Hurricanes and Disney

[Harmony]

The depression in the Atlantic reminds me of the crazy Fl weather. And it reminds me that I need some hurricane advice for our trip in a couple of days. Yikes!

Have you ever spent time at Disney during a hurricane? What kinds of precautions should one take?

Anything I should be aware of during a storm? Anything I should consider packing, just in case?

TIA!!! (still excited for our vacation...2 days and counting!)

 

[chartle]

Rain coat or Poncho

 

[pigletto]

From everything I have read Disney is excellent about keeping people safe and informed in these situations. I have seen old posts where they evacuate the Fort because people there wouldn't be safe, and put them in other resorts until the storm passes.
I think having a plan just in case is a good idea. Extra money in case your flights are delayed coming home, and for food. Something to do in your room if you need to be in there for 24 hours (handheld games, books to read etc). Phone numbers to call people back home if you need to be there longer than anticipated etc.

 

[gwmort]

We were there for hurricane Charley in 2004.

The storm was due to hit our check out day and we were driving so we decided to add on one more and hunker down rather than get caught in the evacuation traffic.

Disney moved the campers out of Fort Wilderness and secured them in the lee of other hotels (we were in Old Key West and nearly every little lot had a couple campers in it).

They took some extra precautions securing anything that could swing (like the big chandeliers by the hospitality house and outdoor furniture, etc...

I believe the parks themselves were closed as well, but we didn't have tickets and really weren't interested in being out of the room.

We took normal hurricane precautions re: bottled water and some dry food staples. The storm damage the next day driving out of Orlando was pretty impressive, we were north of Jacksonville before we found a gas station with electricity for the pumps.

 

[sydsmom1997]

We were there for Gordon in 1994. We actually were in MK the day that it hit, not realizing that it had come through a day before schedule. On a positive side, there were virtually no lines...LOL! We were a bit water logged though. We are leaving in 3 days, so it appears that we may have an encounter with Isaac as well. I'm not going to let it spoil our trip though. We will grab some ponchos and trudge forth, unless told otherwise by Disney!

 

[LSUfan4444]

Dpending on the impact and landfall of the storm, usually, loss of power is the number one problem. A couple of things I would advise taking are:

-flashlights in case you are in the room and there is sever loss of power
-battery powered radio
-batteries
-extra cash (actualy real green paper money)
-playing cards / coloring books for kids, etc.
-extra pair of sneakers (if one pair gets wet, wear the other pair the following day)

 

[tajz90]

We were there one year for a hurricane. We stayed in room long enough for storm to pass. As soon as the all clear was given, the park was up and running. We never lost power. If you ventured to the food court, Disney had a few entertainment areas set up for the kids.

Not an issue. I wouldn't bother packing anything extra. Disney is well aware of their guests and they will provide

 

[chartle]

OP just wanted you know that I pretty sure WDW has only been majorly effected by 2 hurricanes over 40 years.

It will mostly be a Tropical Storm by the time it hits WDW that's the reason for my semi snarky just bring a rain coat post.

 

[Dopey420]

The storm is only going to last 3-4 hours, then it will pass. By the time it gets to Lake Buena Vista, it has usually lost a lot of energy.

 

[gator girl]

How long are you staying? In 2 days when you arrive, the storm is still going to be *well* down in the Caribbean. There should be no effects at all for several days after your arrival, at the least.

If/when this system crosses over Orlando, it will probably be little more than extended rain & more wind than usual. Much of the property's electrical lines are run underground, so you might not even lose power. For actual hurricane conditions to cross all the way into the middle of the state & affect the parks, it has to be a significant hurricane before it ever hits land, and be aimed right at Orlando. If it comes onshore down at Miami (for example), then it will lose much of its strength before it ever gets to Disney. Not to mention, storms are more likely to swerve off in another direction than to take aim at Disney property, just based on sheer probability.

Your most likely effects will be more rain than usual, due to extended bands of clouds that fan out hundreds of miles from the eye of the storm. Poncho it up, bring extra pairs of dry shoes, and slog it out. This will help your crowd conditions, when all those people made of sugar stay home lest they melt.

Disney rarely, rarely, rarely has any effects from hurricanes other than rainy weather. Park closures are extremely rare, and sometimes have amounted to only a morning closure & then open by the evening. Like I said... it has to be a major storm, aimed directly at Orlando, coming onshore at the closest proximity possible, in order for you to experience what you see on the Weather Channel when they're flopping around on the beach in their yellow slickers. And if that does happen, then you just stay in your room where you should be perfectly safe. Disney will make sure you are kept up to date with any info you need.

 

[AndyFL]

I wouldn't worry too much about hurricanes this year, the weather pattern will keep them pushed down along the bottom of the Gulf or will turn them up northward in the Atlantic...kinda like what happened 2 yrs ago. We're going the first week of Sept and I'm far more worried about the humidity and heat than I am about a hurricane.

