Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld will all close ahead of Milton

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Orlando’s tourism machine began grinding to a halt Tuesday with at least three major theme parks and the main airport announcing closures ahead of Hurricane Milton ’s expected hit as a major storm in Florida.

Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld will all close their theme parks and respective entertainment facilities on Wednesday, with the latter two also closed on Thursday and Disney likely to remain closed.

Universal also canceled Halloween Horror Nights scheduled for both days.

The theme parks join Orlando International Airport, which said it would cease operations Wednesday morning. The airport is the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most trafficked.

Disney World had said earlier in the day that it was open and planned only to close its campgrounds and rental cabins ahead of the storm.

The only indication at Disney Springs that a hurricane was coming had been the closure of a hot air balloon ride. “Closed due to hurricane,” an electronic sign read. “Stay safe.”

All the other stores and restaurants in the outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex inside the resort were open and doing brisk business.

Milton, which is expected to come ashore Wednesday, threatened to ruin the vacations of tens of thousands of tourists at Disney World.

Nicole and Zeb Downs arrived on Monday after a 21-hour drive from Arkansas, expecting a 12-day Florida vacation with their three young sons. By Tuesday afternoon, they were contemplating packing up their car and heading back.

“We are disappointed but it’s kind of out of our hands at this point,” said Zeb Downs as he strolled with his family along a still-bustling Disney Springs shopping and restaurant district at the park resort.

Neither of them had experienced a hurricane before and weren’t sure they wanted to try it.

The Orlando area is the most visited destination in the United States due to Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and other theme parks, attracting 74 million tourists last year alone.

October is also among the busier times for theme parks because of Halloween-related celebrations, which have become major money generators over the past couple decades. Universal Orlando hosts “Halloween Horror Nights,” with ghoulish haunted houses based on slasher films and other pop culture horror, and Disney has its tamer “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.”

While Disney rarely shuts its doors — save for dangerous hurricanes in recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Sept. 11 attacks — its hotels are often havens for coastal residents fleeing impending storms. A check of Disney World’s online reservation system on Tuesday morning showed no vacancies.

Those lucky enough to get a hotel reservation have gotten unexpected treats during past storms. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, guests at a hotel on Disney property found themselves stranded with actress Kristen Bell, who voiced the role of Anna in the beloved Disney film, “Frozen.” While in Orlando, the actress found time to sing songs for evacuees at a nearby hurricane shelter.

Once a hurricane passes, the theme parks try to return operations to normal as quickly as possible. After Hurricane Charley charted a devastating path through Orlando in 2004, Disney World had utility vehicles picking up downed tree limbs and clearing roads on its property within an hour in the pitch-dark night.

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Hurricane Milton churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Tuesday as an “extremely dangerous” storm that could wallop one of the state’s major population centers just two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.

The system is threatening the Tampa Bay area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people and has managed to evade a direct hit from a major hurricane for more than 100 years. Milton is also menacing other stretches of Florida’s west coast that were battered when Helene came ashore on Sept. 26.

Traffic was thick Tuesday as people fled the Tampa area ahead of Milton. As they evacuated, crews along the coast hurried to clear Helene’s debris so that Milton doesn’t turn it into dangerous projectiles.

Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm on Monday before weakening Tuesday to a Category 4. National Hurricane Center forecasters warned that the storm would likely remain a major hurricane and could even expand as it approaches Florida. By Tuesday afternoon, it was picking up strength.

Follow The Associated Press’ coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/weather.

When will Milton make landfall and how strong will it be?

Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida’s central Gulf coast late Wednesday. Forecasters said Tuesday that although it will likely fluctuate in intensity, Milton will remain “an extremely dangerous hurricane ” through landfall.

“We must be prepared for a major, major impact to the west coast of Florida,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Milton was about 520 miles (835 kilometers) southwest of Tampa with sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph).

President Joe Biden, who postponed an overseas trip so he could remain at the White House to monitor Milton, warned that it “could be one of the worst storms in 100 years to hit Florida.”

With the storm expected to remain fairly strong as it crosses Florida, hurricane warnings were extended early Tuesday to parts of the state’s east coast.

Why are scientists saying this is a weird storm season?

Milton is just the latest system in a storm season that scientists say is the weirdest they’ve ever seen.

Forecasters were predicting a busy Atlantic hurricane season before it started, and it began when Beryl became the earliest storm on record to reach Category 5 status. But from Aug. 20 — the traditional start of peak hurricane season — to Sept. 23 it was record quiet, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.

Then, five hurricanes popped up between Sept. 26 and Oct. 6, more than double the old record of two. On Sunday and Monday, there were three hurricanes in October at the same time, which had never happened before, Klotzbach said. In just 46.5 hours, Hurricane Milton went from forming as a tropical storm with 40 mph winds to a top-of-the-charts Category 5 hurricane.

