Hurricane Irma?

[yulilin3]

I would just ask one question: is the amount of money you potentially lose worth risking getting injured or killed on vacation? Also consider shortages of food, water, and gasoline that are already occurring in FL statewide.

I know people are trying to stay optimistic here, but it seems to me that many are underestimating how huge and potentially devastating this hurricane is. This storm is 400 MILES in diameter with sustained winds of 185mph. Take a look at mahobeachcam.com (where St. Maarten just got slammed) to get an idea of what winds like that are like.

at the moment the 185MPH sustained winds are now the entire width of the storm. Second by the time it has impact on Central Florida it will more than likely have been downgraded to a Cat 3, by the current projections. In the WDW area and about a 20 mile radius there is no shortage of gas, the only shortages at the moment are water...lets try not to spread panic and overdramatize things.
It's important to be cautious but no need to spread false information. The link that you provided is a Cat 5 hitting a small island with very little terrain obstruction

 

[TinkOhio]

Operating as usual. www.faa.gov and then enter MCO on the right side to get the official report.

Also check the official Orlando airport site. https://www.orlandoairports.net

Thanks so much for this!

 

[Ashleyj1988]

I

I would just ask one question: is the amount of money you potentially lose worth risking getting injured or killed on vacation? Also consider shortages of food, water, and gasoline that are already occurring in FL statewide.

I know people are trying to stay optimistic here, but it seems to me that many are underestimating how huge and potentially devastating this hurricane is. This storm is 400 MILES in diameter with sustained winds of 185mph. Take a look at mahobeachcam.com (where St. Maarten just got slammed) to get an idea of what winds like that are like. The storm surge alone has the potential to swamp the entire Florida Keys.

I'd rather be out of money than my life. But signing off from work was a pain in the ***. Can't stop mother nature obviously. We are going to try to enjoy ourselves and with this coming it doesn't look like we will unfortunately. It keeps flip flopping though good or bad. If rather just push it back a week or two but it looks like the hotel and ticketsatwork are not willing to work with us at all. This was our honeymoon trip, my husband's first trip to Disney. I know it throws a kink into everyone's plans. I hope everything is going to be ok for everyone living and visiting Florida.

 

[RedK]

I just tried to make a resort dinner ADR for Sunday, just in case. The dining reservation system was unable to process the request. I hope it's just overloaded with people making changes to ADRs and not suspended pending decisions on what may or may not be open.

 

[crazy4wdw]

I live about 50 miles north of Disney in another themed community. We ran out of bottled water everywhere yesterday. (Though heck, I live here, I can fill up gallons of pitchers etc with filtered water...) The morning paper said gas stations started shutting down last night due to lack of gas. There is still plenty of food on the shelves of the local Winn Dixie, and they have it fully staffed so the lines aren't long.

If the latest models hold driving down might be an issue, with gas also becoming a problem in Georgia and SC due to folks evacuating from low lying areas in those states.

Same thing is going on today in South Carolina. There are long lines everywhere for gas. Sam's Club and both Wal-Marts in the town I live in are already out of bottled water, batteries, and flashlights.

 

[AndreaA]

I'm also curious about the hoarding of supplies.

I was six months pregnant during a huge ice storm up here that had power out in large areas for literally weeks. I myself was without power for 11 days. Know what there was no shortage of within 12hrs after the storm passed? Food and water.

The hurricane, if it hits, is not going to last for days. It's going to last for hours. By the next day, cars and trucks should be able to be on the road (obviously I'm not talking about coastal areas which could flood, but middle of the state/Orlando) and stores will be full again.

 

[HarperLeigh]

Southwest refuses to refund us unless THEY cancel our flight. Or we get a credit to use within a year of purchase which is next March but we won't be able to go until next July. SW is being really unreasonable with their policy when we are canceling bc of a hurricane

That has always been their policy.

 

[Honeybee0317]

Same thing is going on today in South Carolina. There are long lines everywhere for gas. Sam's Club and both Wal-Marts in the town I live in are already out of bottled water, batteries, and flashlights.

Where in SC are you? Not happening where I am. I was almost worried no one here was even paying attention!

 

[Interpol]

at the moment the 185MPH sustained winds are now the entire width of the storm. Second by the time it has impact on Central Florida it will more than likely have been downgraded to a Cat 3, by the current projections. In the WDW area and about a 20 mile radius there is no shortage of gas, the only shortages at the moment are water...lets try not to spread panic and overdramatize things.
It's important to be cautious but no need to spread false information. The link that you provided is a Cat 5 hitting a small island with very little terrain obstruction

And a Cat 3 is nothing to sneeze at either. I don't appreciate being accused of spreading false information - aside from a small overestimation of food and gas shortages, what else did I say was false?

Yes, it's important to be cautious. Being cautious includes making every effort to NOT head towards a destination where a large scale natural disaster has the potential to cause massive damage and death simply because one has already paid the $ to go there.

 

[Bullseye]

that's why I keep saying, it is still to early to forecast, not know, forecast, the impact on Central Fl. I understand that these are huge monetary risks and if you can cancel and rebook and it's not a huge deal go for it. But if you have all your plans set and is very hard to rebook and postpone by all means come.
CM will still need to be at the parks and resorts regardless.

My DD is doing her DCP right now working as a Photopass Photographer. She and a large contingent of CM's have voluntarily been reallocated as "Relief Crews" to assist guests at the resorts during the storm. She said that included helping guests, serving food, and stacking sand bags (if necessary). They get to lodge at the resorts during the storm. She figured riding out the storm at a resort would be better than her DCP apartment.

