Hurricane Matthew Closes WDW - Reopens Saturday, October 8th

[DisBuckMan]

I can only imagine the complaints when power and WIFI go out tomorrow.

Yep...and people who haven't been through a major hurricane before are going to be shocked when their cell phones don't work.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Yes pretty much everything built in Florida has to withstand a certain wind speed.

True to a certain extent. There are many structures that have been built prior to code changes. Many codes changed after Andrew in 92 then again after Charley in 04.

 

[rteetz]

True to a certain extent. There are many structures that have been built prior to code changes. Many codes changed after Andrew in 92 then again after Charley in 04.

I understand that. Everything built today has to be up to a certain hurricane code though.

 

[gja360]

Hearing from a few people on a weather board I'm on that Matthew might not make landfall after all and stay off shore, which would be great for WDW.

 

[StarGirl11]

That is a bit extreme. They could have just put in under what looks like a carport.

Unless it's a fully covered car port there is still a chance of damage from hurricane debris I would think.

Also between the car port and the house I would think the house is the more structurally sound of the two in a hurricane.

So extreme, yes. But I don't blame them for taking that kind of action.

 

[mjallemand]

I am scratching my head...Orlando is a big city with thousands of places to eat. Why are people sitting there with a box of food like a refugee?

Spoken as someone who hasn't experienced a hurricane, I'm guessing?

 

[gja360]

Any ideas on when we will know what kind of damage the property has taken post storm? We are supposed to arrive in Orlando around 2pm Saturday but I'm worried about the airport/road conditions... and if the parks/resorts will be badly damaged. We have Halloween party tix for Monday evening... I don't know if those would be refunded either. Any help answering or giving suggestions would be appreciated.

I would imagine that they will have people out on the property as soon as they can to give reports on the damage. I would think my tomorrow afternoon we would know something.

 

[wilkeliza]

Unless it's a fully covered car port there is still a chance of damage from hurricane debris I would think.

Also between the car port and the house I would think the house is the more structurally sound of the two in a hurricane.

So extreme, yes. But I don't blame them for taking that kind of action.

Yes there is still a possibility for damage under a car port. I just couldn't imagine driving a car inside my house but of course that's me. It does look like it might be a covered patio and not a car port so maybe it didn't fit.

 

[gja360]

Unless it's a fully covered car port there is still a chance of damage from hurricane debris I would think.

Also between the car port and the house I would think the house is the more structurally sound of the two in a hurricane.

So extreme, yes. But I don't blame them for taking that kind of action.

Hopefully they are smart enough not to run the car while it is in the house....

 

[Mr. Drauer]

Yes pretty much everything built in Florida has to withstand a certain wind speed.

Depending on when, different standards for different places. After Andrew, coastal zone construction standards changed to mandate new construction meet those standards. Many buildings along the entire Florida coast were built prior to that. Inland construction had separate standards based upon building use, but definitely not to Cat 5 standards. Post 2004-2005 (Charley to Wilma), new construction everywhere was to higher standards, though still not Cat 5 levels. Many construction projects are still "lowest-bid" jobs, which doesn't mean they are satisfactory to hurricane standards. Google the news feeds from Charley to see Poinciana High School lose its roof - that was built in 2003.

 

[cel_disney]

Don't they charge DVC for extra towels? Where as regular rooms they don't..
Could that be the reason?

It's true that they *sometimes* charge for towels. The one time before I have requested I wasn't charged! This studio only has 4 towels where usually we are in a 1bedroom which they seem to stack with closer to 8. I actually was more than willing to pay the $8 for the towel pack when I called today but just couldn't get an answer! Oh well...

Happy for those of you that did get extras! Interesting to learn how Disney works such that this is a resort level decision it seems!

 

[DVC Jen]

Heard on news that poly was evacuated as well as fort wilderness.

The Poly has not been evacuated. The bungalows were - but not the main resort. I have friends staying there now

 

[StarGirl11]

Hopefully they are smart enough not to run the car while it is in the house....

