Hurricane Irma?

[wonder whisper]

My friend that lives in GA by the boarder to Jacksonville FL posted this to her Facebook a little bit ago. It is from the Governor of the state and states what areas are being evacuated. It also states that one of the highways will have a counter flow of traffic. If you are driving please be careful.

https://gov.georgia.gov/sites/gov.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/09.07.17.01.pdf

Given all the evacuation direction changes on interstates, I'm beginning to worry about the people here who stated the plan to drive south to WDW. And not just because of the traffic, but also because of the increasing number of reports gas stations that have exhausted their supplies and are still waiting for new ones.

 

[KimBean]

I'm here at WDW right now. We are ending our trip early and flying home Saturday morning to hopefully avoid the impact of Irma. BUT I spent this morning at Magic Kingdom (it was VERY quiet) trying to soak up whatever park time I could, and I ended up asking some Princesses for advice about the coming storm. Here are their answers:

FWIW -- I am taking this hurricane VERY seriously, as we all should! But since everyone is talking about it here, I thought I'd try to put a little Pixie Dust on it during my meet and greets this morning. Hope it gives you a grin

Awesome!!!

 

[JustFel]

I've been following this thread since the very beginning and have read through every page. I just want to start off by saying that I am so very thankful for those of you showing truly commendable support for one another. Every person's situation is different - there are no easy choices, and I would never judge someone for doing what they feel is best for them and their family.

All that being said, my heart is broken for those who have lost their homes, for those who have encountered harm, and still for those who have had to cancel trips they've saved/planned for for years.

For those who will be down in FL - stay safe, stay informed, and try to make the best of a situation that is far less than ideal! I do still hope that your vacations are filled with some kind of magic, even if the amount is smaller than originally planned. For those who had to reschedule or cancel - I hope that your new vacation plans will be just as amazing as you've always intended. You folks here on these boards are wonderful, and I wish all of you the best, always.

 

[MandyLovesMulan]

Has anyone been on hold so long the music stops?? After about 1 hour 25 minutes it stopped, no answer, but it still says the call is active. Found I hold on or call back?

I tried calling a few days ago and never got music (wasn't aware of flood of calls because of Irma at that time). I didn't think I was on hold and gave up after 10 min or so (I didn't need to cancel and the thought of a 45+ wait was too long for long distance charges).

I can make my request when I arrive in a week.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

Due to fly in next Thursday should be ok correct ?

I'm planning on flying in on the 14th as well. No one knows what the impacts will be and as a result what recovery might be like. I am hopeful that everything will be ok by then, and I'm keeping an eye on the NHS updates to stay informed.

 

[ellie05]

Due to fly in next Thursday should be ok correct ?

You should be fine. Wait until Monday and Tuesday if things go south you can always cancel then.

 

[BigMac3001]

Well, Sorry, Chicago Tribune is wrong. They are after all, not in Orlando.

As an Illinoisan... Truth.

 

[patrickpiteo]

I believe American Airlines will cease operations at MCO starting 2pm on Saturday. Other airlines may follow.

It seems American Airlines cancels more flights and is stopping flights earlier.

Even if the airport is open does no good if your airline stops flying.. or they cancels your flight. I'd be calling my airline for an update frequently.

 

[Ametista]

Well I just rebooked flights and resort for 16-23rd. Just not worth it for me, the stress! Hope you guys are all ok that decided to go anyway.

 

[Tonyz]

Even if the airport is open does no good if your airline stops flying.. or they cancels your flight. I'd be calling my airline for an update frequently.

I'd expect an email if it was canceled.

 

[AJT607]

Given all the evacuation direction changes on interstates, I'm beginning to worry about the people here who stated the plan to drive south to WDW. And not just because of the traffic, but also because of the increasing number of reports gas stations that have exhausted their supplies and are still waiting for new ones.

Congratulations on your 100th post! The fast majority of them seem to have come in this thread.

I've enjoyed following along and reading everyone's perspectives this week, as we leave for our trip to Disney next Thursday.

I'm just curious about one thing. Why you are consistently trying to create fear among people trying to learn about Irma's impact to Disney? I understand that people are speculating and trying to understand all of the facts, but you seem to be trying to convince everyone that Orlando is going to get hit catastrophically hard, even as the evidence seems to suggest that the storm is going to have severe winds and rain, but likely won't be catastrophic in the Orlando area.

 

[wonder whisper]

Due to fly in next Thursday should be ok correct ?

Since no one can predict the future, (e.g. will MCO/Orlando/Disney be impacted by Irma) the only answers you will get here are guesses.

Are you sure you want to base a decision on that?

So my recommendation is wait to see what happens in Florida over the weekend. It's likely you'll have your answer by late Sunday/early Monday.

 

[patrickpiteo]

I'd expect an email if it was canceled.

So did I .. but I been caught getting the email or txt way after the flights was cancelled and in one case I got no email.

