Just found this on disneyworld.com (weather and park hours related)

[always quiet]

Walt Disney World® Resort
Important Information for August 14, 2004
Due to the impact of Hurricane Charley, Walt Disney World®
resort has adjusted operations on Saturday, August 14.

PARK HOURS OF OPERATION

Magic Kingdom® 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Epcot® 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Disney-MGM Studios 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Blizzard Beach 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Disney's Wide World of Sports open for events
Disney's Animal Kingdom® CLOSED until further notice
Typhoon Lagoon CLOSED
Downtown Disney® regular operating hours
Golf Courses CLOSED
All Walt Disney World® Resort hotels (except for Disney's Fort
Wilderness Resort and Campground) remain open
for our guests.

For additional Park Hours, please visit the Calendar section.

Guests calling 407-WDISNEY for reservations may
experience longer wait times today.

For families and friends wanting to communicate with guests
staying at our Resort, please call 407-WDW-INFO.

 

[KristiKelly]

AK closed until further notice I hope everything is okay there. I know @ AKL they have a big barn thing they keep the animals in, do they have the same for AK??? Maybe because there are a bunch of trees & all they have to make sure all is safe for the guest.

 

[RedxPanda]

phew! if downtown disney is good to go, then Cirque Du Soleil must be too.

i hope the AK shutdown is only because they have so much ground to cover and clean up
I always assumed the animals got "put away" at night as well.

i hope the FHP don't get made at us for driving out to Disney today

 

[always quiet]

I was reading on another discussion board that Cirque took a pretty big hit!! An 80 ft section of the big top is now gone!! Don't know what this will do for any shows.

 

[always quiet]

From wdwmagic.com discussion board:

Updated. 4:38Am. Just returned from a ride out shift at Disney.


BIG DAMAGE at Cirq! The white canopy that covers the outside of the buildings entrance area is GONE! A good, 80-foot section of it, ripped right out in the winds. The area around there suffered MAJOR damage. House of Blues got hit pretty bad as well, tons of stuff all over the place.

PI. Minor issues, the Island will be open Saturday night. Though, it won't be in full swing for a couple more days.

Power outages all around 192. The power is on at Disney, and some spots on 192 have power. Others do not. Saw crews out on my drive home already working on it.

 

[gshoemate]

Originally posted by always quiet
From wdwmagic.com discussion board:

Updated. 4:38Am. Just returned from a ride out shift at Disney.


BIG DAMAGE at Cirq! The white canopy that covers the outside of the buildings entrance area is GONE! A good, 80-foot section of it, ripped right out in the winds. The area around there suffered MAJOR damage. House of Blues got hit pretty bad as well, tons of stuff all over the place.

PI. Minor issues, the Island will be open Saturday night. Though, it won't be in full swing for a couple more days.

Power outages all around 192. The power is on at Disney, and some spots on 192 have power. Others do not. Saw crews out on my drive home already working on it.

Do you know anything about AK? It breaks my heart to think that they have damage.

 

[always quiet]

I've been searching that website for more details from CMs but nothing new as far as why AK is closing today. Maybe because of the amount of trees there, they have downed branches and what not and want to be sure the area is safe before they release the animals.

Speaking of animals, a thought crossed my mind last night. I know how Thumper reacts when a storm is coming. I think they can sense the change in air pressure and instinct tells them it's time to hide. He really gets upset and aggitated. I wonder if all the animals in AK reacted the same way. I am sure they brought them all inside, where they are safe and sound, but wildlife reacts on instinct.

Also, another note from the other site. They are encouraging resort guests to use their own vehicles instead of using Disney Transportation. Not sure if it's because of a shortage of drivers or other problems, but just wanted to note that here.

 

[luvwinnie]

Were people at Ft. Wilderness forced to leave? I wonder what people with RVs did.

 

[laceemouse]

I read yesterday that people from the camp ground were put into hotel rooms.

 

[always quiet]

From what I understand, FW was closed and the guests were put up in the resorts. It seems that it is still closed. I can't imagine how those trailers could hold up in that kind of wind. I would guess that guests who were tent camping packed everything back up, but aside from bringing in your awning or slide out, I don't know what they could do to protect the rvs and travel trailers.

 

[always quiet]

This is from the camping board here on the DIS

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=624217

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I completely forgot about the campgrounds!! I hope they were lucky enough to avoid damage. I would really like to hear about the areas of construction...SSR, Expedition: Everest, etc.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I like TL a lot better than BB, but I imagine there are palm fronds all over the place!
Hope we here about AK soon.
Robin M.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by always quiet
I was reading on another discussion board that Cirque took a pretty big hit!! An 80 ft section of the big top is now gone!! Don't know what this will do for any shows.

Oh no! I finally bought some tickets to this show. I have hope that it will be fixed by my October trip!

 

[skiwee1]

I heard on MSNBC yesterday that Disney had a other places they could transfer the animalsfrom AK to in case the storm looks to be very strong. It was not the pens and buildings that they keep them in at night. Maybe between clean up and bringing them back in it might take more time.

 

[JulieM96]

I had a thought on why AK may be closed longer than the other parks. On the TV show about AK they showed how Disney uses cleverly disguised barriers to keep the animals in their areas. My guess is that because so much area is involved, and because it's not as simple as just inspecting an above-ground fence, it may take a while to fully inspect those barriers. I'm sure they don't want any up-close-and-personal surprises on one of the Kilimanjaro Safari rides.

Anyway, just my theory, for what it's worth...

Julie

 

[mep319]

No worries about the animals at AK...we did the sunrise Safari and behind the scenes tour and 'most' of the animals do have housing at night or if they need care.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by skiwee1
Oh no! I finally bought some tickets to this show. I have hope that it will be fixed by my October trip!

Looks like the show goes on. This from WDWMagic:
Downtown Disney -- Will operate with some limited offerings; bus transportation will not be provided until late afternoon. Cirque du Soleil will offer its regularly scheduled performances.

 

[ppiew]

Re: AK, I would think that the delay in reopening would be because of huge landscaping cleanup and also 'inventoring' the animals to make sure all were there! (and where they are SUPPOSED to be) I would also guess there would be inspections of all barriers.

 

[peter11435]

Originally posted by skiwee1
I heard on MSNBC yesterday that Disney had a other places they could transfer the animalsfrom AK to in case the storm looks to be very strong. It was not the pens and buildings that they keep them in at night. Maybe between clean up and bringing them back in it might take more time.

The animals were put into their night house's. These are built to withstand a hurricane. The Media is very misinformed, today they reported all parks were closed than that they were open but had reduced hours, When infact they extended the hours at the MK.