Changes on the Magic this morning.

[CM_Mom]

Just talked to DD and she told me some of the things that happened because of the late arrival at the port. The Magic docked at 9:00 instead of the usual 6:00 am. They did refuel in Freeport last night because of concerns that the fuel supplier might have problems at Port Canaveral.

This morning they opened the Theater at 8:00 for some entertainment and had a Bingo Game for prizes at 8:30. They showed the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in the Lounges and opened up the Lab for family time. Families could come to the Lab to play but children couldn't be left. Also the restaurants were open later.

After docking immigration had to come on board and do their thing before passengers could leave.

She's now off the ship at the Mall so things can't be totally chaotic since the Fun Bus is able to run.

They will be leaving port later than usual but she didn't mention a definite time and they expect a much smaller than usual passenget load as there will be many folks who aren't able to get to the ship because of the closure/delays at Orlando International Airport.

As I saw somewhere else, the BEST place to be in a hurricane is a Cruise Ship since they can stear around the problems. And if you're going to be on a ship, my choice is the Magic.

 

[staylor]

I'm so glad to hear all is great for your daughter.
Thanks for posting!
Staci

 

[tvguy]

I bet it will be a light passenger load. Orlando airport JUST reopened at 1 pm pacfiic , 4 pm eastern according to CNN.
I guess the airport was heavily damaged.

 

[drclaws]

According ot the Orlando Sentinel 3 of the 4 airways suffered damage and the shuttle trains couldn't run. Between that and the need to very thoroughly clear the debris from the runways and taxiways (not to mention the gates) to avoid tire damage to the aircraft, I'm surprised they ended up reopening as soon as they did!

 

[Debbie H]

Hi DRClaws

We were in Vero Beach during Charley and drove up to OKW this morning. There is a lot of downed trees and damaged homes bordering the Greenway (417) Fences are down everywhere. It appears there is very little structural damage to Disney other than a lot of lost trees. Lake Buena Vista golf course took a real hit as well as the older buildings that used to be The
disney Institute with trees on some of the buildings. Traffic lights are still out in a lot of areas. I-4 appears to be moving along. Today it was at a standstill headed west. The gas stations are out of regular gas adn supplies are dwindling for premium. Premium is all most stations have.

I find it interesting that the press, CNN, etc., is saying that Floridians were caught by surprise when the people on The Weather Channel have been predicting it would hit Florida for over a week. We've been here in Florida for a week and we knew it was coming before we left Pennsylvania. I guess they need to put the blame on someone!

Say a prayer for the people on the west coast, they need it desperately. It is utter devastation there! Mobile homes and trailers were tossed around like they were beer cans. Hundreds of people are still missing.

I also am upset that the news media try to glorify it by reporting at great risk to themselves and others. I believe it gives people a false sense of security that if it is ok for them to be there, then it must be safe for them. I find it of no value to have a newsperson stand on a balcony or a pier in a raging hurricane, just to tell us how hard the wind is blowing or that it is raining horizonally.

Take care and stay in touch

 

[Debbie H]

One other thing, OIA flights are also taking a hit. People trying to get out today can't get out until tuesday according to the news. Apparently there is a lot of structural damage. Kissimmee also got hit very hard. They are saying there is a curfew until dawn and it is like a ghost town.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I think the "suprize" aspect was it's strength.

I don't think anyone predicted the storm would jump from a catagory 2 to a catagory 4 storm in a time span of 90 minutes like it did yesterday.

So yes Floridian's have been expecting the storm, they just have not been expecting the devistation and level of havic of it.

 

[CM_Mom]

Those who didn't expect the increase in strength weren't keeping up with the Tropical Prediction Center. All of the forecasts that I saw in the 24 hours before landfall predicted that the storm would strengthen to a MAJOR hurricane (at least a category 3) by the time it made landfall. As early as 5AM on Friday, Charley had sustained winds of almost 110. 111 and it's a cat 3. It just strengthened more than folks expected. Apparently some folks heard what they wanted to hear and not what the National Weather Service was saying.

