tink2dw
Pixie Dust or Bust!!
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2000
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FROM www.MouseSavers.com...
CRUISE INFO is in red
Due to Hurricane Frances, please DO NOT call Walt Disney World regarding vacation packages, room reservations or Priority Seatings for dates after Tuesday, September 7. Disney asks that you leave the phone lines open for those who need to call regarding scheduled arrivals between now and Tuesday, September 7.
**UPDATE9/5/04-The eye of Hurricane Frances made land just south of Vero Beach. The outer bands of the hurricane are hitting Orlando, which is experiencing intermittent heavy rain and wind. The worst of the hurricane is not expected to arrive in Orlando until later in the morning and it is expected that the storm will continue to affect Orlando all day Sunday.
As of 1:45 am Orlando time, the storm has dropped between 2 and 5 inches of rain in the area and has produced wind gusts of up to 46 mph around Walt Disney World. There has been some flooding of low-lying areas and this is expected to increase on Sunday. Some tornadoes were reported on Saturday night in Central Florida but as of this time there were no reports of tornadoes near Walt Disney World.
To see the latest weather reports, a good site to check is www.orlandoweather.com
If you are planning to visit Walt Disney World this weekend, I strongly urge you to postpone your trip!
The Orlando airport is closed. There will be no further flights in or out until after the hurricane passes and cleanup operations are complete. Don't count on the airport reopening until at least Monday. Most flights originally scheduled to arrive before noon on Monday have been cancelled.
Sanford Airport is closed.
All major airlines are allowing passengers who had planned to arrive in Orlando now through this weekend to rebook their flights without a change fee. You must rebook before your original travel date. Some airlines will refund your fare if you choose to cancel. If your flight has been cancelled due to the airport closing, they will refund your fare or allow you to reschedule without a fee. Contact your airline for exact details.
Orlando hotel rooms are needed by coastal residents who are evacuating inland. About 2.8 million people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas -- the biggest evacuation in Florida history. There are essentially zero hotel rooms in Orlando still available for this weekend.
On September 1, Disney stopped selling hotel rooms for September 3-6. Disney is currently housing about 75,000 people, including Cast Members who lost homes to Hurricane Charley, evacuated Cast Members from Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas) and Disney's Vero Beach Resort, evacuated guests from Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and evacuees from coastal regions.
Disney has announced that "No Show" penalties will be waived for any guest arrivals between Friday, September 3 and Monday, September 6, 2004. Disney will waive change fees for guests scheduled to arrive September 1-6 who wish to reschedule vacations. If you need to reschedule, call the Disney Reservations Center now at (407) W-DISNEY.
Virtually all Non-Disney hotels are also waiving change fees for anyone who has decided not to arrive this weekend due to the hurricane, so call your hotel and check on that. Most area hotels need all possible rooms to house evacuees.
Priceline and Hotwire will allow you to cancel normally non-refundable hotel, rental car and airfare purchases and get a refund if you are scheduled to arrive in Orlando this weekend.
Local Closures
Schools in the Orlando area are closed until at least Monday.
Kennedy Space Center is closed through Monday.
Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and Discovery Cove closed early on Friday, remained closed on Saturday, and will remain closed on Sunday, September 5.
Orange County (where Walt Disney World is located) has announced that a curfew will be in effect on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5 from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am.
Walt Disney World Closures, Cancellations and Other News
All Disney theme parks, water parks, dinner shows, recreation areas (i.e. Ft. Wilderness, golf courses, mini-golf, etc), the Boardwalk and Downtown Disney were CLOSED on Saturday, September 4 and will remain closed on Sunday, September 5.
Priority seatings will not be accepted for any resort dining location from now through dinner on Sunday, September 5. Meals will be served at some resort restaurants (to resort guests only) until the storm hits. Some character dining locations in the resorts will serve meals but characters will not appear.
**
Disney Cruises are significantly affected by Hurricane Frances:
The current 7-night sailing of the Disney Magic has changed its ports to avoid the storm. Because of the closure of Port Canaveral, it will stay at sea until Monday, making it a 9-night cruise! This cruise will stop in Galveston before returning to Port Canaveral.
The 7-night September 4 sailing of the Disney Magic will be postponed to Monday, September 6 and will now be a 5-night cruise. Passengers on this sailing will receive a 40% rebate of the cruise fare, a $200 stateroom credit and 25% off a future cruise (through October 2005). Expect "surprise" ports, probably in the Western Caribbean.
The 3-night sailing of the Disney Wonder on Thursday, September 2 departed as scheduled and will be routed around the hurricane, visiting the port of Cozumel. Because of the closure of Port Canaveral, it will stay at sea until Monday and this is now a 4-night cruise!
The 4-night September 5 sailing of the Disney Wonder will be postponed to Monday, September 6 and will now be a 3-night cruise. Passengers on this sailing will receive a 30% rebate of the cruise fare, a $100 stateroom credit and 25% off a future cruise (through October 2005). This cruise will not visit any ports.
Disney is waiving the rebooking fee for anyone who was scheduled to sail between now and September 5 and would prefer to reschedule their cruise. If you choose a more expensive sailing date, you will have to pay the difference in price, but you won't pay the extra rebooking fee.
Disney's Vero Beach resort closed at noon on Thursday, September 2. Those with reservations to check in this weekend will be contacted by Disney.
