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Disney Closes Theme Parks-Hurricane Wilma
While south Florida is in a frenzy preparing for Hurricane Wilma, we in central Florida have been calmly securing our homes and lawns for the tropical storm force winds. We’re not new to this kind of weather, which is why I was a little surprised to hear that Disney was closing the parks. But, that’s just what their doing.
Disney just announced that all the theme parks and water parks will be closed due to Hurricane Wilma. Here’s the official announcement:
Due to the potential of tropical storm force winds associated with Hurricane Wilma, all four Walt Disney World Theme Parks, Typhoon Lagoon, Downtown Disney and Disney’s Wide World of Sports will not open tomorrow morning, Monday, October 24.
Weather permitting, Walt Disney World may reopen one or more theme parks after the storm passes on Monday to entertain the tens of thousands of Guests currently staying in our resort hotels.
We have made this decision in an abundance of caution based on information from the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center and local emergency preparedness officials, all of whom currently expect the storm to pass more than 100 miles south of the resort.
All resort hotels will remain open, though Guests staying at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground have been relocated to other hotels on property.
Walt Disney World Resort has an extensive hurricane preparedness plan and is staffed and prepared for a realm of possible impacts that this type of weather could have on our property.
Guests who have questions should call (407) W-DISNEY.
We are currently experiencing heavy rains and tornado warnings in the area. Wilma looks scheduled to hit southern Florida early tomorrow, but they say there is some potentially dangerous weather located at the top of the storm.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the day off, and although I’m not taking it lightly, we went through much worse last year.
Update: It’s daylight now and Wilma is almost passed over us. So far, we’re none the worse for wear. You can take a look at this live webcam looking over the Yacht and Beach Club Resort into Epcot. If it’s clear enough when you look, you should be able to make out Epcot’s icon, the geodesic sphere “Spaceship Earth”.
Update #2: Wilma’s gone, the sky is blue and those of us in central Florida are fine. I’m afraid that’s not the case for our neighbors in south Florida.
Disney has reopened the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk for the rest of the day. Everywhere else resumes normal operating hours tomorrow. Now is a great time to visit Disney. The weather is cool and clear and the parks aren’t too crowded. I’m going to head over to Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival Epcot this evening. Even though the festival is closed it’s nice to just walk around.
Night of Joy
I went to Night of Joy at the Magic Kingdom Friday and Saturday night. This year hosted a great line up, including Toby Mac and Audio Adrenaline.
If you never heard of Night of Joy, it’s a two-day christian music festival held in the Magic Kingdom. The entire park is open only to festival attendees. All of the attractions, and several of the restaurants remain open for the event. I’ve attended for several years now and I love it.
All of the bands were great, but my favorite set was Toby Mac. I also got to hear several new groups (at least to me they’re new). I really liked Casting Crowns. If you’ve never heard them you should check them out.
Muppets on DVD
I was a big fan of The Muppet Show as a kid. Who am I kidding, I’m still a big fan. And now I can re-live those zany moments whenever I want. The Muppet Show’s first season has been digitally preserved and restored in a 4 DVD set.
I must not be the only fan, The Muppet Show has climbed to #1 on Amazon’s Top 100 DVDs. And Disney plans to release Season 2 in the next eight-to-twelve months with the other seasons to follow.
All twenty-four episodes are included with original openings, and UK Skits not commonly seen in the United States.
The set also includes these bonus features:
Original Pitch Reel
Original Pilot
Season One Gag Reel
Muppet Morsels
The menus are bright and colorful, with a “moving block” design. The blocks rotate and reveal characters behind them. Original commentary with the puppets is provided by Statler (Steve Whitmire) and Waldorf (Dave Goelz) on each of the main menus, along with the theme song. Considering the age of the source material, the video & audio quality is nothing short of amazing.
