Emergency Evacuation Procedures at Disney's Polynesian Villas

[Sammie]

Will someone there take a photo of the doors up close from inside, I would love to see them. Thanks

 

[dcfromva]

Will someone there take a photo of the doors, I would love to see them. Thanks

This picture is kind of dark, but I snapped this on my visit on 1-3 Apr.

 

[Sammie]

This picture is kind of dark, but I snapped this on my visit on 1-3 Apr.
View attachment 97253 View attachment 97254

Thanks I was wanting something up close to the actual doors from the inside.

 

[freediverdude]

Hmm interesting. Yes I guess if that's a door that a lot of people use to enter, you'd want it to not be one of those push doors like an emergency exit door. Or else everybody would have to use the one entrance in the middle of the building. I don't know what the answer is here, there's a fine line between having security and being able to exit the building in this case. Maybe make sure they are the kind that can be pivoted open like a push door when there's no electricity, and put a big sticker on the door indicating that?

 

[hakepb]

Thanks I was wanting something up close to the actual doors from the inside.

Are you crazy?
No one wants to get stuck in there in case the power goes out!

 

[Sammie]

Are you crazy?
No one wants to get stuck in there in case the power goes out!

 

[wdrl]

Will someone there take a photo of the doors up close from inside, I would love to see them. Thanks

Here is a photo of the sliding door on the east side of Pago Pago, third floor. I went back to Pago Pago to see how easy it might be to open the door, but unless you are in a real emergency situation there is no way to test the door.

All of the sliding door at Moorea and Pago Pago are labeled the same way.

 

[hakepb]

Here is a photo of the sliding door on the east side of Pago Pago, third floor. I went back to Pago Pago to see how easy it might be to open the door, but unless you are in a real emergency situation there is no way to test the door.

All of the sliding door at Moorea and Pago Pago are labeled the same way.

Im guessing you should be able to "slam" the doors open, kinda like this:

 

[freediverdude]

Hmm, so it looks like you are supposed to be able to push them open. Maybe people were hesitant during the power outage to push the doors out for fear of breaking them, since it wasn't an emergency like a fire that required a quick exit.

 

[hakepb]

Hmm, so it looks like you are supposed to be able to push them open. Maybe people were hesitant during the power outage to push the doors out for fear of breaking them, since it wasn't an emergency like a fire that required a quick exit.

And, honestly, if I was not on a safety team at work where we had a hands-on training, "slamming open" the glass turnstiles... I might do the same.

 

[kamik86]

My husband has had to open the glass doors at Target (which you can push open if the power is out... I have seen them that way once too... a customer SLAMMED their cart into them) My guess is they would have opened they just don't open easily. Espeically if Disney doesn't open them every once in a while.

I'm surprised at the lack of a plan for the stairs though. I know with fire alarms in a building I worked at they had a list of people with disabilities that would need assistance to get down the stairs. Others with slight disabilities had special directions for fire drills (example one vision impaired coworker couldn't safely evacuate on her own in a fire drill since the strobe lights bothered her vision) Due to this she didn't go down the stairs and waited in the disabled area. However in a real fire she could have gone down... especially if someone was with her to lead her and remind her of how many stairs there were.

Seems to be a day for power outages. Mine was out this morning. I learned how to open my garage door without power today (I knew the cord was there I just never tried it before)

 

[Bronte]

We were there during the power outage. Second floor in the Moorea building. The sliding glass doors where all open during the entire outage. Our door locks for the room worked with our magic bands during the outage.
We had no power, no airconditioning and no hot water from about 10 to after 5. I was worried about the stuff in our frig but we did not open the frig during the outage. We decieded to go to the pool that day instead of a park and we all had to take cold showers before going out for dinner (so glad I brought battery powered candles or the bathrooms would have been very very dark.)
At the Moorea building there are glass doors on the ends of each hall way with stairs on the outside. Like I said the doors were open but I think they would slide open for emergencies (we had to push them open a few times late at night when then only opened hafl way and I was able to do it myself with minimal effort.) There is also another stair exist in the middle of the building with the traditional push open door. We use the stairs instead of the elevator no matter where we stay as a genenral rule.

