Ivan and our vacation

[hkp]

First, I'd like to thank everyone here for all the great info on
DVC. After a wonderful trip to BWV this past Easter, we are
thinking about buying points at BWV for next year. Before
taking the leap, however, we wanted to take one more trip
with a traditional reservation.

Unfortunately, we booked our trip September 12-19 and the
hurricane charts are making us very nervous. My sister and
her family are flying in from Denmark and I really don't want
them to get stuck in Washington with the connecting flight
to Orlando cancelled.

Given this uncertainty, I don't feel I have much of a choice
but to cancel our vacation. That will give my sister a couple of
days to find another nice destination so we can hook up
in Orlando the week after, once Ivan is far, far away.

Today, I made a second reservation for Sept. 19-26. BVW
was fully booked that week but, since we really like the
Boardwalk, I reserved at 2 bedroom suite at the Boardwalk
Inn instead (I still have my original reservation for a 2-bedroom
at BWV from S. 12-19). The suite is considerably more expensive
($1,075 or so vs. about $600 at BWV) and the square
footage (1288) looks about the same. At this point, however,
I am more concerned about disappointment (everyone has
been looking forward to this trip for months) than cost.

Aside from just venting my/our frustration, I'd be interested
in hearing what other people would do? Also, is anyone
familiar with the 2-bedrooms at the Boardwalk Inn? Would
we get disappointed there after being spoiled with a nice
2-bedroom at the BWV on our earlier trip?

Thanks a lot in advance, Hans (Palo Alto, California)

 

[Uncleromulus]

It's a tough call to be sure. Sadly, the information you need to plan your trip isn't available--which is, an accurate prediction of where IVAN will be Sept. 12-19. In spite of all the satellites and computer models, they simply can't predict where a hurricane will go.
Even now they are showing a landfall anywhere from Florida to Texas!!
Change your dates and IVAN may miss Florida completely. Don't change and it may hit when you are there, disrupting all air travel.

The safe thing is to probably go with the second date.

 

[DVCTiff]

My DH just said they're showing Ivan going straight up the center of Florida. That is heartbreaking news. I think postponing is the best idea. Better than being unsafe and miserable. I hope you end up having a wonderful vacation.

 

[jmminarik]

Ivan may possibly go up the Fla penninsula. It could also go hundreds of miles west and slam the other southern states. Much too early to say.

The Florida Keys (not OKW) have been issues an evacuation order.

-Joe

 

[nakedbear]

We are in the same boat with reservations from the 12th to the 17th at OKW, so far we are still planning on going. We will make our final decision on Saturday morning. In 1999 we ended up checking in a day earlier to get there before Hurricane Floyd hit. I don't think we will do that again, but we had a good time anyway stuck at Port Orleans, Riverside. It was weird watching all the evacuees come to Orlando on television. Disney was so nice when we were there, giving free refillable mugs and food discounts.

 

[Uncleromulus]

And remember--in spite of all the early predictions, Floyd never actually made landfall in Florida.

 

[hkp]

Thanks for your thoughts.

We decided to move the trip last night after seeing the latest
charts. I was up all night changing flight reservations to LA
and Las Vegas the first week.

Although Ivan has already been an expensive and stressful
experience for us, these losses are obviously nothing compared
to what the people in Florida already have been going through
in the past month. My thoughts and prayers go out to them
and everyone who has had their vacation plans affected more
severely than us.

Hans

 

[wbc99]

I have decided to stick it out and travel to FL as long as the airport is open. My trip was originally planned for last weekend and I had to move it to this weekend because of Francis. It was very stressful getting all the reservations, flights, PS moved. (I know my stress is nothing compared to those who are living out this nightmare right now). So, I decided that even if I am stuck in the room all weekend, I will make the best of it and have fun. I can't believe FL has to go through this yet again! They are definitely in our prayers!

 

[tixx]

my flight is Wed. ... see what happens

 

[hkp]

I am very sorry to hear about this - unbelievable. I'll think of your situation as I follow the news and hope that the sun will shine on your vacation as quickly as possible. Makes me appreciate how fortunate we are. We would have stuck it out through a few days of rain as well unless the center had been passing right through the Orlando area. The big problem was that we were arriving Sunday evening and I just didn't want to run the risk of getting stuck in an airport somewhere.

Btw., Disney were really nice when I called to cancel the first week at BWV. Since it was inside the 5 day window and they did not have a policy for Ivan-related refunds yet, the person I spoke to could not refund my deposit. However, when I told her about being afraid about the hurricane she asked if "maybe you would like me to delay your arrival for a few days?". This leaves me just enough time to cancel tomorrow and get my deposit back. It was probably only fair since I already booked the week later, but it was still a considerate way to get around the official red tape.

Btw. #2, it turns out the 2 bedrooms at the Boardwalk Inn are more expensive because they have concierge service. I don't know exactly what that entails, but we are all just very happy that we'll get to stay at the Boardwalk again.

Hans

Originally posted by wbc99
My trip was originally planned for last weekend and I had to move it to this weekend because of Francis. [...] So, I decided that even if I am stuck in the room all weekend, I will make the best of it and have fun.

 

[nakedbear]

Well, we discussed it and we are heading there on Sunday morning and will ride it out if it hits. It is too much trouble to rearrange and we have a great deal on our airfare(105 RT) so we will stock up on food and stay in our 1 bedroom for a day if we have to. I just hope we don't lose electricity!

 

[Sammie]

With your suite you will get concierge service, access to the lounge and the food offerings. I don't think you will be disappointed as the BW Inn has one of the best concierge services on Disney property. I am not sure which suite you will get but their suites are beautiful and the staff is great.

 

[mrsminniemouse]

We too are becoming increasingly worried about the effects Ivan will have on our long awaited first DVC trip.

We are due to fly from London Gatwick on Friday 17 Sept and stay at SSR for 2 weeks. After, Frances it took several days for the transatlantic flights to get back on schedule after the airport closure and subsequent flight cancellations. I hope that if we arrive a day or two later MS will refund our points.

Of course, my concerns about Hurricane Ivan are very trivial compared to the poor people who have to live in fear of the damage that will be done to their homes. God bless everyone.

Mandy