Jeanne's visit to OKW- with Photos!!

[RobDoc]

We've been in our room since 4pm Saturday now. The wind began increasing steadily thru the evening and we got another message on the phone at 6:00am to inform us that Jeanne was at it's closest point at that time. The winds have increased even more since then and the rain is passing by in horizontal sheets.

Our view from the balcony is of two ponds and the golf course. There is standing water on the fairway, the sand traps are filled with water and the two ponds have overflowed their banks. The marsh hens (Common Galinule) are displaced from their nesting areas in the shrubs normally at the pond's edge- since those shrubs are now almost submerged and are about 6-10 feet from the bank of the pond.

There are large trees uprooted near some of the buildings visible from our room.

Peeking out the front door of the villa, there is leaf litter covering the second floor walkways and even more on the ground floor sidewalks and parking areas.

Our lights have flickered several times, but no loss of power thus far. We've been instructed to stay inside until given the word that it's safe to move around the resort. At this point, the warning is entirely unnecessary - outside is the last place we want to be. There is no food service at OKW at this time (we were warned yesterday to stock up on any supply needs anticipated thru tonight.

Vero took 120mph winds at landfall last night, I've not seen any video of that area so far, but imagine the level of devastation in that area. We appear to have been spared some level of wind and rain at WDW, since Jeanne's course changed from the original projection to a more southerly route towards Tampa.

Compared to our experience with Charley when we were here last month, Jeanne appears to be a more significant event at WDW. The duration is MUCH longer, the sustained winds appear to be of MUCH greated force and the rain is far more significant. With Charley, WDW was to the west of the center of the storm. With Jeanne, we are on the stronger northeast side of the rotation and the effects are noticeable.

I have taken several photos of the areas around our room and will post them as soon as I can upload them to a site. I'll add a link to this thread when possible.

Stay tuned!

 

[WDWLVR]

Thanks for the update Doc. Stay safe! Look forward to the pics.

 

[kda]

Thanks, Doc. We really appreciate hearing what's going on and also hearing that you're safely hanging in there.

 

[DAVSEAKAT]

Thanks for the postong.
Like many others I have been glued to fox news all day, wondering if, and trying to find out, if WDW will be able to stand a 3rd hit.

Please keep safe, and look forward to seeing your photos.

Lol

Shona
Ps
My brother-in-law was due to arrive Sat, but his flight has been cancelled at Gatwick until Monday

 

[poohj80]

Hey Doc...we're in 1610 right now...where are you?

We weren't supposed to arrive until Sunday at SSR but decided to drive all the way through and was able to get a studio at OKW for Saturday night. As soon as we can, we plan to move to our 1BR at SSR.

I have some pix from outside our window if anyone can help me posted them I can email them to you.

I remember reading during previous hurricanes that Disney offered to add a day onto passes or provided 1 day passes when the parks were closed but have not heard anything about it yet for Jeanne. Has anyone else?

 

[Coach Rick]

Great to hear from you Doc...Stay safe!!

I think MSNBC should be contacting you to do live updates.

 

[gopherit]

Originally posted by poohj80
I remember reading during previous hurricanes that Disney offered to add a day onto passes or provided 1 day passes when the parks were closed but have not heard anything about it yet for Jeanne. Has anyone else?

When we were there for Charley, they gave us a day on our passes IF we used it that day that the park closed early. So DH and I and our kids all got the half-day we spent at EPCOT put back onto our passes, but BIL and SIL didn't go to the parks at all that day -- so they did NOT get anything "added" to theirs. It's more like a refund than a freebie -- You had to use it to get it back.

WIth that in mind, I don't think they "give days back" if the park was never opened -- does anyone else know? See what the "Frances Hurricaners" have to say on this, as I know the park was closed for a full day during that storm.... IT would be rather complicated, too, to add those days onto passes, unless they just made the very next day a "freebie"... and since they are a business, costly as well, as they have already lost a big chunk of business due to the storm.

In any case -- stay dry and safe and let us know how it goes for you! I presume you'll be doing as late a check-in as possible at SSR? In the meantime -- what do you do about the fact you're still at OKW? Do you have "Disney dispensation" for a late departure? (Not like I could imagine the cleaning crews coming in the middle of a hurricane, mind you!) Just curious how you were going to have to manage the transfer...

 

[kathleena]

Thanks for the update.

I was trying to remember if you were at the GF before?

I'm just sick that the 4th hurricane is ravaging Florida, as I'm sure many others are. Our sister company is KashNKarry/Sweetbay and so we do hear a lot of first hand stories of what is going on with them. And also our Food Lion sister company to the north has had to deal with all those floods.

Just awful.

 

[RobDoc]

Yes, we were at the GF for Charley. Our 4th floor room swayed in the winds, but the duration and intensity of that event was minimal compared to our experience here now.