Hopefully they are that smart.

 

[jerseygal]

Prayers and positive thoughts for everyone's safety!

 

[soniam]

Any ideas on when we will know what kind of damage the property has taken post storm? We are supposed to arrive in Orlando around 2pm Saturday but I'm worried about the airport/road conditions... and if the parks/resorts will be badly damaged. We have Halloween party tix for Monday evening... I don't know if those would be refunded either. Any help answering or giving suggestions would be appreciated.

I think you are just going to have to wait and see. MCO isn't supposed to even reopen until Saturday at the earliest and only after inspections. If things are still messed up, then I think you will be able to get refunded. If you can't fly to Orlando, I don't think you could attend a party. If you do miss out and need to get refunded, just be sure to be patient and friendly. Even if the Monday party happens, being nice and explaining to the phone CMs that you couldn't get a flight would probably result in you getting a refund.

DH and I had our flight to Germany canceled in 2001 due to 9/11. We finally made it to Germany on Sunday, when we were supposed to fly out on Wednesday, 9/12. We were there for about 3 weeks, and our return flight kept getting canceled and changed. We were on the phone in Germany, pre-cell phone, all the time trying to get return flights. Being considerate of the stress on the airline staff and just keeping things friendly, light, and jovial really made things go smoothly and got us really good, extra-effort treatment from the airline booking people. After all, they are probably in a worse position than you, because they have the extra stress of fixing everything.

Good luck. I hope everything works out.

 

[cel_disney]

Any ideas on when we will know what kind of damage the property has taken post storm? We are supposed to arrive in Orlando around 2pm Saturday but I'm worried about the airport/road conditions... and if the parks/resorts will be badly damaged. We have Halloween party tix for Monday evening... I don't know if those would be refunded either. Any help answering or giving suggestions would be appreciated.

I'm sure that anything you can't use as a result of Matthew will be refunded. Based on what the Ride It Out and Park CMs have told us - all Disney damage will be known by Friday night and hopefully fixed by Saturday morning. Not sure what will happen with the loop though!

 

[Tiggerette]

Any ideas on when we will know what kind of damage the property has taken post storm? We are supposed to arrive in Orlando around 2pm Saturday but I'm worried about the airport/road conditions... and if the parks/resorts will be badly damaged. We have Halloween party tix for Monday evening... I don't know if those would be refunded either. Any help answering or giving suggestions would be appreciated.

I don't mean to sound obtuse, but I think it might be unfair to you to haphazard a guess right now as to damage for road conditions. There's no certainty what sort of clean up might be needed, beyond there will be cleanup needed. I'm not sure if you're flying in, and if so when the airport would be able to take in flights due to clean-up and lingering high winds.

If it's possible to wait to take an evaluation Friday afternoon after the storm passes, I think it would be greater benefit to your planning. Additionally, it's possible that the storm could circle back, and it's just too early to know how or if it would affect your stay next week.

 

[Irish_Mike]

That's awful. CSR is catered by a third party company--and I bet they'll hear from Disney after Matthew passes.

I'd like to say it won't be pushed under the rug and forgotten in a month.

But unless enough guests complain, persistently, it'll be pushed under the rug and forgotten in a month.

 

[kandb]

I am scratching my head...Orlando is a big city with thousands of places to eat. Why are people sitting there with a box of food like a refugee?

Because there is no way to get to the Orlando restaurants when 90% of people have no transportation and have to rely on Disney transportation.

 

[OnceUponATime15]

Watching CNN
Anderson Cooper was just speaking with the Govenor of Florida.

23,000 people already without power and this is just the beginning. Conditions now beginning to deteriorate over a widespread portion of the state.

Many of the satellite feeds with CNNs on the spot reporters are already breaking up...

There's a whole lot of scary ahead I'm afraid.

If you are in the Path of the storm, stay informed, make wise decisions & be safe.