Just back last night....Jeanne and all!

[Sammy]

Hi guys!

Came back from our surprise Anniversary weekend at the BCV in one piece. Jeanne really put a damper on Sunday, but I really feel bad for those who have been through it 4 times so far.

We were in total "lock-down" for the most part of Sunday, but they allowed us to walk over to the BC in the late afternoon. There's lots of tree damage and quite a few globes in the lamposts are broken. Some sections of roof shingles blew off as well. There were two trees that fell, blocking the International Gateway and a huge tree that fell over the walkway to MGM. I have a few pics of some of the damage...I'll try to post those later.

I'll post a trip report later, but just wanted to say "hi", especially to Threeboysmom who I met in the parking garage at MCO!!

Sammy

 

[DisOrBust]

Glad your back safely...

 

[johnnymosh]

at the CSR...... in a lockdown also, and i was very dissappointed they were so quick to shut everything down on sat...... i've been in storms b4, and i didn't think it was bad at all...... there were several of us at the pool by sunday afternoon............ they could have had some activities lined up in the convention center

 

[Sammy]

I heard that one of the reasons they shut down so early on Saturday night was to give their CMs time to close up the parks/restaurants/etc., and be able to get home to their own families. I believe there were many CMs who got "stuck" during the last storms. I spoke with one CM who was part of the "ride-out" team and she said she would have had a 90 minute ride home on a "good" night, so staying over was preferable for her.

As far as activities, I think it varied by resort. For the BC, they brought in a magician and some characters for Saturday night. They had activities, a DJ, and characters appearing all day Sunday as well. We were not able to cross over to the main BC until late afternoon Sunday, but they still had stuff going on until the all-clear was given around 8 pm. I would imagine it to be difficult to provide entertainment for the resorts with "outside access"...that is, the resorts with no inside hallways. I'm sure Disney wouldn't want the guests braving the elements to get back and forth to whatever entertainment was being provided.

DH and I had even said to one another that we felt really bad for the people stuck in the value and moderates just for that reason. At least we could eventually leave our rooms and travel through the inside hallways to the common areas for a change of scenery.

Sammy

 

[westjones]

We were at the Poly on Sunday and they allowed us to come over to the main building in the afternoon and they had characters, arts/crafts for the kids, they brought in dancers (they were very good), a lady demonstrated candy art (made animals out of candy), and some games for the kids. They also showed movies on three different channels which was nice (we watched a couple of them).

We went to MK yesterday (Monday) and I was amazed how nice everything looked. You would never know it was just through a hurricane the day before.

DJ

 

[threeboysmom]

We were there too at AKL! Our flight yesterday (Monday a.m.) was cancelled, so the earliest we could book to fly home was today at 8:30 a.m. so we got an extra day down at Disney!!!

AKL was a great place to be stuck during a hurricane. The characters were in the lobby for the kids, plus some African musicians for entertainment, and a lot of activities going on for the kids. My DH and I did the Hidden Mickey search in the lobby to pass the time, and we enjoyed sitting in front of the fireplace reading & listening to the music. We ate at Boma's twice and Jikos once. We had to stay inside the building until 6:00 a.m. on Monday. Our anniversary PS at the California Grill on Saturday (timed just right for the fireworks) was cancelled on us - I was disappointed, but understand why. Our 2nd choice was the Yachtsman Steakhouse so we took a drive over there, but found it was closed as well We ended up at the Yacht Club Galley - not my idea of a nice romantic anniversary meal We'll have to try again for the California Grill in December..........

Hi Sammy!!!!! Hope you had a WONDERFUL trip. It was so neat meeting you and your husband in the parking lot!! Bet your kids were glad to have you back!! Mine (ages 14, 12 & 7) had so much fun at their respective friends' houses that they want Mom & Dad to go back to Disney for another trip!!! Gee, I'm glad they had fun, but I wanted to be "missed" Do you find it depressing to be back home? I'm so thankful we have another trip planned. We just counted the weeks on the calendar during our dinner tonight - 10 weeks and 3 days!! Hopefully, I'll see you around the DIS boards!!

