Hurricanes and Disney

[wfjny]

We spent a hurricane at Disney. I do not remember which Hurricane it was, but it was probably about 4-5 years ago.

I forget which way it went, but I think it came in from the Atlantic, passed to the South, hit the Gulf, made a U turn, and then passed Disney to the North. While not a direct hit, it was stormy for several days.

Things to know:

Disney is built well. I can’t speak for every hotel, but chances are, you are probably safe in your hotel. Unlike my experience, most of the time a Hurricane is a short event, probably killing a day.

We were at the Wilderness lodge. Disney cancelled all reservations at the restaurants, and took people on a first come, first served basis. Stuck in the hotel, eating could be an issue.

If memory serves me correct, the parks were actually open. Again, we were on the edge, not taking a direct hit from a category 5 storm. We (as I think most people) skipped the parks the heaviest day (hence the hour wait at the restaurant).

Disney comes up with all sorts of activities for the kids in the hotels.

The other days, we grabbed our grabbed our ponchos and went to the parks. Most people I guess though the same thing I did, most of EPCOT is indoors. Bad idea, it was the busiest park, by far. We were soaked, and we laugh about it still today.

 

[jenjie]

There are many armchair meteorologists out there, lol
And it does seems like so many of the real ones on TV go nuts for the hype.

That is why I try to get my information from a fella who is a private,
for profit meteorologist for business people around the globe
(you know, for people involved in commodity trading, folks who absolutely need to know
what is going to happen so they can cut their losses or stay the course).
If he wasn't accurate, they would not be paying him for his service, so he takes great care to get it right.

He provides the best, most accurate weather forecasts I have ever seen.

Anyway, you can find him at www.wxrisk.com
or if you go on facebook just search for Wxrisk and you should be able to find him.

He's watching all the models, the euro, the 0z and 6z GFS, the Canadian model,
and so much more analysis than my non-weather geek mind can possibly take in
If you go to www.wxrisk.com right now you can bathe in the weather-ese to your heart's content...
enjoy

PS- look for his summary in red font at the bottom of the page. You can't copy and paste it or I would have included it already...

Thanks I saved it and liked his facebook page. My dh will be very interested.

 

[goofy4tink]

Friday, August 13, 2004. We arrived in Orlando right around noon. We were lucky...they had started shutting out arriving flights a few hours later...if I remember correctly, around 3pm. We arrived at the CR and were told that the parks were closing at 3pm in order to ready them for the storm. Then, we were told that the restaurants in the CR were closed. Of course we had an ADR at Chef Mickeys that night!!! And an ADR for HDDR the following night that had been booked 6 months prior. That was cancelled as well since they closed down FtW. We were able to rebook, but for a night that we were at BWV, and not nearly as good seating!!!
Then, we were told that the conference halls would be handing out meals that evening so just go there and we would have a meal provided. Well, when we got there, just before the start time, we were told that things had changed....box dinners were being provided...so fill up your styro box, grab a drink and head back to your room. We were in the North Wing (now BLT!!), ground level, facing the lake. Were told to stay away from the windows, and keep the drapes pulled.
There were movies and cartoons on about 5 channels all that day, night and the next day.
The storm passed directly overhead later that evening. We never lost power. We had messages on our phones telling us that housekeeping was short staffed so only fresh towels would be provided that day.
The regular restaurant was open for breakfast, but with limited menu. We had no trouble finding something good to eat.
The CMs all looked exhausted. They had had to sleep there, the night before. They all brought in the pool chaises, and slept on them over in the convention area. They did a great job though.

There was some destruction around the area, but Disney had it all cleaned up and very quickly!!! MK opened maybe an hour late. DHS opened a few hours late, same with Epcot. AK didn't open that day.
I will say that Disney knows what to do in this kind of situation. There was no panic, no sense of urgency. The CMs just quietly went about doing what needed doing.

Things were so good that we just couldn't understand what all the hubbub was on the news. By the third day, after the storm, the area residents started arriving in the parks. Schools were closed, companies shut down...so once roads were cleared (and it took several days) they started heading to WDW.

I have to say that I was amazed when we headed back to MCO a week later. The destruction we saw along the way, and at the airport was incredible. Man, it really showed how great Disney is.

