So Disgusted-Weather

[Feralpeg]

The good thing, if there is one, about a tropical storm is that there is very little lightening. It's just a lot of wind and rain.

It appears that it will remain a weak system. That's good because they will keep the parks open. If there are tropical storm force winds in the area, they close.

I've been in this area long enough to experience 3 hurricanes and 2 tropical storms. In each case, they declared a state of emergency and put a curfew in place. No one was allowed on the roads except for emergency personnel.

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge during Frances. They chained the doors closed and put sand bags against them. After that point, no one in or out until after the storm passed.

Fortunately, this storm may not be that strong.

 

[HopperFan]

FLORIDA WEATHER BE LIKE:

...AND 15 MINUTES LATER BE LIKE:

Yup, yup.

Or that rain fallout is at Boardwalk while there is no rain happening at the Contemporary. And that is on a normal day. It is HURRICANE season. It is why Free Dining began - to fill rooms left empty because folks didn't want to chance trips during Hurricanes aka rain. Been traveling to WDW for a decade during September. First few years we had rain, some big storms and then for many years now it's been very dry. Everyone got comfortable that hurricanes would not be an issue so it has gotten more and more busy in September.
This year has seemed very rainy to me - glad I bumped us to October ... not that we'll be safe but here's to hoping.

 

[trivial]

My first trip in almost 9 years begins on Tuesday. I knew the risks and shrugged them off, and now I'm a bit anxious. But it sounds like the situation won't be as bad as it could be... more rain than expected, but hopefully that's it.

 

[stackyallred]

Can anyone with experience traveling in past storms give an educated, albeit loose guess as to the flying situation on Tuesday AM? I'm assuming all flights coming in will be grounded IF the track continues as projected (yes still a big IF, I know). Obviously a hurricane would be a definite no flying zone but what about a weak TS when flying into MCO from the west? At this point I'm just grasping for some hope of not losing our first day stuck at the airport!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We are here now. Yesterday was nice in the morning with about two hours of midday rain which is normal in August. We were actually on our midday break and about to hit the pool anyway. We just relaxed for an hour then got in the pool.

We are at MK now. It's very hot but sunny. It's supposed to rain midday again. We take midday breaks at the pool everyday for this reason. And to get away from heat and crowds.

I've been following Erica but I keep hearing 100 different versions. We are due to change resorts on Monday so just holding out to see what's going on.

We leave next Saturday. I just hope there's not another flight delay that I had coming in.

 

[amandals2007]

they just declared a state of emergency for FL, will the parks be open? how does that work? i was in WDW when Floyd hit and we had to stay in our hotel for two days, windows boarded up and they brough us food. luckily we stayed offsite then and our doors were to the inside of the hotel (we stay at POFQ now) so we could leave the room and went down to the lobby and they had things for us to do and eat and such.

 

[Feralpeg]

It all depends on the winds. If the winds stay below tropical storm level, they will keep the parks open. If they hit tropical storm level, if they follow what they did during previous storms, they will put a curfew in place and the parks will close

They are most concerned with the possibility of flooding. Unless things change, we will be on the side of the storm to receive the most rain. Some of the counties to the west recently flooded, so this is not good. They are also concerned the system could stall over the state increasing the flooding risk even more. The have mobilized some national guard just in case.

 

[Mom of Jack 2009]

We will be there from Sunday - Sunday. I'm not a rain person so this should be interesting. Should I cancel ADRS for Monday/Tuesday? As long as a park is open, if I miss an ADR I'll be charged, correct?

 

[Kelly014]

I checked weather.com and it looks bad.

Yesterday (I live in MO) weather.com said we had a 4% chance of rain at 10 AM and no chance at any other time. It rained for 6 hours. I know rain isn't ideal on vacation, but the weather is going to do what it's going to do regardless of what forecasters are predicting. Just let it happen and make the best of it!

 

[Shmily01]

Yeah, we are leaving for Florida next Friday and I'm hoping that all the ugly weather will have passed by then. If not, we will make the most of it. Thankful that we are driving though because it think the rain is heading this way (SC & NC) so we may have a rainy trip down!

 

[TSR6]

Yup, yup.

Or that rain fallout is at Boardwalk while there is no rain happening at the Contemporary. And that is on a normal day.