CRUISE INFO is in red
Due to Hurricane Frances, please DO NOT call Walt Disney World regarding vacation packages, room reservations or Priority Seatings for dates after Tuesday, September 7. Disney asks that you leave the phone lines open for those who need to call regarding scheduled arrivals between now and Tuesday, September 7.
**UPDATE9/5/04-The eye of Hurricane Frances made land just south of Vero Beach. The outer bands of the hurricane are hitting Orlando, which is experiencing intermittent heavy rain and wind. The worst of the hurricane is not expected to arrive in Orlando until later in the morning and it is expected that the storm will continue to affect Orlando all day Sunday.
As of 1:45 am Orlando time, the storm has dropped between 2 and 5 inches of rain in the area and has produced wind gusts of up to 46 mph around Walt Disney World. There has been some flooding of low-lying areas and this is expected to increase on Sunday. Some tornadoes were reported on Saturday night in Central Florida but as of this time there were no reports of tornadoes near Walt Disney World.
To see the latest weather reports, a good site to check is www.orlandoweather.com
If you are planning to visit Walt Disney World this weekend, I strongly urge you to postpone your trip!
The Orlando airport is closed. There will be no further flights in or out until after the hurricane passes and cleanup operations are complete. Don't count on the airport reopening until at least Monday. Most flights originally scheduled to arrive before noon on Monday have been cancelled.
Sanford Airport is closed.
All major airlines are allowing passengers who had planned to arrive in Orlando now through this weekend to rebook their flights without a change fee. You must rebook before your original travel date. Some airlines will refund your fare if you choose to cancel. If your flight has been cancelled due to the airport closing, they will refund your fare or allow you to reschedule without a fee. Contact your airline for exact details.
Orlando hotel rooms are needed by coastal residents who are evacuating inland. About 2.8 million people have been ordered to evacuate coastal areas -- the biggest evacuation in Florida history. There are essentially zero hotel rooms in Orlando still available for this weekend.
On September 1, Disney stopped selling hotel rooms for September 3-6. Disney is currently housing about 75,000 people, including Cast Members who lost homes to Hurricane Charley, evacuated Cast Members from Castaway Cay (Disney's private island in the Bahamas) and Disney's Vero Beach Resort, evacuated guests from Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and evacuees from coastal regions.
Disney has announced that "No Show" penalties will be waived for any guest arrivals between Friday, September 3 and Monday, September 6, 2004. Disney will waive change fees for guests scheduled to arrive September 1-6 who wish to reschedule vacations. If you need to reschedule, call the Disney Reservations Center now at (407) W-DISNEY.
Virtually all Non-Disney hotels are also waiving change fees for anyone who has decided not to arrive this weekend due to the hurricane, so call your hotel and check on that. Most area hotels need all possible rooms to house evacuees.
Priceline and Hotwire will allow you to cancel normally non-refundable hotel, rental car and airfare purchases and get a refund if you are scheduled to arrive in Orlando this weekend.
Local Closures
Schools in the Orlando area are closed until at least Monday.
Kennedy Space Center is closed through Monday.
Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and Discovery Cove closed early on Friday, remained closed on Saturday, and will remain closed on Sunday, September 5.
Orange County (where Walt Disney World is located) has announced that a curfew will be in effect on Saturday, September 4 and Sunday, September 5 from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am.
Walt Disney World Closures, Cancellations and Other News
All Disney theme parks, water parks, dinner shows, recreation areas (i.e. Ft. Wilderness, golf courses, mini-golf, etc), the Boardwalk and Downtown Disney were CLOSED on Saturday, September 4 and will remain closed on Sunday, September 5.
Priority seatings will not be accepted for any resort dining location from now through dinner on Sunday, September 5. Meals will be served at some resort restaurants (to resort guests only) until the storm hits. Some character dining locations in the resorts will serve meals but characters will not appear.
**
Disney Cruises are significantly affected by Hurricane Frances:
The current 7-night sailing of the Disney Magic has changed its ports to avoid the storm. Because of the closure of Port Canaveral, it will stay at sea until Monday, making it a 9-night cruise! This cruise will stop in Galveston before returning to Port Canaveral.
The 7-night September 4 sailing of the Disney Magic will be postponed to Monday, September 6 and will now be a 5-night cruise. Passengers on this sailing will receive a 40% rebate of the cruise fare, a $200 stateroom credit and 25% off a future cruise (through October 2005). Expect "surprise" ports, probably in the Western Caribbean.
The 3-night sailing of the Disney Wonder on Thursday, September 2 departed as scheduled and will be routed around the hurricane, visiting the port of Cozumel. Because of the closure of Port Canaveral, it will stay at sea until Monday and this is now a 4-night cruise!
The 4-night September 5 sailing of the Disney Wonder will be postponed to Monday, September 6 and will now be a 3-night cruise. Passengers on this sailing will receive a 30% rebate of the cruise fare, a $100 stateroom credit and 25% off a future cruise (through October 2005). This cruise will not visit any ports.
Disney is waiving the rebooking fee for anyone who was scheduled to sail between now and September 5 and would prefer to reschedule their cruise. If you choose a more expensive sailing date, you will have to pay the difference in price, but you won't pay the extra rebooking fee.
Disney's Vero Beach resort closed at noon on Thursday, September 2. Those with reservations to check in this weekend will be contacted by Disney.
Great info! Thanks!