The power outage was very incovienent and I was surprized when I found out it was "planned" but I did not feel unsafe during the outage. I do feel like they should have given us notice ... I would have planned my day out better had I known the power was going out at 10 am that day (we did have a voicemail on our room phone that was recorded at 5:08 pm stating that the power was going to be out for 30 min. but I think the power went out before all those voicemails were sent so no notice was really given.)

 

[SpaceMountain77]

The power outage was not planned. According to the onsite cast members and Steve, the Tikiman, a line was hit during construction at Tokelau, which knocked out the power in Moorea and Pago Pago. We were told that only the east side of the resort was affected because the DVC buildings operate on a different grid. Also, at the time of the outage, one cast member had informed us that there was a fire on the first floor.

The following post is from the WDWmagic forum boards, by Polydweller, which might explain why the doors did not open, even with a firm push:

"As for the doors, if they are like the ones in some of my group's hotels, it's the door motor keeping them closed. Not by power but simply because the mechanism won't budge without power and takes huge effort to push open. There is an override that usually staff have to activate. In a power outage (non-emergency), you want them to stay closed to maintain security."

 

[disneynutz]

Another reason not to book your stay at a resort during construction.

Bill

 

[Sammie]

Here is a photo of the sliding door on the east side of Pago Pago, third floor. I went back to Pago Pago to see how easy it might be to open the door, but unless you are in a real emergency situation there is no way to test the door.

All of the sliding door at Moorea and Pago Pago are labeled the same way.

Thanks so much. I felt sure this was the case. And yes in a power outage one might be reluctant to push them open. However I think it is good that we all know that the building is not a hazard, no is trapped and that emergency release doors are in place, as I felt sure they were. You just push on them and they swing out like in the video shared.

 

[Sammie]

Im guessing you should be able to "slam" the doors open, kinda like this:

As the video shows and I had to open doors like this a Home Depot when power when out, you don't have to "slam" them open, you simply push.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

Thanks so much. I felt sure this was the case. And yes in a power outage one might be reluctant to push them open. However I think it is good that we all know that the building is not a hazard and that emergency release doors are in place, as I felt sure they were. You just push on them and they swing out like in the video shared.

Last Wednesday morning, several individuals failed to successfully push the door open on the third floor. The responding cast members opened the door from the outside to release it. Although the response might be different in a fire, during last week's outage the door did not open after numerous push attempts.

It could very well be an isolated incident, but it does not change the fact that cast members responded and had to open the doors from the outside. The video may show what should happen in practice, but our comparable actions did not result in the door opening.

 

[DenLo]

I was with wdrl when he took the photos at Pago Pago on the third floor. The sliding exit door was in a track. I do not see how it would push open when the track was holding it in place. The doors shown in the YouTube video did not have a track on the outside. I think the only way to move that door would be to slide it.

 

[Sammie]

I was with wdrl when he took the photos at Pago Pago on the third floor. The sliding exit door was in a track. I do not see how it would push open when the track was holding it in place. The doors shown in the YouTube video did not have a track on the outside. I think the only way to move that door would be to slide it.

Is there a track at the bottom? The video doors do have a track at the top, you can see the man putting the door back in the track after they had been pushed open. If the doors are being stubborn, then definitely Disney maintenance needs to test them and see if an adjustment is necessary.

 

[Sammie]

Last Wednesday morning, several individuals failed to successfully push the door open on the third floor. The responding cast members opened the door from the outside to release it. Although the response might be different in a fire, during last week's outage the door did not open after numerous push attempts.

It could very well be an isolated incident, but it does not change the fact that cast members responded and had to open the doors from the outside. The video may show what should happen in practice, but our comparable actions did not result in the door opening.

Then it definitely needs to be checked. I was sure they are labeled and should open, now as to how much force is needed, I am sure it varies from one door to another. Hopefully they are testing all of them.