Hurricanes and Disney

[disnut8]

The depression in the Atlantic reminds me of the crazy Fl weather. And it reminds me that I need some hurricane advice for our trip in a couple of days. Yikes!

Have you ever spent time at Disney during a hurricane? What kinds of precautions should one take?

Anything I should be aware of during a storm? Anything I should consider packing, just in case?

TIA!!! (still excited for our vacation...2 days and counting!)

We were there for Hurricane Francis (silly me thought it wouldn't hit and I was totally wrong, oh well).

We were on a 24 hour lockdown and confined to our rooms for that time span. Disney had a continuous cycle of movies on two different channels but it was clearly just a DVD being played over and over again. That got old very quickly. What saved us was my forethought (just in case) to pack a deck of cards and the game of Yahtzee. Trust me, the local stations will be showing nothing but storm coverage. And you can only take so many reporters standing outside in a hurricane telling you how bad it is and so you should take cover (while they are outside in puddles and gale force winds). I would also make sure I had a map of Florida in the room because the reporters will say the storm is going to hit a certain county and if you have no idea where that county is, you are clueless.

So, pack at least one deck of cards, some travel or board games, some paper to keep score, and a map of Florida.

Now, Disney gave us plenty of notice and had Styrofoam coolers for sale in the gift shops to pack up things for the long haul. The food court was doing a big business and pizzas were sitting there waiting for people to buy them. We never lost power.

The only "problem" we had (we were at Pop Century) was we had to go to another floor to get ice (this was before fridges in the room) as our floor was completely out.

Disney is one of the safest places to be in a hurricane. When my sister and my dad lived in the Keys, they would evacuate to Disney World since it was safe.

 

[Pixiedust34]

When we travel during hurricane storm and there is something brewing in the Atlantic, we bring our own light rain jackets from home rather than depend upon ponchos. We're much more comfortable, and stand out in a crowd compared to most people wearing the WDW ponchos.

DisNut8, we always bring a deck of cards and usually have a game of Yahtzee and maybe a deck of Uno. Those are great for downtime at the room or pool. The kids have played with the cards at various resort lobby areas while waiting to be seated at a table for a meal.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I read this morning that even with the projected paths, Isaac has a 16% chance of hitting Florida. That's how precise they can be this far out. There is far greater a chance of afternoon downpours that come and go than a hurricane strike. Could it hit? Yes, but I wouldn't let it ruin things. Monitor it if you are flying those days, yes. I flew into Florida the day Katrina went through.

 

[mjp12831]

Last year Irene was supposed to hit Fla and it missed entirely. It's hard to put stock in these models, especially this far out.

This one (TD9) right now looks like worst case it will be a Cat 2 when it hits Fla, and landfall would weaken it from there. I believe it was even downgraded from a Tropical Depression today, but they do expect it to go back to a TD.

I'm mostly concerned about flight delays, and at this point it looks like it wouldn't be in the WDW area until Monday or later.

 

[chigirl]

These are the only hurricane closures at the WDW parks:

Full day closings:
September 2, 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)
September 4 and 5, 2005 (Hurricane Frances)
September 27, 2005 (Hurricane Jeanne)

Partial closings:
September 1, 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)
August 13, 2005 (Hurricane Charley)
October 25, 2006 (Hurricane Wilma)

You can see hurricane closures at the parks are relatively rare and that many of them took place in 2005, which was an extraordinary year for hurricanes.

What to be prepared for: Flight delays, the possibility of having to rearrange your transport home, maybe having to spend some time inside your resort (I stayed during Hurricane Frances, it was 2 days for Frances to pass, staying at Pop Century which does not have inside corridors - guests were asked not to leave their rooms and were requested to stock up on food and beverages before the hurricane came through, as the main building incluiding the food court would be closed while the hurricane passed. Power was never lost, though.)

I had to extend my stay two nights, as flights were not leaving the Orlando airport and by the time they started leaving again, planes were full. This was easily done at Pop Century. There was a charge for the two extra nights, but they did let me have the Annual Passholder rate.

wow...the first year we went as a family was 2005, from September 12-18, between the two hurricanes and we had PERFECT weather! Not a drop of rain. I don't remember there being hurricanes before we went, except for Katrina that was a few weeks before.

 

[tajz90]

wow...the first year we went as a family was 2005, from September 12-18, between the two hurricanes and we had PERFECT weather! Not a drop of rain. I don't remember there being hurricanes before we went, except for Katrina that was a few weeks before.

That's because the nightmares were hitting Louisiana and Texas ;0.

Disney is good about protecting their guests. I have often thought of evacuating there.

 

[carol-lamb]

Tropical Storm Debbie came in while we were at WDW this past June. While it wasn't fun walking around in the rain for four days, my poncho and flip flops were put to good use!

 

[North of Mouse]

From everything I have read Disney is excellent about keeping people safe and informed in these situations. I have seen old posts where they evacuate the Fort because people there wouldn't be safe, and put them in other resorts until the storm passes.
I think having a plan just in case is a good idea. Extra money in case your flights are delayed coming home, and for food. Something to do in your room if you need to be in there for 24 hours (handheld games, books to read etc). Phone numbers to call people back home if you need to be there longer than anticipated etc.

This is so true. We were in our MH at FW when Tropical Storm Faye sat over Orlando. Every day they brought an update to us and said if the winds became sustained at 35mph or over, they would have us move our RV's to a hotel and they would put us in a room.

It didn't, but boy did it rain - looked like a lake in the CC. The parks didn't shut down so we slogged it out.

