Hurrican irma causes flight to be cancelled whats my resort options?

[nikkyluvsmickey]

We are supposed to be leaving porfq the 12th but if irma closes the airports will disney let me do a coutesy hold now for an extra day without having to actually fork over the money now?

 

[tnolan]

Best option is to call Disney and ask. I recommend weekday mornings, the on-hold factor is the shortest then.

 

[nikkyluvsmickey]

I did very evasive got a wait and see anwser if hurricane is hitting florida

 

[Apopper74]

If the airports are closed, it would be safe to assume that those that should be arriving would not be. Even if the hotel you are staying at didn't have any rooms there should be a room some where on property.

 

[Lynne M]

That's not evasive. They don't make those decisions until they have some idea of whether there will be a storm impacting the area. And they won't know that till several days from now. Even meteorologists can't predict that now.

I understand the desire to know when it's your vacation, but the reality is that there's a tropical system in the Atlantic just about every week this time of year. Most of them will never hit the US, let alone Florida, let alone the Orlando area. Just keep an eye on it, and if you see forecasts from the National Hurricane Center (nhc.noaa.gov) that mention Central Florida, then call Disney.

 

[AEA1127]

We were there in March and ended up watching the weather for a few days due to an impending snowstorm back home. As soon as I saw the potential snow totals I called Disney and was hoping to hold a room while I waited for our flight to officially be cancelled. Disney said they couldn't hold a room without full payment and it wouldn't be refunded if we didn't need the room because it would be inside of the cancellation window. My recommendation is to keep an eye out and if your flight is cancelled then call immediately. We were able to find a room but some of our traveling party waited too long and weren't able to get a room on property.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I was once at WDW when a tropical storm was predicted to hit and we were worried about our flight home being canceled. I went down to the front desk (at POR) and asked about our options and they said that if we needed to stay they could extend us another night at the rate we paid for the rest of our trip. We did not ultimately need to stay so I did not need to do this in the end but I'd recommend visiting the front desk during your stay if it seems likely that you might get stuck. Sometimes the folks at the resort can give you more concrete info than the phone CMs so far in advance.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Disney is very experienced in dealing with guests whose travel plans are affected by the weather. You will not be able to put a hold on a room now for September 12. You can book a room, but you risk forfeiting that cost if you end up not needing the room. The best thing to do is to wait to see if the flight is cancelled and then go to the front desk at your resort to see what they can do. They will do whatever they can to help you. As PP pointed out, if you can't get out, others can't get in, so something on property or elsewhere in Orlando will be available. We had to get to Orlando early because of Hurricane Isaac a few years back and Disney worked with us to get an extra night. I had a friend who was stuck in Orlando for four extra days due to Hurricane Sandy and Disney accomodated her as well. Just speak to the front desk CM ASAP if the flight is cancelled.

 

[Aurora0427]

We had to extend our stay at the Polynesian by 4 nights because of Harvey. They removed our rooms from inventory last Sunday when it was apparent that we wouldn't be able to go home Wednesday. They also gave us a heavily discounted rate.

If your resort is booked, I wouldn't worry. You'll have people who can't get in because of Irma- we had a room for our 4th extra night free up because of that, but Disney will find a place to put you even if your resort stays booked.

 

[toodycat]

It won't change Disney resort availability, but if I were you, I would buy travel insurance, so that if you are there an extra night or two, you will be reimbursed for the extra nights or if, God forbid, the storm hits Florida and your trip is cancelled, you can get the whole cost back. Typically, you can buy a policy any time before the departure date.

 

[FelisLachesis]

It won't change Disney resort availability, but if I were you, I would buy travel insurance, so that if you are there an extra night or two, you will be reimbursed for the extra nights or if, God forbid, the storm hits Florida and your trip is cancelled, you can get the whole cost back. Typically, you can buy a policy any time before the departure date.

But at this point, the insurance companies will see the threat of Irma coming towards Florida, and no longer offer insurance for any trips occurring in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are supposed to be leaving porfq the 12th but if irma closes the airports will disney let me do a coutesy hold now for an extra day without having to actually fork over the money now?

