Going to Disney World during a hurricane might just be the most Florida thing ever. And we did it.

“Why?” you might ask. Well, we checked the weather forecast and Doppler radar and they both predicted fairly mild conditions (safety first!) so we thought, why not? We were also enticed by the short wait times for some pretty major attractions. We decided to go to Magic Kingdom because it has a lot of shelter just in case it started to rain.

The drive was uneventful. Pleasant, even. Apart from a patch of light rain, the weather was good and the traffic was light. The entrance gate to the parking lot had a few cars, but the lot itself was not crowded. We got right on a tram and then immediately got onto the monorail to Magic Kingdom without any wait.

Once inside the gate, which also had no line, we watched the Rainy Day Cavalcade that passed by in lieu of the parade this morning. We then rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train–a 15 minute wait when it’s typically an hour or more. Then we rode Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion, with a meal at Harbor house in between. We were even able to book the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure virtual queue with a return time of 6 PM. The weather was looking better and the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade was coming so we watched it in its entirety before taking the monorail to Epcot.

At Epcot, the weather took a turn for the worse. The wind picked up so we took shelter in the Land Pavilion and rode Soarin’ Around the World. Afterward, while walking across Epcot, we saw that the wind gusts had knocked down quite a few small branches. Debris was beginning to accumulate around the park. We passed a spot in the World Celebration Gardens where a tile had been blown loose. After hitting the Guardian’s Cosmic Rewind merch shop to pick up a Guardian’s themed purse, we rode Spaceship Earth and then took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom. At the Epcot monorail station, we noticed a ceiling tile had been blown loose from the wind and was rocking in the breeze.

Back at Magic Kingdom, we saw that cast members on Main Street had blockaded one of the entrances to the Emporium. A large chandelier hanging above it was swaying dangerously in the wind. Nice work by Disney to keep the guests safe. We don’t think there was any risk of it falling, but better safe than sorry.

After grabbing dinner at Pecos Bills and riding Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Pirates of the Caribbean, we took the monorail back to the parking lot and headed home. By then the wind was starting to subside.

All in all, it was a great day at Disney World. At no point did we feel in danger. Disney did a great job of keeping the guests safe, and feeling safe. We were able to ride plenty of rides (and could have ridden a lot more if we wanted to) and had a fun day despite a hurricane less than 150 miles away.

Although we had our Disney fun, we know others in the path of Hurricane Helene were less fortunate. Our thoughts go out to them. We hope everyone is safe!