Disney during Hurricane Season

[godders]

Hi all!!

Planning on my first solo trip to Disney/Universal for September this year and that's peak hurricane season.

Coming from the UK we don't have this kind of weather so I was wondering if anyone had experienced it during their own holidays? Wouldn't stop me going (as I've been there earlier in the season but the most we had was the afternoon storms) but would like to know what to expect i.e. how close to the storm do the parks shut? If I'm in the park do the shuttle buses still work? Should I rely upon my hotel (staying at Downtown Disney) to let me know if the park is shut?

Any advice would be fabulous!!!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I was there in 2004 during Hurricane Jeanne. If a hurricane hits right at that area, then the parks have to stay closed until it is over. So you wouldn't need to take a shuttle to the parks, as they would all be closed anyway. Basically everyone is told to remain inside their hotel. I arrived as the hurricane came in, and they were putting sandbags around the outer doors of the hotel (Wilderness Lodge). The whole next day, the hurricane went on and everyone had to remain in the hotel, but you could walk around within the hotel lobby, restaurants, etc. If you were staying in a separate building from the restaurants and lobby, this could be a problem, as you wouldn't be able to go anywhere for meals. The day after that, the parks re-opened and were back to normal, so the hurricane did remove a park day from my vacation, but I'd wanted to explore the Wilderness Lodge, and I got that wish, more than I intended. It probably would have made more sense to reschedule the trip, but I'd already arranged time off work, booked flights, etc. WDW is far enough inland that it doesn't get as many hurricanes as the coast. Before 2004, I don't think they got any, but three of them hit that year. They were really unprepared the first time, but by the third one they had learned to cope pretty well.

 

[Bete]

Think about it. This is when Disney offers the free dining plan. There's a reason; it's hurricane season.

I agree with the previous poster and fortunately Disney hasn't been struck as often as other areas closer to the water. No business wants the liability of staying open during an hurricane.

Check your weather forecasts; you will know if a bad weather storm is being predicted. At least you know what you are getting into. Hurricanes are awful and you can't take them in a light manner.

 

[nugov2]

I have a friend who goes every year in September and says the rain has had little impact on their vacation. We have decided to go September 2015. Our last trip was in June and it stormed every day of our trip. It didn't really impact it, but I can't imagine it would be much worse than that.

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I can't really answer your questions regarding buses and hotel info, but we went in September 2012 and LOVED it. We got a super cheap deal on our hotel and the most we waited for any attraction was ~10 minutes. We had pretty heavy rainfall almost every afternoon at around 3pm, but I think that's always the case in the summer months in Florida. During this time we would usually be heading back to the room to relax for a couple of hours anyway. But we loved the low crowds and we're heading back this September!

We know that hurricanes are a risk. But we always find comfort in the fact that (as the PPs have said) Disney is pretty inland, and hurricanes, being fed by water, begin the calming process as soon as they arrive at a coast.

But as DaisyDuck001 has demonstrated - it obviously is something to keep in mind!

 

[catra121]

I forget what year it was but we had a hurricane one time when we were at Disney (it was in October). There was barely a misting of rain during the day and it was completely over by 2pm...but the parks and everything were closed for the day. It was actually our Universal day I think and we were surprised when we arrived at the parking lot/garage that all the signs said they were closed.

I go in September as much as possible because that is my favorite time of year due to the lower crowds and the good discounts you can get. In all my September trips...I have never had any issues with hurricanes. Typically there is at least one afternoon storm every day that lasts 20-30 minutes...and I just walk around in it so it's never a problem for me. I know there is always the risk...but it's worth it. If I am forced to hang out at the resort for a day then I will just take those things as they come.

 

[com_op_2000]

Back in '04 we had a DVC scheduled to start the day "Francis" was to arrive in Fla. DW had checked-in, gotten the room key, started to unpack, I was at work, and once she found out that "she" was actual coming through the area DW decided she wanted to go home. Went back to the front desk, cancelled the stay, and DVC returned all the points - no questions asked.
Turns out I had to work 40 hours straight that work day, so a good thing everything got cancelled.

 

[godders]

Thanks everyone!! Really put my mind at ease! Think my biggest worry is that there would be a late warning and I'd get stuck at the park as I'm going to be relying on the shuttle buses

 

[dvczerfs]

we survived hurricane Wilma at okw!!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Wilma

the wind starting picking up during the day. we were at the mk that night for the Halloween party and they closed the park at 10pm. when we got back to our room, there was a message to bring in the patio furnature and the parks will be closed until further notice. I have video of the storm from our room. I never seen a palm tree bend like that. they ran all kinds of movies on tv and while in the room, you didn't hear anything. around two am, I woke up and noticed our phone blinking. just a reminder the parks will be closed until further notice but the hotels restaurant will be serving breakfast at 6am and the gift shop will be open.

by sunrise it was basically over, just a lot of wind yet. I ran to the publix to grab some milk etc... and came back. they made an announcement on tv that the parks will be opening at 1pm. went to the mk and you would have no idea a hurricane came through.

when we arrived at okw I went to check in. the cm asked me if she could help me. I said are you letting people check in? the cm asked, yes we are why do you ask? I said there a cat.3 hurricane coming!! the lady looked at me and asked me where was I from (she could tell by the accent I was a yankee ) she was from the same area I was from and said a cat3 around here is like getting 6 inches of snow at home, no big deal.

it was interesting and as you can see we were on the western part of the eye which usually gets the worse of it. I was more concerned about the thing hitting on our travel day more then anything.

you are pretty far inland to get the storm surge and if you are in a wdw resort, they are built to handle such storms. they are all steel and concrete.


we have been going the September, October time frame for about 12 years now and that was the first time only time (knock on wood) we ran into one.

have a nice trip!!