We were at WDW last October just before Hurricane Mathew hit. We were lucky to get out of Orlando the day before they closed the airport, but countless others were not. There were plenty of stories about Disney being able to extend a guest's reservation because their flight was cancelled. They had plenty of rooms because so many people had cancelled their trips in anticipation of the hurricane.

We have also been in Disney when a hurricane was expected but it never hit the area. You'll just have to wait and see where the hurricane hits.

Good luck.

 

[North of Mouse]

It won't change Disney resort availability, but if I were you, I would buy travel insurance, so that if you are there an extra night or two, you will be reimbursed for the extra nights or if, God forbid, the storm hits Florida and your trip is cancelled, you can get the whole cost back. Typically, you can buy a policy any time before the departure date.

But at this point, the insurance companies will see the threat of Irma coming towards Florida, and no longer offer insurance for any trips occurring in the next couple of weeks.

Nearly positive that once a storm has been named - you are unable to buy travel insurance in regards to that storm!!

 

[dancin Disney style]

We were there in March and ended up watching the weather for a few days due to an impending snowstorm back home. As soon as I saw the potential snow totals I called Disney and was hoping to hold a room while I waited for our flight to officially be cancelled. Disney said they couldn't hold a room without full payment and it wouldn't be refunded if we didn't need the room because it would be inside of the cancellation window. My recommendation is to keep an eye out and if your flight is cancelled then call immediately. We were able to find a room but some of our traveling party waited too long and weren't able to get a room on property.

I was also in WDW last March and got a notification from SWA that my flight could be cancelled and to make other arrangements if possible. This was only 2 days prior to the storm that was due to hit Buffalo. I spoke with someone at POP and they had a list of guests that may not be able to check out due to this same storm. They offered to hold a room for me for one or two additional nights and gave me 24hrs to confirm my plans.

 

[AEA1127]

I was also in WDW last March and got a notification from SWA that my flight could be cancelled and to make other arrangements if possible. This was only 2 days prior to the storm that was due to hit Buffalo. I spoke with someone at POP and they had a list of guests that may not be able to check out due to this same storm. They offered to hold a room for me for one or two additional nights and gave me 24hrs to confirm my plans.

Wow, that was definitely not the answer/help that I got! Goes to show you how you can get different answers depending who you're talking to!

 

[dancin Disney style]

Wow, that was definitely not the answer/help that I got! Goes to show you how you can get different answers depending who you're talking to!

I spoke directly with someone in the back office at POP so maybe that made the difference. She originally offered me just the one night but I told her that it was looking like I couldn't get on a flight for two additional days. She then told me that she could hold a room for one night or two but if it was two we would have to change rooms. She went on to tell me that they had a lot of people canceling/delaying their arrival because of the same storm.

 

[Harambe]

No info to offer but only good wishes that this works out for everyone.

Just bolsters my idea that if we all lived on Main Street in MK we wouldn't have to worry about this!

 

[Lilylogan]

I thought if you were a paying customer they can't kick you out of the room? Or is that not true. Someone in another thread said they had to stay at the Poly an extra 4 nights bc they couldn't go home to Texas and they let them stay an extra 4 nights at 50% off.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I thought if you were a paying customer they can't kick you out of the room? Or is that not true. Someone in another thread said they had to stay at the Poly an extra 4 nights bc they couldn't go home to Texas and they let them stay an extra 4 nights at 50% off.

I've heard that they can't kick you out but I have no idea if that's true. My gut feeling is that they can have you removed.

 

[bumbershoot]

It won't change Disney resort availability, but if I were you, I would buy travel insurance, so that if you are there an extra night or two, you will be reimbursed for the extra nights or if, God forbid, the storm hits Florida and your trip is cancelled, you can get the whole cost back. Typically, you can buy a policy any time before the departure date.

Once a storm is named you can't get insurance that'll cover it.