Hurricane Irma?

[Rachel Underwood]

We are here now. Our departure flight was yesterday 6:30am so we had to decide Tuesday evening. I arrived with knots in my stomach. Now that I'm here, it's like we're in this magical bubble where things like major natural disasters just don't exist. The sun is shining, the weather is gorgeous, everyone is cheerful. We've spoken with several cast members and they are aware but mostly unconcerned (at least that's the way it appeared to us) and feel that Disney is a very safe place to be even during a Cat 5.

Spoke to another couple from Toronto there with their young child last night, they also just flew in. They decided to take the risk too. Heard a few people already here mention they were moving up their departure date to Friday.

We're staying at Caribbean Beach in Jamaica and I must say, I feel really safe in this room. It's like a little bomb shelter. We're here for two weeks and Sunday was supposed to be a non-park day for us anyway. We were expecting to lose at least a day or two for bad weather regardless so we weren't too concerned about the parks being closed. If it's really, really bad and they need to be closed for longer, then we'll see how things go.

For better or for worse, we'll be here in Orlando for Irma.

We are staying at CB too. Not sure our room assignment yet. We are offsite tonight and check in tomorrow

 

[Nutbean]

Stay safe and if you haven't already, follow the tips other WDW vets have shared about putting a stash of food an beverages aside just in case the resort has to close. You don't want to deal with those box lunch nightmares!

This is very good advice! I did read about that and, in anticipation, we brought snacks and bottles of water with us. We also have been checking out the sandwich and salad options here. We plan on bringing some to store in the fridge in our room to get us through Sunday and Monday. I have a good book and a pack of cards too to help with the boredom.

 

[snowangl317]

We are scheduled to fly out Saturday at 5:20pm on Frontier from MCO. Should we wait and see or do something now? If so, what do we do?? Any help is appreciated!

 

[KimBean]

Which channel? I am watching 35, and their info is conflicting, with the crawl saying five, but the anchors saying they spoke with the airport and it's not firm yet. Just curious. I don't think they can make a firm decision until the turn begins so we have a better handle on how far inland it's coming.

I would only go by what is on their website. That is conflicting info to say the least.

 

[DLM1980]

First time Disney family here... five kids 1, 3, 6, 10, and 12, two parents. I have been following this thread closely trying to come to a decision. As of now, we are still going.

We fly in to MCO Friday afternoon. Supposedly, our rental vehicle should have a full tank of gas when we arrive. We shall see about that.
We are staying at WBC. I have three suitcases full of water, non-perishables, flashlights, lanterns, packs of cards, and coloring books. We are prepared to stay in our room Sunday and Monday. We extended the end of our vacation by about 3.5 days in the hope of making up for stormy days lost. Our trip now extends to Wed the 20th.

I hope this is the right call. We would have lost thousands rescheduling, but extended for only about $550. I'm glued to the weather channel.

Sounds like you have a good plan, the only thing I'm worried about is the water in the suitcase.....The way I see my luggage handled I'd be concerned it would burst, rendering that suitcase soaking wet. I'd just bring the empty container and fill it up once in the room. I've never had a problem with the taste of disney water, but if thats a concern, the food court soda fountains have water in them and its filtered, fill from there

 

[cattrix]

Well this sucks, we were suppose to leave early the 9th and our flight has been canceled (Southwest), we had thought about driving, but not knowing how the infrastructure is going to be or fuel access will be, we really can't risk it. Guess we will push off and make our November trip longer.

Mind if I ask where you were flying our of? We moved our flight to Saturday morning from Sunday morning and I just check Southwest's site and it's not canceled yet but we are flying out of Indianapolis at 7:30am.

 

[wdhinn89]

We were still planning on arriving (via SW) this Saturday, Sept 7th, at 8:15 AM, but... I just got a text that our flight was just cancelled.
Changing DVC Reservations are NOT easy, and we were staying at the Beach Club (EXTREMELY hard to get).
I have terminal brain cancer (6 months into a 12 month median survival rate). We were staying at BC so that I could go to the room via a scooter any time Epcot/HS got overwhelming for me.
We already moved up our arrival time, and added a day at the end. If I could just move everything back a week, I would.
Today is an MRI for me. We were delaying my chemo infusion from today until we got back. Now, I have to make a decision based on all these unknowns.
Leaving home for my MRI/Chemo/doc appoint at 9:00am, DVC guest services open at 9:00am. SIGH.

So sorry you have to go through this.

 

[Feralpeg]

Disney has their rideout crews selected and ready to go. One of our friends is working. No doubt, the parks will be closed on Sunday.

 

[AndreaA]

Sounds like you have a good plan, the only thing I'm worried about is the water in the suitcase.....The way I see my luggage handled I'd be concerned it would burst, rendering that suitcase soaking wet. I'd just bring the empty container and fill it up once in the room. I've never had a problem with the taste of disney water, but if thats a concern, the food court soda fountains have water in them and its filtered, fill from there

Yeah, most airlines have weight limits on luggage too, and water would DEFINITELY put suitcases over the limit. Not that I have ever had to resort bags at the airport due to too many Disney souvenirs...

 

[AngiTN]

We are scheduled to fly out Saturday at 5:20pm on Frontier from MCO. Should we wait and see or do something now? If so, what do we do?? Any help is appreciated!

