Hurricane Matthew Closes WDW - Reopens Saturday, October 8th

[Lisa F]

I don't think that $13 is gouging, BUT it was a stupid PR move to do so. These meal were not proffered as part of the normal fare of the food service establishments. There were produced in response to a event that generated a lot of worry in the eyes of their guests and also screwed most of the families out of a day in the parks that they had planned on. Disney certainly did a lot of other things that they normally don't do in the resorts in an honest effort to try and make the guests feel better about the situation. They brought in extra CMs, handed out flashlights, offered games, arcades were "no cost", they brought in characters, etc. They easily could have opted to "gone easy" on the pricing of the "box lunches" that they offered as another goodwill gesture. But alas, the management of the local food courts saw an option to ramp up their unit's bottom line, and they went for it.

I'm not even sure you could say that they ramped up their bottom line. I'm sure based on what they lost with all of the park TS restaurants being closed vs. people eating $13 boxed lunches they are losing a ton of money for the next couple of days... something that the $13 boxed lunch profit could not even begin to touch. Not arguing with you really, more agreeing but just a bit more strongly

I don't think it counts as gouging because it is about typical of disney prices. If they were double that you could maybe argue that it is "gouging" but $13 is not out of line for a CS meal with sandwich, side, dessert (such as they are) for typical disney prices. outside of disney yes, but inside of disney, if you're there that's what you can expect to pay to get fed. Someone on this thread mentioned that they saw a price tag on the sandwich alone probably previously in a grab and go case for $9.

someone else mentioned price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal but that is not meant to prevent tourists at an already overpriced tourist attraction from paying too much for mediocre food during the emergency when previously they were paying too much money for mediocre food gladly. It is to prevent horrible people from charging $100 for a case of water when some working poor mother on WIC needs clean water to mix her baby's formula with and the water coming out of the tap is not potable. So it may be irritating but I don't think anyone can really argue that it is against the spirit of the laws about gouging.

I'm glad Orlando has been spared but now listening to friends in Georgia and South Carolina am sending all of my good thoughts their way that the storm continues to move away and weaken, because right now they are in the path.

 

[margareton27]

A GIS coworker turned me onto this site. Pretty fun to see the wind speeds across the country.

http://hint.fm/wind/index.html

This is actually even more impressive, for what it's worth:

https://www.windytv.com/

These are great. Thanks for posting

 

[Sorrel]

IMO you'll be great. We went to Artist's Palette this morning and it was flawless. Last night we waited in line 2 hours for groceries and it was a disaster, with shelves wiped out. Today perfection. I know that's just a resort CS restaurant, but if that's what the Ride it Out crew does before things are technically open, I think you'll never know anything changed.

Thanks for telling us this. I am so mad though. We are at SSR and have been sitting here in our room all morning, and had two phone messages saying the eating places in the hotel are closed. I am really fed up with the comms here. Guess we can get out there and eat something other than the cheap ham an bagel we bought yesterday there because it was all the fresh stuff they had. But that would mean leaving our room which we have been told not to do....*sigh*

 

[11290]

We just got word from our leadership team (MK) to report Saturday at our scheduled shift times.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Keep the pictures coming. Very few of you on site friends post pics of your situations good or bad. We want pictures.

 

[DebbieB]

Does insurance cover extras due to "Act of God"?

It would cover if your flight is cancelled and you can't get another.

 

[tink2020]

Keep the pictures coming. Very few of you on site friends post pics of your situations good or bad. We want pictures.

I used to spend a lot more time on the DIS, so for the one photo I posted I used photo bucket. Is that still necessary, do you know? Because if not (it was obnoxiously fraught with pop ups) I'll post more

 

[matt1979]

Never say never. Remember Katrina? Nobody believed that would happen, either. There were valid news reports stating if the storm shifted, which it could have, the eye would have passed over Orlando. That was a possibility at one time.




Mom had the day off, but my dad was scheduled to work at MK today. If he got a phone call asking him to come in he would laugh and hang up. Mom would be nicer, but she'd still decline. I imagine that would be the response of most CMs. Maybe they could round up CP and bus them over, but I doubt Disney would put the students in any potential danger...would reflect very poorly on the program.



But it's wet.

The point was not that Orlando can't see hurricane force winds...but that it can never take a direct hit. In other words, it's physically impossible for a hurricane to make landfall in Orlando, as it's not on the coast. Any storm will always have to cross a portion of land before getting to the city...unless of course sea levels rise enough that Orlando becomes a coastal city.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Never say never. Remember Katrina? Nobody believed that would happen, either. There were valid news reports stating if the storm shifted, which it could have, the eye would have passed over Orlando. That was a possibility at one time.




Mom had the day off, but my dad was scheduled to work at MK today. If he got a phone call asking him to come in he would laugh and hang up. Mom would be nicer, but she'd still decline. I imagine that would be the response of most CMs. Maybe they could round up CP and bus them over, but I doubt Disney would put the students in any potential danger...would reflect very poorly on the program.



But it's wet.

How can Orlando have direct hit, yes the eye can pass over but it must travel through several Counties prior to arrival in Orlando, Orange County....reguardless of the direction it comes from? So which ever coastal city it enters from gets the full direct hit. As it travels across land the wind does weaken. The warm waters are what keeps the winds intense. So yes, it will never get the head on full force direct hit.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

The point was not that Orlando can't see hurricane force winds...but that it can never take a direct hit. In other words, it's physically impossible for a hurricane to make landfall in Orlando, as it's not on the coast. Any storm will always have to cross a portion of land before getting to the city...unless of course sea levels rise enough that Orlando becomes a coastal city.

Thank you. ..thank you ...thank you... for some reason many do not understand that point.

