HURRICANE coming - now what??

[SoosieQ]

Go. Have fun. Bring your ponchos

 

[ducklite]

The media people just love to get people riled up. I actually heard a DJ use the words "HUNKER DOWN" here in Orlando about an hour ago.

We're going to ahve a little wind, a lot of rain, and that's about it.

So far I haven't heard reports of people stocking up on food or gas in this area.

The weather today has been breezy and warm, but a bit cooler, with on and off rain. Right now it's sunny and sprinkling outside my office window. (not a typo...) And I'm watching some idiot back up down the 429...

Anne

 

[Englands Disney Gang]

Being from the UK we dont get to know any of the weather reports from the US...I dont want to panic and I know its a bit early yet but we are coming over and staying at CBR for 2 weeks on the 6th September...I am just hoping we will get there OK. Last year we stayed at POP and lost 2 days of our holiday due to Hurricane Ivan as no planes would leave the UK...we made the decision to come a little later this year and just hoping lightening does not strik twice!. Please if any info about any 'new' hurricanes/tropical storms are said on you weather reports please could you let us know on here!. Thanks

 

[Lewisc]

You can get weather from www.weather.com

You can also go to the website for the local tv stations, I got this from a helpful member.

www.wftv.com (ABC 9)
www.wesh.com (NBC 2)
www.local6.com (CBS 6)

Finally the airport home page will give you information

http://www.orlandoairports.net/goaa/main.htm

 

[cjsmith]

Don't worry about Orlando, you'll be fine. My kids are thrilled because they've canceled school here in Collier County tomorrow. The hurricane isn't that strong and is to hit the east coast tonight around Fort Lauderdale and then cross the everglades and exit into the gulf here tomorrow around 2 pm. It will be over us and we're only supposed to have 40 mph winds and a lot of heavy rain, 5 inches or more with flooding and the possibility of tornadoes. I'm sure I'll be sitting here tomorrow saying the kids should have been in school!!!

 

[lucas]

I live in south Florida and this tropical storm/hurricane is slated to hit Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) early Friday morning. Boca Raton (South Palm Beach County) is expected to get a beating because it is on the right side of the storm. BUT, the winds are not expected to top 79 miles per hour. The problem will be the rain, lots of rain and the power outages that go with it.

Those in Orlando should be fine. We took a Disney cruise and stayed at the Hard Rock last September during a hurricane and it was fine. I hope everybody has a great time on their vacations.

No word on where the "second" tropical depression is headed. I think I am going to move to the middle of this country!

Hi there lookingforward - I live in Boca Raton, too! Luckily this storm wasn't too bad for us. Sounds like things have quieted down outside. Looks like Miami got the worst of it.

 

[lookingforward]

Hey lucas! I can't believe how well we did. I do feel sorry for Miami, they actually got hit a lot harder than anticipated and had four fatalities. Very sad. We did not even lose power (although it is not totally over yet so I should not jinx our luck). I sit here and the wind still sounds a bit heavy, although it was mostly rain.

Take care everyone and enjoy your WDW trips. We head up there on September 17 for a long weekend!

 

[FirstNo]

Being from the UK we dont get to know any of the weather reports from the US...I dont want to panic and I know its a bit early yet but we are coming over and staying at CBR for 2 weeks on the 6th September...I am just hoping we will get there OK. Last year we stayed at POP and lost 2 days of our holiday due to Hurricane Ivan as no planes would leave the UK...we made the decision to come a little later this year and just hoping lightening does not strik twice!. Please if any info about any 'new' hurricanes/tropical storms are said on you weather reports please could you let us know on here!. Thanks

Not being from the UK, I don't get any of your weather info when I want to go to London, but I know how to get to weather.com. You can plug in the zip code, or city, you're going to be travelling to and get all sorts of helpful info for your trip.