You need to ask yourself, what are you prepared to do if your flight is cancelled?
Can you afford to extend your stay at Disney? They will work to get you accommodations but they will charge for them so you'll need to know your budget for this. If you aren't comfortable with the idea of another 2, 3 days (possibly) at the resort, and away from home, you may want to try to move your flight up. I do suspect Saturday afternoon to be a very, VERY iffy time for a flight out. Honestly, I'd guess your odds are less than 50% of it taking off.

 

[AndreaA]

Disney has their rideout crews selected and ready to go. One of our friends is working. No doubt, the parks will be closed on Sunday.

Any thoughts about Monday? I know it's too soon to really tell. We have Chef Mickey's reservations for dinner that I'm hoping would still be okay.

 

[MinnieSotaGirl]

Sounds like you have a good plan, the only thing I'm worried about is the water in the suitcase.....The way I see my luggage handled I'd be concerned it would burst, rendering that suitcase soaking wet. I'd just bring the empty container and fill it up once in the room. I've never had a problem with the taste of disney water, but if thats a concern, the food court soda fountains have water in them and its filtered, fill from there

Thanks for saying this, because that water IS making me nervous, too! I think empty containers is a fabulous idea. Much lighter, too If we are staying at Bonnet Creek and not officially on property, it should be the same water source, correct? I think that I'll repack.

 

[GreenDisneyBride]

We are heading down on Friday the 15th staying until the 19th. I am hoping that it is mostly cleaned up by then but we understand if everything isn't back up yet. What I am wondering is how much busier will the parks be that weekend now that many people are moving their vacations because of the storm. Will it end up being closer to summer crowds or will it likely still be relatively low. Thanks for any insight.

 

[KimBean]

Any thoughts about Monday? I know it's too soon to really tell. We have Chef Mickey's reservations for dinner that I'm hoping would still be okay.

How long are you staying. Totally not expert just reading a lot about this (I have friends there) and it seems consensus from different sites and information and from CMs is Sunday and Monday most iffy about business as usual. If you are staying longer then Monday I would try to get backup chef Mickey ressie. Many cancelling so might be doable.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for saying this, because that water IS making me nervous, too! I think empty containers is a fabulous idea. Much lighter, too If we are staying at Bonnet Creek and not officially on property, it should be the same water source, correct? I think that I'll repack.

It's FL water, not Disney water, that is off tasting, so yeah.
No idea if WBC has the soda machines you can go to and get the water from them. If they do, they are filtered (you know, the one that's usually mixed with the Lemonade dispenser choice
Your choices,
grab a water bottle that is filtered. Bobble's are great, we've used them there and their filters pull out all the bad, or enough at least. I've found them at Old Navy, of all places but it's been a while. Target has several other filtered bottle choices.
Use the flavor add ins, the drops you put in. I add just a couple vs the full amount, just to give it a touch of taste to help hide the sulfur flavor.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

Presumably you are keeping your eye on the evacuation road situation - that could impact driving if Irma warnings go up between now and the 10th.

Of course.

We are actually an evacuation site. So when people evacuate, some generally come here. And when they come here, I volunteer to work at the site.

So, yes, we are aware of keeping an eye on that situation.

 

[otten]

Any thoughts about Monday? I know it's too soon to really tell. We have Chef Mickey's reservations for dinner that I'm hoping would still be okay.

They won't know that until after the hurricane actually hits since that all depends on what damage there is. As far as I know Disney has never stayed closed two full days for a hurricane so I'd say your chances are decent but you never know.

 

[snowangl317]

You need to ask yourself, what are you prepared to do if your flight is cancelled?
Can you afford to extend your stay at Disney? They will work to get you accommodations but they will charge for them so you'll need to know your budget for this. If you aren't comfortable with the idea of another 2, 3 days (possibly) at the resort, and away from home, you may want to try to move your flight up. I do suspect Saturday afternoon to be a very, VERY iffy time for a flight out. Honestly, I'd guess your odds are less than 50% of it taking off.

Would love to move flight up, but unfortunately nothing available that I can see

 

[DLM1980]

Thanks for saying this, because that water IS making me nervous, too! I think empty containers is a fabulous idea. Much lighter, too If we are staying at Bonnet Creek and not officially on property, it should be the same water source, correct? I think that I'll repack.

It's in the same area, I would assume the same source, I'm not familiar with bonnet creek. But if worse comes to worse 1. water is water even if it has a funny taste, sometimes beggars can't be choosers. 2. if you have room a britta water filter (personally I'm a PUR guy, the britta tastes funny to me but see number 1 here. ) use the filter to fill your water containers.

If the filter idea is too big for the luggage, britta makes those small sports drink bottle filters, you'll be doing your filling of your main water container a while but its a more space saving idea.

 

[fla4fun]

Any thoughts about Monday? I know it's too soon to really tell. We have Chef Mickey's reservations for dinner that I'm hoping would still be okay.

That may depend heavily on how many CMs can make it to work that day. If the storm slows down at all, that would affect it as well. I would have a backup plan in mind for sure. At this point, if nothing were to change regarding timing, I would say 50-50 chance. I would think buffets could come online easier than regular table service since they could prepare whatever food they want based on staff instead of needing a full crew for an a la carte kitchen.