Yeah, that video I posted? I dont think it even rained at MK... lol

 

[HopperFan]

We will be there from Sunday - Sunday. I'm not a rain person so this should be interesting. Should I cancel ADRS for Monday/Tuesday? As long as a park is open, if I miss an ADR I'll be charged, correct?

Yes if they are open you are responsible. No show, they will charge you. Even if they cancel fireworks, they still have the Dessert Parties. If you have a car, and don't plan to go to a park in the rain, maybe change your meals to resort restaurants and then explore at the resorts.

 

[HopperFan]

they just declared a state of emergency for FL, will the parks be open? how does that work? i was in WDW when Floyd hit and we had to stay in our hotel for two days, windows boarded up and they brough us food. luckily we stayed offsite then and our doors were to the inside of the hotel (we stay at POFQ now) so we could leave the room and went down to the lobby and they had things for us to do and eat and such.

Pretty sure if they call for you to stay in your rooms, you will not be permitted to go outside since you don't have interior rooms. They won't offer anything that would encourage you to be unsafe. I would stock some snacks and drinks in your room if you are concerned.

 

[DebbieB]

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge during Frances. They chained the doors closed and put sand bags against them. After that point, no one in or out until after the storm passed.

Fortunately, this storm may not be that strong.

What if there was a fire?

 

[wilkeliza]

What if there was a fire?

I kept reading the response and thinking the same thing. Chaining the doors are against so many safety protocols and I'm pretty sure would get them in a ton of troubl if a flood happened or fire and there was no way for people to escape.

 

[lugnut33]

We were at WDW for Tropical Storm Fay a few years ago. While it rained a lot, we still had a good time. I had scheduled a tour at the MK for the day the brunt of the storm was to hit. I called Guest Services the night before and they said I was on the hook unless they closed the park. They did not close the park and we ended up having a great day. The rain held off until around 2 at which time it rained buckets. However, there was no lightning and most of the attractions stayed open, which was great because very few people were in the MK that day.

 

[larryz]

We are checking into CBR today, the weather outlook is horrible. From Sunday thru Wed (5 days) there is a 80-90% chance of rain (and not just a passing shower-looks like a all day/night event). People always say to put on the ponchos and just go to the parks. What do you do when there is lightning/thunder happening? Do you risk it and walk ride to ride? This will be our last Aug/Sept trip, just too unpredictable. Sorry to sound like a downer but we were planning on a lot of waterpark time and now that doesn't look possible.

WDW in Hurricane Season. That's why it's such a value!

 

[eliza61]

Just back in the room. it's about 5:35 and the rain just started. got in an entire day at MK with all our fast pass without a drop of rain. Weather man is saying that Tuesday and Wednesday will be wet all day.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I've been way too many times in September and run into all day rain that has lasted for days - After having that happen on my last 3 Sept. trips, I'm trying out October this time.

I usually keep going and don't worry about the lightening until the CM's tell us to take cover (which happened on last years September trip). I hung out in the Emporium shopping and pin trading with CM's for an hour long after the lightening had stopped.

Just make sure you have good ponchos or rain coats and shoes that can handle the rain and you'll be ok (wet, but ok).

 

[robndani]

I worked in the parks when Sandy hit the NY/NJ area. The system itself stayed out of FL and stuck to the ocean but we would get bands of heavy showers every day. A lot of the outside attractions were up and down through out the day. So try to plan your outside stuff (Big Thunder Mountain, Test Track, Seven Dwarfs) as soon as you can. If you have a fast pass for it is and it isn't open you will be given an anytime fastpass for that attraction or a list of others. If TT goes down expect Soarin's line to be long even FP. The rain shouldn't be too constant and should pass as the bands of the storm pass through so you'll have a few hours of clear sky, a few hours of rain, a few hours of clear, repeat until storm has passed.

Each attraction is a little different in lighting. Basically though if you can see it, chances are outside attractions will be shut down. It is possible though for you not to see it and stuff to be closed because if there are reports of a dangerous system moving in quickly they may shut down to be proactive. All depends on the manager making the call that day.

We were there for Sandy and there were definitely times it was pretty miserable. We did a lot of crafting with the kids at the Community Hall at AKL! LOL It was also really cold, which we weren't as prepared for as we should have been. Now we know. The up side? After the first 4 days, it got much nicer out. Plus, because we are from NJ we extended our vacation an extra 4 days since none of us had power at home (maybe that was a down side?)!