Hurricane Ian - WDW Resorts Related Updates, Planning & Discussion

[GADisneyDad14]

Hopefully it won’t be needed all that much, but opening up a consolidated thread for Ian related planning questions/discussion for the WDW Hotels and Resort operations.

Some ground rules based on past Tropical Storm/Hurricane threads:

- No travel judging. Everyone has different travel circumstances - posts critical or judgmental of decisions to travel or not are not helpful or welcome here.

- No hysteria or alarmist weather forecasting. The DIS is fundamentally a Disney planning related site - it’s not The Weather Channel or a place for amateur meteorologists to interpret weather forecasts.

- Theme Parks and ticket related discussion is better suited for the Theme Park Attractions & Strategies Board (although some overlap here is inevitable).

Posts venturing too far towards any of the above may be removed or moved.

What threads like this are ultimately for:

- WDW hotel cancelation/modification experiences.

- Resort operation experiences for food, activities, etc.

- Resort and travel related experiences from past tropical events.

Thank you - and safe travels to all.

Latest Info:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/weather-updates/

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Various Resources

WDW’s hurricane policy FAQ: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/hurricane-policy/

National Hurricane Center Ian Information: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml#Ian

Mike’s Weather Page: https://www.facebook.com/mikesweatherpage



Travel/Weather/Orlando area Twitter Resources

National Hurricane Center - https://twitter.com/nhc_atlantic?s=21&t=OSHK_xM5KP8KEbzkJpkXxg

MCO - https://twitter.com/mco?s=21&t=1nDljDCd_fpMiDxCFffQnw

FL Division of Emergecny Management - https://twitter.com/flsert?s=21&t=1nDljDCd_fpMiDxCFffQnw

Tony Mainolfi - WESH TV2 - https://twitter.com/tmainolfiwesh?s=21&t=BAWVsCAWzlpG-nn1kNSuMA

Eric Burris - WEST TV2 - https://twitter.com/ericburriswesh?s=21&t=6ECrFUwfldNaN-8igHufLA

Brian Shields - WFTV - https://twitter.com/brianwftv?s=21&t=S6A5itiA1IsfMblT4RVmDA

FL Roads/Traffic - Florida 511 https://fl511.com/

FL Highway Patrol - https://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/traffic/live_traffic_feed.html

 

[chelleb1974]

We fly out of Boston tomorrow (tues 9/27) afternoon and are hoping we get out and land in Orlando. I'd rather whether a hurricane at Disney than work at home, hah!

 

[Anthony1971]

While I can not recall the year - Maybe 6 or 7 years ago maybe longer we were at AKL when a Tropical storm went directly over. We were scheduled to check out the day of the storm but we were driving to West Palm Beach after. The front Desk found us a room at Kidani although we were staying at Jambo at the time (other choices as well) the parks were closed the entire day as well as closed early the day before we were not able to leave the resort and asked to put the patio furniture in the room. It rained heavy the entire day. The resort had meal kits in the store as well as at Sanaa. Sanaa also had the normal service. The resort offered free movie rental (DVD at the time) to all. They also had some activities going on. As far as the rain the area around the resort was fine no flooding etc. I can tell you driving the next day off of Disney property that was not the case all over as there were some areas that still had a lot of water but nothing that slowed down our drive. The airports were open the skies were blue as we did fly out of west palm later that evening. All in all you would have thought it was nothing more than a rainy day as compared to where I am from as we would have had a lot of flodding and possibly wind damage. Ironically the remains of the same storm did hit our parts days later when we were home and it seemed worse then what we experienced in Disney. If you are at Disney there does not seem to be much to be concerned about other than a say in the resort. Of course every storm is different but Disney seems to have the internal operations of storms well under control.

