Hurricane Irma has made its way through Florida and after two days of complete closure, Walt Disney World has opened the doors of its theme parks once again. Sure, there are slight remnants of the damage Irma caused and a handful of attractions are still closed, but most is in perfect working order. Well, that is except for Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground which is still closed, and a reopening date is still not known.
UPDATE at 11:10 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 12, 2017
Guests with reservations at Fort Wilderness Campground have been told different things when calling into the Disney Reservation Center. Some guests have said that Disney hopes the campgrounds will be open by Friday, but if not, by Monday. Others are being told by Disney that the target opening date is Monday, Sept. 18, 2017.
So, it seems as if they are hoping to open it back up soon but an exact date is not yet known.
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For a couple of days, everything except for the resort hotels stayed closed at WDW as it simply wasn’t safe for guests to be out and about due to the storm. On Monday, the four theme parks and Disney Springs reopened, but the water parks aren’t set to reopen until Wednesday.
All of the resorts stayed open during the storm to house those who did not evacuate from Hurricane Irma, but one was closed on Saturday. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground closed early after all guests evacuated or moved to other resorts, but it still does not have an opening date.
According to the official website of Walt Disney World , Fort Wilderness is staying closed and will remain closed for an indefinite amount of time.
Fort Wilderness to close Saturday afternoon at 2pm. pic.twitter.com/kpoAGJCV45
— Disney World Facts (@wdwfacts) September 8, 2017
Fort Wilderness is a combination of log cabins and campsites where guests can stay in tents or RVs. By 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017, the campground had been totally evacuated and closed due to Hurricane Irma. Those guests who did not leave were moved to other resorts on Disney property.
Due to the campground being in the middle of thousands of trees, this was the safest thing for everyone involved.
WDW Magic is reporting that after safety officials did their Irma damage assessment , it was revealed that Fort Wilderness suffered “considerable damage” to the landscape. A number of trees were uprooted and it is not safe for any guests to stay there at this time.
All guests that have upcoming reservations to stay at Fort Wilderness will be relocated to other resorts on property. Full accommodation alterations can be discussed by calling in and speaking with Disney directly.
A number of resorts around property received some sort of damage from Irma as trees were down at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and some flooding happened at Pop Century. As the parks opened on Monday, a number of attractions did not open due to needing a bit more time to get some work done.
As for anyone wanting to attend the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue and Mickey’s Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness, those have also been cancelled until further notice. Disney has not said if the closure will be days or weeks or anything at this time.
All restaurants and activities at Fort Wilderness are closed or cancelled until it reopens.
Walt Disney World was in the way of danger with Hurricane Irma, but the majority of the property escaped without much damage. Due to the location of the Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, it just happened to be where the most problems could occur. For now, it is in the best interest of guests and cast members to keep the campgrounds closed until everything can be fixed and it safe for everyone to return.
[Featured Image by Danny Cox]