With hurricanes disrupting the lives of millions in the U.S., some might wonder if it’s possible to control extreme weather events. But scientists say hurricanes are far too powerful for that, and climate change is providing more fuel than ever for storms like Helene and Milton.

How bad is damage expected to be?

Florida’s Gulf Coast is especially vulnerable to storm surge.

Helene came ashore about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Tampa in the Florida Panhandle and still managed to cause drowning deaths in the Tampa area due to surges that were about 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.5 meters) above normal tide levels.

With Milton, forecasters warn of a possible 10- to 15-foot (3- to 4.5-meter) storm surge in Tampa Bay. It is the highest surge ever predicted for that location and has led to evacuation orders for communities all along the coast.

The county that’s home to Tampa ordered areas adjacent to the bay and all mobile and manufactured homes to be evacuated by Tuesday night. With a predicted storm surge that could swallow a single-story house, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued increasingly dire warnings Tuesday to those planning to ride out the storm: “So if you’re in it, basically that’s the coffin that you’re in.”

Milton is forecast to cross central Florida and dump as much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain while heading toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to the hurricane center.

What if I have travel plans to Florida?

Tampa International Airport said it halted flights Tuesday morning, posting on X that it is not a shelter for people or their cars. And nearby St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it is in a mandatory evacuation zone and would close after the last flight leaves Tuesday.

The tourism machine in Orlando, about 84 miles (135 kilometers) inland from Tampa, started grinding to a halt Tuesday. Orlando International Airport — the nation’s seventh busiest and Florida’s most trafficked — said it would cease operations Wednesday morning. And at least three major theme parks — Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld — will close, with the latter two also remaining closed on Thursday and Disney likely to follow suit.

Is it difficult to get gas?

The hunt for gasoline has been compounding the stress for some Floridians.

On Tuesday, there were long lines and empty pumps at some Florida gas stations as they struggled to keep up with demand. DeSantis said state officials were working with fuel companies to continue bringing in gasoline ahead before the storm’s arrival.

Although DeSantis said there wasn’t a fuel shortage, the hunt for gasoline was another nerve-fraying task for people preparing for a major hurricane. Patrick De Haan, an analyst for GasBuddy, said “replenishments are happening,” but about 16.5% of Florida stations were out of fuel as of Tuesday afternoon. More than 43% of the stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had no gasoline as of late Tuesday morning, according to GasBuddy.

“You’ve got to have patience,” Stephanie Grover-Brock, a Tampa resident in line for gasoline in the nearby Riverview area, said Tuesday.

Ned Bowman, a spokesman for the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association, said the situation was typical for a Florida hurricane — with demand peaking and some stations temporarily running dry. He said suppliers are “constantly” moving fuel to stations.

How was Mexico affected?

As Milton made it’s way toward Florida, it was about 125 miles (205 kilometers) northeast of Progreso, Mexico.

Authorities in the Mexican state of Yucatan reported only minor storm damage. Power lines, light poles and trees were knocked down near the coast, and some small thatched-roof structures were destroyed, according to Yucatan Gov. Joaquín Díaz. He did not report any deaths or injuries.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Restorers put the finishing touches Tuesday on the ornate canopy covering the main altar in St. Peter’s Basilica, which has been covered in scaffolding for months during the first renovation of Baroque architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s masterpiece in more than 250 years.

Journalists were allowed a bird’s eye view of the 29-meter canopy, or baldachin, on Tuesday, climbing the scaffolding to observe where workers have buffed the intricate surface of the bronze and wood canopy.

During the renovation, workers for the Fabbrica di San Pietro, which maintains the basilica, discovered bits of the baldachin’s history, including a forgotten bit of sandwich and nuts that could be over 200 years old, a 17th Century shopping list including tomatoes and bread, and most telling: the sole of a child’s shoe.

The sole explains the tradition of using children “suspended on a rope and go and clean the most difficult areas,” said engineer Alberto Capitanucci.

The making of the scaffolding was key to the success of the work, as it needed to allow workers access “to every point of the canopy with reasonable ease,” he said.

“The wood has proven to be in excellent condition, which is the element that we expected to be the most delicate,’’ he said.

When the scaffolding is removed on Oct. 27, Capitanucci said visitors can expect to be dazzled by the sheen of restored gold plate, and the leather effect that was achieved through the restoration of the bronze.

The work was completed with an eye on the upcoming Jubilee year, which Pope Francis will inaugurate in December.

The structure, which is positioned over the basilica’s main altar to provide a ceremonial covering for the tomb of St. Peter underneath, was completed from the 1620s to 1630s on Pope Urban VIII commission of Baroque architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

It is considered one of the most complicated multi-material artworks of all time, with marble, bronze, wood, gold, and iron. Numerous craftsmen and artists, including master architect Francesco Borromini, contributed to its completion.

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Silvia Stellaci contributed to this report.

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