The mass IT outage is disrupting Disney and other theme parks during the height of summer tourist season
Li Zhihua/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
- A mass IT outage has disrupted operations in many industries, including theme parks.
- Disneyland Paris display screens went blank, while Universal Studios Japan suspended in-person ticket sales.
- The outages came at the height of the summer tourist season.
The mass IT outage is causing problems for everyone — even Mickey Mouse.
The outage has disrupted industries and organizations worldwide, including Disney's international theme parks.
Footage obtained by The Financial Times showed that display screens at Disneyland Paris had gone blank, and some appeared to show an error message.
Guests at Hong Kong Disneyland, meanwhile, faced issues with its online ticketing system, prompting the company to ask that they purchase one-day tickets from the ticket booth at the park's entrance, according to CNN.
The outage appears to have mainly affected Disney's international properties. A Disneyland representative told Business Insider its California theme park and resorts are operating as usual. They added that the cruise line is fully operational as well.
Visitors at Universal Studios Japan, located in Osaka, also faced ticketing issues on Friday.
IRENE WANG/ReutersG
The theme park said on X that a software problem had impeded its ticket sales. Four hours later, the theme park announced that ticket sales at the Universal Studios Japan ticket booth would be suspended on July 20 and July 21.
"We apologize for the inconvenience, but please purchase your tickets through the Web Ticket Store or Lawson Ticket," a translation of the post read.
Representatives for Disney and Universal Studios theme parks did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
CrowdStrike, a third-party cybersecurity company used by Microsoft, is at the heart of the outage issue. CEO George Kurtz said the problem stemmed from a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts."
"This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," he said on X.
The outage has created issues for banks, retailers, and even some US emergency lines. Air travel has also sputtered to a halt with delayed and canceled flights.
It comes after the Transportation Security Administration said they expect to screen a record number of passengers this summer.
"The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is prepared for the highest passenger volumes the agency has seen at airport security checkpoints nationwide during this summer's travel season, which begins Memorial Day weekend and runs through Labor Day," a press release said.