Why do I have a feeling I just jinxed my trip

 

[BadgerGirl84]

I am watching updates 3x/day on the Hurricane Center website for TD9.

I went the 1st week of Sept last year and I'm going the 1st week this year.

I know I can't change the weather, but I like to keep an eye on things to know what to expect. My #1 fear is somehow the storm keeping me from getting to Florida on time.

 

[sydsmom1997]

How long are you staying? In 2 days when you arrive, the storm is still going to be *well* down in the Caribbean. There should be no effects at all for several days after your arrival, at the least.

If/when this system crosses over Orlando, it will probably be little more than extended rain & more wind than usual. Much of the property's electrical lines are run underground, so you might not even lose power. For actual hurricane conditions to cross all the way into the middle of the state & affect the parks, it has to be a significant hurricane before it ever hits land, and be aimed right at Orlando. If it comes onshore down at Miami (for example), then it will lose much of its strength before it ever gets to Disney. Not to mention, storms are more likely to swerve off in another direction than to take aim at Disney property, just based on sheer probability.

Your most likely effects will be more rain than usual, due to extended bands of clouds that fan out hundreds of miles from the eye of the storm. Poncho it up, bring extra pairs of dry shoes, and slog it out. This will help your crowd conditions, when all those people made of sugar stay home lest they melt.

Disney rarely, rarely, rarely has any effects from hurricanes other than rainy weather. Park closures are extremely rare, and sometimes have amounted to only a morning closure & then open by the evening. Like I said... it has to be a major storm, aimed directly at Orlando, coming onshore at the closest proximity possible, in order for you to experience what you see on the Weather Channel when they're flopping around on the beach in their yellow slickers. And if that does happen, then you just stay in your room where you should be perfectly safe. Disney will make sure you are kept up to date with any info you need.

Thanks for this! You just stopped me from having a panic attack!

 

[TDC Nala]

These are the only hurricane closures at the WDW parks:

Full day closings:
September 2, 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)
September 4 and 5, 2004 (Hurricane Frances)
September 27, 2004 (Hurricane Jeanne)

Partial closings:
September 1, 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)
August 13, 2004 (Hurricane Charley)
October 25, 2005 (Hurricane Wilma)

You can see hurricane closures at the parks are relatively rare and that many of them took place in 2004, which was an extraordinary year for hurricanes.

What to be prepared for: Flight delays, the possibility of having to rearrange your transport home, maybe having to spend some time inside your resort (I stayed during Hurricane Frances, it was 2 days for Frances to pass, staying at Pop Century which does not have inside corridors - guests were asked not to leave their rooms and were requested to stock up on food and beverages before the hurricane came through, as the main building incluiding the food court would be closed while the hurricane passed. Power was never lost, though.)

I had to extend my stay two nights, as flights were not leaving the Orlando airport and by the time they started leaving again, planes were full. This was easily done at Pop Century. There was a charge for the two extra nights, but they did let me have the Annual Passholder rate.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

March, 2012 we were there during two days of horrendous weather. And it was not even hurricane related! There were lightening strikes 20-60 seconds apart for hours at a time, and the rain was coming down in sheets. Four small tornadoes did touch down in Buena Vista.

My DD and I spent a full day in the hotel. During a lull in the rain and lightening I braved it to the food court and brought back a meal and snacks.

We do travel with a laptop, I-pad and books, so we can hunker down if we need to.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I wouldn't over stress about hurricanes there. Very few hurricanes actually hit the US mainland and those that do don't seem to favor any one local.

 

[saturn5]

Buy a decent rain suit usually found at the sporting goods or camping stores and punch through the rain. The rain suits do a good job of keeping you dry. Have fun!

 

[tajz90]

We look at rain (esp heavy rain) as an all day fast pass!

Been in some very severe lightening storms in Orlando. Wow... Those are the run and hide events!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

If you are at WDW during hurricane season, you have little to worry about (rain & wind). The biggest concern is if you have a flight during a hurricane. We were at WDW last year when Irene went by NYC. All of the NYC airports shut down & we were "stuck" at the Boardwalk. There were no flights into NYC for a few days. We were able to get a flight to Pittsburgh & rent a car to drive home. We added one night at the Boardwalk with our DVC points. Others with our predicament were offered discounted rates at some of the moderates for a night or two.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

We live in S Fla near the coast so we are def paying attn to this storm but it doesn't look like it will even be a strong one at this point.

We were in WDW for Wilma-while family was watching our prop at home(ended up needing a new roof ) and it was like a bad storm in Orlando.

The big thing was that during an evac in Florida everyone makes a beeline for orlando-it's inland, lots of hotels, restaurants...afterwards was crazy! We drove my DH home with generators , gas and supplies, dropped him off and came back up to stay another week while power was out and he worked on cleanup.

The parks were slammed. The rain was heavy the day before but by a day after it was pretty nice.

So if it looks to come to Fla, just make sure you have an extra day or so if flying might be affected, make adrs now, and def have some cash on hand.