 

[lynn46356]

I haven't read everyones replies yet but we were there during Debbie this past June. She wasn't horrible but it did rain a lot. I had packed a pair of Columbia quick dry shorts for my husband and he wore them every day while it rained. They dried really quickly. My husband and I also had crocs for our feet (I had to go buy a pair at the outlet) and they were our primary shoes the entire time it rained plus the remainder of the days when it didn't. My husband couldn't believe how comfortable they were. Ponchos of course. We brought old Disney ones from home and had to purchase two more as the old ones wore out from taking them on and off so much. Remember to take a hand towel with from the resort. It's a real help also. There were baskets of them for guests at the Beach Club front door for guests. Hope this helps!!!! Lastly, don't wait for the rain to stop. We walked around in the pouring rain one evening at Magic Kingdom till 1 a.m. It was a blast! Lines were nonexistent and it was a highlight of our trip. Have Fun!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dwheels]

wow...the first year we went as a family was 2005, from September 12-18, between the two hurricanes and we had PERFECT weather! Not a drop of rain. I don't remember there being hurricanes before we went, except for Katrina that was a few weeks before.

Katrina never affected Orlando at all!! We were there and got lucky it went totally out into the gulf. Taking a totally different path!

 

[LPnerd]

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

you just may have... for those interested, and I apologise for not being able to post the direct link, you can go to accuweather.com, tabs at top go to social, click on forums, then click on us weather, the topic Issac( it's a board that works just like this one) go to page oh say 30 and start looking and reading. i bet you'll find it fascinating. these are mainly weather students, ex military and weatherpeeps in general . they post the acual model runs and discuss them, post links to sat pics you won't see anywhere else as they r not easy to find, and where you can't comment unles you join, you can learn so much from reading along...
plus keep in mind many of these posters are young people and can get excited don't be offended. its the chance to study the storms they get pumped about, not the damage... have fun.

 

[hardhead]

This a message to anybody going during this storm. Save your money and CANCEL NOW. We will be leaving tomorrow for our 8 day trip and i would like the lines a little shorter

 

[VACamm]

This a message to anybody going during this storm. Save your money and CANCEL NOW. We will be leaving tomorrow for our 8 day trip and i would like the lines a little shorter

Haaaa

 

[socalduo]

This a message to anybody going during this storm. Save your money and CANCEL NOW. We will be leaving tomorrow for our 8 day trip and i would like the lines a little shorter

I agree. Do thid. Its going to be crazy! This has nothing to do with me leaving on Sunday for my Disneymoon.

 

[Dwheels]

This a message to anybody going during this storm. Save your money and CANCEL NOW. We will be leaving tomorrow for our 8 day trip and i would like the lines a little shorter

rotfl great idea

 

[nancy155]

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!)

We were there during Hurricane Charley! Wow what a storm. Disney closed early and opened late after the storm. We went to a store looking for flashlights, candles and none to be found prior to the storm. My son brought back some babyfood (to use the jars), some string, and baby oil. He made oil lamps for us! Worked perfect. The resort we were at lost all power for over 2 days. HOT!!! no AC. Rained a lot the days to follow the hurricane.

So thoughts... bring umbrellas, ponchos, flash lights.

 

[littlebit0863]

I was there for hurricane Jeanne in 2004, for my disneymoon. I was not staying on property, I was at DTD Hilton, and I had an issue there, I actually liked my park time prior to hurricane. We arrived on a Thursday, went to MK, the next day went to Epcot, and crowds were non-existent. It was drizzly all day, and lots of people at the park were just kind of talking about if they were leaving or not. The next day, Saturday, we went to DHS and the park closed around 3 pm I believe, and I know it was closed the next day. They had cast members at every ride telling us when the park closed and they had signs posted on the turnstiles.

We stayed til the bitter end, and were supposed to check out of the hotel on Sunday, which of course we couldn't because Sunday was hurricane day. We had booked the hotel at a discounted rate through our travel agent, but when we went to the front desk to extend our stay (because there was a HURRICANE) they didn't want to do it at all. First they were telling us the hotel was booked and there were no Sunday night vacancies. Um, airport was completely closed down, half the city was being evacuated, so that was obviously untrue. They were telling us we were going to have to go stay in a shelter. I couldn't believe it because surely we weren't the only hotel guests who were set to check out on Sunday and now couldn't! Well we argued and then finally they said ok we could stay, but at the full peak season rate. They were charging us on a hurricane September what they should have been charging at Christmas! I called the travel agent, and she called and spoke with the hotel manager, who basically came back and told us that he doesn't know what his clerk's problem was. He apologized and gave us the room for free!

