California Fires Impact on Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood Closes Due to Wildfires For Second Day

Wildfires are burning across Los Angeles County, leaving a trail of destruction with thousands of structures burned and tens of thousands prompted to evacuate their homes. Yesterday, Universal Studios Hollywood closed due to the fires, and this morning they shared that the closure will continue through today. We will also discuss how these fires impact Disneyland.

Since the time yesterday morning when we reported that Universal Studios Hollywood closed due to the fires, the Palisades fire has expanded in size from 3,000 acres to over 17,000 acres and other fires continue to burn in Los Angeles. We will share what you need to know about how these wildfires impact Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood below.

Our thoughts are with all who have been affected by these fires and the firefighters who have been fighting to contain them. We know that many Disney Cast Members and employees have been among those impacted by the fires.

Los Angeles Fires Impact on Universal and Disneyland

Last night, Universal Studios Hollywood shared on X that they will remain closed through today, January 9: “Out of an abundance of caution, Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk will be closed on Thursday, January 9 as a result of the extreme winds and fire conditions.”

The fires currently active in Los Angeles are the Palisades fire which has burned 17,234 acres at the time of writing, the Eaton fire near Altadena and Pasadena which has burned 10,600 acres, and the Hurst fire in Sylmar which burned 671 acres (10% contained), and the Lidia Fire near Acton which has burned 348 acres (40% contained). The largest Palisades fire started burning at around 10:30 am on Tuesday, and at the time of writing, is still 0% contained along with the Eaton fire.

You can see Universal Studios Hollywood's location in relation to the fires burning from the Fire Watch app below.

While Universal Studios Hollywood is much more directly impacted by these fires, Disneyland is further southeast of the areas currently affected, as the closest fire is still roughly 30 miles away. While Universal Studios Hollywood is closing for the day, Disneyland is remaining open. You can see the map of the fires on the Fire Watch app below.

While Disneyland is not in the area threatened by the fires, the resort is impacted by strong winds. Looking at the weather app for the Disneyland Resort, there is a Red Flag Warning, High Wind Warning, and Air Quality Alert currently in effect. The wind may impact certain rides and experiences as we will discuss below, especially as we are getting closer to the weekend.

It's a bit shocking and surreal that the sky outside is blue and it feels totally clear. Disneyland is so close to all of this but totally removed. We are keeping our eye on the impacts of this moving forward.

Some rides may close due to the high winds in Disney California Adventure especially (like Golden Zephyr and potentially Silly Symphony Swings), and we may also see World of Color's showing canceled this evening. It is also reasonable to expect that if the windy conditions continue through tomorrow, the fireworks show at Disneyland Park will be canceled.

When we shared the news of Universal Studios Hollywood's closing yesterday, some of our Facebook followers chimed in with their experience. Facebook user Danny Cobb commented, “For those who are unaware…Los Angeles is more than 35 miles away from Disneyland. These fires aren’t impacting the city or weather here. The smoke is blowing away from here, I live 1.5 miles from Disneyland. Weather fine, air quality fine, if you’re impacted by the fires and work there, they’re letting you take time off with no penalty and no use of PTO, I was told by a high up cast member.”

Emily Ryan shared her experience at the parks yesterday: “I’m in California Adventure now. No mention of fires. Park is very empty. It was very windy this morning.”

Others shared how they have made the decision to postpone their visit due to the fires. Melodie Rice Russell shared, “We were scheduled to go today but decided not to because of the strong winds and freeways affected by evacuations.”

We've also seen Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde take to Instagram to share devastating looks at the fire's damage. Rohde specifically called out the less discussed Altadena fire in his post which you can read in it's entirety below. It really paints the picture of how impactful these fires are on so many…

The below is from Joe Rohde's Instagram post:

Way back when Imagineering was hiring for Epcot, one of the few places we young imagineers could afford to get a house was Altadena, a sleepy, little foothill community full of wonderful old houses that needed some love and attention. So homespun and midwestern in flavor that all of you across the country have seen it hundreds of times standing in for anywhere America in film and television.

First, a few of us moved up there, and then more, until there was quite a population of Imagineers living in the Altadena foothills. Over the decades new generations joined us. Our children grew up there, went to school, learned to drive, even got married where the palms and pines came together.

Most of the places where we all lived burnt to ashes last night. The homes of many Imagineers who worked on many of the parks and attractions that Disney fans know and love are gone. Homes filled with memories, care, love and the expression of the same creative talent that went into the parks and films. Fire, when it comes, comes so fast that we must leave that all behind.

Pacific Palisades and Malibu are more famous and their equally devastating situation easily captures the nations eye. But Altadena was our home and home base. And as of this evening much of my old neighborhood of Altadena has vanished and with it the homes of many of my dear friends and colleagues. Send a prayer.

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