Miami: Florida's Walt Disney World resort is closing theme parks and other attractions as raging Hurricane Matthew bears down on the state, the company said.
"Walt Disney World theme parks, Disney Springs, miniature golf courses, water parks and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex will be closed Thursday at 5 pm (2100 GMT) and will remain closed through Friday, October 7, 2016 due to the latest forecasts for Hurricane Matthew," the company said.
Walt Disney World is located in Orlando, 35 miles (55 kilometers) inland from the Atlantic.
Some three million people on the US southeast coast face urgent evacuation as Florida braces for a direct hit when Matthew makes landfall later on Thursday.
President Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency in Florida, as highways there and in neighboring states clogged up with people streaming inland to escape the storm blasting its way through the Caribbean.
Officials warned the Category Four hurricane will be ferocious and dangerous: beach-eroding waves as tall as two story buildings and winds strong enough to snap trees and blow away roofs or entire houses.
