Orlando's tourism machine began grinding to a halt with at least one major theme park and the main airport announcing closures ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected hit as a major storm in Florida.

Walt Disney World and Universal Studios, two major theme parks in Orlando, are preparing to close as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton.

Hurricane Milton grew Monday into a major Category 5 hurricane with 180 mph winds in the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters say it will lose intensity while approaching the state, though, but its latest

As a potentially devastating Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida’s Gulf coast, both the Tampa and Orlando airports have announced they will be shutting down commercial operations ahead of the storm’s landfall.

In Orlando, city officials have lowered lakes ahead of Milton’s potential arrival, aiming to create capacity to handle any rainfall – and prevent the mass floods brought by Hurricane Ian two years ago. “They’ve been lowered to the lowest we can,” said Lucy Phillip, a city engineer.

Hurricane Milton landfall is expected in West Coast area not long after Helene. See which theme parks are affected

Orlando and Orange County, including the University of Florida’s Gainsville campus, are in the forecast path for Hurricane Milton, which was forecast to make landfall near Tampa Bay then

Tropical storm Milton is expected to come ashore near Tampa as a Category 5 hurricane. It will then cut across Florida and hit several theme parks, all in or around Orlando, home to Univeral Orlando.