What Happens at Disney World During a Hurricane, According to Hotel Guests Who Were Stuck There

Many would-be Disney park-goers have shared on social media that they’ve canceled or rescheduled their vacations as Hurricane Milton heads towards Florida — but what about the visitors who are already there?

Walt Disney World announced late Tuesday afternoon that all of its parks will close Wednesday, as they have done for a handful of other major hurricanes in years past, but the resort will still need to accommodate the guests staying in its hotels when the storm hits.

Disney hotels have a reputation for being some of the safest places to stay during a hurricane, according to visitors and Florida residents who often evacuate to the resort from coastal areas. Cast members have been known to book rooms on property, too.

During a hurricane, the hotels are staffed by what’s called a “ride-out crew,” cast members who elect to stay on-site throughout a storm to serve guests and try to keep everyone safe.

Aside from its inland location and solid infrastructure, Disney World is an appealing place to hunker down because it also operates on its own power grid, known as Reedy Creek Energy Services, and uses generators during outages.

“No one ever wants to find themselves in a position where they’re stuck in a hurricane, but if that is something you’re facing, Walt Disney World is probably one of the best places to go through it,” This Fairytale Life blogger Mindy shared of her experience staying at the Epcot-adjacent Yacht & Beach Club Resort during Hurricane Irma in 2017.

However, she notes that guests should expect a few changes to service during severe storms, like limited food options. Sit-down restaurants often pivot to buffet or grab-and-go style offerings — and with that can come long lines.

Mindy’s hotel also suspended its no-pet policy in order to accommodate local families evacuating to the hotel who would have had to choose to leave pets behind.

The most surprising situation was what happened when the storm actually arrived.

“We were allowed to roam all over the resort up until the hurricane started to approach Orlando,” she writes. “At that point Cast Members zip tied all the exterior doors of the hotel shut and asked guests to please stay in their rooms.”

Keeping guests inside is, of course, for their safety, given the likelihood of downed trees and exposed electrical components. “We weren’t allowed out of the hotel again until Cast Members had made sure it was safe for guests to be outside,” Mindy writes.

The YouTube-famous Gee family, aka the “Bucket List Family,” also rode out a storm in Disney World.

During their 30 Stays in 30 Days experiment, in which the social media stars stayed in 30 different Disney hotels and tried to experience every offering they had, Hurricane Irma interfered with their plans.

“We are bunkering down and staying in Orlando. @Waltdisneyworld has been incredibly hospitable and caring to our family and all other guests,” the family wrote in a post on Instagram. “So for now, our #30stays30days project is being put on hold so everyone involved can prioritize the well being of their families and homes.”

Other park-goers note some shortcomings with the Moderate and Value resorts. On discussion boards like DISboards and the subreddit r/WaltDisneyWorld, commenters said that at some of the lower-cost hotels, guests have to walk outside to get to the only dining area. Others said having accommodations in outbuildings instead of a main hotel tower meant that they were stuck in their room without easy lobby access.

Nicole Wolfe of Fishers, Ind., who is currently at Disney World with her family of four, tells PEOPLE, it appearred to be business as usual in the parks, aside from the crowds being smaller and higher winds on Tuesday.

“Most cast members have said they anticipate a big storm but have also said they try to provide a lot of entertainment and fun for the kids during hurricanes,” she said, adding that she hasn’t seen “any physical preparations” such as the removal of freestanding furniture or park components, or closing and securing of storefronts.

Before announcement the park closure, Disney World had already paused new hotel reservations for Wednesday and Thursday in anticipation of the hurricane making landfall.

Milton will mark the 12th time in Disney World’s 53-year history that the park has closed its gates.

Nine of the past 11 closures were due to hurricanes: Floyd (September 1999), Charley (August 2004), Frances (September 2004), Jeanne (September 2004), Matthew (October 2016), Irma (September 2017), Dorian (September 2019), Ian (September 2022) and Nicole (November 2022).

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The parks also closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which marked its longest closure ever. The park closed in March 2020 and reopened in phases starting in July 2020.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE on Monday, Disney said, “We are closely monitoring the path of the projected storm as we continue to prioritize the safety of our Guests and Cast Members,”