 

[Samsara]

Originally posted by CM_Mom
As I saw somewhere else, the BEST place to be in a hurricane is a Cruise Ship since they can stear around the problems. And if you're going to be on a ship, my choice is the Magic.

I love your way of thinking Reine!!!

 

[Doctor P]

There were two major surprises from what I have heard--1) that it reached Category 4 so quickly--they were expecting it to strengthen to a 3, but the move to a 4 came very quickly and the difference between a 3 and a 4 can be phenomenal in terms of damage and devastation; 2) it moved inland and did its devastation in places that we not as expected or prepared. my understanding is that a lot of the inland counties do not have the level of emergency resources/preparedness (all a matter of degree) as some of the coastal areas.

 

[disneybride96]

Originally posted by Doctor P
There were two major surprises from what I have heard--1) that it reached Category 4 so quickly--they were expecting it to strengthen to a 3, but the move to a 4 came very quickly and the difference between a 3 and a 4 can be phenomenal in terms of damage and devastation; 2) it moved inland and did its devastation in places that we not as expected or prepared. my understanding is that a lot of the inland counties do not have the level of emergency resources/preparedness (all a matter of degree) as some of the coastal areas.

My SIL lives in Tampa and was actually evacuated INTO the path of the Storm. They rode it out near Lakeland and went home to Tampa where it had not even rained to speakof. Just goes to show that the Hurricane "experts" still cannot predect mother nature's path!

 

[Debbie H]

Hurricanes are unpredictable, it is a guessing game as to what they are going to do. If it were an exact science in predicting, then nobody would die from a hurricane and they would evacuate when told. As far as going from a 3 to a 4, gee, we knew about it 24 hours before it happened by listening to The Weather Channel. They said when it hit the warm water of the Florida Straits it would probably become a cat 4 not long after it passed Cuba. People hear what they want to hear. As far as evacuating, every station here, remember, I've been in Florida for a week, was saying this was going to be a bad storm and to get out, go to the east coast. They were told not to go central, to get to the east coast.

They are saying Earl can take a similiar path as Charley and it is still a week out of hitting land here. I'm sure it will change minute by minute.

 

[goofygal1975]

Originally posted by disneybride96
My SIL lives in Tampa and was actually evacuated INTO the path of the Storm. They rode it out near Lakeland and went home to Tampa where it had not even rained to speakof. Just goes to show that the Hurricane "experts" still cannot predect mother nature's path!

We live in St. Pete/Tampa Area...and had fire trucks come through our neighborhood to tell us to leave immediatley at 10pm 8/12. We packed up and headed out at 2am to my grandmas in Volusia County. At around noon on 8/13, it SURPRISED everyone that it was going to hit further south and was coming right towards us as it crossed the state, where we thought we were safe.

It takes something like this to realize how unpredictable these storms can be. EVERYONE (even NOAA) had this hitting Tampa bay until the 11-12pm advisory. Those people in Punta Gorda only had a couple of hours to prepare for a complete disaster before they were hit.

When you hear of a storm that is going to hit near you or a few counties away...you "kinda" pick up your yard and then wish those other people the best and keep them in your prayers. You KNOW its out there, but you dont prepare the same as if it is coming right at you. Thats where the surprise and people not being prepared came from. We all knew for over a week that it was coming...just didnt know exactly where. As it turns out, like stated above...not a branch was even blown down in my yard and i dont think it even rained much. We did come home to a storm with tornadoes and such...much worse than what our town got from Charley! Go figure

I'm glad to hear there was NO damage at the ports, and except for some delays the Magic was able to go back out to sea!!! I also hope all that did not make it to Port Canaveral, will be able to make it to Key West for their vacations!!!

