Disneyland shuts down as Hurricane Hilary makes landfall in southern California
Disneyland Resort’s theme parks closed early over the weekend after California officials issued the state’s first-ever tropical storm warning as Hurricane Hilary made landfall and a 5.1-magnitude earthquake rocked the state.
According to Disneyland’s website, the resort’s Disney California Adventure Park, Disneyland Park and Downtown Disney District closed early — at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., respectively — on Sunday based on “the latest information from the National Weather Service.”
The parks would normally close at 10 p.m., 12 a.m. and 1 a.m., respectively.
Hotels in Disneyland Resort have stayed open throughout the storm.
Despite the Weather Service’s putting millions under flash-flood watches and warnings in the Southern California area, Disneyland — which is located in Anaheim, just outside of LA — remained open for most of the weekend despite heavy rainfall.
As of Monday, the Weather Service was still predicting that the LA area would get a “moderate” amount of flash flooding, meaning that within six hours of heavy rainfall, at least 40% of the region is vulnerable to flooding.
It wasn’t until an earthquake struck just southeast of the city of Ojai — about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles — on Sunday afternoon that Disneyland evacuated visitors and ceased its normal operations, according to accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ahead of the closures, photos and videos shared to social media showed faithful Mouse House fans roaming around a nearly-empty park in rain ponchos despite ride closures and cancellations of the park’s live entertainment, including its newest character-filled concert, “Disney Junior & Friends Playdate.”
One user by the name of Dyl shared footage while participating in CHOC Walk in the Park over the weekend — a rain-or-shine fundraiser that supports education and research in Southern California — where Disneyland workers announced that there were green foot dryers provided by the park.
It’s unclear if Disneyland was open as of Monday morning, though California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for much of Southern California through Monday.
On Disneyland’s website, it appears that all attractions are open, with availabilities to get in line from as early as 7:30 a.m. local time.
It’s unclear if any of Disneyland’s 58 attractions were damaged by Hurricane Hilary, which brought wind gusts as high as 65 mph to the area despite being downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm ahead of the weekend.
Representatives for Disneyland did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Meanwhile, about 40 miles north of Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood stayed open, while theme parks in the San Diego region closed up shop as forecasters warned that Hilary could bring up to 10 inches of rainfall.
SeaWorld and Sesame Place in San Diego both announced on their respective website that they were closed on Sunday “to ensure the safety of our guests, ambassadors and animals during this time.”
Though they said they “expect to reopen on Monday,” it’s unclear as of 5 a.m. local time if the parks will welcome visitors when they open at 10 a.m.
A bit north in Carlsbad, Calif., LEGOLAND said it was reopening on Monday morning after closures over the weekend, while Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia said on its website that it will remain closed through Aug. 23.
Six Flags is expecting to resume its normal operating hours on Aug. 24.
