Everyone I know in FL is urging me to cancel trip

[frannn]

My office is in Boca Raton (I live in NY) and 3 people have called me so far to urge me to reschedule our trip due to hurricane Ivan. We are due to fly in early tommorrow morning, and stay till 9/20. As far as what is currently predicted for Ivan, we will already be at WDW if it hits, and not scheduled to leave until almost a week after. They are saying milk, and all perishables, gas, batteries, etc are in short supply, and the state will be devistated if another hurricane hits. We will be travelling with two children. DH wants to go for sure. Disney is not waving their cancellation penalties yet, and car, hotel, everything is booked and paid. My instincts say to still go.....

 

[trish1970]

Go with your instincts...... go and make the best of it

 

[n2mm]

I feel for you and would hate to be in your shoes right now. The news on Ivan is not good. Good luck and stay safe. BTW: we have someone in our office who canceled her labor day trip, we keep reminding her that she made the right decision. (She was only going for 4 days, and 3 of them would have been in her room.)

 

[arizonacolbys]

We are in a similar situation - but, we aren't flying out til next Weds. We'll be at WDW 9/15 - 9/26 - so it looks like if Ivan does hit - it will be before we arrive. Maybe keep an eye on the forecasts this afternoon & evening to see if anything changes. I would hate to see you cancel if Ivan never even hits & it's very hard to cancel if nobody is waiving any cancellation charges at this time. I think it's anybody's guess right now where this hurricane will end up. Everyone seems to have a different opinion on it. We're trying not to worry about it too much right now.

I really feel for all of those living in FL right now. Our thoughts are that we will be continuing with our trip regardless of Ivan. We've been planning this trip for a long time & would rather spend a day or so of our week & a half long trip in the resort than stay here in cloudy, dreary Cleveland. JMHO - good luck with your decision!

 

[Ted and Holly]

Disney, as far as I know, had been really good about cancellations due to the hurricanes.

I have to agree, now is not the best time to visit central Florida. Things are really not "normal".

For the sake of the Florida tourism, I say come, spend your money.

For the sake of the safety of your family, I say postpone the trip.

Despite the bright outlook some are trying to display, the truth is, there are many places in Central Florida where gas stations are out of gas. Grocery stores are low or out of many perishable items. Batteries were stocked in HUGE amounts after Charley and there was no shortage (that I saw) before Frances.

As far as I am concerned, people come to Florida and WDW partly to enjoy the weather. Why on EARTH would you want to visit when there is a possibility of being in path of a destructive storm?

WDW has been very lucky considering the damage that has been seen in towns very close to the property.

Ivan "shouldn't" be a Category 5 when it makes landfall in Jamaica and should be slightly less intense if it hits Florida, but a hurricane is a hurricane. Even a Category 1 can kill people.

I don't want to be the "doom and gloom" person in these Ivan threads, but I see too many people saying "Don't worry about it, just go." Sticking your head in the sand will not make the threat go away.

Ted

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Go with your gut. I'm with you, I say go. No one knows what Ivan will do at the moment.

 

[don8life]

Are you going to be at WDW the whole time? I would think you would be OK there. But if you were going to any other parts postpone. I have family still without power(not even working on it yet by them). Towns are devestated, no gas, little food. Just miserable.

Good Luck!!!

 

[Flibbity]

Not to add fever to frenzy, but they are already doing evacuations in the Keys...

I don't know whether Ivan will hit Florida or not, but it does seem more probable as time creeps on.

As the above poster said, my response to whether you should come is two-fold:
(1) YES come. We need the tourism money
(2) NO don't come. You might get stuck inside with limited park hours.

However, the logical thing to probably do is to wait a couple more days until the path is a little more concrete, and then take advantage of any Disney cancellations if they are provided.

I wouldn't wish Florida's conditions on anyone right now, but we thrive on tourism, so I really hope things clear up soon!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Originally posted by Ted and Holly
Disney, as far as I know, had been really good about cancellations due to the hurricanes.

I have to agree, now is not the best time to visit central Florida. Things are really not "normal".

For the sake of the Florida tourism, I say come, spend your money.

For the sake of the safety of your family, I say postpone the trip.

Despite the bright outlook some are trying to display, the truth is, there are many places in Central Florida where gas stations are out of gas. Grocery stores are low or out of many perishable items. Batteries were stocked in HUGE amounts after Charley and there was no shortage (that I saw) before Frances.

As far as I am concerned, people come to Florida and WDW partly to enjoy the weather. Why on EARTH would you want to visit when there is a possibility of being in path of a destructive storm?

WDW has been very lucky considering the damage that has been seen in towns very close to the property.

Ivan "shouldn't" be a Category 5 when it makes landfall in Jamaica and should be slightly less intense if it hits Florida, but a hurricane is a hurricane. Even a Category 1 can kill people.

I don't want to be the "doom and gloom" person in these Ivan threads, but I see too many people saying "Don't worry about it, just go." Sticking your head in the sand will not make the threat go away.

Ted

I'm with you Ted! Personally I couldn't think of possibly putting my children in harm's way with the high probability of a hurricane approaching. I'm not trying to start a debate on who is right or wrong but YOU must weigh pros and cons of what is important or not important to YOU and your family. This is your choice and I can empathize with you.

 

[Nicoal13]

I'm supposed to leave on Saturday and we are still planning on going.

We will already be at WDW for at least one or two days before Ivan hits.

I figure we may lose a day at the parks but I can't really reschedule because of work conflicts.

