Huricanes at the Fort

[Gatordad]

when floyd almost came thru in 99, the people with us in port orleans snuck their dog in the room..... with all the commotion, no one paid attention to them.

 

[iradi8]

I would assume they could accomodate the pets in the kennels no? I mean, where do you keep your dog when you go to the parks?

Our dogs stay in the camper when we are in the parks. I can't imagine they could accomodate all of the dogs from FW in the kennels? That's a lot of dogs.

I think most dogs stay in the camper and not in the kennel during the day.

 

[ram101]

when floyd almost came thru in 99, the people with us in port orleans snuck their dog in the room..... with all the commotion, no one paid attention to them.

Boy I think I would have a hard time sneaking all 110lbs of Rohan into a hotel... unless I dressed him up in clothes, had him walk on his hind legs and gave him a good shaving!

 

[Princess Stitch]

Our dogs stay in the camper when we are in the parks. I can't imagine they could accomodate all of the dogs from FW in the kennels? That's a lot of dogs.

I think most dogs stay in the camper and not in the kennel during the day.

Oh ok, I would have thought that a motorhome would have been a little small for a dog to stay in all day without being walked or anything. I suppose people come back in the afternoons to take breaks. What about those in tents though? I would assume that someone wouldn't leave their dog in a tent all day alone?

I'm sure that Disney has some sort of plan for pets. I would hope they woudln't allow them to be brought into the hotel rooms though. I'm sure they don't steam clean all the rooms after and I can't imagine the smell and dog hair that must be all over the place.. yuck!

 

[Duane]

Do they evacuate the cabins as well, or just the campers?

When they evacuate the campground, everyone has to go.... If you think about it, the cabins are actually "manufactured" homes, so they would be just as susceptable to high winds and flying debris as RV's would be. Plus the fact that there are so many trees around.

 

[iradi8]

Oh ok, I would have thought that a motorhome would have been a little small for a dog to stay in all day without being walked or anything. I suppose people come back in the afternoons to take breaks.

Actually, the inside of some campers can be quite large. We have plenty of space -- we have a 40' toy hauler (garage in back) with 3 slides so plenty of room for our two big dogs. We always come back somewhere between 12-3 to walk the dogs and play with them a bit before we go back to the parks.

What about those in tents though? I would assume that someone wouldn't leave their dog in a tent all day alone?

No, it's not allowed. Dogs cannot be in a tent or a pop-up camper -- they have to be boarded at the kennel.

 

[DougY]

I am knocking on wood while I am typing this but....

I am curious as to how the Fort handles huricanes and the guests/campers at the Fort? We will be there Sept 14-21st which is still huricane season right?
I have read posts on the other boards and understand that WDW is very good to the guests durring these times.
Guess I would be a little worried about being in the camper should trees start falling and such! Altough it would make an exciting ride!

September is not only still IN hurricane season, it is PEAK hurricane season!
Hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th.
But as a WDW fan, I wouldn't let that stop me from going...enjoy and have a Magical Vacation.

 

[stillh2o]

September is not only still IN hurricane season, it is PEAK hurricane season!
But as a WDW fan, I wouldn't let that stop me from going...enjoy and have a Magical Vacation.

Your replying to a post from 4yrs ago

 

[DougY]

Your replying to a post from 4yrs ago

I didnt realize that, however, its still information that others may find helpful regarding camping at the WDW Wilderness Campground during hurricane season.

 

[dudelydude]

Your replying to a post from 4yrs ago

That's very funny, but the guy's right...we need this info.

 

[FLDisneyFan]

Your replying to a post from 4yrs ago

We still go through the same thing every year though! This is actually good information that I hadn't even though about!

I'm not the local weather man by any stretch of the imagination - but, Hurricane "Season" has more to do with the warmth of the water surrounding Florida than any other factors. The hurricanes don't look at the calendar! The faster the waters cool down in the late fall, the less likely we will have major hurricanes.

 

[poohbear22]

Anybody know if they are predicting a worse than normal hurricane season this year because of the excessive heat we've been having this summer?

 

[jimjeanandmac]

We've been to the Fort and been evac'd for 3 hurricanes in two years. The short answer is - Disney does a fine job - they get you into a room and get you safe. HOWEVER - if you want to preserve some ability to have some fun during the unexpected - here's my advice.