 

[disneymom2one]

At this point, I'm more concerned for the people in the panhandle. Once Kat gets into the gulf, she'll have time to reorganize and get stronger with the warm waters helping her. Once she makes that turn north (or northeast, as our people are predicting), the poor people in the panhandle will get hit with a hurricane....again. [/COLOR] [/B][/QUOTE]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
That's us and it looks our third major hurricane in less than one year. One important point is that the media really oversensationalizes these things. Hurricanes are awful experiences and I'm a little weary of them but the media pick up everything that looks or sounds horrible.

MB

 

[jeannej]

I live in north Broward County and we were suppose to be on the dirty side of the storm. As the storm came ashore between Hollywood and Hallandale Beach in Broward, the high pressure system began pushing the storm south, south west. Miami-Dade wasn't as preapred as it could have been and the Keys weren't really prepared at all for a direct hit. So, with all the sophisitcated equipment that meterologists have, they still cannot always predict where a storm is going to hit and the behavior of that weather event after it does hit.

They are predicting that the panhandle is the mostly target of Katrina. That doesn't mean it cannot come ashore else where. It just depends on incoming highs and lows steering the storm.

jeannej

 

[Ozymoe]

That's us and it looks our third major hurricane in less than one year. One important point is that the media really oversensationalizes these things. Hurricanes are awful experiences and I'm a little weary of them but the media pick up everything that looks or sounds horrible.

MB

That's a bit of a problem right there. The media does tend to report these occurences as "major", even when they are only moderate. However, the media does the same exact thing when they ARE major. We are all kind of pooh-poohing the weather reports on this thread...and I tend to agree, the media sensationalized this event, this time.

Hurricanes are no fun and Jeanne was pretty scary when I was there for it last year (in Kissimmee, 10 minutes from WDW parks). The loss of power was probably the most difficult thing since there were no guarantees as to when it would come on again. (It turned out to be a little more than 36 hours, but wondering "if and when" led to increased anxiety for already scared guests). What people tend to forget is that when the power goes out, so does the air conditioning. In Florida it doesn't take long for the heat and humidity to make sleeping difficult, which leads to even more tension.

I made the best of it as did most of the others who went through Jeanne at our resort (and there were wonderful workers going waay out of their way to help all of us, even though they had families at home, too).

I just don't think one should take the hurricanes lightly. They can be unpredictable and can turn very ugly, very fast.

That being said, it looks as if this one had little or no direct effect upon the Orlando area. Good news for all who were at, and plan to go to Disney this week. The Miami area took the brunt of it this time, but that could just as easily have been Orlando...it's a gamble and we should always have a "plan B" when we make our reservations during hurricane season so a long-awaited vacation doesn't turn into a "wish we hadn't done that" experience.

Just my 2 cents. I am not an alarmist by any means, but neither do I think we should underestimate Mother Nature just because the possibility of hurricane damage doesn't materialize for a specific area in a specific time frame.

 

[disneymom2one]

Just my 2 cents. I am not an alarmist by any means, but neither do I think we should underestimate Mother Nature just because the possibility of hurricane damage doesn't materialize for a specific area in a specific time frame.[/QUOTE]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Absolutely. We consider ourselves to be fortunate in that we "only" lost a roof one time and then parts of a small tree the next. With Ivan, we had bulldozers on our street to take care of all the debris. And Destin beaches have been eroded at least 30 feet between Ivan and Dennis. And many, many folks in the Panhandle are STILL without a home one year after Ivan. Power outages lasted weeks unless you were fortunate enough to live in an area with underground power lines as we do. Not fun.

However, I do think that the reality of what actually happens and what the media chooses to sensationalize are quite different. This hurricane (the first time) was never going to be huge (of course not minimizing the loss of life, power outages, flooding) And much depends on the last few hours, especially in coastal areas. A difference of 30 miles from a direct hit can make all the difference. We do what a lot of people here do- we keep a box with everything important. That box stays packed all during hurricane season. We have boards ready. And I'll be out today buying the usual water/gas/food. But having been through two majors in the last eleven months, I'll also keep perspective.

MB

 

[Mariposa]

Well put Disneymom2one..