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Originally posted by CM_Mom
Those who didn't expect the increase in strength weren't keeping up with the Tropical Prediction Center. All of the forecasts that I saw in the 24 hours before landfall predicted that the storm would strengthen to a MAJOR hurricane (at least a category 3) by the time it made landfall. As early as 5AM on Friday, Charley had sustained winds of almost 110. 111 and it's a cat 3. It just strengthened more than folks expected. Apparently some folks heard what they wanted to hear and not what the National Weather Service was saying.

I just want to give my two cents on this, since Hurricane Charley passed right over the town in which I live.

People who live inland in central Florida were takn by surprise because we are very rarely affected by hurricanes the way we were this time. Every year, people get their hurricane survival kist ready several times a year (usually), and then we get some strong winds and rain and go on our merry way.

This time, it hit hard inland, and it was quite a surprise, despite what the National Wetaher Service said bforehand -- when you live this every year, it starts to fall on deaf ears after a while.

I don't mean to criticize at all, but did want to give you a bit of "our side" of the story. Even with a major hurricane, no one anticipates -- inland -- being without power for one to two weeks, either, losing your trees and your fences, being unable to leave your subdivision because of the 100 year old oak trees across the roads, having 3 hour lines for gas, or trying to frantically grill everything in your freezer before it defrosts because all of the local restaurants are also without power.

We're lucky that no one we know was hurt, but everyone I know is facing thousands of dollars of property damage, we're all living in hotels, and no amount of pre-planning could have prevented it.

Marcy

 

[mhb]

This is the 1st time I've posted concerning this subject, but I have to agree with Marcy. I don't live in FL, but can understand that I believe they all took the threat seriously.

My prayers are with all of you in that area. If there is anything you need and we can help from up here in NJ, please PM me. I'll try to do whatever you need.

 

[CM_Mom]

Sorry if I upset anyone. I wasn't meaning to question the challenges you all face regularly. What I was questioning is the idea that Charley went from a Cat 2 to a Cat 4 without warning. And I can understand that no one really expected Charley to stay as strong once over land. I know how easy it is to ignore warnings since I live in Texas and we have folks that ignore Tornado warnings here. Unfortunately these storms don't stay on a hiway where you can predict them.

I think Charley was a wake up call to all of us to be a little more aware when a hurricane or other storm system is a possibility.

My heart goes out to all of you who lost friends or property. I know it will be a long process getting things even functioning and "normal" is a WAY WAY off.

I know the Red Cross from the Dallas area has already mobilized to send relief and I saw on the news last night that the Texas Baptist Men had their mobile kitchen on the hiway headed to Florida to provide meals to those without electricity or with other needs.

One thing I know is that when disaster strikes, Americans pitch in to help because we're all one family. All of you in Florida and those with relatives there are in our prayers.

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

Thanks, CM_Mom, and I hope my post did not come across as pissy -- it wasn't meant to be. And it's been amazing to see how many utilities have sent their workers in from other states to help restore our power -- these men and women are working 18 hour shifts and then sleeping in their cars because there aren't enough hotel rooms to house them.

And again, please forgive me if I sounded curt; lack of A/C and cold showers make me grumpy, and I had the job of emptying out the fridge and two freezers yesterday for the trash guys to pick it all up. Blech!

 

[GOOFY D]

Originally posted by tvguy
I bet it will be a light passenger load. Orlando airport JUST reopened at 1 pm pacfiic , 4 pm eastern according to CNN.
I guess the airport was heavily damaged.

FYI, CNN jumped the gun. We were stuck at OIA and although we were told flights would be resumed, Southwest cancelled all flights for the day. We had to rent a car and drive home to New Orleans. It was a mess.

 

[lbgraves]

WOW!!! What a long drive that you didn't plan on. Glad that you arrived home safely & hope that you had a great cruise.

 

[CM_Mom]

Actually from what I've seen on other posts and heard from DD, most of the passengers made it to the ship by Sunday night in Key West. Of course some, like the folks from the UK whose flight was cancelled on Friday didn't make it.

Hope you folks in Florida are beginning to get electricity and AC back. I'm in Texas and I'd be a mess without my AC, grumpy would be a NICE way to put it.