Florida, Disney and Hurricanes

[reporterguy]

Hi,
I'm a reporter for The Associated Press based in Orlando. I'm working on a tourism story in advance of this year's hurricane season and looking for vacationers to interview about whether storms have affected (or figure to) their travel plans.
Is anyone interested in talking with me via phone or email?
Many thanks, in advance, for your time.
-Travis Reed

 

[cantondisneyfamily]

We did hurricane Charlie on 04 at the wilderness lodge. Disney did a great job of keeping all the kids entertained and we only had to spend about 3 hrs in our room waiting out the storm. Flash lights were given to all the guests to use, we never lost power and the hotel had the pool open by mid day the next day. We plan our trips in the summer but figure that we may have a problem but that does not stop us from visiting WDW each year. This year we are going at the end of June to decrease our chances a little that we may run into a storm right away.

 

[cantondisneyfamily]

We did hurricane Charlie in 04 at the wilderness lodge. Disney did a great job of keeping all the kids entertained and we only had to spend about 3 hrs in our room waiting out the storm. Flash lights were given to all the guests to use, we never lost power and the hotel had the pool open by mid day the next day. We plan our trips in the summer but figure that we may have a problem but that does not stop us from visiting WDW each year. This year we are going at the end of June to decrease our chances a little that we may run into a storm right away.

 

[EdDome]

We did hurricane Charlie in 04 at the wilderness lodge.

We were also there at the VWL for charley. I thought the Disney staff was outstanding given the crisis environment. We have shifted our trips to June rather then August hoping to avoid a similar situation. We also were lucky enough to be there for Hurricane Erin several years ago.

If you want more info, PM me.

 

[VMS]

We were there for hurricane Frances which followed a few weeks after Charley. It was handled so professionally by Disney, and we knew they had gone through the same drill a few weeks earlier. We ended up having to stay an extra 4 days because they stopped the flights days before because they had suffered so much damage with the planes during Charley and they did not want to go through that again. Kids missed the first day of school. WDW parks were closed for two days, but the days surrounding it were so empty -- it was great in the respect! Hasn't changed our plans -- we are going again the same time this year! PM me if you want more info.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

We have traveled to WDW in Sept EVERY year for at least the past 19 years & will be back again this year. While we were in the world for 9/11, we have never been directly impacted by a hurricane although we have been on the edges of a fair few.

You can feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

 

[Daddio]

We left home for Disney one week prior to the approach of Wilma last October and because of all the positive reports from the two hurricanes the previous year, we didn't hesitate to continue our vacation plans.

It was interesting to watch the projected path on the weather channel each day of our stay and hear the chatter amongst guests as day zero approached. I must say, there was a comforting feeling as hundreds of Electrical Company trucks and crews made Disney their main depot in the days before the storm.

Disney certainly made the experience of weathering a stom as pleasant as it could be although the storm was not nearly as powerful as the previous years.

Would I go again? Without a doubt. My biggest worry: Potential damage to the rental car I had.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although I've never been to WDW during hurricane season before, the fact that September is hurricane season in Florida (and the Gulf, which is where we live) definitely figured into my decision. I'm a person who's going then partly because it's hurricane season! For one thing, since we live in a hurricane-prone area too, DH didn't want to leave our house. And since I like to go to WDW solo once a year, we decided this is a great time for me to go alone and not feel bad about not inviting DH. The other reason is that the crowds should be low. Feel free to contact me, but like I said, this will be my first September experience (I "survived" Hurricane Katrina there in August last year, but it was really nothing but a little rain in Florida).

 

[Camping Cat]

Although I've never been to WDW during hurricane season before, the fact that September is hurricane season in Florida (and the Gulf, which is where we live) definitely figured into my decision. I'm a person who's going then partly because it's hurricane season! For one thing, since we live in a hurricane-prone area too, DH didn't want to leave our house.

We live in New Orleans and although we made a trip to WDW in October of 1997, we feel like your husband does. We'd rather not be away from home during the worst months of hurricane season. I've talked with too many people who were away for Katrina and couldn't get back to secure their home and take important papers or treasured items with them when they evacuated. Our doctor had a video tape of everything in his home for insurance purposes. A lot of good that did him when he was visiting with his daughter in Central America at the time of the storm. The video tape was destroyed with everything else.

Our annual trip to WDW is in December, just after hurricane season ends.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

We arrived at WDW the day before Wilma hit. And, of course, we knew it was coming, but it didn't stop us from going to the World anyway. That was the only time we were accually there during a hurricane but not our only time there during hurricane season. We've been there several times in August and September.

