Anyone experienced a hurricane?

[howlongtillsummer?]

We are seriously considering booking free dining next year. In fact I am pretty sure we will!

I know it is peak hurricane season though. However ,I am here in my bubble thinking that Disney would look after us really well anyways, if the worst did happen.

Anyone had any experience or any thoughts?

Am I crazy?

 

[wayneg]

Yes I have experienced one, thankfully not a full blown hurricane but it passed by.
We were offsite(Best Western Lakeside) so couldn't tell you how Disney reacted but around us they went into panic mode. No rooms cleaned, letters saying everything would be closed and stay in your room until its passed. I know they have to be cautious but it really was a letdown, I was out videoing no problems. We eventually went out to find food and could only find a McD's open.
Although I love the Americans they do go into panic mode very easily, a bad storm, Flu, bush fires (Disneyland, CA Oct 2007 was empty, great for us with no crowds) Whereas British tend to wait until danger is on our doorstep Americans have already battened down the hatches. Maybe they are right and we are crazy.

 

[jen_uk]

We have beem twice in August and were there last year when there was the threat of a hurricane which ended up being a tropical storm. As Wayne said it was totally blown out of proportion, literally all tv channels were reporting on this 'massive' storm, the red cross were called in, a state of emergency was declared and there were warnings everywhere. By the time it came I was really worried that we were going to be in the middle of a disaster zone. In the end it was no worse than a windy day here!!

 

[dooledoo]

We were staying at Disney in September 2004 during one of the hurricanes (can't remember the name). We were staying at the AKL and we were very well looked after.

The hotel laid on entertainment for the children, there were treasure hunts and puzzles, the staff entertained them with AKL themed activities and we even had some Disney characters turn up!! A musical band turned up as well, I don't know how they got there though!

There was free snacks and drinks for everyone. We weren't allowed to leave the hotel but it wasn't an unpleasant experience, in as far as we were looked after! After about 6pm we were allowed outside again and a lot of people left for their journey home. The parks opened again as usual the next day with no signs of any trouble although the drive to the parks showed signs of high winds.

It certainly wouldn't put me off staying again. I think the only consideration it that if you stay in a moderate resort, you would be stuck in your room as there is no connection with the main buildings, so that might be a problem!

 

[jockey]

We were staying at POFQ during hurricane Jeanne. Disney were fantastic, they kept leaving recorded messages on our phone as to what to do etc. They were on hand to answer questions and once the worst had passed they brought characters to the lobby etc. TBH it was not that bad just like a very very stormy day here.

 

[starrysky]

We have beem twice in August and were there last year when there was the threat of a hurricane which ended up being a tropical storm. As Wayne said it was totally blown out of proportion, literally all tv channels were reporting on this 'massive' storm, the red cross were called in, a state of emergency was declared and there were warnings everywhere. By the time it came I was really worried that we were going to be in the middle of a disaster zone. In the end it was no worse than a windy day here!!

Yup we had the same thing in 2006 it was Ernesto for us and our hotel kept leaving messages on our phone telling us what to do. I was a bit freaked out but when the day came we went shopping early to one of the malls (it was not due to be in the orlando area until 4pm) and then just stayed at the resort. My DH said if he wanted a wet and windy holiday he would have stayed in the UK.


The hurricane ended up being down graded to a tropical storm so we had a few gusty winds and some thunder and lightning but really that was all.

Best advice is go and enjoy yourself and take advice from the staff at your resort. We are heading back this aug/sep and are not at all worried about the weather. But as PP's have said the media do hype it up alot and did scare us a bit but when we talked to the local staff they really made us feel better.

 

[HeresYourEars]

Yes I have experienced one, thankfully not a full blown hurricane but it passed by.
We were offsite(Best Western Lakeside) so couldn't tell you how Disney reacted but around us they went into panic mode. No rooms cleaned, letters saying everything would be closed and stay in your room until its passed. I know they have to be cautious but it really was a letdown, I was out videoing no problems. We eventually went out to find food and could only find a McD's open.
Although I love the Americans they do go into panic mode very easily, a bad storm, Flu, bush fires (Disneyland, CA Oct 2007 was empty, great for us with no crowds) Whereas British tend to wait until danger is on our doorstep Americans have already battened down the hatches. Maybe they are right and we are crazy.

I have two words for you: Hurricane Katrina.

