Hurricane Dorian threatens Disney World at the worst possible time for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge

A state of emergency has been declared in Florida as Hurricane Dorian approaches Category 4 strength. Dorian is expected to make landfall by Monday, effectively squashing any Labor Day plans, including visiting the newest attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Within one hour of opening today, Galaxy’s Edge reportedly hit capacity, with certain rides having a five-hour wait time. But Dorian could make that wait even longer. There’s no doubt Disney was banking on a surge in attendance by opening during the long holiday weekend.

However, the company could be facing a cancellation nightmare with Dorian barreling toward Florida.

To be sure, there are more imminent threats to Florida than not being able to ride the Millennium Falcon. That said, as the Motley Fool reports, “Disney World needs Galaxy’s Edge to succeed.”

California’s Disneyland opened a version of Galaxy’s Edge back in May and “failed to generate an initial pop in turnstile clicks,” as the Motley Fool reports. “Disney stock took a hit after the company announced a surprising decline in domestic theme park attendance.”

And it seems Dorian stands to hobble Galaxy’s Edge’s success at Hollywood Studios.

Disney Parks has yet to release a statement concerning Dorian. The New York Times reports that the company’s cancellation policy for extreme weather is as follows:

If a hurricane warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for the Orlando area within seven days of arrival to Disney, guests can reschedule or cancel. Guests who booked directly through Disney don’t have to pay cancellation or change fees, but those who booked packages that include rental cars and hotels through third parties have to pay those companies’ cancellation fees.

We’ll report more on this story as details become available.