Disney and Universal plan to reopen Friday after Hurricane Milton

Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando plan to resume operations at their Florida theme parks on Friday after Hurricane Milton passes.

The hurricane raged overnight across central Florida, where both theme parks are located, after making landfall near Siesta Key late Wednesday evening.

In advance of the storm, both Disney World and Universal Orlando closed their parks and other attractions as of Wednesday afternoon, FOX Business reported at the time. Companies also kept their parks in Florida closed on Thursday.

Storm-ravaged Florida braced Tuesday for a direct hit from Hurricane Milton, a powerful weather system that is threatening catastrophic damage and forcing President Biden to postpone a major foreign trip. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Disney provided an update on its operating plans at midday Thursday, saying: “We are grateful that Walt Disney World Resort has weathered the storm, and we are currently assessing the impact on our property in preparation for the reopening of the theme parks, Disney Springs and possibly other areas.” on Friday, October 11th.

A sign near an entrance to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Strong winds and flooding from Hurricane MILTON cause massive damage in Florida

In the meantime, nearby Universal Orlando looks forward to welcoming our guests back as we return to our normal operations at all of our theme parks, CityWalk and Halloween Horror Nights, including early park entry for Universal Orlando Hotel guests, Premier Passholders and Preferred Passholder.”

The Jurassic World VelociCoaster can be seen from many locations throughout the Universal theme park in Orlando, Florida, including the bridge connecting Jurassic Park and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (Dewayne Bevil/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Both also said their hearts go out to those struck by Milton.

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Many local governments have assessed the damage Milton inflicted on their communities overnight. The violent storm was accompanied by strong winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges.

In this aerial photo, floodwaters inundate a neighborhood after Hurricane Milton came ashore in Punta Gorda, Florida, on Thursday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

According to PowerOutage.us, more than three million people across Florida were dealing with power outages as of Thursday afternoon.

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FOX Weather reported that Milton killed at least eight people.

Breck Dumas contributed to this report.