Going to WDW Right After A Hurricane

[msuspartan]

Has anyone ever flown into Orlando and visited WDW right after a hurricane has blown through? We are scheduled to fly in Wednesday morning and I'm wondering if we should expect to experience delays with airlines and what to expect when we get down there. I know a lot will depend on the intensity of Wilma and where she ends up making landfall, but just wondering if anyone had experiences to share...maybe from Charley or one of the other canes from last year?

 

[Fastcars]

We flew into MCO last year after the 3rd Florida hurricane past. Huriricane on Sunday we arrive on Wednesday. Other than the toll boths being free we didnt notice anything out of the ordinary. I checked the DIS constantly for post by people who where there while the Hurricane passed. All the attractions where back runnning with small amount of clean up

Have a good trip ,one bonus is that the crowd level might be lower after a hurricane passing

 

[Schmeck]

Don't know about the airport, but we drove down during Charlie (crossed paths with it in the Carolinas) and found a bit of traffic, as usual though. Disney property was pretty much cleared up by the end of the day after Charlie hit Orlando. Sure, there were trees down in the undeveloped areas that you can see from the bus, but the resorts and parks were spotless!

 

[tjmouse]

We hit Ivan in So. Carolina (we drove) and when we got to WDW the next day, crowds were low, everything was cleaned up except for some trees. It was a wonderful week!

 

[ducklite]

We were there the day after Frances ended (that was a long storm--took almost two days from start to finish) and we saw some trees down (not in roads on WDW property), there were fewer people than you would expect, and for the most part it was business as usual.

They were a little short staffed, little things like we wre at WL CL, and didn't get evening turndown service, although they were happy to bring me an armload of clean towels which was all I needed, and I totally understood that they were tight on staff. Many CM's had been there for 48-72 hours stright, so they needed to be relieved.

All in all WDW did a great job with everything.

Anne

BTW--bring a sweatchirt with you, they are predicting beautiful clear skies, but a high of 68 on Tuesday, and 70 on Wednesday.

 

[metsfan11]

i would imagine after a hurricane the crouds would be relativly low
i always hear good things about disney cleaning up after a hurricane

 

[ryley26]

We arrived two days after charlie but beside lots of downed trees and debris We noticed very little property damage.Disney had power but much of the surrounding area was out. I would not woory and go and have a great time.

 

[Rella Bella]

We were at Disney last August between Charley & Frances. Didn't notice any airport problems that I can remember.
Charley was the first hurricane to hit WDW in quite a while and we arrived literally the next day! All the parks except AK were open by 9:00 am! There were some trees down, and you could tell the wind had come through by the landscaping but other wise everything was fine. They had it back to normal after only a couple of days.
You'll have a great time!

 

[tnkrbell]

Dont know anything else to add except it is suppose to be really nice her next week highs in the 70's!!

 

[Blueberry]

We flew into MCO day after Frances last year, day it reopened. Saw a lot of damage to houses as we landed, where they were putting blue tarps over the roofs.

Local area had a lot of signs broken, every sign that was a light up sign like a McDonalds sign or a hotel sign was broken and gone. It made it hard finding some local restaurants, but it was a good trip.

Disney property had a lot of trees down, but not across the roads or anything just along the roadways that they were cleaning up when we arrived.

Parks were open and almost empty, so many people cancelled in Sept 2004 because of all the hurricanes.

 

[disnut8]

We flew in the day after Floyd back in 1999. We actually had to move our trip back by a day because of the airport closure. The tolls will be free from the airport for a while if an evacuation is declared. Other than that, no signs on Disney property that Floyd went through.

Last year, we were there for Frances and in lockdown for 24 hours at Pop Century. Although Animal Kingdom was closed the day after the storm went through, you couldn't tell that much in the parks.

It's more of the preparation Disney does BEFORE a hurricane. They strap down all the Epcot kiosks, tie down signs - the ones at Pop Century along the walkway were shrunk wrapped so you could still read them but very secure, take down umbrellas. That's more unnerving than after the storms.

 

[sunny04]

We drove down after the hurricanes last year and the things we noticed was mainly trees down and damage to buildings as we entered Orlando. At WDW, there were glitches in several rides, sound going out, lights not working properly, awnings for lines gone, but that's about it. Nothing major.