 

[Tia1977]

The Mickey Wiki ‏@TheMickeyWiki 6m6 minutes ago
This was the line for food earlier at the Caribbean Beach Resort #MatthewWDW

Wow! We planned on driving down from TN for a 10/7-10/16 CBR stay. Not having ever experienced Hurricane conditions and working long hours the past several days with limited access to the news, etc; I didn't realize the full extent at first. Seeing your 14yr old daughter cry over the delay of a trip she's been excited about for a year isn't easy. It can make you contemplate some crazy, irresponsible measures. After we officially canceled our check in to arrive later in the weekend, I was glued to the Weather Channel all night. All I thought about was being so thankful we were home safe, and prayers/concern for the locals and those already there.

 

[tink2020]

Thanks for telling us this. I am so mad though. We are at SSR and have been sitting here in our room all morning, and had two phone messages saying the eating places in the hotel are closed. I am really fed up with the comms here. Guess we can get out there and eat something other than the cheap ham an bagel we bought yesterday there because it was all the fresh stuff they had. But that would mean leaving our room which we have been told not to do....*sigh*

Honestly, we "needed" something else for our room (in a loose sense of the word) so when we saw others out we went to check. There are people at the carriage house asking what you need to make sure people aren't just hanging out at AP, but the CMs there are lovely - especially if you thank them - and didn't mind that we were there. The messages do say it's *advised* for safety, because as others have mentioned they can't handle everyone at all of the resorts out and about. But we saw lots of people outside; if you're not being a goon I think it's one of the situations where if a branch falls on your head it's your responsibility not theirs, and I wouldn't advise driving (since there is a curfew) but it's not illegal to walk outside. Hope that helps some? Obviously it's just my opinion, and we're four adults (here without our kids) that are pretty respectful and didn't expect anything specific, and would've been more than happy to go back to the room if we were told it was more than advice.

 

[Charmagne]

Wow! We planned on driving down from TN for a 10/7-10/16 CBR stay. Not having ever experienced Hurricane conditions and working long hours the past several days with limited access to the news, etc; I didn't realize the full extent at first. Seeing your 14yr old daughter cry over the delay of a trip she's been excited about for a year isn't easy. It can make you contemplate some crazy, irresponsible measures. After we officially canceled our check in to arrive later in the weekend, I was glued to the Weather Channel all night. All I thought about was being so thankful we were home safe, and prayers/concern for the locals and those already there.

I know it's hard to do the right thing, especially with a crying daughter. We're supposed to fly out for our honeymoon tomorrow, but I don't even know anymore. A part of me wants to cancel but another part of me has been yearning for this trip for 10 years now.

 

[2DisPrincesses]

This isn't a surprise - the teams of cast members left remaining at the resorts aren't equipped to cook and serve meals at that level. The last thing Disney needs is guests going to their ADRs at Ohana/Jiko/etc, and then complaining that the meal isn't what they were told it'd be/why did Disney make them pay for it, and any other complaint under the sun.

We were just told it will be a combination of Ohana and Luau items. Chefs are working on it now. It will be 30% off Ohana prices. Still for Poly guests only. No reservations.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Just heard guests at a bread & breakfast in St. Augustine are stranded due to storm surge flooding. Orlando is very lucky the winds did not reach 100mph, I do think Disney would have gotten some damage. There would be loss of power too. Instead of being upset over boxed meals and park closed, there could have been damage to guest cars and injuries. .. thankfully none of that happened.

 

[kaliann56]

We had extra morning magic booked for tomorrow at Hollywood Studios but since Disney is opening the park to everyone at 8 it has been canceled. As I was getting in the enormous line at Pop to ask about it a cast member called my cell to inform me it would be canceled but we would be completely refunded as well as given a wrist band for the breakfast that was included and two extra fast passes. While we were really looking forward to this I completely understand and appreciate that Disney is doing their best to accommodate everyone

 

[Lisa F]

Exactly. I had bags, kids, mugs, food....I was just trying to get everything back to the room in one piece as quickly as possible.

I quite honestly cannot believe that you need to defend yourself for not opening the box and checking inside until now! the original poster giving you crap for it has NEVER gotten distracted for even a moment in their lives???

 

[CarolynFH]

The point was not that Orlando can't see hurricane force winds...but that it can never take a direct hit. In other words, it's physically impossible for a hurricane to make landfall in Orlando, as it's not on the coast. Any storm will always have to cross a portion of land before getting to the city...unless of course sea levels rise enough that Orlando becomes a coastal city.

The eye of a hurricane (center of circulation) doesn't disappear and the hurricane doesn't break apart immediately when it hits land. So it is indeed possible for the center of a hurricane to pass directly over Orlando even though it's inland. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your definition of a "direct hit," but having personal experience with Betsy, Camille, Katrina & Ike (and others) I'm certain that Orlando could have had a direct hit by Matthew. And I do remember seeing more than one potential track yesterday taking Matthew directly over Orlando. Yes, they were outliers, but at one time so was the first track that showed Matthew looping back southward.

ETA that now I see you equate landfall with a direct hit. I don't believe they are the same.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

How can Orlando have direct hit, yes the eye can pass over but it must travel through several Counties prior to arrival in Orlando, Orange County....reguardless of the direction it comes from? So which ever coastal city it enters from gets the full direct hit. As it travels across land the wind does weaken. The warm waters are what keeps the winds intense. So yes, it will never get the head on full force direct hit.

I was interpreting direct hit as in the eye actually passing over. I do believe that's the conventional definition.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Just came down to the Pop lobby. The line to check in is out the door. The conceriege line is probably 50 deep.

We are in line to meet Woody and the army men. The arcade is now offering free games.

The pool bar is not open.