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Early morning fire closes Epcot Center
Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 18, 2002
ORLANDO -- Walt Disney World's Epcot Center theme park was closed Wednesday after an early morning fire. Officials said the park would reopen on schedule this morning.
The fire was reported about 3 a.m. in an electrical generation building in the backstage area of the theme park, said Dianne Ledder, a Disney World spokeswoman. It caused little damage and no injuries but was responsible for power outages at Epcot and the nearby Caribbean Beach Resort. The air conditioning was lost at the nearby Beach Club Villas because the power plant also supplied chilled water for the resort, she said.
Because of the early hour, no guests were in Epcot.
Most of the power was restored to Epcot and the resorts by midday, Ledder said, but repairs to equipment continued.
Disney honored Epcot tickets Wednesday at its other parks. Two, Magic Kingdom and MGM Studios, stayed open an extra hour and featured additional entertainment, Ledder said.
Ledder said the only other times she could recall that Epcot was closed was on Sept. 11 and in September 1999 when Hurricane Floyd threatened the state.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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