 

[emmakatbaby]

You will definetly need extra cash if the electricity is out. Debit/credit machines won't work and ATMS's wont work. Also keep in mind that this can last for a few days after the storm passes. You may need batteries, flashlights and a small lamp also to use in the room at night if the electricity is out. I would also look at the days the storm will hit and my reservation and add a day or two ahead of time if necessary so i would not have to change resorts or checkout due to availability. From reading the previous posts, it sounds like alot of florida residents evacuate to Orlando. You wouldn't want to get in a situation with having to check out due to no room availability. If the storm does hit Miami or Tampa the way they said tonight, many of the residents may end up in Orlando.

 

[LPnerd]

OP just wanted you know that I pretty sure WDW has only been majorly effected by 2 hurricanes over 40 years.

It will mostly be a Tropical Storm by the time it hits WDW that's the reason for my semi snarky just bring a rain coat post.

first of all, no two storms are alike, second of all, the amount of effect depends on the strength of the storm, one hurricane a cat 1 is like a really bad two day thunderstorm, and cat two, is a little more intense, a cat three stay inside and prepare to be without power for a while.. maybe, and a cat four you will be moved from your rooms to one of the big convention centers in the big hotels. and let me tell you, seeing them flip AROND FOR THAT ONE IS SOMETHING TO SEE... IT'S AMAZING IN FACT!
this Issac is not that... no one can predict strength yet as we have to see how it interacts with Cuba... it's fun and interesting to hear all the storm stories, just make sure you don't minimize this one, at least not yet, and please don't under or over play this storm... we don't know yet.
unless you are on the coast, or driving you'l be fine no matter what.
somethings you'll like to have, is bottled water is a good idea, but for mostthat live in Fl it's what we use eeryday as the water i fl is HORRIBLE.. unless you like chlorine flavored coffee, I suggest you have it in any case... a couple candles or maye some led flashlights in our purse, you know, the little ones that are good on the road onyway???
cards! games, puzzels, peanut butter and jelly, apples and Bananas are always good to have on hand along with ceral and milk! disney will have the power on as soon as winds die down if it goes out. and your milk will stay cold in a cooler or a little fridge, just trun it up high at the start of the storm and only open the door if you have too.

 

[Sammie]

For Charley, they closed the parks early in the afternoon and delayed openings the next morning. AK park was closed the entire day after the storm.

As to storms lasting a couple of hours, most yes, some more. We were in our room for Charley for over 12 hours, so yes bring things to keep everyone from getting cabin fever.

We have been there during 4 storms.

 

[socalduo]

Has Disney ever refunded tickets or made them good for another day when they closed the parks?

 

[Harmony]

We can not add days to our vacation as we have company flying in the day after we get home. (home being in the NE) My friend might have to stay in a hotel if we can't make it home but praying that won't be the case.

Besides, it looks to hit Florida area around mid-week and we won't be flying home till Friday of the 31st so I'm not too worried about being stuck in Fl. Last year, we had to add one day to our vacation but since we weren't expected back home, it didn't matter. This time, I'd hate to do that since we are expected to meet our friend at the airport the morning after we fly in.

 

[Harmony]

Just checked the forecast track again and it looks to head up right in the middle of Florida, from Miami and all the way to Orlando. If it does that, it'll lose much of it's steam before hitting Orlando. But I'm sure we'll get lots of rain, which is fine by me. Less crowds.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

The hurricane (Isaac) was one of the lead stories on the news I watched last night in NYC - because of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

 

[lts862]

We are heading to Vero Beach on Friday for 6 days. Would you change your plans? Maybe head to Orlando? .....still so much uncertainty. Any advice is appreciated! thank you!

 

[mylildarlings]

We are heading to Vero Beach on Friday for 6 days. Would you change your plans? Maybe head to Orlando? .....still so much uncertainty. Any advice is appreciated! thank you!

We're flying in Friday and heading to Cocoa Beach till Sunday. On Sunday were staying just outside WDW before moving to YC on Monday. As of right now, I'm not planning on changing things. But I did just book a night on Sat at our Sunday night hotel. It's a no CC hold that's cancelable till checkin time. My thought is if Isaac tracks east with landfall on Monday. Evac might begin on Sat. So it doesn't hurt to have the hotel room booked as a backup.

So, I would say don't change your plans just yet, but start looking into cancelable back up options.

 

[pigletto]

We are heading to Vero Beach on Friday for 6 days. Would you change your plans? Maybe head to Orlando? .....still so much uncertainty. Any advice is appreciated! thank you!

Because of the relative degree of uncertainty at this point I would not change my plans yet. What I would do though is have a well thought out back up plan to get out of there if necessary.

Landfall is impossible to predict at this point. There are a number of scenarios in place that will effect both intensity and track of the Hurricane. So to change absolutely everything right now probably isn't the best idea. However, having a solid contingency plan is a very good idea.
This is only one persons opinion, but I don't think anyone could tell you that it would hurt to have a backup plan

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

Landfall is impossible to predict at this point.

Bingo Best advice yet!

and the full truth is we often don't know exactly where a hurricane is going until after it has been there.

True story:
We were due to start our ocean-front vacation in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island on August 28, 2011.
Hurricane Irene made news a week before she landed- everyone panicked up and down the whole east coast.
She finally decided to hit the OBX on the 27th and we waited until damage reports came in on the 28th to go ahead and finalize our alternate plans.
Drove down to Pawley's Island, SC (beautiful and untouched by the storm) on Monday the 29th.
Got a great last-minute deal at a phenomenal resort because of all the knee-jerk reactionists
that cancelled their beach vacations without waiting to see what would happen.

It was not the vacation that we had planned- it was a whole lot better!
Best vacation ever!

 

[TDC Nala]

Has Disney ever refunded tickets or made them good for another day when they closed the parks?

During Frances all the parks were closed for two full days. I have an annual so I didn't ask about refunds on tickets. I heard somebody saying they got two one-day tickets though.