s early opening time is 9 a.m. with the park opening to all guests at 11 a.m. 11 a.m., respectively, with general admission opening two hours later.
Disney Springs will be open from 10am to 11:30pm
“We thank first responders and community leaders for their courageous efforts in preparing for and managing the impact of the storm. To our cast members in Florida and South Carolina, thank you for selflessly caring for our guests,” Disney said in a statement.
Universal Orlando announced its intention to reopen its doors just before 7 p.m. Thursday, after speakers that afternoon said the resort was undergoing detailed inspections to assess damage from storms.
Universal will only open to hotel guests initially, according to the resort. No further details were immediately available Thursday evening.
Universal began calling employees to work that night, according to its employees website. Before publicly announcing a phased reopening on Thursday, Universal told employees scheduled for Friday that they should be ready to return to work.
It was not clear how much damage the two resorts would be damaged during the storm.
Pictures from Universal He showed a hole torn into the panels on the side of the building for the Jurassic River adventure at Islands of Adventure theme park, but Universal spokesmen would not comment on that.
Areas near Universal appear to have experienced major flooding Thursday morning as Ian hit the area.
Video captured by Spectrum News 13 reporter Jeff Allen Standing water appears several feet deep at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel near the entrance to the resort.
Footage posted by Spectrum reporter Jerry Hume on Twitter Shown the western lanes of the I-4 Express flood at Kirkman Road near Universal at about 7:45 a.m.
SeaWorld Orlando, including the Aquatica and Discovery Cove parks, will remain closed Friday with plans to reopen on Saturday.
Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, also operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, will remain closed Friday.
Visitors who have tickets to SeaWorld-owned theme parks during closing dates can use them until December 31.
Those with tickets to the Howl-O-Scream Halloween events at SeaWorld or Busch Gardens will be allowed to visit on another date through October 31.
Travelers whose permits were due to expire on September 30 and October 2 can visit until October 16.
Legoland Florida in Winter Haven said it will remain closed through Friday. The resort will allow guests with tickets from Wednesday 28 September to Sunday 2 October to redeem tickets at another date until the end of the year.
krice@orlandosentinel.com and @katievrice on Twitter
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