 

[Interpol]

Congratulations on your 100th post! The fast majority of them seem to have come in this thread.

I've enjoyed following along and reading everyone's perspectives this week, as we leave for our trip to Disney next Thursday.

I'm just curious about one thing. Why you are consistently trying to create fear among people trying to learn about Irma's impact to Disney? I understand that people are speculating and trying to understand all of the facts, but you seem to be trying to convince everyone that Orlando is going to get hit catastrophically hard, even as the evidence seems to suggest that the storm is going to have severe winds and rain, but likely won't be catastrophic in the Orlando area.

Nobody is saying conclusively that Orlando is going to get hit catastrophically hard. However, there is a possibility, and when there's a possibility the most prudent thing to do is to advise and prepare based on the worst case scenario. It has nothing to do with "creating fear".

Also, please understand that in situations like this there is a lot of confirmation bias that starts getting floated around that can cloud one's judgement. Nobody likes to have their vacation plans altered or cancelled, so people will tend to minimize or discount the thing that is threatening their well-planned (and expensive) vacation based on flimsy news reports or frequently updated prediction models that bolster their hopes. Sometimes it takes a little bit of objectivity and hard-hitting facts to clear the air and make people see the big picture.

 

[jaredandjessica]

Hi everyone. I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that our United flights which were set to arrive from Denver to MCO @ 3:27PM were just cancelled.
I'm on the phone working to cancel the rest of our reservations at the moment, since United really doesn't have any other flights that will work for us.

Hoping the best for all of you still planning to head down!

 

[jaredandjessica]

Hi everyone. I wanted to give everyone a heads-up that our United flights which were set to arrive from Denver to MCO @ 3:27PM were just cancelled.
I'm on the phone working to cancel the rest of our reservations at the moment, since United really doesn't have any other flights that will work for us.

Hoping the best for all of you still planning to head down!

Ooops, and to clarify, I meant Saturday 3:27PM

 

[Tracy Davlin]

Thanks! Hopefully they pick up for you soon, I'm at 1 hour 53 minutes. Ahh!!

I am at 5 hours and 28 mins

 

[SKYYCAMEL]

The newest Euro track shows Irma going right up the spine of Florida. I think the time has come to cancel.

 

[Buzz2014]

We (parents and one child) were scheduled to arrive today 9/7 I called on 9/5 and was told to try to make a decision by noon day prior to checkin. I called on 9/6 at 8am. almost 4hour wait total because I initially called the reservations/bounceback number I was told to call this number when I inquired on 9/5. Reservations said last update they received wasnt enough for refund and that I either kept the reservation or lost entire payment. I told her the website and policy reads differently than what she was telling me. She said she didnt know how to adjust this because it was a "dead offer" from bounceback. I said I was well aware this was bounceback booked september 2016. She transferred me to guest service this was the 3hr wait. On another phone I called guest service on my own and got through quicker than the transfer call. I explained everything and they started looking to reschedule, said I would lose free dining but suggested ticketless dining. We booked 5 nights in October 15% discount due to pin I had but there was a holiday package with similar rates. They added ticketless dining and I ended up with a refund where I am able to buy just 2day hoppers vs 3day. So we lost free dining, but got a room discount. And lost one day of tickets.. Its not the greatest but at least it works and they had options. She gave me a confirmation code for what we figured out but said she could not actually change my reservation. I still had the transfer from 3hrs prior going with many rounds of music (it did stop sometimes and comeback). So when the transfer call finally picked up I gave her the confirmation number I had figured out with my reservations call... I hung up and then called southwest. Their phones were a mess so it took 6 calls to reschedule. I am glad we made a good decision and have family in florida that has attempted to travel north as of last night. I hope it is not too damaging and everyone stays safe.
BTW:
Last september we went to mnsshp and it was rained out, for whoever got on line at the park in the storm, they issued a code to get future tickets in person. The reason we were returning this year was to use our code on 9/10. If we had a longer trip scheduled we would not have cancelled but we figured even if Disney is prepared it was going to take away at least 2-3 days from the park. Hope this info helps someone.

I had never heard of ticketless dining. Seems great for AP holders if they get a room discount too. Also. I'm glad we got october dates where public free dining is not active because I was able to get all our ADRs back except for BOG. We considered pushing to late september but there were limited ADRs. It took 3-4 hrs of planning before calling for rescheduled lodging dates. I wanted to get the closest deal to what we had before and my experience with calling reservations is that they ask you for dates or look up random ones. I will stop rambling now.. just hope my info helps someone who is trying to cancel or move dates.

 

[wonder whisper]

Well since its about 3 days away instead of 4 plus, we can take it with a little grain of salt

Granted, that means the potential deviation falls into the 70-85 mile range. What I wish the NHC would do is show the nominal deviation curve, which would give us an idea of how their predictions have done over time (i.e. are they getting better or worse, in terms of accuracy).