 

[Sammy]

Originally posted by threeboysmom
We were there too at AKL! Our flight yesterday (Monday a.m.) was cancelled, so the earliest we could book to fly home was today at 8:30 a.m. so we got an extra day down at Disney!!!

What a bummer, eh? Lucky you....an extra day!!! Unfortunately, our flight left right on time at 4:50 yesterday afternoon. I wondered if they had cancelled earlier flights or just rebooked everyone on later ones.

We wanted to eat at Boma's so badly, but never made it over because of the hurricane. Maybe next time!

Hi Sammy!!!!! Hope you had a WONDERFUL trip. It was so neat meeting you and your husband in the parking lot!! Bet your kids were glad to have you back!! Mine (ages 14, 12 & 7) had so much fun at their respective friends' houses that they want Mom & Dad to go back to Disney for another trip!!! Gee, I'm glad they had fun, but I wanted to be "missed" Do you find it depressing to be back home? I'm so thankful we have another trip planned. We just counted the weeks on the calendar during our dinner tonight - 10 weeks and 3 days!! Hopefully, I'll see you around the DIS boards!!

I'm VERY depressed to be back home. I'm glad to see the kids again, but I wish "real" life was more like vacation life!

Our kids (same ages as yours: 14, 12, 9...spooky!) missed us terribly. The youngest practically jumped through the security glass when she saw us coming off the plane! There has to be a happy medium between your kids and mine! They had fun with their grandparents, but because they are more strict than we are, there were a few tense moments I guess. Luckily, the kids respect their grandparents first and foremost, so there were never any real problems.

I envy your upcoming trip....3 whole weeks??? How did you manage that with school/work, etc? Maybe someday....! We have no upcoming disney trips planned right now (gasp!), but we are going on a cruise in February with the kids and another family. I'm looking forward to that!

See you around!

Sammy

 

[Pigsty333]

Regarding johnnymosh's post I am really upset. It wasn't that bad with winds at 100 mph or more, many things coming down and a curfew in effect that was put in place by Orange County, Osceola County and many of the other municipalities.

Did you expect anyone to drive to and from work, in a hurricane and under a curfew. Did you know that if you were arrested during this curfew violation you would not be able to post bail. The reason they do this is to make sure that everyone is off the roads, because the emergency crews will not be responding to any foolish calls after wind speeds reach a certain mph.

This is no joke, lots of people get hurt because of winds, flying objects, etc. I could imagine the lawsuits against Disney and the municipalities if no precautions were taken and people got hurt because of debris, falling trees, etc.

By the way, even in the beginning of the storm on Saturday, we had many trees down and a lot of this was due to the deteriorating conditions due to the previous hurricanes.

Also, a lot of these workers had a lot of damage to their homes during the previous ones and needed to secure their homes and families. Did yo forget that this is the 4th hurricane we had in 6 weeks.

How insensitive can someone be. I would rather be stuck in Disney with my kids, with some activities, characters and things to do to keep their minds off the hurricanes, than being home listening to the water coming in, shingles peeling, glass breaking. My kids were petrified and told me the next one, "we are out of here."" Believe me, we tried getting rooms, but they were booked so we had to suffer and stay home with no phone, no lights, no entertainment, magicians and food (hot).

If I see another sandwich or peanut butter and jellu, I'll scream. If I have to take another cold shower in the dark, I'll lose my mind.

After 4 hurricanes without power, kids home from school, nerves frayed and on end, I will do another hurricane in Disney in a heartbeat.

 

[Sammy]

Pigsty333:

Thanks for the reality check. We felt quite safe at BCV, although because we were in the top floor in one of the corner "towers", we heard and felt every wind gust. It was unnerving and a little scary. However, I know it was NOTHING compared to what you and other FL residents were dealing with. We were just amazed at the extent of the damage up and down route 4....I can only imagine what the damage is like in low-lying and coastal areas.

