Florida weather has a way of making itself the main character of any Walt Disney World vacation. Anyone who has spent time at the resort knows the drill: the morning starts clear and hot, the afternoon builds toward something dark on the horizon, and by mid-afternoon the sky opens up in the particular way that only Central Florida can manage. Most guests know to build this into their plans. Outdoor attractions pause, queues get shuffled indoors, and the parks slow down for however long the storms decide to stick around.Credit: EMLpotography, FlickrMarch 15, 2026 is one of those days. Ongoing thunderstorms have rolled through the Orlando area and made their presence felt across the entire resort, grounding outdoor rides and, as of this afternoon, knocking out power to at least two dining destinations at Disney Springs. Planet Hollywood and Chicken Guy! are both closed for the rest of the day due to a power issue, and Disney Springs has not made a formal statement on the cause. Both restaurants are expected to reopen tomorrow.For guests with dining plans built around either spot today, this is genuinely disruptive. And for anyone currently at the parks watching the ride closure list grow, the afternoon is shaping up to be a challenging one to navigate.Here is what is closed, what is affected, and how to make the most of a day that has taken a few unexpected turns.What Happened at Disney SpringsCredit: Forsaken Fotos, FlickrPlanet Hollywood and Chicken Guy! both went dark today due to a power issue at Disney Springs. The timing lines up with the ongoing storm activity in the area, though Disney has not officially confirmed a connection. Both closures are expected to be temporary, with normal operations anticipated to resume tomorrow.Planet Hollywood has been a Walt Disney World institution since 1994. The Observatory location at Disney Springs is hard to miss — the globe-shaped exterior is one of the most photographed spots in the shopping district. Inside, the restaurant is known for its extensive collection of movie and pop culture memorabilia, a menu built around burgers, pasta, sandwiches, and cocktails, and portions that tend to run generous. It is a sit-down dining experience that draws both longtime Disney fans and first-time visitors who grew up with the brand.Chicken Guy! operates on a different scale but is equally popular in its lane. The counter-service concept from celebrity chef Guy Fieri and restaurateur Robert Earl opened at Disney Springs in 2018 and has been a consistent crowd-pleaser since. The menu centers on chicken tenders paired with 22 house-made dipping sauces, alongside chicken sandwiches and fries. As a quick, affordable, family-friendly stop, it fills a specific and useful role in the Disney Springs dining lineup. Losing it for an afternoon is a real inconvenience for guests who were counting on a fast, low-commitment meal.Neither restaurant has a reopening window beyond “tomorrow,” which leaves today’s guests without a concrete timeline to plan around.The Broader Picture Across the Resort TodayCredit: Erica Lauren, Inside the MagicThe power issue at Disney Springs is not the only disruption the storms have created this afternoon. As of the time of publishing, several rides across Walt Disney World are currently down due to thunder and lightning. Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, Journey of Water Inspired by Moana also at Animal Kingdom, Slinky Dog Dash at Hollywood Studios, Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom, and Test Track at EPCOT are all temporarily closed.That is a significant slice of the park lineup, spanning three of the four parks and hitting a range of attraction types. Expedition Everest and Slinky Dog Dash are two of the most popular rides at their respective parks. Test Track at EPCOT is a perennial high-demand attraction. Kali River Rapids, a water ride by nature, tends to have long waits on hot days and goes down quickly when lightning is in the area. Journey of Water is a gentler walkthrough experience but draws its own crowd of Moana fans.Lightning holds on outdoor attractions are standard safety protocol. Once the storm passes and the area clears, most of these rides cycle back quickly. The issue is the unpredictability of how long any given storm lingers, and Central Florida storms in March can move through in twenty minutes or stretch into the early evening depending on the system.How This Affects Your Disney VacationCredit: DisneyA day like today is a useful reminder of something every Disney trip planner should build into their expectations: Florida weather is a genuine variable, not a footnote.The practical response to a storm afternoon at Walt Disney World is to shift your priorities indoors. Indoor attractions like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT, Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios, Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, and virtually everything at Magic Kingdom continue operating through most weather events. Table-service restaurants, gift shops, and covered entertainment venues become more appealing when the outdoor queue experience gets miserable.If your dining plans tonight included Planet Hollywood or Chicken Guy!, the Disney Springs lineup has enough alternatives to cover the gap. The BOATHOUSE, Raglan Road, Maria and Enzo’s, Wine Bar George, and STK Orlando are all operating today. For a quick counter-service substitute closer to Chicken Guy!’s price point, Chicken Fire and Paradiso 37 are worth a look depending on what you’re after.For the rides that are currently down, keep an eye on the My Disney Experience app. Ride statuses update in real time, and once the storm passes, previously closed attractions often reopen within thirty to forty-five minutes. Checking the app before walking across the park is always worth the thirty seconds it takes.One silver lining to storm afternoons: crowds thin out noticeably. Guests leave the parks, guests retreat to their hotels, and the guests who stay tend to concentrate in the same indoor spots. If the rain clears in the early evening, the hour or two after a storm passes is frequently one of the best windows of the whole day to get on popular rides with shorter-than-normal waits.If you are at Disney Springs today and were planning to eat at either of the closed restaurants, save this article and come back. Both Planet Hollywood and Chicken Guy! are expected to be back up tomorrow. Given how long both have been staples of the Disney Springs dining scene, they will be there when the weather cooperates.Check back with us for updates as the afternoon develops — we will post any changes to the closure status as soon as they come through.The post Report: Power Outage Forces Closures at Walt Disney World appeared first on Inside the Magic.