Hurricane Matthew Closes WDW - Reopens Saturday, October 8th

[Irish_Mike]

WFTV just made the closure announcement for both Disney and Universal.

 

[dawne98]

For sure Disney is going to close today at 5 pm and remain shut down Friday!

 

[dawne98]

Orange County

Expect winds of 15 to 20 mph today because of Hurricane Matthew, but they'll pick up tonight with speeds of 25 to 30 mph and gusts of up to 40, according to Jayme King, a meteorologist at WOFL-Fox 35. Friday, sustained winds will pummel Orlando and the surrounding county at 55 to 60 mph with gusts of more than 80 mph. In 2004, whenHurricane Charley tore through the region, its tops winds in Orlando were 85 mph.

 

[NeuroCindy]

The Red Cross has a great app for Hurricanes. It can help you greatly and is free.

 

[jhaig]

It will be very interesting to see pictures and videos for those who are staying at the resorts (as long as they are doing so SAFELY - no picture is worth getting injured, or worse). I've been thru storms and high winds while on vacation at WDW, but never something like what is coming. Are there any live webcams that will be available to see how the parks hold up?

 

[Disneymom1126]

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

Yes, me too. I used to work in on-campus housing at a large university and we had/have an emergency plan in place for major crises complete with emergency kits, etc. I can't even imagine how extensive their emergency plan must be, but I'm sure they have a very comprehensive one. Communicating across our 50ish residence hall buildings to about 14,000 students is a difficult task, but I can't even imagine trying to implement their plan, communicate with hundreds of thousands of guests, plus informing CMs, etc.

 

[Skywise]

Not to belittle the situation but yeah - same thing from the weather forecasters here in the midwest. We had 2 days of OMG! THE ICE STORM OF THE EPOCH IS COMING! DOOM, DESPAIR AND AGONEEE on US! They were predicting 4" of ice falling. Companies closed, the government shut down early and there were runs on the stores for food.

Didn't even happen - the warm front shifted taking the moisture with it.

2 weeks later we got socked with nearly a foot of snow when the weather men were predicting 1" - no warning, streets a mess, stores completely stocked (but empty! )

The weather service is all too happy to be click-baity in these times. Take precautions and storm prep - and then binge-watch Frozen in an infinite loop...

 

[mjallemand]

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

It's because it's something that happens once a decade, if that.

 

[Frank4202]

Webcam from Cocoa Beach FL. Ive been watching it and it went from windy to insane in seconds...

http://www.surfguru.com/florida-surf-reports/cocoa-beach-pier

 

[11290]

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

The rideout teams assess damages on an ongoing basis thruout the storm. They don't just wait until it's all over and then decide.

 

[piglet1979]

I've always been fascinated by weather and meteorology. My coworkers think I'm nuts because I'm tracking this storm. We are also scheduled to go to Atlanta this weekend. While I know the weather won't be bad there, I'm watching to see how many people are being evacuated out of GA and will be heading that way.

I have 2 friends (one from SC and one from GA) evacuate closer to Atlanta.

 

[magic458]

More preppers

Ugh.
Here is a link https://keepsakeportraits.box.com/s/33syzznzqn4rd1ew4a2d00ll9lsx7lgn

 

[Delphinus317]

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

Bwahahahahaha!!!

 

[Princesca]

CNN just alerted that 108 people in Haiti have died from the hurricane. Not a reason to panic, but a damn good reason to take it seriously.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Disney resorts (at least the All Stars) are offering boxed lunches for $12.99 to get guests through closures tomorrow. Sandwich, chips, fruit, and dessert.

 

[baxgirl]

Some of you have mentioned hurricanes spawn tornados. How long after initial hurricane conditions does this last? Just while hurricane conditions are continuing or up to hours/days after? I'm sure situations differ but just want to make sure I'm not in danger of driving into a tornado late Sunday (I live in Indiana. I can handle tornados when I have shelter...not when driving)

 

[KateP85]

Still cloudy with light rain here. We got the majority of the swing set taken apart and moved inside the garage. The other part is tied to a palm tree. I'm hoping the palm tree stays put.

I'm starting to get nervous. I don't like the idea that we'll get hit overnight, I'm sort of hoping the worst of it comes tomorrow during the day. I don't like things happening in the dark! Our kids (a 3-year old and a 6-month old baby) usually sleep upstairs but we've moved them into our room for the night, so no one will be getting much sleep.

 

[DLM1980]

Here's something I've never seen. Gotta get a flight out before all flights are grounded!

 

[NYDisneyKid]

I wonder if people can park in the parking garage to wait the storm out?

 

[gwynne]

Still cloudy with light rain here. We got the majority of the swing set taken apart and moved inside the garage. The other part is tied to a palm tree. I'm hoping the palm tree stays put.

I'm starting to get nervous. I don't like the idea that we'll get hit overnight, I'm sort of hoping the worst of it comes tomorrow during the day. I don't like things happening in the dark! Our kids (a 3-year old and a 6-month old baby) usually sleep upstairs but we've moved them into our room for the night, so no one will be getting much sleep.

Sounds like a good plan. Having flashlights in easy reach will help, too. Sending good thoughts your way!