Hurricane Frances has made landfall in Florida this morning and is approaching Orlando. Mickey News columnist Dave Parker sent us an e-mail this morning from his home in Lake County, just north west of the Walt Disney World complex, letting us know that the outer bands had reached Orlando and he was not unplugging his computer and bracing for the arrival of hurricane Frances. Like many residences of Florida, Dave and his wife have boarded up all their windows and have tried to prepare for Frances as best they can.
Currently Frances is a category 2 hurricane, down from the category 4 that it was yesterday. This could mean a reprieve for some but since the hurricane is moving at a slow 5 mile per hour pace it also could mean extensive flooding for much of the area. Much of central Florida is still saturated from the rain hurricane Charley left just last month so an additional foot or more of rain could cause massive flooding. Much of Florida is under a flood watch.
Walt Disney World has shut down in preparation for the hurricane and was original scheduled to re-open Sunday but with the storm moving so slow they may remain closed on Sunday as well. Friday Disney’s Animal Kingdom cast members were busy getting the animals secured and trying to weight down trash cans to prevent them from blowing around and causing damage to the park as well as injury to the animals. Mickey News will keep you posted as Walt Disney World releases more information on the situation.