The hotel restaurants were closed all day Sunday and the little gift shop very quickly completely sold out of food so from about 11 am Sunday to Monday morning there was no food at all in the hotel, but they came door to door telling us that if we wanted to raid our minibars we would not be charged (except for alcohol.) They were showing movies in the hotel ballroom, and they protected the big beautiful glass doors with buses parked in front of them. I spent most of the day completely bored in my room, looking out the window at dtd. (On my honeymoon, and I was bored in my room????) Oh, I did spend hours upon hours talking with the airline and Mears trying to reschedule our flight home for Monday. This was back during roaming charge days and my trip insurance ended up paying my cell phone bill.

The airport on Monday (day after hurricane) was an absolute mess, and we ended up getting our Sunday morning flight rescheduled for Monday evening, but all in all I think most of the Disney area treated us pretty well.

 

[LPnerd]

I was there for hurricane Jeanne in 2004, for my disneymoon. I was not staying on property, I was at DTD Hilton, and I had an issue there, I actually liked my park time prior to hurricane. We arrived on a Thursday, went to MK, the next day went to Epcot, and crowds were non-existent. It was drizzly all day, and lots of people at the park were just kind of talking about if they were leaving or not. The next day, Saturday, we went to DHS and the park closed around 3 pm I believe, and I know it was closed the next day. They had cast members at every ride telling us when the park closed and they had signs posted on the turnstiles.

We stayed til the bitter end, and were supposed to check out of the hotel on Sunday, which of course we couldn't because Sunday was hurricane day. We had booked the hotel at a discounted rate through our travel agent, but when we went to the front desk to extend our stay (because there was a HURRICANE) they didn't want to do it at all. First they were telling us the hotel was booked and there were no Sunday night vacancies. Um, airport was completely closed down, half the city was being evacuated, so that was obviously untrue. They were telling us we were going to have to go stay in a shelter. I couldn't believe it because surely we weren't the only hotel guests who were set to check out on Sunday and now couldn't! Well we argued and then finally they said ok we could stay, but at the full peak season rate. They were charging us on a hurricane September what they should have been charging at Christmas! I called the travel agent, and she called and spoke with the hotel manager, who basically came back and told us that he doesn't know what his clerk's problem was. He apologized and gave us the room for free!

The hotel restaurants were closed all day Sunday and the little gift shop very quickly completely sold out of food so from about 11 am Sunday to Monday morning there was no food at all in the hotel, but they came door to door telling us that if we wanted to raid our minibars we would not be charged (except for alcohol.) They were showing movies in the hotel ballroom, and they protected the big beautiful glass doors with buses parked in front of them. I spent most of the day completely bored in my room, looking out the window at dtd. (On my honeymoon, and I was bored in my room????) Oh, I did spend hours upon hours talking with the airline and Mears trying to reschedule our flight home for Monday. This was back during roaming charge days and my trip insurance ended up paying my cell phone bill.

The airport on Monday (day after hurricane) was an absolute mess, and we ended up getting our Sunday morning flight rescheduled for Monday evening, but all in all I think most of the Disney area treated us pretty well.

that is called price gouging and is against a federal law, that hotel manager would have gone to jail for that and the hotel fined ! good thing your agent called that was a scam devoted to pray on the uninformed. that was the DTD Hilton huh... well that's worth a heads up...
that is against federal law here and anyone who has a C/o prices jumping on gas, or room rates,, please call the police and they will help you out... its a huge deal in Fl. we all go nuts over that kinda crud...

 

[vicki_c]

That doesn't sound like price gouging to me just because they asked the person to pay rack rates. They were there on a discounted rate. No hotel would have to honor the discounted rate if you added days. And I will just add that hotels are usually entirely booked around hurricanes. We lived on the FL coast during Jeanne and many of my coworkers evacuated TO Orlando. That's not uncommon with hurricanes. We almost went to Tampa during one of the 2004 storms and had a room reserved.

