Anyone drive to WDW during peak hurricane season?

[MamaLema]

We are booked for the first 2 weeks of September.

For those who drive, what have your experiences been? Did you make it or did you turn back?

If there is a hurricane, should we just stay in a hotel somewhere along the way for a couple of days? My kids will be heartbroken if we drive so far and have to turn back.

Any thoughts?

 

[explorer1977]

We drove down last september during labour day weekend and returned two weeks later. We had no problems at all with weather but we were lucky I think. We were a little worried about our vehicle while we were on our cruise but the storm stayed out to sea so no worries. During huricane season you have to be flexable with your schedule but it is a great time to go becuase crowds are low and the weather temperature is great. Good luck with your trip but remember that no one can control mother nature.

 

[snoopyandpooh]

We drove down in August 2004, there was a curfew after we checked into the hotel, we were worried about the rental car being close to trees, the wind was strong, but everything turned out fine.

Drove down again August last year, parked the rental at the cruise terminal and wasn't even aware of any problems, never even crossed our minds that a hurricane might hit.

I am driving down again this August for another cruise, I will arrive a few days earlier and have my fingers crossed.
.

 

[briarberry]

We were at WDW in August 2004 and our flight was cancelled due to the approaching hurricane. I had to get back to work so we rented a car to drive home. Big mistake!!!!!! The evacuation was a nightmare. It was just myself and my daughter who was 7 at the time. The highway was wall to wall traffic way into Georgia. We never went more than 30 MPH for hours on end. We even saw a car on fire by the side of the road (no one was hurt I think it just overheated). I tried to pull off and get a hotel room but there weren't any available. It was scary because I got too tired to drive so I pulled into a hotel and asked the desk clerk if it was okay for us to sleep in the car in the parking lot. The rest areas were too full to even pull into. We finally got a hotel room north of Atlanta.
We went again in August 2005 (if you can believe it) and drove both ways. No hurricanes happened while we were there. Late August is a good time to go because the crowds are low.
I hope this doesn't scare you but don't try to evacuate especially with little kids. One Disney bus driver told us WDW is one of the safest places to be in Florida during a hurricane because it's built for withstand the winds. It was not something I care to do again, though. I was genuinely frightened when I couldn't find a place to sleep. It certainly is something my daughter will long remember though! We had a great time in spite of the hurricane and yes we are flying down again this August! I have allowed plenty of time at the end of the holiday so I can get back to work in time, though!
If you go in late August you will run into a lot of Canadians because our kids go back to school so late compared to most American states.

 

[Tinkerjane]

Had reservations for September 2004 for my 40th birthday, 2 days before we were leaving to drive down, we had to cancel because the hurricanes were coming right up the path we were driving through. Broke my heart and I cried for days. I even cried on the phone to the cm at Disney and he refunded my hotel money. Yep, I'm a big whiney baby
We've decided we will never try that time of year again as you don't know until right before it happens.

 

[tink&cinderella]

My youngest daughter and I were there in late October 2005 when a hurricane hit. Our flight home was delayed by one day and we extended our stay at POP century. We were able to stay in the same room. I have never seen Palm trees that were almost laying side ways with the wind.

I felt relatively safe in the hotel - lots of wind and rain- they played disney movies in the room and we did venture to the main building when the wind had died down a bit and we were able to get the ok from the front desk.

Needless to say we were soaked - especially our legs. They had Mickey, Goofy and the Chip munks in the lobby of the hotel entertaining the kids. By mid afternoon the weather had died down and I enjoyed an extra night at DTD with having dinner at the Rainforest Cafe with a friend who lives in Florida.

I could not imagine driving and trying to evacuate- Stay put at disney and you'll be fine.

Does anyone know the time frame of hurricane season?? Is it over by November or does it extend into December??

Denise

 

[Polynesianfan]

I've driven down with my family during Frances and evacuated 2 days before the end of our trip. We also drove through the top of Katrina.

WDW seems to have a "magical" bubble around the property. It is the safest place to be during bad weather. They have their own power and water supply, as we were told by the CM's during our last 2 August/Sept. trips.

You can't predict the weather, but if you take a chance and there is a hurricane....the parks are REALLY empty !!

 

[LoriLea]

We drove down to Pop Century in late August 2004 and were planning to leave for home on the Saturday of Labour Day weekend. Upon learning that Hurricance Frances was approaching (for us - late on the Thursday evening - hadn't been watching the weather), we packed up to leave early on Friday morning.
When we went to check out a day early, we were advised by 2 CM's and their manager to stay put. There was an evacuation order and were told;
#1 If we didn't have gas, we wouldn't be able to get any.
#2 It would take us 7 hrs to travel a distance normally travelled in 1 1/2 hrs.
#3 The highway is not where you want to be during a hurricane as lodging would be difficult to find if we were stranded.
We were advised to book for another 3 nights. (at a low rate $45/night- thankfully)
We did leave around 10 am on the Monday morning but in hindsight, this was a bad decision. It was very windy and rainy. There was next to no northbound traffic. There was debris in the road, trees in the right hand lanes, car overturned etc. We drove for 5 hrs before we were out of it.
We felt safe at PC and should have stayed another night.

This year we are travelling at the same time, but will be flying instead.

 

[Daddio]

Can't tell you what the drive experience would be like but can share our October 2005 experience when Wilma went through.

At first it was a little nerve racking as the storm was a day or so away. Disney was great in keeping everyone informed by both bulletins delivered to the rooms and voice messages on the phone.

We were comforted by the stories that circulated about how Disney had kept its power during Charlie/Francis??, and suffered little damage even though it was hit hard. Even more comforting was the day before Wilma hit. One of the Epcot parking lots was the central dispatch area for hundreds of Electric Company Road Crews arriving from all over the southern US, preparing for the aftermath.

Later we discovered that the crews were put up in the POP where we were staying. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. It really was a great feeling as the storm approached.

She hit in the morning hours. We stayed in the room, instructed to keep the drapes drawn and stay away from the window. All the channels were carrying Disney Movies. If you didn't look out the window you would never have suspected anything was going on. The room we had at POP must have been very sheltered because even when you looked outside, it didn't seem any worse than a heavy thunderstorm which typically moves across Southern Ontario on a hot muggy day.

At around 1 or 2 PM the message light on the phone started flashing. Message was that the storm had past and the busses would be running in about a half hour. MK was open to all on site guests and would have an extended opening that evening.

By the next day, you had forgotten anything out of the ordinary had happened.

Good luck with your trip. Keep in mind that this year (2006), Floridians have deceided not to invite any hurricanes their way.