How busy after a Hurricane?

[Mindy Marie]

I know that I am stressing way to much about the hurricane approaching....... That being said, I am arriving imeadiatly after the projected hit time. I also know that it could change it's path, and that they are unpredictably to an extent. My question is has anyone had first hand experience with how crowded the parks are after? Not the first day, from what I can tell people are saying they are dead. I mean the days following, a few people have mentioned local people "evacuate" to Orlando. Does this increase the crowds dramatically? I know this is petty to worry about my Vacation, when this is actually affecting people's lives.

Hear is to hoping this just blows over, and sunny weather for the entire golf coast! That would be a nice dream.

 

[Vivianne]

We will be arriving on Sat. Hopefully, if this storm is inevitable, it will downgrade. For the sake of residents and travellers.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

For Jeanne, the parks were pretty crowded, as the hurricane moved through more quickly.

For the other two that hit two years ago, the parks were pretty quiet for a day or two, mainly because the airports were having issues.

The main thing to remember is...DO NOT GET UPSET WITH WDW OR THE RESORTS BECAUSE THERE IS A HURRICANE. I can NOT tell you how many angry, mean guests we had at AKL because they were forced to stay inside during the storm. It's Mother Nature!

 

[RockyMtnMaria]

bump~!

 

[aquaticmom]

We were there for Wilma last year and the parks were quite crowded the days following the hurricane. But the hurricane hit south of Orlando and did extensive damage. Alot of the schools south of the Orlando area were closed due to no electricity, so we met quite a few people that evacuated to the Orlando area. On the bright side, Disney does a wonderful job before, during, and after a hurricane.

 

[jwfla422]

Last October we headed up to WDW because we had no electricity in S. FL after Wilma hit and we were told it might take 2 wks to get power again (which it did)...Wilma hit on a Monday and we headed to WDW that Thurs. It was VERY busy through the weekend as MANY South Floridians headed up there for electricity (hot showers, running water, hot meals, etc), but as electricity came back to many areas here, most of the S. Floridians (the lucky ones) went home at the end of the weekend. By that Monday (a week after the initial hurricane hit), WDW was pretty quiet (we were still there and stayed most of that following week).

This storm has a good chance of affecting the Orlando area (unlike Wilma did), so it may be more like Charley was, but it's not forecast to be nearly as intense as Charley. It really depends on where it makes landfall and how strong it is. I think you will find it busier than it normally is this time of year due to coastal residents evacuating to the Orlando area.

 

[Fairy_Tale_Bride]

We were down in WDW for our Disneymoon when the 1st tropical storm and only storm/hurricane of the season (so far) decided to hit FL...Tropical Storm Alberto! On our Epcot day (the day before the storn hit Orlando) it was rainy all day, but just drizzile with a few down purs...it was also freezing cold!!! It kept the park pretty empty, but was a yucky day. Well, the next day (when the storm hit) we decided to sleep in and wake up to see if it was safe to go out. Well, it was rainy, but not too bad...we made our way to the MK! It turned out being the most beautiful day of the entire trip and beautiful cool weather! Also...MK was not crowded at all! We walked on all the rides...ALL DAY! It was like everyone had already planned to just stay home or in the Resorts because of the storm. It was great and the storm was only for a couple short hours early in the morning. The storm actual worked to our advantage for that day because the next couple of days...it was mobbed at AK and MK!

 

[VernRDH]

For Jeanne, the parks were pretty crowded, as the hurricane moved through more quickly.

For the other two that hit two years ago, the parks were pretty quiet for a day or two, mainly because the airports were having issues.

The main thing to remember is...DO NOT GET UPSET WITH WDW OR THE RESORTS BECAUSE THERE IS A HURRICANE. I can NOT tell you how many angry, mean guests we had at AKL because they were forced to stay inside during the storm. It's Mother Nature!

Did you think so?

We arrived in WDW on Sat am before Jeanne hit. We couldn't get to the parks til monday. We found the parks to get more crowded as the week went on, but by far the least crowded we have seen. By Thursday it was definately more busy.

To the OP, here's hoping Ernesto goes away and you have a magical trip!!!

 

[eeyoreiscool]

From what I have seen, the first couple of days afterwards may be lighter than usual but then things get back to normal.

 

[northie]

I can tell you the first couple of days were certainly cold after Wilma! The lightweight sweater I had brought was not enough. But I didn't think the parks were terribly crowded. They didn't open till noon the day of Wilma, and then it was only MK and Epcot, but they both stayed open till midnight that night.They only let in resort guests, so that accounts for the lighter crowds I think. Epcot didn't open the outside kiosks that day for the Food and Wine Festival either, as it was still a bit breezy. We missed our Alfredo's reservations at 11:30, but they got us in for dinner that evening so I was happy!