Michele

 

[bobbiwoz]

The '05 Members Cruise was diverted to Port Everglades instead of coming back to Port Canaveral. This was due to hurricane Ophelia. We were able to change our Air/Continental waived any fee, but the cruise ship charged $100 for that phone call. We have been issued a $100 shipboard credit in lieu of getting the money refunded, which would have been nicer.

We spent a night at Pop Century and had a great time. It was our first use of Magical Express to the airport the next day. All in all we were pleased with DCL's response to the situation.

Bobbi

 

[dvc_john]

I usually go to Orlando 3 times a year. But I have pretty much avoided the summer (heat and crowds), and September (prime hurricane season). But I always go in mid to late October/early November. I know it's still hurricane season, but the weather is always so great, and for the last 20 years it has worked out.
Last year I was in Orlando for a week, and then was to head to Ft Myers for a week, when Wilma came. The mandatory evacuation for Ft Myers Beach was the day I was to arrive. Although I was at a different timeshare than DVC at the time, they allowed me to switch my Ft Myers reservation for Orlando, so I just stayed in Orlando. While I know hurricanes can be pretty miserable, Wilma in Orlando wasn't as bad as many midwest thunderstorms.
The tornados nearby last week were much scarier.

 

[jekjones1558]

2 years ago we did our WDW vacation the first week in October, just after the big hurricanes. No problem. In 2005 we intentionally went later in October to reduce the chance of a hurricane affecting our trip. In 2006 we will once again go in late October. We love the cooler fall temps but do not wish to deal with a hurricane if we can avoid it.

 

[JimC]

We have been to WDW before and after hurricanes, had a trip cancelled because of one and sat for two days just north of Cuba on a cruise ship waiting for a storm to pass.

Yes the storms affect what we do and when we do it, but they do not diminish our interest in Florida. In fact we are moving to central Florida this summer. I would rather deal with storms that announce their intentions then earthquakes or tornadoes that do not.

 

[castleri]

We checked in the day before hurricane Jeanne two years ago and it was a very sevure feeling to be there. We had been offsite with a check in date for the day the hurricane hit but were able to get an extra night at OKW so moved early. The check in line was long because they were moving people from the FW campground to various locations around the resorts. They even allowed people to have their pets with them. There were updates left as messages on the phone and we never lost power. All in all it was a very positive experience- nromh om s 2 BR at OKW with plenty of food and things to do really helped. We are scheduled to be there from Sept 19-29 this year so as you can tell we have no hesitation about going back. The thing that sscares me most is that flights might be disrupted on the way down - if I have to stay an extra day or two - oh well----

 

[dhluvsDisney]

We arrived the week after Charley, and planned an early exit of the onset of Frances. We were able to get one of the last flights out of Orlando on the Thursday before Frances hit. We watched all the preparatory events, and just didn't want to get stuck longer than our holiday times would allow, so we chose to exit. This has not deterred us from going during hurricane season. Although we would love to go again in August, our work schedules do not permit it, however, we are going this year end of September beginning of October which is still in season.

Linda

 

[mrmom456]

We normally travel 2-3 times per year to Orlando. As time has progressed, along with the age of our child, we now find we need to travel during school vacations. this limits the times we can go, and a good percentage of the available time left is right in the Hurricane Season. Since we do not want to be "stuck" during a vacation, it does figure into our planning, if only a thought in the back of our minds.

 

[chiclet]

We like to go the last week of August to give the kids one last hurrah before school starts.

We had our vacation "extended" by Hurricane Frances. We were due to fly out Friday early evening and they closed the airport at noon. I have to say that if I had to be in a hurricane, Disney was the place to do it. They were wonderful. We were well informed. They had characters staying in our building (BCV) to entertain the kids (Belle read stories and Pluto entertained). They provided board games, crayons and coloring books, and they also had bagged meals available.

We'll be going back again this August.

 

[JimMIA]

Just for the record, we took a vote and Florida has decided not to host any hurricanes this year. We will yield that honor to other states.

 

[Hixski]

We went on the Western Carribean Cruise last year between Ophelia and Rita. They thought we might have to leave out of Ft. Lauderdale but Ophelia moved offshore just in time for us to leave right on time from Port Canaveral.

We were in WDW in 1988 during a tropical storm. We were also in Hilton Head (not the Disney resort) when Andrew hit Florida. We even got stung by jellies from the storm surge.

Has any of this stopped us. Never. We are again going to WDW in September 2006 and doing a cruise again in September 2007. We are from the Midwest and I agree with the poster who said they would rather take chances with storms you can see coming. Those darn tornadoes pop up just about every week in the springtime somewhere in Missouri where we live.

ME DH

Counting down till September in BCV and VB.