After the all-clear was given, DH and I walked around to check things out. There were shingles and strips of siding all over the place. Several of the huge glass globes from the lamposts were either broken right on the post, or had blown completely off and smashed to the ground. In the back courtyard of the YC, one of the huge metal poles and metal flag from the peak of the building had come crashing to the ground. There were many tree branches littering the area as well. I would really hate to think what could have happened if Disney had allowed people to wander around during the hurricane. I even felt a little nervous walking around then because the winds were still pretty gusty...blowing debris around.

I'm glad to hear you and your children are safe and I hope and pray you DO NOT have to do this again anytime soon.

Prayers,
Sammy

 

[johnnymosh]

relax pitsy, from our perspective in disney, it was no more than a strong storm, and if you felt unsafe where you were, shame on you for staying and putting your family in harms way....

 

[kathylovesdisneyworl]

Originally posted by johnnymosh
at the CSR...... in a lockdown also, and i was very dissappointed they were so quick to shut everything down on sat...... i've been in storms b4, and i didn't think it was bad at all...... there were several of us at the pool by sunday afternoon............ they could have had some activities lined up in the convention center

Sorry they didn't have any activities for you and your family. But can't imagine anyone who would want WDW to stay open instead of letting the CM's close up and get home to their family.

 

[johnnymosh]

to be fair, you should realize that the storm didn't really arrive until early am on sunday, even if they (the CM) lived in alabama, they would have had enough time to get home, at any rate, we had a huge party at the pool all day, it was more than enough fun.......... that's all i'll say on this subject, no one was hurt, (other than the bumps and briuses from the slide at the coronado, lol), and that's what is important

 

[plutojudy]

We stayed at All Star Movie for 11 days including Hurricane Jeanne. We never did get a "safe to leave your room" phone call. We did notice the food court open at three and were able to eat.
The food court workers and front desk staff at our hotel were given rooms to spend Saturday and Sunday nights. They were given free meals and paid double time. They did not have to go home. We saw some of their families coming to stay with them in their hotel rooms. Most we talked to felt the hotels were safer for them and their families.

 

[CarolA]

Everything I have read indicates Disney did as great a job as anyone could have expected. People like Johnny or the kind who try to "ride it out" and then call 911 screaming my house is flooded! Just ignore them.

 

[Pigsty333]

I didn't put my family in harm's way nor was I foolish enough to think that this was nothing.

Perhaps, you should have ventured out, driven throughout Orlando and spent the week as host of Kevin Beary at his hotel, called the Jail, for violating a curfew. In case you did not know, a curfew means that between the specified hours you were not allowed to be walking, running, or driving unless you were an emergency responder.

True, its people like you who get way over their head because they disregard all warnings and when everything breaks loose they call 911 and expect the cavalry to risk life and limb to come and rescue you.

You are the ones we worry about and the ones who are a risk and danger to everyone.

 

[jwfla422]

It sounds like WDW had done wonderfully with all of these hurricanes. Kudos to them.

Boy Johnnymosh, guess you've never PREPARED for a hurricane before, there's a little more to it than just going home. And, have you driven on highways when there are people preparing for a storm amd people evacuating. Obviously you don't have a clue.

On top of that it's pretty hard to forecast EXACTLY what it's going to be like...IF WE KNEW THAT the winds wouldn't damage anything I guess we wouldn't take the time to board up our house and take out outside items in and shop for hurricane supplies.

Once the storm is over besides the damage there are things called power outages, which can last very LONG, several days to several weeks in some cases. Not only are homes affected but so are businesses like the grocery stores. So think of that.

Next time take your vacation on Hutchinson Island by the beach when a Cat 3 hurricane comes, then you might change your attitude.

 

[johnnymosh]

pigsty, if it were up to you, i guess you would have lined up the paddy wagon for the hunderds of people walking to the food court, jogging around the resort, and out by the pool.... just relax already, noone got hurt,

 

[johnnymosh]

no jwfla422, i wouldn't be that dopey, LOL......... thats why i don't live iin florida

 

[jwfla422]

OH ha ha ha LOL!!

 

[Patty3]

Pigsty333, I am glad that you and your family are safe. Sometimes you just have to ignore those who try to just stir up the pot.