They just left another message on the phone that the airport is closed and guests should call their airline directly to verify flight status. The "Late Checkout" policy has been suspended until it's safe to travel and all local curfews have been lifted. Guests still need to contact the desk if they need to exend their stay overnight.

The magnitude of Jeanne is noticeably greater than our experience with Charley last month. The wind has now shifted and is blowing directly onto our balcony- so the noise is much more intense and the wind seems to be higher (but that is likely just due to the direction). I still don't expect to find much structural damage at WDW, but anticipate more landscape damage when we are allowed back out tomorrow.

There were no refunds given for Theme Park admissions for park closures- EXCEPT for those with UPH passes. Since regular hoppers don't expire, unused days may still be used at another time.

They are reporting winds of 68 mph now in Orlando- probably a little higher here at WDW since we are closer to the storm center. It has been downgraded to a TS, but the winds are still tremendous here. Vero suffered winds recorded at 122mph last night at landfall. No word about the extent of any damage there yet. The beach at Daytona is significantly washed away- and they sustained minimal damage from the storm since the track was not near that area. Sanford is reporting lots of damage.

Our server at Olivia's on Friday suffered roof damage from Charley. He has been unable to get the damage repaired and has a tarp covering the hole. He was very worried about what Jeanne would contribute to his problem. I know the tarp can't withstand this kind of wind. There are lots of stories like that in the area. Still lots of stuff lying all around leftover from Charley and Frances.

 

[MarkRG]

Hi Doc, glad to hear you're making it thru.

This is the report from Pigsty333 on the cruise forum whose husband works at the airport:

Hubby is still at work and called me to tell me that he won't be coming home until sometime tomorrow. He related that Orlando International Airport was flooded, heavy damage. The American Airlines Terminal Side roof had collapsed. He will let me know as soon as they tell them when the airport will reopen.

Whenever you do go home it will be an adventure.

 

[danny1649]

Glad to hear you are ok,be safe and hope things improve quickly.Hope to see you in chat tonight.

 

[lsutigger2]

Thanks to all for the "live" updates! Knew I could count on the DIS boards for the latest!

For those "weathering" this terrible storm, please be careful and do as you are told!

I'll check back in later to see if anyone has posted more news.

 

[spiceycat]

thanks for the report.

aren't you glad to be in a 1-bedroom instead of a hotel room.

 

[Patty3]

I am glad that you all are staying safe. Thanks for the updates, I am thinking about you guys.

 

[RobDoc]

Here are a few photos taken from our room at OKW.
Click on an image on the site for a larger view of a photo.
It's hard to see the true strength of the wind in an individual photo, but hopefully some of these will offer a glimpse of the power of this storm. (As I write this, the wind and rain has begun to subside a little. Just got a reminder from the resort to stay inside until getting an official "all clear" from Disney.)

<a href="http://disneydoc.homestead.com/JeanneOKW.html">OKW/Jeanne Photos.</a>

Look for the uprooted tree in the second photo here- just above the pond between the two buildings. (Those are buildings #33 and 36)
<img width="400"src="http://disneydoc.homestead.com/OKW-Jeanne_011.jpg">
<img width="400"src="http://disneydoc.homestead.com/OKW-Jeanne_013.jpg">

 

[MiaSRN62]

Thanks for the report and pics Doc. I've been watching CNN all day. My uncle lives in Sebastian (10 min from Vero) and they've lost electricity. He told me the whole area was pretty much looking like a war-zone from Francis. Their trash hadn't been picked up in almost 2 weeks and there was debris everywhere. He was concerned that Jeanne's winds would pick up pieces of furniture and roofs that were heaped at the curb and shoot them around like torpedos. I've been unable to contact him today.

Stay safe and dry---my thoughts are with all those that are living through this.

 

[poohj80]

Thanks for sharing your pix Doc! We broke out of lockdown and moved to SSR while we could and are more comfortable now. We have a room on the 4th floor looking back at Community Hall and the whitecaps are still flowing. While driving by the golf course and treehouses, we saw LOTS of big trees down and lakes that shouldn't be there. I'll share pix when I get home next weekend.

 

[disneycrazed139]

Live on the scene again, Doc. Thanks for these photos. From the pictures, it looks like flooding is the biggest problem yet. Hope not too much more damage. Hope it is still a fun adventure for you and that your are staying safe.

 

[jekjones1558]

I guess that the job description of Webmaster is more than one might think! OKW looks very wet, but still intact. Thanks for easing the minds of the DIS faithful. Be careful!!

 

[iluvdisney]

Doc

Stay safe - hope the worse is behind you by now but what a way to celebrate your anniversary! Thanks for sharing all your experiences with us.