Hurricanes in August?

[hkkatie]

I read somewhere that August/September is peak hurricane season in Florida. Is this true? The only time we'd be able to visit there is in August (2nd & 3rd weeks). What happens if a hurricane comes? Does Disney shut down or is it far enough inland that it is not affected too much? If it shuts down, are any of our unused tickets refunded?

Thanks

[Hannathy]

We were there during a hurricane in August. One of the best days ever in MK! went on everything and I mean everything, even the astro orbiters. We put on our ponchos, water shoes and had a great day.

They only close down if it is a big or direct hit and that hasn't happened very often. Someone on here will probably know how many times that has happened. Ours was just torrential rain and wind but the parks stayed open. LaCellier was actually taking walk ups for dinner.

[OKW Lover]

The likelihood of a hurricane affecting your WDW vacation is very, very low. Remember that hurricanes do not all hit Florida. Some never hit land, others go into the gulf and others go up the North Atlantic. These won't affect your visit. Only a hurricane that happens to hit FL and stays on land might affect your stay. In WDW's 40+ years this has happened only once or twice. Its not worth worrying about.

[Mrs K]

We have been in Aug many times, and were there during Hurricane Charlie. The parks closed for a half of a day I think. We did have to stay at our hotel but never lost power. We were at the Poly and there was a lot of damage outside, but by morning CMs were at work cleaning things up. I wouln't let the outside chance of a storm keep me away.

[BigKid45]

I wouldn't let hurricane season affect my decision to hit WDW in August...the chances are pretty low IMO. We've stayed twice in late August and plan to visit in August '13. If you're curios as to how WDW handles the more direct hits from hurricane check out this YouTube video that caught Charlie in 2008...looks like WDW handled it well and it was only a minor inconvenience for the guests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecKW1lXA62s

....don't forget your trip insurance...for less than $150 I rest easy knowing my expenses are covered if something goes wrong.

[hkkatie]

Thanks for the input! I really appreciate it!

[ZoZo]

Originally Posted by Mrs K

We have been in Aug many times, and were there during Hurricane Charlie. The parks closed for a half of a day I think. We did have to stay at our hotel but never lost power. We were at the Poly and there was a lot of damage outside, but by morning CMs were at work cleaning things up. I wouln't let the outside chance of a storm keep me away.

I was at WDW in 2005 for Hurricane Wilma (October) and had the same experience. They kept us inside until about 2:00 pm, when they opened MK and Epcot. We got the outside edge of the hurricane (about 65 mph winds and rain) for about 15 hours, and then things cleared up nicely. Never lost power, and Shades of Green Hotel communicated with us via "broadcast" voice mails to our room about the status of the storm, when it was safe to go outside, and when the parks would be opening.

I definitely wouldn't let the possibility of a hurricane affect your plans. The chance that your particular trip would be affected are very low. Even if something does happen, you should be fine.

[disfan4life1]

Hopefully the weather holds up as we are going to be a Disney late August this year..However, when we were there this past October, there was a very rainy day(hard rain all day), and that was the best and easiest day we have ever had at Magic Kingdom. There were very few lines..the longest being Peter Pan at 20 minutes..was wonderful and wouldnt be disappointed if we had another day or two like that again.

[momfeez]

Originally Posted by hkkatie

I read somewhere that August/September is peak hurricane season in Florida. Is this true? The only time we'd be able to visit there is in August (2nd & 3rd weeks). What happens if a hurricane comes? Does Disney shut down or is it far enough inland that it is not affected too much? If it shuts down, are any of our unused tickets refunded?

Thanks

WDW is inland and will not get a direct hit from a hurricane. If anything, as in years past, it will get the remnants of a hurricane...tropical storm...wind and lots of rain. WDW may shut down, depending on severity of the weather.

If that's the only time you can go, GO. Just be prepared for rain...ponchos, extra shoes etc. Here in Northeast FL, when we've had tropical storms, it's been late August/early September...just in time for the beginning of school.

I doubt that unused tickets are refunded. Once you buy them, they are yours.

[Mcert01]

Originally Posted by momfeez

WDW is inland and will not get a direct hit from a hurricane. If anything, as in years past, it will get the remnants of a hurricane...tropical storm...wind and lots of rain.

We were there during Charlie, and it was a Category 2 when it hit Disney. Sustained winds at 110 mph.

We were staying in Fort Wilderness and Disney couldn't have been better at keeping us informed, then evacuating the campground the morning before it hit. We were given a room at Port Orleans, and stayed there for 3 nights as they cleaned up the campground and gave everyone in our party a 1 day park hopper for the inconvenience!

Pretty much everything closed down at 6 pm the night Charlie hit, including the restaurants. Disney gave everyone lots of warning and time to get food. Charlie hit us at 11:00pm and we never lost power. It had never occurred to me before then, but all the power, phone, etc is buried at Disney!

The parks all opened the next morning on time, with the exception of Animal Kingdom. They wanted to make sure the animals were all ok before opening up. AK did open, just an hour or 2 late.

Most remarkable thing I saw was a tree blown over in front of the Brown Derby in HS. I have a picture of my daughter in front of it. What makes it remarkable is that two days later we were in HS again to find the tree gone, the stump gone, sod over the hole and topiary's covering the mound. You would never have known the tree existed.

All in all, while it was obviously a bit disconcerting to be in a hurricane, it turned out to be one of the most memorable events of our lives. It also showed us once again why we love Disney so much. They took care of us like we were one of their own.

[bdoyledimou]

We have always gone in August. 1st and second week, 2d and 3rd week, 3rd and 4th week. Had a few heavy rains, but no hurricanes.. dont stress it -- it's Disney!

[momfeez]

Originally Posted by Mcert01

We were there during Charlie, and it was a Category 2 when it hit Disney. Sustained winds at 110 mph.

We were staying in Fort Wilderness and Disney couldn't have been better at keeping us informed, then evacuating the campground the morning before it hit. We were given a room at Port Orleans, and stayed there for 3 nights as they cleaned up the campground and gave everyone in our party a 1 day park hopper for the inconvenience!

Pretty much everything closed down at 6 pm the night Charlie hit, including the restaurants. Disney gave everyone lots of warning and time to get food. Charlie hit us at 11:00pm and we never lost power. It had never occurred to me before then, but all the power, phone, etc is buried at Disney!

The parks all opened the next morning on time, with the exception of Animal Kingdom. They wanted to make sure the animals were all ok before opening up. AK did open, just an hour or 2 late.

Most remarkable thing I saw was a tree blown over in front of the Brown Derby in HS. I have a picture of my daughter in front of it. What makes it remarkable is that two days later we were in HS again to find the tree gone, the stump gone, sod over the hole and topiary's covering the mound. You would never have known the tree existed.

All in all, while it was obviously a bit disconcerting to be in a hurricane, it turned out to be one of the most memorable events of our lives. It also showed us once again why we love Disney so much. They took care of us like we were one of their own.

Oh right, that's the year we got hit with Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, and Tropical Storm Bonnie. That was a year for sure. Very, very, very rare occurrence. Every since then, a simple rain storm is no big deal.

[Butterbunkins]

I was a CM for Hurricane Floyd in 1999. The parks did close for the first time ever. Prior to that they had a late opening due to clean up from a hurricane. But Floyd was the rare hurricane headed right for Orlando. As it happened it changed course in the night and never did hit us directly. I believe AK opened late the next day, but the rest of the parks remained closed simply because they had put the parks back together after preparing them for the hit. I don't think the parks have been closed so severly (except 9/11) since. But like I said this was a rare hurricane. Being far enough inland you shouldn't have to worry.