1) You will likely be offered a value resort (or at best a moderate) - RESIST. If you have the means try for a discount on a luxury resort - the Lodge was our choice. Here's why - you will be restricted in movement for your safety. If you're not in a Hotel with a central lobby, you're pretty much in your room. Ugh. In a central lobby you have food services, bars, characters, CMs that entertain the kids, and your fellow hurricane ride out guests - it becomes an ad hoc party of sorts.

2) We have a fifth wheel - stayed hitched and requested parking in the valet lot (it wasn't going to be used anyway). If you have a fiver, park in such a way that the trailer and truck are at sharp angles to one another, it provided protection against tipping in high winds.

3) Speak with Guest Services, our annual passes were extended six months at no charge so we could return for a magical vacation some other time. Win win - if I come back, don't worry - i'm still spending plenty of $

Hope this helps,

 

[Nature Mom]

I didnt realize that, however, its still information that others may find helpful regarding camping at the WDW Wilderness Campground during hurricane season.

I'm glad you bumped it. I was unaware of how they handle it and we will be there for much longer this upcoming trip than last time, so it is good to know.

 

[ftwildernesspopup]

I checked the past tracks of Hurricanes on the National Hurricane Center Website and Sept and Oct tracks are not very destructive or all that common. Likelihood of getting hit is minimal at best. Most of the storms are tropical storms or have weakend considerably by the time they hit Orlando. Just lose steam being over land.

 

[QueenQueso]

Reading through this made me feel better about having just moved our reservations from AoA to FW for our first trip ever in September and I wanted to post and bump it up in case anyone else was reading this board and thinking about switching.

 

[North of Mouse]

I checked the past tracks of Hurricanes on the National Hurricane Center Website and Sept and Oct tracks are not very destructive or all that common. Likelihood of getting hit is minimal at best. Most of the storms are tropical storms or have weakend considerably by the time they hit Orlando. Just lose steam being over land.

I don't know where your info comes from, but mine comes from experience.

September hurricanes can be/has been very destructive and are very common. I have been through several - in fact Aug/Sept are the most active months.

As far as the percentage that have hit Orlando, I have not looked that up. They told us once that when the sustained winds were 35mph or greater they would move FW guests into hotels. Tropical storms can be pretty fierce and we were in one once at FW.

 

[Mcert01]

We were at FW for Charlie. I can tell you Disney was absolutely awesome in dealing with the storm.

We started getting notes about the storm's status early in the week attached to our trailer door when we returned from the parks. On Thursday night, the day before the storm, the note told us to be ready to move quickly on Friday. Friday morning a Cast Member knocked on our door and told us we had to evacuate. We were up, hooked up and moving quickly.

When we reached the front of FW we were told we would be staying at POR, and were asked to check in at the resort. Check-in was relatively easy, especially since we had heeded Disney's warning and were there early.

The best part at Check In was the Cast Member apologizing for the inconvenience and handing me 4 - 1 day park hoppers for our trouble. Are you kidding me? They are giving us refuge from the storm, apologizing for the weather and giving us free tickets? Awesome!

We went to the room, bringing in the cooler and some food from the trailer, relaxed and watched the storm go by. The parking lot looked like an RV show and we were concerned about damage to our unit. However, we were very lucky. No damage.

The storm hit in the evening and was over around Midnight if memory serves me correctly. We never lost power; heck the lights never flickered.

The next morning we were on the bus and off to Hollywood Studios. In fact, all the parks were open on time with the exception of Animal Kingdom, which delayed opening to make sure everything was safe for the animals.

I believe it took 3 days to get back into FW. The damage was very impressive.

Bottom line, Disney excelled in our case at managing the storm. We couldn't have been happier with how everything was handled.

 

[cinderellagirl2280]

This is the only concern I have when going next September. I'm a tenter so it's a little worse for me then it would be in a trailer. I've been through a few hurricane tail ends up here in Canada and when visiting Ohio and that was scary enough.

I'm glad that Disney makes safety a priority for visiting campers.

 

[Mcert01]

This is the only concern I have when going next September. I'm a tenter so it's a little worse for me then it would be in a trailer. I've been through a few hurricane tail ends up here in Canada and when visiting Ohio and that was scary enough.

I'm glad that Disney makes safety a priority for visiting campers.

Tent or trailer, or Class A Motor Home, it doesn't really matter. By the time a hurricane hits FW you will be safe and comfortable in a Disney hotel. We were relocated to Port Orleans Riverside during Hurricane Charlie, and were there for 3 nights before FW was reopened. Not only was there no charge, but we were each given a 1 Day Park Hopper for the inconvenience!

In fact, we will be using those passes next month - 13 years after the event!