Yes, we go into panic mode because something devastating could happen. People die in tropic storms and bush fires. It's a normal reaction to a natural event of these proportions.

It's unlikely that anything bad will happen, but I would highly suggest that anyone travelling to Florida during hurricane season have a plan. And maybe be a little bit more understanding when Americans go into 'panic mode'.

p.s. I truly don't mean to sound snarky here. It's just that I've been through lots of tropical storms, hurricanes, and hurricane near-misses (I live on the coast in Virginia), and it's scary no matter how many times you've been through it. I would think that Disney would treat everyone wonderfully....

 

[Shazzie B]

I have two words for you: Hurricane Katrina.

Yes, we go into panic mode because something devastating could happen. People die in tropic storms and bush fires. It's a normal reaction to a natural event of these proportions.

It's unlikely that anything bad will happen, but I would highly suggest that anyone travelling to Florida during hurricane season have a plan. And maybe be a little bit more understanding when Americans go into 'panic mode'.

When we were there last August with the 'threatened Hurricane' that fortunately was only a Tropical Storm when it hit land, the one thing that reassured me was that the locals knew what they were doing, and would be prepared. I knew if the parks were open then it would be safe to go to them etc.

Please don't take offence Heresyourears; We can't really talk 1 inch of snow here and we grind to a holt-bet the Americans laugh at us then

 

[paulh]

on the hole if a hurricane did hit while there,better of onsite than off. arrived on the day a hurricane hit and disney were up and running next day,rest of orlando were worse off
Paulh

 

[wayneg]

I have two words for you: Hurricane Katrina.

Yes, we go into panic mode because something devastating could happen. People die in tropic storms and bush fires. It's a normal reaction to a natural event of these proportions.

It's unlikely that anything bad will happen, but I would highly suggest that anyone travelling to Florida during hurricane season have a plan. And maybe be a little bit more understanding when Americans go into 'panic mode'.

p.s. I truly don't mean to sound snarky here. It's just that I've been through lots of tropical storms, hurricanes, and hurricane near-misses (I live on the coast in Virginia), and it's scary no matter how many times you've been through it. I would think that Disney would treat everyone wonderfully....

I fully understand Americans have lived thru these things and aware of the devastation they cause, we haven't so its difficult to understand but any warning and it seems like panic, I guess media are partly to blame.
We have American friends who cancelled a European DCL cruise thru fear of a terrorist attack, couldn't understand that one myself.

 

[Twilight Terror]

In 2006, we were there for Ernesto. It was a tropical storm by the time it hit Orlando, but it was just like a regular bad winter's day here - gale force winds and lots of rain. We were staying off-site for that one, and there was a letter on our beds the day before saying no room service/cleaning the next day, and that the restaurant would be open, but shorter hours than normal. Everyone was advised to stay in there rooms. In the morning, they cleared the pool area, locked it up and removed all the loungers/pool toys.

Last year's trip spanned four, nearly five Hurricanes/Tropical Storms! We flew in just after Faye, and just before Gustav. The flight was bumpy due to Faye going over the Atlantic/Gustav coming in. Weather was fine as Gustav passed. Then we got bombarded with Hanna, Ike and Josephine. Hanna and Ike made it extremely hot because while they never made landfall with Florida, they hovered close by, where huge, and were sucking in all the rain clouds!

It felt the complete opposite of panic while we were there. Everyone was calm and not worrying about anything until much nearer the time. These things appear on the weather channel as soon as they leave Africa and take days to reach, all the time the media is talking about them. But no one in Florida was worried, not until like they were like 24-36hrs away. It made me feel safe because if they were leaving it until that late, they obviously had very well placed emergency plans that they could active and complete within hours.

As long as you are prepared and follow the instructions that are given to you, you are not going to come to any harm. Everyone is happy to give you advice/tips if you ask for them. Just watch the weather channel when you get up and when you get back for up to date information and don't panic.

If I had to be stuck in a hurricane, I would rather be in Disney than the UK *remembers the 1987 hurricane that we weren't going to get*

 

[islandmum]

I have two words for you: Hurricane Katrina.

....

absoloutely - we live in the Hurricane belt in the Caribbean, we've been hit by a category 5 (Ivan) and a 2 (Emily) since we've been here.