 

[yulilin3]

From Brian Shields meteorologiist on Channel 9 WFtV (local ABC station in Orlando)
Models/tracks WILL keep changing the next 1-2 days - that is why impacts here are uncertain. They shifted east.

We watch the trends...this is how we fine-tune a forecast. How close Irma gets to Central Florida will dictate what we get from it - and we don't know that yet.

Preparation is good - patience as well

Hang with us! ***We do not know potential impacts yet***

 

[yulilin3]

And a Cat 3 is nothing to sneeze at either. I don't appreciate being accused of spreading false information - aside from a small overestimation of food and gas shortages, what else did I say was false?

Yes, it's important to be cautious. Being cautious includes making every effort to NOT head towards a destination where a large scale natural disaster has the potential to cause massive damage and death simply because one has already paid the $ to go there.

I never said a Cat 3 is a walk in the park. Saying that the entire storm (400 miles in diameter) has winds of 185mph is not true.

 

[yulilin3]

My DD is doing her DCP right now working as a Photopass Photographer. She and a large contingent of CM's have voluntarily been reallocated as "Relief Crews" to assist guests at the resorts during the storm. She said that included helping guests, serving food, and stacking sand bags (if necessary). They get to lodge at resorts during the storm. She figured riding out storm at a resort would be better than her DCP apartment.

I worked at a hotel on IDrive during the trifecta of hurricanes that came through years ago (Charlie was the worst here) and having a place to stay with generators is always good. Best to her and everyone working

 

[KittyKitty]

Sam's Club at Tampa was a mad house. I went there for everything BUT water but I don't understand why there isn't a limit of the amount of water people are allowed. When you have one person buying 100 cases of water, what do you think they'll likely be doing with it?

Sam's Club and Costco sell to resellers all the time. Maybe that person was from Garden Grocer filling orders.( Yes I am a positive thinker)

 

[LSUmiss]

Can't speak for anyone else, never mentioned CMs and I didn't call anyone stupid, but I'll bite.. I have been through enough hurricanes, so I PERSONALLY would not go anywhere near one if I had a choice.

People are responsible for themselves. This thread has gotten way out of hand. I hope everyone stays safe, no matter where they are.

Can't ageee with this more! Issac was "just" a cat 1 a few years ago & I remember listening to the wind & thinking when it this going to stop??!! It made us say we would evacuate for even a cat 1 from now on. And it's not just the storm itself. It's also the misery of the aftermath of days without power in the stifling HEAT & supplies starting to dwindle & realizing your gonna have to eat those can goods you got "just in case". I was never so happy to go grocery shop when stores opened again. It's bad enough when your home & familiar with your area. I would never want to be stuck somewhere away from home going through that. As you said, after personally going through many storms, I would NEVER go toward the storm.

 

[AllThingsMickey4]

Where in SC are you? Not happening where I am. I was almost worried no one here was even paying attention!

I was thinking the same thing! We are in Anderson and the bread and milk flies off the shelf when they call for 1-2" of snow but none of our local stations are really talking about the potential impacts of Irma.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Where in SC are you? Not happening where I am. I was almost worried no one here was even paying attention!

Near the intersection of 1-20 and I-95. It's absolutely crazy at our Sam's Club. The cars are lined up at the gas pumps all the way to the street. Just went by there a few minutes ago.
I went to Sam's around 9:30 this morning and got the last case of water (unless they had more in the back) and also the last package of D batteries they had. Maybe its worse here as we're near the coast.

 

[luvsJack]

I'm honestly curious why some people are so very set on presenting this all as a worst case scenario. "Please cancel!" "Don't come!" "Only a stupid person would head this way!" Etc., are pretty extreme statements. If you live in Florida then you should be done with your own preparedness planning. No one coming down and staying in a hotel is going to affect you - especially if you don't even live in Orlando. Guilt tripping people by talking about Disney employees is a straw man argument at best. There WILL be customers there regardless of whether or not every single member of the DIS cancels their trip, and there WILL be employees required. That's simply a fact.

Right now it does NOT look like the center of the storm will come close to Orlando. There will most certainly be winds and rain, but they won't last for days and days, and the cleanup from them won't last days and days, especially not for Disney which is not in a flood zone. Some people are willing to wait out a day or two in their hotel. The rest of the week looks clear and beautiful. All the doom and gloom really needs to stop.

Why are you so focused on the center of the storm? It doesn't really matter at all where the eye of the storm goes over in terms of wind, rain and damage.

You cannot predict how long clean up will take. Being or not being in a flood zone has nothing to do with downed power lines and trees.

Have you been through one of these storms before because you seemed very focused on the wrong things.

 

[Interpol]

I never said a Cat 3 is a walk in the park. Saying that the entire storm (400 miles in diameter) has winds of 185mph is not true.

And I never said that. You're conflating 2 facts to imply a false statement.

Fact: Irma is 400 miles in diameter.
Fact: the storm carries sustained windspeeds of 185mph. That does NOT mean the entire storm system is spinning at 185mph.

 

[Interpol]

Why are you so focused on the center of the storm? It doesn't really matter at all where the eye of the storm goes over in terms of wind, rain and damage.

You cannot predict how long clean up will take. Being or not being in a flood zone has nothing to do with downed power lines and trees.

Have you been through one of these storms before because you seemed very focused on the wrong things.

Besides, the center of the storm (in hurricane terms, the 'eye') is actually very calm.