 

[chelleb1974]

While I can not recall the year - Maybe 6 or 7 years ago maybe longer we were at AKL when a Tropical storm went directly over. We were scheduled to check out the day of the storm but we were driving to West Palm Beach after. The front Desk found us a room at Kidani although we were staying at Jambo at the time (other choices as well) the parks were closed the entire day as well as closed early the day before we were not able to leave the resort and asked to put the patio furniture in the room. It rained heavy the entire day. The resort had meal kits in the store as well as at Sanaa. Sanaa also had the normal service. The resort offered free movie rental (DVD at the time) to all. They also had some activities going on. As far as the rain the area around the resort was fine no flooding etc. I can tell you driving the next day off of Disney property that was not the case all over as there were some areas that still had a lot of water but nothing that slowed down our drive. The airports were open the skies were blue as we did fly out of west palm later that evening. All in all you would have thought it was nothing more than a rainy day as compared to where I am from as we would have had a lot of flodding and possibly wind damage. Ironically the remains of the same storm did hit our parts days later when we were home and it seemed worse then what we experienced in Disney. If you are at Disney there does not seem to be much to be concerned about other than a say in the resort. Of course every storm is different but Disney seems to have the internal operations of storms well under control.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience! This is what I was thinking would most likely be the case.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

WDW’s hurricane policy FAQ: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/hurricane-policy/

National Hurricane Center Ian Information: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml#Ian

Some Orlando area Twitter weather resources:

Tony Mainolfi - WESH TV2 - https://twitter.com/tmainolfiwesh?s=21&t=BAWVsCAWzlpG-nn1kNSuMA

Eric Burris - WEST TV2 - https://twitter.com/ericburriswesh?s=21&t=6ECrFUwfldNaN-8igHufLA

Also good and may be helpful for some..

on twitter - @MCO (Orlando International Airport)

@FLSERT (Official state agency for Preparation and Recovery info)

on FB - Mike’s weather page

https://www.facebook.com/mikesweatherpage

On twitter - @tropicalupdate

This morning’s live stream on Mike’s page had 17.7K listeners.. mostly Florida locals. Good info easy to understand.

 

[chelleb1974]

Also good and may be helpful for some..

on twitter - @MCO (Orlando International Airport)

@FLSERT (Official state agency for Preparation and Recovery info)

on FB - Mike’s weather page

https://www.facebook.com/mikesweatherpage

This morning’s live stream on this page had 17.7K listeners.. mostly Florida locals. Good info easy to understand.

Thanks! Just started following MCO and JetBlue (our airline)

 

[JulieBeeRN]

Thank you for starting this thread. We don’t fly in until October 5th, but still wanting to stay informed of the situation.

Safe travels to all. And prayers to anyone and their family who are in the path of this storm!!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1574435668474097666

 

[shoegal9]

I was there during Hurricane Dorian in 2019 before we moved to Florida. The day that the storm came through it was 75 degrees and beautiful. Impact was expected in Orlando in the evening/overnight hours so EPCOT closed mid-day and we headed back to the Polynesian. We had a dinner reservation at Ohana that night, but the restaurants were all packed with people trying to get something for dinner. Our friends were at OKW and they had sandwiches etc. ready for people without meal plans that night. Characters even popped up in the lobbies of many resorts to entertain the kids. The storm ended up coming through overnight (can't remember if a Cat 1 or if it had been downgraded to a TS). The next day MK was open for business as usual. The parks were very empty and actually made for a very easy day. No damage other than tree debris, etc.

Many Floridians go to WDW during hurricanes because of the underground power and availability of food etc. We aren't under evacuation orders (yet) in Fort Myers where I live, but if we do have to evacuate we will head up to WDW (if they have availability) and wait it out.

Overall, Disney did a great job handling Dorian and I am glad we didn't cancel our trip.

 

[csmith1004]

Just tried to add Wednesday night to our reservation (have Thursday night booked before Friday cruise) and they said nothing available. I guess we could be driving through a hurricane.

 

[Kazrak]

We were scheduled to fly in on Thursday, the 29th. We decided that wasn't looking promising, especially for cross-country flights, and bailed; we're taking a trip to Chicago instead. DVC member services agent was fantastic and we managed to tweak the points such that we could bank them. (I went to the survey page to specifically call out how fantastic a job the agent did.) United let us reschedule, although the new flights were more expensive. Still trying to figure out whether I need to go through Undercover Tourist or Disney to deal with the park tickets; I have a message in with UT and am waiting for a reply. (No rush. I know they're busy.)