Edited: sorry missed the holiday rate part. Agree that's a problem. But I stand by my comment on occupancy rates.

 

[LPnerd]

That doesn't sound like price gouging to me just because they asked the person to pay rack rates. They were there on a discounted rate. No hotel would have to honor the discounted rate if you added days. And I will just add that hotels are usually entirely booked around hurricanes. We lived on the FL coast during Jeanne and many of my coworkers evacuated TO Orlando. That's not uncommon with hurricanes. We almost went to Tampa during one of the 2004 storms and had a room reserved.

Edited: sorry missed the holiday rate part. Agree that's a problem. But I stand by my comment on occupancy rates.

your right, the holiday rate in Sept was exactly the problem,

 

[strmtroopr96]

I was there for hurricane Jeanne in 2004, for my disneymoon. I was not staying on property, I was at DTD Hilton, and I had an issue there, I actually liked my park time prior to hurricane. We arrived on a Thursday, went to MK, the next day went to Epcot, and crowds were non-existent. It was drizzly all day, and lots of people at the park were just kind of talking about if they were leaving or not. The next day, Saturday, we went to DHS and the park closed around 3 pm I believe, and I know it was closed the next day. They had cast members at every ride telling us when the park closed and they had signs posted on the turnstiles.

We stayed til the bitter end, and were supposed to check out of the hotel on Sunday, which of course we couldn't because Sunday was hurricane day. We had booked the hotel at a discounted rate through our travel agent, but when we went to the front desk to extend our stay (because there was a HURRICANE) they didn't want to do it at all. First they were telling us the hotel was booked and there were no Sunday night vacancies. Um, airport was completely closed down, half the city was being evacuated, so that was obviously untrue. They were telling us we were going to have to go stay in a shelter. I couldn't believe it because surely we weren't the only hotel guests who were set to check out on Sunday and now couldn't! Well we argued and then finally they said ok we could stay, but at the full peak season rate. They were charging us on a hurricane September what they should have been charging at Christmas! I called the travel agent, and she called and spoke with the hotel manager, who basically came back and told us that he doesn't know what his clerk's problem was. He apologized and gave us the room for free!

The hotel restaurants were closed all day Sunday and the little gift shop very quickly completely sold out of food so from about 11 am Sunday to Monday morning there was no food at all in the hotel, but they came door to door telling us that if we wanted to raid our minibars we would not be charged (except for alcohol.) They were showing movies in the hotel ballroom, and they protected the big beautiful glass doors with buses parked in front of them. I spent most of the day completely bored in my room, looking out the window at dtd. (On my honeymoon, and I was bored in my room????) Oh, I did spend hours upon hours talking with the airline and Mears trying to reschedule our flight home for Monday. This was back during roaming charge days and my trip insurance ended up paying my cell phone bill.

The airport on Monday (day after hurricane) was an absolute mess, and we ended up getting our Sunday morning flight rescheduled for Monday evening, but all in all I think most of the Disney area treated us pretty well.

We were also there for Hurricane Jeanne but staying at Pop Century. We were actually scheduled to check out and fly home that Saturday that the storm was due to hit. But with the airports closing, we had to stay an extra 2 nights. We had to wait a few hours to see if we would even have a room or whether we would need to switch resorts. We lucked out and they were able to keep us in our same room.

The parks closed around 6 pm that day (I had headed to HS and my DD and Mom headed to Blizzard Beach) and the food court was closing at 8 pm. The food court at Pop was a madhouse!! The place was wiped clean because it wouldn't reopen for about 24 hours.

We were stuck in our room until later the following afternoon when some people ventured out to use the pool and then later that evening they reopened the food court with limited offerings. They also brought characters into the lobby to entertain the kids. Disney also gave every guest an Adult Ultimate Park Hopper ticket that didn't expire until 2024.

We were able to get a flight out Monday morning but I do remember the airport being CRAZY!!! There were just swarms of people lined up every which way. Surprisingly, we got through the mess very quickly (probably because did curbside check in and bypasses most of the crowd).

We are actually supposed to fly into Orlando on Monday morning, and hoping Isaac doesn't mess with our plans.