Hurricanes at Disney

[missydisney]

I have friends at GF. Flying back on Saturday. Has anyone ever been there during a hurricane. Want to know what they may be in for.

 

[Minky]

I have friends that were there at a very bad hurricane....it was one where they had to close the parks...they were inthe contemporary and they had to put all the pool furniture IN the pool so it wouldnt fly around....however since hurricanes gain strngth from water, they generally weaken a good amount by the time they reach DW, and it past in a few hours and everything was back to normal.

 

[Maryjane1]

I was there at the GF during a storm and all went ok it was kind of hard getting to the main house so we ordered room service they said it would take a it longer but it really did not. The storm was over before you would guess and everyone came out to see the beautiful rainbow it left. It was really something do not worry about your friends they will be ok and the GF takes very good care of you when you are there. There was a lot of rain and wind and lighting but it was not as bad as it all sounded they will be fine.

 

[CamColt]

We had hurricane Erin in WDW on our honeymoon in 1995. They closed the parks down and we just hung out at our resort, the Poly, having dinner there and then spending the rest of the night at the lounge. It was actually a very nice night and a great way to end our trip. The storm almost added to the tropical atmosphere, LOL!
Unfortunately, getting home the next day was a pain in the neck since they hadnt flown any planes into Orlando during the hurricane, but we finally did get home.

 

[momtotwinglesx4]

We were staying in a 2 bdr villa at Disney Institute in 2001 when Gabrielle (?) hit. It was 3 days after 9/11, so WDW was pretty deserted anyway (we were at MK on 9/11). Anyway, even though it was very windy and rainy, we decided to bite the bullet and go to MK that morning. We had a car, so we drove to the MK parking area. Got a great front row parking spot, 'cause we got there at opening time and no sane people were out and about anyway! We all put our rain ponchos on in the car, and I got out to set up the stroller and when I opened my umbrella, it immediately blew inside-out. Ok, so leave the umbrellas home during hurricanes, lol. My son was about 19 mos. old at the time, so we stuck him in the stroller and draped it w/ rain ponchos to keep out the wind and rain. The poor kid couldn't see a thing, but at least he was dry! Dh & I, dd (13 at the time) and the twins (4 1/2 at the time) just wore our ponchos and pretty much resigned ourselves to having wet faces, legs and feet all day.

Once in the park, it was eerily empty. There were a few other nutcases around, but not many. I remember being in Tomorrowland and looking across the plaza and only seeing maybe 10-15 people in the whole area. Needless to say, ALL rides were walk-ons! I also remember an announcement that morning calling for a moment of silence for the 9/11 victims shortly after we got there.

So, unless it's *really* bad and they actually close the parks, I'd say go for it and enjoy the low crowds. Just wear your ponchos, and maybe stick a few towels in your (waterproof) backpack to wipe your face with once in a while.

 

[dlrhine]

If you look at my signature I was on the Walt Disney World College Program the summer of 1995 when Hurrican Erin came through. I was a deep water lifeguard at Blizzard Beach and we had to sink all the pool chairs in the wave pool and the lazy river. After the hurricane came through we walked out and realized where we should be standing in 6 feet of water in the wave pool it was only 6 inches deep. Since Blizzard Beach was just built and opened April 1st the ground hadn't settled so with high winds and rain the ground shifted and cracked the wave pool. The wave pool was closed the rest of my program. I have pictures of that and of all the downed trees and street lights. They did close the parks the main day the hurricane passed through but it was fine. Disney is well prepared. I have to laugh I was in the guard lounge when the hurrican came through (they did that for our safety, we spent the whole night there) and there was a glass window (it was thick glass like at an aquarium) I saw a picnic table be lifted and thrown about 20ft because of the winds. It was a neat experience.

 

[gilld]

I was staying at All Star Sports in 1995 when Erin passed over. It was very scary at night with the wind howling and walking to the food court to get breakfast was difficult to say the least...we had to walk the long way around all the buldings so we were in the leaside of the wind.
The parks were closed for a few hours but by lunchtime it was much better and we were able to go out. They seem very set up to cope with all but the very worst of the weather.