Has WDW ever been hit by a hurricane?

[tlenzendorf]

Don't worry, they move you to a resort.

Whew thanks! I just saw a previous post that said they got sent to a convention center. That would not be much fun I don't think

 

[Kelliroo3]

We were there on Aug 13, 2004 during Hurricane Charley. The parks were open in the morning, and then they closed. We walked to MGM and it was empty. We had to stay in the resort the whole time, but it wasn't bad. We were at Beach Club, and they brought in characters and activities for the kids. We ate at Cape May Cafe because we couldn't go anywhere else. It was very busy, and they even allowed take out!

 

[LimeGreenEd]

I would be more worried about tornadoes than hurricanes that far inland.

 

[Sammy]

DH and I were staying at the Beach Club Villas, and celebrating our Anniversary, when Jeanne hit. Because the Villas are not physically connected to the hotel proper, we were not allowed to walk over and partake in any of the activities in the main lobby. Essentially, we were in "lockdown" for 20+ hours with nothing but a continuous loop of hurricane coverage & Disney movies on the TV, and bag lunches they brought around on a cart. You know you've been married too long when the prospect of being "locked down" for 20 hours, in a beautiful hotel room, all alone with your spouse, doesn't exactly thrill you!!

 

[Disneyliscious]

We were there during Hurricane Charlie in 2004. We drove down the day it hit. We went to Disney the next day and it was EMPTY! We got to ride everything over and over.

If I could plan my vacation like that again...I WOULD. We stayed off property in a private home. We had no electricity and it was hard to find gas...but I wouldnt change it for nothing. No crowds in the parks was AWESOME!

 

[Ashton7]

The WDW area is so far in-land that the hurricanes are not that much of an issue. They tend to get more of the left over activity like dark skys and rain. We arrived into the remnants of a hurricane in July 2005 at 2pm when our flight landed you would have thought it was late at night the sky was black and the rain was coming down so hard I couldn't believe we were able to land. It stayed overcast for the next 2 days but that was it. Actually, after the clouds cleared out it got so much hotter that we were wishing for the clouds again.

I've lived here in Orlando for over 25 years now. I used to think like you -- no big deal. We've had hurricanes come over and tropical storms but usually they were weakened by the time they hit us. That all changed in 2004 with Hurricane Charley. Charley came right over the top of my house and it was still a Category 4 hurricane. Ironically, the next two hurricanes that came over us and sat and wouldn't leave for days did even more damage. Less than a year ago we had a Tropical Storm sit on top of us for days and days and it caused major leaks in two places on our roof from the constant rain and wind as well as massive flooding in several counties. Just the past couple of weeks we've had a rain system sitting on top of us for so long that it caused Tropical Storm like weather and massive flooding in Daytona, etc. I'm not trying to be alarmist -- I am absolutely certain WDW takes every precaution with their property and their guests and it is a safe place to "hunker down" should something happen. I'm just pointing out that we sometimes do get more than just a little bit of dark skies and rain.

 

[Talock]

I live in Miami and got hit by 150 mph winds and 200 mph gusts,basically the worst of Andrew in 1992 and of all the hurricanes that have come close to us in Miami since nothing has been worse than knocking down trees,fences etc..Andrew was totally different,

I was in Miami for Andrew as well, Kendall to be exact. Lucky for us we were in an apartment complex built out of concrete. But many beautiful two-story houses in the area were completely destroyed. And I mean totally blasted out.

Would WDW withstand something like Andrew do you think?

 

[TDC Nala]

I was there during Hurricane Frances in 2004. It closed the parks for 2 days. We "had" to stay in the Beach Club during that time. We weren't technically forbidden to leave, but it was strongly discouraged. In return we were given 2 days worth of park tix for a future trip (we've yet to use these tix).

I'm sure that was a different experience than mine at Pop Century (no inside corridors), where I was not permitted to leave my room for two days and had to stock up at the food court before they closed it down. No bag lunches either. And the ice melted pretty quick.

Looking for a resort to pass the time in a hurricane? Pick one with inside corridors.

I have an annual pass too, so no park tickets for me...

I think they closed the parks for Floyd, Charley (half day), Frances (two days), Jeanne and Wilma.

 

[laceemouse]

The WDW area is so far in-land that the hurricanes are not that much of an issue. They tend to get more of the left over activity like dark skys and rain. We arrived into the remnants of a hurricane in July 2005 at 2pm when our flight landed you would have thought it was late at night the sky was black and the rain was coming down so hard I couldn't believe we were able to land. It stayed overcast for the next 2 days but that was it. Actually, after the clouds cleared out it got so much hotter that we were wishing for the clouds again.

Agree. I don't think that most people understand that Orlando is NOT on the coast of Florida, or how far it actually IS from the coast. Also, hurricanes come with lots and lots of warning, not like a tornado or earthquake that can hit in a flash! You will be fine, even if one does hit. Disney will not kick you out, the biggest problem will be possible flight delays.

 

[Goofy4]

From previous discussions, the Disney buildings are not hurricane-safed. But from being there for no-longer-hurricane-strength Wilma, there is a general feeling that Disney has given much thought and preparation for dealing with emergencies (unlike certain government agencies ).

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We were at ASMO in Sept 2004 for the hurricane I think it was Rita ( i think ). My kids had a great time staying in the room and watching the high winds outside. We went out around 4Pm and hit the food court. The main pool area was flooded and some debries were around the resort, but by the next day everything was back to normal.

 

[DOOM1001]

Being 40 miles inland is obviously better than being on the coast,however if a hurricane comes onshore at Cocoa Beach with 160 mph winds and 200 mph gusts moving at 20 mph the eye will be in the Orlando area in 2 hours and those 160 mph winds with 200 mph gust would only have dropped a little bit so Orlando would get a very bad hurricane that would cause major damage.That is a worst case scenario but just an example that it all depends on the wind speeds,the speed the hurricane is moving and the size of the storm itself.Also some storms mainly the ones that linger and not move will bring flooding and all hurricanes can spawn off tornadoes where one street has light damage and the next one over has homes totally destroyed,so while not on the coast WDW is still very much susceptible to a storm.