Seriously, the difference of 30 miles point is a great one.. I live in Panama City, not far from Destin at all, and almost 100% of the major damage from Ivan last year was due to some pretty nasty tornadoes. And Dennis barely affected this area. (Boy do I feel for you guys, though..) So, just because a hurricane is slated to hit Florida does NOT mean your Disney vacations will be ruined. Yes, if it's a big storm you can expect some rain, but just throw on a poncho and have fun!

Also, IMHO while it's important to know that all hurricanes can be dangerous (no matter the level) it's also important for the news to report all of this accurately-- alot of people here freaked out over Dennis earlier this season (fearing another Ivan) and when they got back from evacuating they found there was virtually no damage here and that our news had sensationalized the possibility of damage in Bay County (although western parts of the panhandle were really bad off, don't get me wrong) and now most everyone I speak to says they won't leave even if another major storm is forecast to head this way because they don't believe anything will happen. I try to pay attention to the National Weather Advisories, ignore the sensationalistic stuff, and do what's best for my family.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Hi guys, I have a question related to this thread.

What should we expect if we are at Disney during a hurricane? For instance, should I pack candles, or does Disney resourts normally have power? ( Pop Century.) What would POP serve as food? What about water, would water still be available in the rooms, or would pumping systems most likely be down?( or would the water system become contaminated by flooding?)


Thanks.

 

[DisneyFans4]

I was there last year during Hurricane Charley and stayed at the Swan and the hotel didn't lose power at all. They are well prepared and have backup systems if power does go out so don't worry.

 

[Sammie]

Hi guys, I have a question related to this thread.

What should we expect if we are at Disney during a hurricane? For instance, should I pack candles, or does Disney resourts normally have power? ( Pop Century.) What would POP serve as food? What about water, would water still be available in the rooms, or would pumping systems most likely be down?( or would the water system become contaminated by flooding?)


Thanks.

Unless it is a very strong hurricane by the time they reach Orlando the damage to Disney power is usually only brief outages, if any loss of power at all. They are on a dedicated circuit seperate from the surrounding areas. So they have power when others don't. The buildings are extremely well built.

Usually the major thing guests have to contend with is disruption of services. Parks will close early, restaurants and food areas will close during the peak of the storm. So at Pop you would probably want to keep a flashlight handy, in case, and have some type of food in your room to snack on since you would not be able to leave.

I don't think they have ever had water problems in any previous storms.

 

[DisneyFans4]

I remember when Hurricane Charley hit last year and we went into our room and it was only half made by the maid and fresh sheets were still sitting on the table. You could tell she just bolted when given the word but it was fine as it was very understandable.
They prepare well for a hurricane and I do remember the day it was going to hit you could go by the pool but there were no chairs since they already had them piled up and tied and I remember the parks were closing early which was the first time in many years that they had done that. Other than that, it is amazing how they still try to keep us vacationeers happy despite what they are going through and having to work when they should be at home preparing as well.

 

[ducklite]

It's always a wise idea to have a flashlight with you when traveling. We had the power go out on us for a few hours at the YC one year, and the weather was perfect at the time.

Candles are generally a bad idea in hotel rooms due to the risk of a fire.

Anne

 

[Viki]

We've been in and in between several hurricanes while at disney and never had a real problem (not to mention being there during 9/11). In fact, last year, my family, who lives in the area, were going to come and stay with us at the resort if the forecast worsened.

I've also found the staff to be very level headed, the opposite of the histrionics that the news puts us through these days.

 

[deejohn]

We are from Philly, and don't get Hurricane's either!!!- We were down when huricane Mitch hit. The parks remained open, so we were able to go. For Hurricane Dan, they closed the parks early and the four of us were stuck in All-Star Music. We used the time to go to the gift shop, Downtown Disney, and the archade. The nice thing about going during Hurricane season is that there are not alot of people, so everyone can squeeze into the "dry" attachtions. Good luck - and enjoy it, at least it is not 24" of snow!!!