Some people were very rude about being inconvenienced, thinking only of themselves and not the poor people who were faced with property damage and not just a messed up day of vacation time...the night before Wilma hit we already knew the parks would be closed in the morning (and thought it would be all day at that time), and one of the men on the bus was just plain nasty about it, saying Disney was *&^$&% well going to give them a refund if it closed the parks, etc etc, swearing like a sailor on the bus (at the bus driver, for Pete's sake---what was he supposed to do about it anyway!?) in front of all those little kids (his own included). It was sad. As if Disney ordered Wilma to ruin his vacation. Besides which, would he rather have had his family out where it wasn't safe? Most people were very understanding about it though and Disney also does things for the kids, like having crafts in the main building and running Disney movies. So if you do get stuck...it really isn't that bad. You might want to have some snacky stuff and juice or pop in the room just in case...we didn't, but I will next time

Sara

 

[MommyPoppins]

A busy month in hurricane season is why we go in Sept. The crowds have always been so low. The last 2 years we've been at Disney right after major hurricane threats and it's been wonderful. We leave on the 14th. Now I wish we would have planned for labor day week again! Now we'll have to find shelter outside of the "safety" of WDW!

 

[aquaticmom]

They only let in resort guests, so that accounts for the lighter crowds I think.

We were staying off property and were permitted to enter the parks. We went to the MK around 3:00Pm and stayed until about 12:30. It was chilly but we had a great time. They posted on their website that the parks were open, and I called to confirm it was available to offsite guest before we went to the park because I didn't want to get to the park with 4 kids (3 of them their first time ever to MK) and be told at the gate we couldn't enter.

 

[northie]

We were staying off property and were permitted to enter the parks. We went to the MK around 3:00Pm and stayed until about 12:30. It was chilly but we had a great time. They posted on their website that the parks were open, and I called to confirm it was available to offsite guest before we went to the park because I didn't want to get to the park with 4 kids (3 of them their first time ever to MK) and be told at the gate we couldn't enter.

Aquaticmom, I am so happy to hear that. I hope others called and got in as well...I felt bad for people offisite trying to explain to their kids that yes, it was open but they couldn't go. Kind of takes the "happy" out of "happiest place on earth".

Sara

 

[tink70]

we were there during hurricane floyd in 1999. The first and last time I would go in September. It was supposedly the first time they had closed for a hurricane. We stayed at the poly and they had a letterhead message waiting every day for us when we returned to our room.(I kept them all)
It looked like it was going to be pretty bad, they gave us all the usual instructions and even handed out flashlights. I was there with my young son and dh, and I was pretty nervous. It ended up being pretty windy and the next day the weather was beautiful. The problem was every park except animal kingdon was closed (something about unions) So EVERYONE went to animal kingdom and it was soooo busy. We tried staying a day longer, hoping they would give us a deal because we lost 2 days, and they said it was an act of God. Although it is supposed to be less crowded in september, I will always be nervous about hurricanes. I now try to go in novemeber.

 

[reginaastralis]

From my expierence, it seems to get a little slower after a hurricane, but then again .. I could be wrong as I haven't gone after the park being closed due to one.

I'm a little nervous about this weekend, mainly b/c we still have a tree that's half gone in our front yard that could very well topple over unto our house. It's been there for the past two years now, when the three hurricanes hit central Florida *all I know is I was pregnant with my daughter at the time, and I swore to never be pregnant during hurricane season again*

Here's to hoping it stays EAST. Orlando is probably going to get some heavy rain at this point, but nothing to the effect of Charlie or Wilma. For now, this storm isn't massive. Hopefully, it'll clear up since this weekend is going to be packed anyways.

Hope you all have a great trip, see you at the Mouse.

Amanda

 

[G8RFAN]

Last October we headed up to WDW because we had no electricity in S. FL after Wilma hit and we were told it might take 2 wks to get power again (which it did)...Wilma hit on a Monday and we headed to WDW that Thurs. It was VERY busy through the weekend as MANY South Floridians headed up there for electricity (hot showers, running water, hot meals, etc), but as electricity came back to many areas here, most of the S. Floridians (the lucky ones) went home at the end of the weekend. By that Monday (a week after the initial hurricane hit), WDW was pretty quiet (we were still there and stayed most of that following week)...

We spent the weekend up at WDW prior to Wilma hitting. We should have stayed. We also lost power for about 2 weeks (Winston Park) but the 3 hurricanes the year prior inpired us to get a generator big enough to run everything but the central A/C. The biggest change you see in everyone's behavior now is that everyone remembered how difficult it was to get gas. There were long lines at gas stations since 8:00 am yesterday.

 

[Mindy Marie]

Thanks for all of the advice! I'm less worried since the storm has been downgraded. I hope everyone else who is going this weekend has a great trip! Thanks again!!!

 

[GalDisney]

TS Ernesto is now on land and it seems to be wimping out. So who ever is going to WDW Wed -thurs things should be normal at the parks.