The main reason the alarm sounds is the TOTAL unpredictablility of these storm. They pick up strength over the gulf waters and then decrease speed as they hit land. Katrina's main problem wasnt technically the wind at all - it was of course the water level and storm surge. You never know what they will do, and if they didnt give the full emergency setup and people died the blame game would be huge.

Orlando cannot be hit by a storm surge so the damage done is by the wind. To be honest a cat 1 or 2 is like a really stormy day in the UK we've found. Cat 3 up and its best to be indoors in a secure building. But Orlando doesnt get hit much by over a cat 3 hurricane as its more inland so the hurricane has lost power by the time it gets there. Yes there are exceptions of big ones (Andrew etc) but they're extremely rare.

 

[Cochise]

We were there for Wilma in 2005 that wasn't too long after Katrina. There was blanket coverage on the media and not suprised too after what New Orleans had been through. Were were staying inwhat was the Barcelo on I Drive which was I think designated as a hotel well able to cope with anything thrown at it. Eventually the entry point was Naples and it exited around Miami so it was like a wet/n windy weekend in Wales, have been in alot worse. Everything closed for the morning, as lunch and after drew in a few place opened and I believe Sea World opened the gates that afternoon. Getting a decent meal was tough as everyone launched to the restaurants as sooin as things were calmer, we ended up in BK.

 

[orangetiggs]

we were there through hurricane jeanne and disney were great, wouldnt put me off going again this time of year

We even got married there last sept and there were hurricanes looking like they were heading for florida but didnt worry us

 

[howlongtillsummer?]

This is really useful info, thanks.

Did you all stock up with things -- I don't know, water or snacks just in case?

About how long do they take to pass? (On average?)

Really thanks again.

 

[Twilight Terror]

This is really useful info, thanks.

Did you all stock up with things -- I don't know, water or snacks just in case?

About how long do they take to pass? (On average?)

Really thanks again.

I remember in 2006 for Ernesto, we went to Walgreens the night before and bought a big packet of water (like 24 regular bottles), a couple of bags of crisps, some chocolate, basically a huge bunch of crap to see us through the day without having to go to the food court, and a packet of uno cards for entertainment should the electricity go out. But it didn't! Instead we watched a bit of the weather channel (our fav channel while in Florida!), bit of Disney Channel, and random rubbish. Think there was an ER marathon on that day!

 

[Lesleyluvsdisney]

yeah, we did Sept '04. Wasnt as bad as I thought it might be. They closed MGM whilst we were there 'bout 5pm on the Thursday got back to ASMO and had to go to our room, didnt get out 'til 10am on the Saturday. Was just very dark and windy, didnt feel anything!

Doesnt put me off going that time of year

x

 

[starrysky]

I remember in 2006 for Ernesto, we went to Walgreens the night before and bought a big packet of water (like 24 regular bottles), a couple of bags of crisps, some chocolate, basically a huge bunch of crap to see us through the day without having to go to the food court, and a packet of uno cards for entertainment should the electricity go out. But it didn't! Instead we watched a bit of the weather channel (our fav channel while in Florida!), bit of Disney Channel, and random rubbish. Think there was an ER marathon on that day!

Yup walgreens, we got a big thing of water as the resort said it might be a good idea. Other than that like the pp said just waited it out. We too were guled to the weather channel . Next day it was just the usual rain in the afternoon typical of that time of year.

 

[Gaynor]

Our very 1st trip in August 2004 we landed in the middle of hurricane Charlie
we had to land at Fort Lauderdale because they'd shut Sandford.
It was an awful coach journey up to Orlando and we had to spend our first night in an awful HoJo because all the hotels were full from people being moved from the coast. We eventually got to our villa the next day, even though Airtours didn't want us to. It had no electric but we went ahead and moved in, stocked up at walmart water etc and scented candles because they'd run out of normal candles . Then spent the day at Universal when we got back that night the electric was back on.
That experience didn't put us off and we've been back in August a few times.

 

[gaylie]

Yup!!! HURRICANE CHARLIE!!! remember that one, went right through Orlando, and the first time Disney, US & SW closed their parks......Well we were staying off-site in a villa, and everybody looks after everybody else!! a real sense of community comes over everybody.......the next day everything was open, (gas was in short supply because of getting trucks through) but all ran very smoothly, the whole city was jam packed because it was supposed to go over Tampa and the gulf coast, so people evacuated those cities and headed inland, right into its path (because it changed its mind).....you will be fine, book your meal......