DVC weather policy

[IndianaMouseLover]

This may be a crazy question and I hope that I can ask it so all can make sense of it.

If I schedule a vacation through Disney.com, as I used to, there was a hurricane policy if the hurricane made landfall right before we left for our trip. Don't quote my words exactly but the policy states to some effect that they will allow us to cancel our trip and reschedule. They will not refund.

Is this the same case for the DVC and my points? I imagine it probably says in all of the paperwork but I am so new I have not received it yet.

Thanks so much!

PS. Have any of you had to ride out a hurricane while at WDW? What was your experience? It kind of terrifies me for some stupid reason.

I just hope I don't have to deal with it but I figure since we will be going more often our chances increase. The luck I have doesn't help

 

[Chuck S]

As far as I know there is no "official" DVC weather policy. Member Services works with members on a case by case basis. I don't think MS would expect someone to travel in a hurricane.

 

[Mtnman44]

You can purchase vacation insurance for your
DVC reservation. If I were making a res during the hurricane season, I would look at that very closely. Keep in mind, there were almost NO events in 2006, despite all the media hype in the last few years.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Keep in mind, there were almost NO events in 2006, despite all the media hype in the last few years.

Media hype??? Didn't you see the photos of what happened? Not quite media hype. Lots of people lost homes, jobs, everything. There was lots of damage in FL, LA, MS, AL.

Yes, we were very lucky in 2006. It just depends on the weather. Aug and Sept are more likely to have hurricanes than June or July or Oct or Nov. But they do happen.

 

[castleri]

.

Thanks so much!

PS. Have any of you had to ride out a hurricane while at WDW? What was your experience? It kind of terrifies me for some stupid reason.

I just hope I don't have to deal with it but I figure since we will be going more often our chances increase. The luck I have doesn't help [/QUOTE]

We spent hurricane Jeanne in a 2 BR at OKW and it was a great experience. We did not really hear the wind at all and had fun watching the bamboo bend in the wind. There were updates from Disney sent to the phone on a regular basis. The one thing is they expect you to stay in your unit until they decide it is safe to be out and about which makes sense as there were a number of trees down, etc. We had been at an offsite hotel and when it became obvious that the storm would hit later that night and the next morning we called the resort and were able to get in one day early on our already scheduled reservation. It used a lot of points we had been saving by staying offsite and we didn't get a refund for the night we didn't stay at the other one but I would do it all over again. With so much warning these days it is easy to make sure you have food and beverages available. The next day everything was back to normal although there was a lot of cleaning up to be done. We were able to cook, watch TV, take naps, watch the storm and play cards. We went last Sept. and will be going again this year from Sept19-26.
The only problem I can see is if planes are grounded because of a storm and we can't get there. Once there whatever happens I think it is probably one of the safest places to be. I have had much scarier experiences on Long Island and here in Rhode Island during hurricanes. I don't know if there is an official policy with regard to DVC and points. I guess if it looked like there was a storm coming and I decided not to go I would call and cancel and with points in holding hope to be able to use them. This could be problematic if you are near the end of a use year however. From our experience don't let fear of a hurricane stop you if you want to travel in hurricane season.

 

[dwelty]

Media hype??? Didn't you see the photos of what happened? Not quite media hype. Lots of people lost homes, jobs, everything. There was lots of damage in FL, LA, MS, AL.

Yes, we were very lucky in 2006. It just depends on the weather. Aug and Sept are more likely to have hurricanes than June or July or Oct or Nov. But they do happen.

I think what he meant by media hype was that the media was saying that 2006 would be the WORST season in years. They made this statement without any scientific proof to back it up. Yes there is a risk every year of a hurricane or two hitting Florida, but they were wrong, and it was hype. The media needs to leave the weather forcasting to people trained in that field.

 

[LilGMom]

I'm sorry I don't know the policy but I will say that we plan on evacuating TO WDW the next time a hurricane heads towards Northwest Florida! Hurricane season runs from June 1 - Nov. 30 with August & Sept. being the more likely busy months for storms. It isn't unheard of for a storm to brew up in October (I remember a storm hitting us in Sept. and then another one in October one year). We have some friends that have always evacuated to WDW and they have never had a bad experience while there.

 

[Dean]

DVC will be very flexible on a case by case basis for issues like weather that has the real likelihood of affecting the resorts themselves.

 

[long_n_wrong]

A personal experience - I was staying at Vero Beach in August 2004 when hurricane Francis was approaching. I called member services and said for my family's safety I felt I had to cancel the remaining 3 days on my stay and return home.
Their response was "in what use year do you want me to return your points".

 

[gobofraggle]

We were OKW during a hurricane several years back - they said at the time that it was the first time WDW had been entirely closed - and it was quite exciting! They very efficiently stowed all of the benches and flower pots etc. in sheltered areas outside, distributed torches to every room... We stayed inside and watched the trees flutter outside. We went for a little walk around Downtown Disney just before the buses stopped running and that wind and rain was fun!

Also, because the theme parks were closed for the day, we all got free one-day admission tickets to replace the wasted day on our passes.

The same thing happened when they shut the theme parks on 9/11 - they handed out free one-day passes to everyone as we left (we were mostly all looking confused). They said that was the second time they'd ever entirely closed WDW... I think they've closed it for weather a few more times since then.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

PS. Have any of you had to ride out a hurricane while at WDW? What was your experience? It kind of terrifies me for some stupid reason.

Yes- we rode out Wilma while there. It didn't hit Orlando too hard but they closed the parks for 1/2 day if I recall correctly. We were staying at a value resort and they sent characters to the resort and they entertained the kids in the lobby for a couple of hours. I know Disney was very flexible/generous with people who had to change their plans during the fall of 2004? when so many storms hit FL. I heard many people, even those without insurance, were able to travel at a later date in lieu of their original vacation dates.