 

[Andrew Head]

Speaking of ticketing.... we have tickets for this Thursday's MNSSHP. If they they close because of weather, does anyone know if they refund those?

 

[lanejudy]

Still trying to figure out whether I need to go through Undercover Tourist or Disney to deal with the park tickets

If you want a refund you'll need to deal with UT and it will depend on their policy. If you don't take a refund, WDW will hold the ticket credit indefinitely to use towards future tickets.

Speaking of ticketing.... we have tickets for this Thursday's MNSSHP. If they they close because of weather, does anyone know if they refund those?

Yes, definitely if they cancel. If you decide to bail on your trip, I still think they are allowing refunds of party tickets.

Ticketing questions can be asked/answered on the TPAS Forum.

 

[Andrew Head]

Yes, definitely if they cancel. If you decide to bail on your trip, I still think they are allowing refunds of party tickets.

Ticketing questions can be asked/answered on the TPAS Forum.

Thanks. I don't plan to bail on our trip. It's really just whether or not our flight in Wednesday morning gets cancelled. If it going, I'm coming on it. =)

 

[RunDisney Matriarch]

Just tried to add Wednesday night to our reservation (have Thursday night booked before Friday cruise) and they said nothing available. I guess we could be driving through a hurricane.

I'm so sorry, but you may want to keep trying. We just had to give up our Beach Club reservation for Tuesday/Wednesday night. I think there will be more cancellations rolling in given the weather that's developing today.

 

[lanejudy]

Just tried to add Wednesday night to our reservation (have Thursday night booked before Friday cruise) and they said nothing available. I guess we could be driving through a hurricane.

Did you call or try to do it online? I've heard they pulled all bookings for this week offline and people will need to call.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1574496316876529664

 

[TLinden16]

I had to extend my trip for hurricane Irma in 2017. We were supposed to go on a cruise but it got canceled and we had to find rooms at Disney. Luckily I was able to get a room through a friend at the Port Orleans but we were able to switch our reservation to a room at the boardwalk through DVC. I was glad to be at a resort with interior corridors because we were able to walk the halls to stretch our legs and they also had activities and characters in the main lobby in the convention center. They also serve three hot buffet meals a day in the convention center for a reasonable price.

As a previous post or said, we were asked to bring our patio furniture into our room prior to the storm starting. They also left a small flashlight in our room.

Disney really did a fantastic job taking care of us. If you do get stuck there during a storm, just remember that they have a skeleton crew taking care of things so don’t expect housekeeping or anything special. Keep in mind that the cast members who are there to help you are there for you instead of being at their own homes. They may have families and homes that they are concerned about while they are taking care of you so just remember to be extra kind and patient.

I’m one of those people who likes to be prepared for things and I try to think ahead in situations. I always say I’d rather have some thing and not need it then need something and not have it. We did a few things to prepare prior to the storm.

We were able to run to a grocery store and get some water and snacks a few days before the storm. We also made the decision to pick up a Styrofoam cooler which we filled with ice the day of the storm in the unlikely event that we lost power.

One other thing we did to prep was the day before the storm, we went to the bakery in France and bought some quiche, sandwiches and pastries. At that point we didn’t really know what food would be available at the hotel so we wanted to make sure that we had food that we would enjoy in the room. We did treat ourselves to the Buffet for dinner one night and it was a mishmash of stuff but it was quite good. Even though the resort will have some food available, you may want to consider picking up some drinks and snacks prior to the rush the day of the storm.
We also took some time in the room to discuss areas where we could be safe in the unlikely event that the windows were broken or the roof started leaking. We realize that we could drag mattresses over to the sink area and be far away from the windows if we needed to be. And of course we also could’ve gone into the hallway if we needed to.

The final thing we did was prepare a go bag in the unlikely event that we needed to evacuate the room quickly. I packed a change of clothes, a couple bottles of water, snacks, my medication, my ID, credit card, cash, and things that I thought I would need if we had to evacuate quickly. Thankfully we didn’t need it, but it was good to know it was there as we listened to our balcony door rattling in the wind in the middle of the night.

 

[csmith1004]

Did you call or try to do it online? I've heard they pulled all bookings for this week offline and people will need to call.

I called