I think my bubble might bust.

[DisneyMomOfThree]

We leave in 13 days. I was so excited until Hurricane Katrina showed up. They have mentioned a TD in the Atlantic and another disturbance near Africa's coast. Now all I can do is think what happens if one of those hits the Mouse's House. My sister and family are going thru Katrina and I would hate for them to come to have a much needed vacation and encounter another hurricane. Also my other family has been looking forward to this and I would hate it if they were let down.

Anyone else worried about hurricanes busting everyone's bubble?

 

[dianeschlicht]

No, if I worried about those kinds of things I would never do anything. My philosophy is to plan, enjoy, and worry about problems IF & WHEN they happen, not before.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I just wanted to add that when the hurricanes hit Florida last year, there were some wonderful reports here about how well Disney handled the events. Most people only lost one day of park touring, and were confined to their resort during that time. Orlando is far enough inland that the storm, while violent isn't as bad as being on the coast.

 

[poohj80]

We experienced a hurricane at WDW last year and we were well taken care of and never lost power. We figured, we were still at WDW so it was a vacation.

 

[bcvillastwo]

......................about things I can't control.

But, that doesn't mean it's inappropriate to start thinking about contingency plans.

We are going to WDW in Oct for two weeks. I would be disappointed if a hurricane comes through during that time but from what I hear Disney did a real nice job last year making things as nice for the guests as they could. I read a good number of posts immediately afterwards and I think you can count on Disney to do their best to make an unpleasant situation tolerable.

 

[littlestar]

We were at VWL last year during Hurricane Jeanne. Disney took great care of their guests. After it blew over, it was nice and sunny the next day. Disney is far enough inland that it slowed down some by the time it got there. Last year was a freak year. I don't think hurricanes hit central Florida very often.

We went ahead and planned another September vacation and we were there last year for a hurricane. Whatever you do, don't take everything the weather channel says as the end of the world as we know it They do like to drum up their ratings. And it kills me when they wear those silk windbreakers that flap in the breeze the way they do. Not to say to not take a hurricane serious, but you have to remember that the media wants their ratings to go up.

 

[JimMIA]

TD 13 has dissipated and the National Hurricane Center issued their final advisory on it this afternoon...so you can take that one off your list.

There is a strong wave coming off of Africa, and NHC sounds like they are expecting it to turn into something. However, it is WAY far away...way too far away to worry about now.

Because most of us don't start watching stuff like this until CNN picks it up and starts hyping it, we expect everything mentioned to turn into the storm of the century. The truth is, most of the systems that come off of Africa turn right into the North Atlantic and just blow themselves out. A few years ago, we had five in a row -- like little soldiers marching across the Atlantic -- and all five of them marched right off to oblivion.

The thing you should worry about is NOT the TD's off Africa. Worry about your relatives, and hope they will be far enough along in their recovery to be able to leave for WDW. The storm is just the start...not the finish. The real problem is after the storm.

 

[JimMIA]

Whatever you do, don't take everything the weather channel says as the end of the world as we know it They do like to drum up their ratings. And it kills me when they wear those silk windbreakers that flap in the breeze the way they do. Not to say to not take a hurricane serious, but you have to remember that the media wants their ratings to go up.

My personal favorite was the situation a couple of years ago when the cable network reporter breathlessly told the cameraman to "pan over to the beach." The cameraman panned the wrong way and showed the wind machine blowing instead!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I hope you're able to think of other things and then enjoy your vacation. I hope your sister is out of harm's way.

Bobbi

 

[DisneyMomOfThree]

My personal favorite was the situation a couple of years ago when the cable network reporter breathlessly told the cameraman to "pan over to the beach." The cameraman panned the wrong way and showed the wind machine blowing instead!

Thanks everyone for lifting the dark cloud over the planning. Once I can talk to my sister, I will also tell her of the cameraman.

 

[JimMIA]

Please don't misinterpret my comments above as meaning that the authorities over-hyped Hurricane Katrina. They didn't. Katrina had the potential to make Andrew look like a Sunday School picnic, and even though it weakened and dodged New Orleans, there is bound to be a lot of destruction and some loss of life.

Katrina was just a baby when she came through Miami and so far I think we have at least 7 dead...four of them people who were driving around in the storm.

Also, after the storm, we've had at least one death and one entire family (2 kids and their parents) in very bad shape from carbon monoxide poisioning from their generators. The kids are probably going to make it, but both of the parents are very iffy.

 

[Jimbo]

We were at WDW this week, and were completely unaware that the storm of the century was all around us, as it totally missed the Orlando area. Had we known about it, DW for sure would have been tense, verging on hysteria probably. So sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Had Katrina come our way, I bet that Disney would have done the right things. The stories from last fall's storms showed that WDW has its act together on this. I don't have blind faith in them, but I do think the quality of their customer care is tops.

BTW - I was watching CNN today, and a reporter (obviously chosen for her looks) said something to the effect of "winds strong enough to blow a mobile home off its foundation."

And sometimes ignorance can be funny, too.

 

[littlestar]

That's funny about the wind machine.

Our Travel section in the Indianapolis Star ran an article not too long after the string of hurricanes came through Florida last fall and basically told people not to even think about planning any Florida vacations for the next year. That was just plain wrong. A lot of areas that weren't very damaged depended on tourism for their livelihood and they were back up and ready for business within a short time. Luckily there were subsequent articles later that stressed this was just NOT true. We even had people think we were crazy for going down in January to Disney. I guess people thought after all the media hype that central Florida had blown away or something.

I'm not saying to not take hurricane warnings seriously. And Katrina, obviously, has just been horrible for the coasts of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. But, I don't trust everything I read or see on TV.

Disneymomof3, I hope your sister's family is all right down south.