Hurricane Matthew Closes WDW - Reopens Saturday, October 8th

[Minnie121]

For those that have rescheduled, when have you rescheduled to? Just a few days past your normal arrival? Or weeks/months?

I was supposed to fly out tonight but my flight was canceled. I rebooked flight and hotel for January (MLK weekend). Southwest and Disney have been great with helping me book everything.

 

[wilkeliza]

Just heard report that MK loud speakers told guests closing at 5.

Crazy when those loud speakers are used. That is when you know it is serious at MK.

 

[Irish_Mike]

12PM HUB update confirms that the parks will close at 5 and remain closed tomorrow



Thanks to a friend of mine for the screengrab

 

[HopperFan]

MDE updated hours.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

WDW's homepage still doesn't reflect the early closures today and full closures tomorrow, however the park hours page does reflect most of that. I guess the info is rolling out across the website and app in stages.

 

[RescueRanger]

Not misinformed - offering an app to keep up to date on road conditions (including closed ones) for people who are going to attempt to drive in the area regardless.

Sorry, skywise. I dont know why it included your post. I was just trying to respond to sam. I will try to edit it.

 

[DLM1980]

Trash cans are being grouped together

When I worked at six flags at seasons end the cans were all taken to ride queue houses and stored within the queues. Inspect this is somewhat similar here

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I wonder how they'll secure all the pop up kiosks in epcot, they cannot possibly be built to withstand 80 mph+ winds. Stay safe everyone who's down there I hope its not as bad as they're calling for

For Charley they did do some "bolting" down of the kiosks, but I expect they are stronger than we realized. Over the years they have upgraded a lot of them to small building status! Disney would have thought about this... The risk is not the damage to the kiosks, but the damage the kiosk would do to the park with all that flying debris.

 

[dismom57]

As for supplies, I have wine, Twizzlers and ice cream. I think we can survive with pizza on the outside grill (temporarily taking up a rude amount of space in the kitchen!) when the winds die down.

Hoping that is not a charcoal or propane grill, unless you have lost your kitchen roof too. Dangerous source of carbon monoxide, unless moved back outside

 

[buzznina]

Our couches are going to be packed tonight through Saturday. We lived in the Orlando area for 18 years and moved to the panhandle of Florida and a couple of our friends and their families (from the Orlando area) are heading this way to stay with us.

 

[Skywise]

View attachment 199309 Trash cans are being grouped together

Aww - they're huddling together for protection.

 

[TCups4Me]

You got this!

You know the drill, do all you can to secure and protect yourselves.

Keep yourself busy until it gets bad; cook and put in fridge, laundry, clean, find all the supplies you might need.

Then just grab a drink and a blanket, get cozy and watch the news so you are ready.

AND keep talking to us as long as you have power. WE ARE HERE!

May the force be with you!

This is why I love these boards.

 

[dawne98]

HURRICANE NEWS
Hurricane Matthew grows to Category 4 storm: Florida prepares for an assault
The National Weather Service warns that Hurricane Matthew may hit the Orlando area with winds more powerful than what it faced during Hurricane Charley in 2004. The latest update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami showed that the storm has strengthened again to a Category 4 storm

 

[uagirl]

I may be strange, but I find the large scale prep-work happening at Disney eerily fascinating.

 

[RoyandWalt]

Talk about a close shave. We got on our scheduled flight home (Indianapolis) from WDW/Orlando last night. However, our daughter works at MK and we are a bit apprehensive about her.

 

[emacat]

If you were to watch "some" of the local weathercasters (using that term loosely) on tv here, you would think that Orlando will cease to exist as a city on Friday morning. Not trying to minimize the situation but they are a bit over the top at times
.

While this is clearly a much worse scenario, my friend and I discussed something about this earlier today. Our weatherman was in a panic about the snow coming, going on and on about "Snowmageddon" and we got two inches. I appreciate their job is to prepare us for the worst so we stay safe. But in some circumstances- they go a little wild.
Again- not trying to compare that to Matthew- This is clearly a much more frightening and potentially very damaging storm.

 

[gwynne]

Hoping that is not a charcoal or propane grill, unless you have lost your kitchen roof too. Dangerous source of carbon monoxide, unless moved back outside

I think they temporarily stored the grill inside to protect it from the hurricane, and will move it back outside for use when the weather is better.

 

[Skywise]

All Disney World theme parks to close at 5p today (Thu Oct 7) and remain closed until Saturday.

But... mah Dessert Party!!! Will Captain Phasma still be there?!

 

[Princesca]

Another helpful tip - hit up the app store on your phone and download a severe weather app such as:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noaa-weather-radar-hd-radar/id749133753?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weather.Weather&hl=en

(I haven't had personal experience with these - just examples.)

That way, if the power goes out you can at least see alerts on your phone.

 

[LauraLea]

The storm is supposed to hit during the evening into the night, which is a good thing, most of the family should be able to just sleep through it. You will be surprised at how quickly Disney will get any damage picked up and make it look like nothing even happened. Just stay inside, stay dry and pretend its a normal night

I am not so sure this is correct. This is going to be a long storm, not just overnight, but all day tomorrow as well. Disney will not be able to assess any damage until Saturday. Reopening the parks on Saturday is optimistic.

Laura