does disney have a hurricane/tropical storm policy?

[ldo]

I know some other theme parks allow no-penalty cancelations/rebook if Hurr/TS warning is issued for them park location or your home location during travel time--what is disney's policy--since I have a trip booked during H season?

 

[spiceycat]

get their travel insurance. then you won't have a problem.

if Disney is concerned about flooding - they will move people from FW and I think All stars to other resorts if available.

disney has the same cancellation program - 45 days before and no charge.

 

[ldo]

Busch Gardens has a tropical weather policy. We don't have much $ invested---but I assumed Disney would have something similar to BG--maybe not.

 

[Shorty82]

Yes they do.

From WDW's Hurricane FAQ:

From June 1 to November 30, 2007, in the event a hurricane warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for the Orlando area or for the guest's place of residence within 7 days before the scheduled arrival date, the guest may call in advance to reschedule or cancel their Walt Disney Travel Co. Magic Your Way vacation package without any cancellation or change fees imposed by Disney. This temporary policy also applies to most Walt Disney World® Resort room-only reservations booked directly with Disney, as well as reservations at Disney's Vero Beach Resort or Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort in the event a hurricane warning is issued for those destinations.

More information is on the page linked above.

 

[spiceycat]

Yes they do.

very impressive you went the step beyond!!!

 

[WDWBetsy]

This is the bummer item from that link - if I read it correctly, if a guest on the free dining promo reschedules, they would not get free dining for their rescheduled vacation.


Q. I received a special offer when I booked my vacation. If I reschedule will I get the same special offer?

A. All amounts you paid to Disney for rooms, park tickets, Disney dining plans and other Disney products and services will be applied toward your new reservation. Any discounts or free offers applicable to your original vacation will not apply to the rescheduled vacation. The policy does not apply to certain special events and dining experiences.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

This is the bummer item from that link - if I read it correctly, if a guest on the free dining promo reschedules, they would not get free dining for their rescheduled vacation.

Yep. That's what it means.

Unless it impacts your transportation to or from the area, I wouldn't really worry too much about hurricanes. I've ridden out two of them down there, and it really wasn't that big of a deal.

Don't ask me the names, because I'd have to spend an hour looking them up. lol. One was a hurricane that hit Florida to the west, but didn't strike Disney. This was two summers ago. We had more rain than on a normal trip, but none of the parks closed. We still thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We especially enjoyed a significant break in the July heat, and the all-but-non-existent crowds for a few days.

The other storm a few years back that did hit the area also wasn't too bad. The worst part was that all the restaurants closed. Fortunately, we were in a timeshare and had some food in the room. They made us stay in our rooms during the worst part of the storm, then had some activities in the lobby to occupy the kids. The parks were back up and running the next day. It wasn't the way I'd prefer to spend a day of the vacation, but it wasn't a total washout.

Like I mentioned, though, transportation is another issue. For both of these storms, we were already in WDW and checked into our rooms. Had we been trying to fly into or out of Orlando on those days, I'm sure I wouldn't be quite as happy about it.

 

[ReneeA]

We were there for Tropical Storm Ernesto last year. Between the hype about the storm and the fact that Northwest Airlines flight attendants were threatening to strike the night before we were scheduled to fly out, I was practically a basketcase the week before our trip.

Things worked out beautifully, though. We were able to fly out as scheduled AND get home (although I was much less concerned about *getting home*). The storm did hit while we were there, and we had planned to just hang out and relax at CSR when it hit. Last minute, my DH decided to go to MGM the day of the storm and just go back if it got too bad. It was GREAT...MGM was a ghost town, we toured in our ponchos all day, didn't have any lines at all, and it was possibly our best day of the trip. It got super windy and had pelting rain, but we just ducked into the shows and indoor attractions when the weather was at it's worst.

Not to mention, it was cooler than our previous August trips - still in the mid to upper eighties, but it was less muggy and not 95 degrees everyday.

 

[Shorty82]

very impressive you went the step beyond!!!

Wasn't a problem at all. A quick search on Disney.com found it. Found nothing searching DisneyWorld.com but that didn't surprise me, I can't ever find anything that way. I was curious myself anyway.

We were there for Tropical Storm Ernesto last year. Between the hype about the storm and the fact that Northwest Airlines flight attendants were threatening to strike the night before we were scheduled to fly out, I was practically a basketcase the week before our trip.

Things worked out beautifully, though. We were able to fly out as scheduled AND get home (although I was much less concerned about *getting home*). The storm did hit while we were there, and we had planned to just hang out and relax at CSR when it hit. Last minute, my DH decided to go to MGM the day of the storm and just go back if it got too bad. It was GREAT...MGM was a ghost town, we toured in our ponchos all day, didn't have any lines at all, and it was possibly our best day of the trip. It got super windy and had pelting rain, but we just ducked into the shows and indoor attractions when the weather was at it's worst.

Not to mention, it was cooler than our previous August trips - still in the mid to upper eighties, but it was less muggy and not 95 degrees everyday.

Tropical storms are nothing. I don't mind them so much. Rode out TS Arlene at my grandmother's with no problems. I was glad I didn't stay in my dorm though as I heard the power went out there for a long while, long enough for the building's emergency lights to die.

I rode out Hurricane Ivan so a TS is a walk in the park in comparison.

Hurricanes don't affect WDW to much. Disney is so far inland the storm has weakened a good bit before hitting. Helps not to many storms go that way anyway.

 

[Artoo]

Exactly when is the hurricane season? I know there's activity in September, but when does it start and end?

 

[eliza61]

Exactly when is the hurricane season? I know there's activity in September, but when does it start and end?

Usually Hurrican season begins late August until early November. I agree with Dave, I've ridden out 2 Hurricanes at Disney with nothing more than a lot of rain. Put on a poncho and go for it.

 

[Lewisc]

Travel insurance will cover some of your expenses if you have to stay longer because of weather.

 

[WDWCastMember]

And don't forget that WDW is very safe for guests and cm's too....

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Officially huricane season is from June 1 to November 30. Tropical type storms have been know to develop outside this time frame(I think the first one this year was at the end of May) but this is the general time frame when the conditions in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are favorable to the storms.

 

[safetymom]

Hurricane season starts June 1- ends November 30.

 

[OhioTony]

We were at CBR during Huricane Jeane. Before we left it was predicted to graze Fla & hit the Carolina's....It Didn't!!! We found out a LOT of locals ride em out in the resorts because they are built with such high standards! We were stuck in the room all day, but we never lost power and with that specail Disney touch...and I am not kidding! they showed "Winnie the pooh and the blustery day" several times! We recieved comp tickets for the 1 day we missed and had NO CROWDS at all the rest of the week! So I guess I can say I highly recomend Hurricane season at WDW

PS. The Hurricane produced one of my Sons most prized souvineers! The "No Wake Zone" sign in the CBR lake was leaning on our hotel door..It now resides in the kids tree house!

 

[Rock'n Robin]

This is reassuring. I didn't get travel insurance (I know, my bad) and I worried about hurricanes. I guess if there is a warning and we can't fly into Orlando, I can just put our $$$ toward another trip. It would be a serious bummer though--we'd be unable to go back before year of a million dreams is over.
Robin M.