ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.
Hurricane Milton marked another time Orlando’s largest theme park — Walt Disney World — has had to shutter, easily costing millions of dollars in lost revenue for the entertainment giant.
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Closures at Disney due to storms date back to 1999 and the losses aren’t small, according to International Theme Park Services, a Cincinnati-based consulting company fronted by CEO Dennis Speigel that has tracked Walt Disney World’s storm-related losses for the past 25 years.
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For example, Walt Disney World in 1999 witnessed its first hurricane-related closure when Hurricane Floyd caused it to shutter Sept. 14 that year and reopen two days later. While Floyd caused $6.5 billion in damage, Florida largely was spared, as the storm veered in a different direction than originally thought. However, said Speigel, Disney incurred losses to the tune of about $45 million per day due to being closed.
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