I'm going to go and help the Florida economy and have a great time no matter what.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Originally posted by Luckymommyx2
I'm with you Ted! Personally I couldn't think of possibly putting my children in harm's way with the high probability of a hurricane approaching. I'm not trying to start a debate on who is right or wrong but YOU must weigh pros and cons of what is important or not important to YOU and your family. This is your choice and I can empathize with you.

At least I am not the only one in these threads daring to ruin others' vacations on a "big what if?"

Ted

 

[doombuggy]

You really have to decide what you want to do. Wait a few more days, if you feel it necessary. You might want to think about bringing some snacks & stuff with you in your suitcase, if you want. I don't know if any of the resorts lost power for either Charley or Frances. I did for Charley & did not for Frances (I live about a mile north of Universal).

What kills me is the people saying we have no gas and foodstuffs. I had no problem getting gas on Tuesday or food in Oviedo (NW of orlando, where I work). Most of the gas stations in the area that I have encountered have gas. I did not get lettuce on my tacos at Taco Bell on Tuesday, and they ran out of meatloaf last night at Boston Market (that place lost power last weekend though), but those have been the only problems I have encountered this week.

Now if I can only get the apt mgmt to get someone up to fix my leaky bedroom window before Ivan comes......I really don't want anymore rain coming in my room!

If you decide to come down, please come in to Pooh Corner and visit me. My hours have been cut for Saturday, but hopefully, not for Sunday!

 

[doombuggy]

Ted, with that big Publix in Champions Gate, you should have plenty of food. There is another one up 27, closer to 192.

I am staying positive, as, frankly, I don't want to go thru another hurricane.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Originally posted by doombuggy
Ted, with that big Publix in Champions Gate, you should have plenty of food. There is another one up 27, closer to 192.

I am staying positive, as, frankly, I don't want to go thru another hurricane.

Tried last night Doom. Very little cheese, fish, or fresh meat. I had to take meatloaf or hamburgers off the weekly menu until they get their shipment in. The eggs were running low, but the frozen stuff was pretty much stocked. They did have milk too.

The one up US27, Berry Towne Center, did not lose power during either storm. They were in decent shape.

The problem is not with the stores themselves. The issue, at least at Champions Gate was the lack of deliveries.

I know of gas stations more to the south of you that either still have no gas or just got gas within the last couple days.

Many places around Central Florida are still flooded and many still have no power. Heck, even ORMC had no power for a while.

I agree, people need to make up their own mind. I also agree, I am sick of hurricanes.

Ted

 

[RoLaren]

Ted, thank you for your honest and realistic posts. I know people don't want to think of their vacation having to be cancelled because of Ivan, but it is a dangerous situation! You are right, burying your head in the sand will not make it go away. WDW is a "magical" place, but it is not a guarenteed safe haven.

I could not live with the risk to my child and my senior citizen dad; so DH and I made up our minds at last (were to fly out tomorrow morning) and moved the trip back to November. We will both finally get some sleep tonight.

I am grateful (for once LOL) to be in the Midwest where the weather is calm. Why would someone leave a safe spot at home and knowingly put their child into a situation where you could potentially be hit by a hurricane? There is just no sense in it to me.

If it was just DH and I, we'd likely go for it. But I don't want to be in FL and wondering how to feed and get water for my child. That is no vacation.

I feel so sorry for the people living in FL who don't have the option to stay home somewhere else! I'm praying it misses you all!

 

[Ted and Holly]

On the flip side, November weather (despite still being hurricaen season) is usually pretty nice. It should be a bit cooler and more dry then.

Depending on when in November you come, you can still visit at a time when the crowds are lower. AND, you will be here during the Food and Wine Festival. Sounds like a winner to me!

Ted

 

[safetymom]

I live close to Ted and Holly and shop at the same Publix. If you don't need to be here wait until after the hurricane to arrive.

Just because WDW hasn't had any damage doesn't mean that it couldn't happen.

I understand about wanting and needing a vacation but do you really need to put your family in danger for several days because of it.

I want everyone to stay safe. WDW will be here when you need a vacation after the hurricane has passed.

 

[Jasminesmommy]

Frann did you change your dates? I thought you were down there the same time as me. Sept 19-26th. I think Disney is very good at keeping guest safe. I would go and enjoy it. Look at it this way you get a hurricane along with Disney something you won't get in NY. I pray to god it misses but you never know.

 

[RoLaren]

Originally posted by Ted and Holly
On the flip side, November weather (despite still being hurricaen season) is usually pretty nice. It should be a bit cooler and more dry then.

Depending on when in November you come, you can still visit at a time when the crowds are lower. AND, you will be here during the Food and Wine Festival. Sounds like a winner to me!

Ted

Thank you Ted and Safetymom!

We're *this* close to convincing my in-laws to also rebook with us, they had said they were going to go with or without us but we're really going to try to get them to reconsider.

I booked for the dates I could get a room discount: November 12-18. Supersoap weekend (how bad are crowds?) and the end (I think) of Food and Wine. There's also an art fair of some kind at the West End; sounds fascinating. We figured the crowds couldn't be as bad as they would be the next week over Thanksgiving!

MIL is a huge ABC soap fan so I'm hoping that will help us convince them that maybe they can hang on and wait to join us in November.

Cooler weather will be nice too. I'm just watching the news on ABC right now and hearing what Ivan did to Grenada in 2 hours...and praying again it doesn't come to you all.

 

[Maddle]

Currently, I am in a "wait and see" mode. We are supposed to arrive on Wednesday, the 15th. It is too early to tell what will happen with the storm as far as our arrival dates. I have confidence I will know the right thing to do early next week. (Oh, the thought of those disappointed faces.....)

Maddle

PS - Charley already blew out our hotel for the follow-on beach weekend at Fort Myers Beach. How sad.