HauntedMansionFreak
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2004
- Messages
- 108
All I can say is WOW!
We left Thursday night (12th) and arrived in Kissimmee about 11:30AM on Friday. Drove through some small rain but nothing big. We debated stopping in Gainesville and spending the night due to the hurricane reports on the radio, but after a vote of 3 to 1 we moved on.
We arrived to a BEAUTIFUL house and the sun was actually out. We played in the pool and then laid down for a 4 hour nap. We all awoke about 7PM and the rain had started and the wind was picking up. Watching the news made us very nervous......being from Nashville we had no idea what to expect with a hurricane.
I dug out the video camera and began getting some awesome footage. About 9PM the center of the storm passed over us and I got even BETTER footage! I was filming the view from our froont door and caught sheets of rain, huge trees falling right in front of us, and parts of the roof hanging off the front porch. It was soooooooooo scary - but soooooooo wild at the same time. It was honestly the most exciting part of our entire trip. I wouldn't drive down to visit a hurricane again but now that I've done it - it was truly an amazing experience!!!
The next day we headed to Disney - debris, trees and parts of homes were everywhere. It was really sad. It didn't affect us because we didn't own a home there. You could tell the locals were devastated. There was no power, no ice, no gas, and no food. Those who didn't get ice were screwed (and that included us). There was no power to cook with, no ice to keep anything cold with, no stores open to even dream of getting food and no gas stations open for gas. It was a nightmare. Everything we had in the fridge had spoiled and we were hungry - like many others. We were nearly out of gas too.
On Saturday when we headed to Magic Kingdom - we got there when it opened. The park was bare! From 9AM to 1PM we rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain (we were the last set of riders before it closed for the day), Pirate's of the Carribbean, PhilharMagic, Haunted Mansion, Snow White, watched the character show in front of the castle, shopped and ate. We left at 1PM and didn't return until 7PM and then we rode Space Mountain again, Haunted Mansion again, the Enchanted Tiki Room, Splash Mountain, Spectro Magic, and Wishes.
On our way back that evening we were in desperate need of gas. We stopped at the Hess station right outside of Disney and their pumps were empty (as with all other stations that were open by Sat. evening). We knew if we didn't find gas that we couldnt go to AK the next day.
After leaving the park at closing we seen a car pumping at the Hess station. We pulled in and THANKFULLY they had brought in some gas while we were in the park. We filled up. The ONLY places open were Waffle Houses's. We found one in Orlando and waited 2 hours to be served. They put a sign on their door stating they were closed because they had no more food left. The public we nearly stampeeding to get to these places as there was no food anywhere else. We then went home at 4AM to a sweltering hot house with no power. It was not a fun night's sleep to say the least.
The next day we, of course, overslept. We made it to AK at 2PM and did Dinosaur, Kilamanjaro Safari, It's tough to be a bug, The Jungle Trek thing and some shopping. Kali River Rapids was closed. By 5PM the rain began to pour and we had to leave. We still got to do everything at that park that we wanted to except Tarzan Rocks. By the way - this was our first time at this park AND IT IS AMAZING!!!!!!! Went home to wait out the rain, got hungry, headed to a different Waffle House which only had hash browns and waffles. Ate and went home to a house with electricity!! Yayyyy!!!!! We were some of the lucky ones who had it on by Sunday night.
Monday - Went to Orlando and did the Sky Coaster and G-Force. Got to Epcot about 4PM and did the entire park including shopping, eating and Illuminations. First time on Test track and LOVED IT!!
Tuesday - slept late. We were worn out. Got to MGM about 3PM and did the entire park including Fantasmic.
Wednesday we rested and then headed to Daytone Beach on Thrus - Sat. It was beautiful on the beach. Not much damage there.
It turned out to be a great vacation but it had a rough start. The one thing I learned is that is a great time to go to the parks just after a hurricane. Fast Pass wasn't even open at any park with the exception of Test Track at Epcot. Everything else was pretty much walk-on. The parks averaged 21,000 peeps per day while we were there according to a CM.
I didn't experience any rude people, sunburned children, angry dad's or anything like that. It was really a good time to be at the parks. My husband didn't 'feel' the magic like I had hoped, but it was kind of hard to given the circumstances. He really did like Epcot though. That was a shock.
If any of you have any questions, please let me know. I'll be happy to answer. Sorry this was so long but just had to share our experience. Already planning our next trip!
~HMF~
PS - I will NEVER ride Mission Space again!!! I didn't get sick on it but I literally thought I was going to die during the initial take-off. I couldn't breath and felt like my heart would explode! I got off and couldn't walk straight for an hour. DH and DS10 loved it though. On another note - I LOVED test track!!!! Laughed all the way through it!
We left Thursday night (12th) and arrived in Kissimmee about 11:30AM on Friday. Drove through some small rain but nothing big. We debated stopping in Gainesville and spending the night due to the hurricane reports on the radio, but after a vote of 3 to 1 we moved on.
We arrived to a BEAUTIFUL house and the sun was actually out. We played in the pool and then laid down for a 4 hour nap. We all awoke about 7PM and the rain had started and the wind was picking up. Watching the news made us very nervous......being from Nashville we had no idea what to expect with a hurricane.
I dug out the video camera and began getting some awesome footage. About 9PM the center of the storm passed over us and I got even BETTER footage! I was filming the view from our froont door and caught sheets of rain, huge trees falling right in front of us, and parts of the roof hanging off the front porch. It was soooooooooo scary - but soooooooo wild at the same time. It was honestly the most exciting part of our entire trip. I wouldn't drive down to visit a hurricane again but now that I've done it - it was truly an amazing experience!!!
The next day we headed to Disney - debris, trees and parts of homes were everywhere. It was really sad. It didn't affect us because we didn't own a home there. You could tell the locals were devastated. There was no power, no ice, no gas, and no food. Those who didn't get ice were screwed (and that included us). There was no power to cook with, no ice to keep anything cold with, no stores open to even dream of getting food and no gas stations open for gas. It was a nightmare. Everything we had in the fridge had spoiled and we were hungry - like many others. We were nearly out of gas too.
On Saturday when we headed to Magic Kingdom - we got there when it opened. The park was bare! From 9AM to 1PM we rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain (we were the last set of riders before it closed for the day), Pirate's of the Carribbean, PhilharMagic, Haunted Mansion, Snow White, watched the character show in front of the castle, shopped and ate. We left at 1PM and didn't return until 7PM and then we rode Space Mountain again, Haunted Mansion again, the Enchanted Tiki Room, Splash Mountain, Spectro Magic, and Wishes.
On our way back that evening we were in desperate need of gas. We stopped at the Hess station right outside of Disney and their pumps were empty (as with all other stations that were open by Sat. evening). We knew if we didn't find gas that we couldnt go to AK the next day.
After leaving the park at closing we seen a car pumping at the Hess station. We pulled in and THANKFULLY they had brought in some gas while we were in the park. We filled up. The ONLY places open were Waffle Houses's. We found one in Orlando and waited 2 hours to be served. They put a sign on their door stating they were closed because they had no more food left. The public we nearly stampeeding to get to these places as there was no food anywhere else. We then went home at 4AM to a sweltering hot house with no power. It was not a fun night's sleep to say the least.
The next day we, of course, overslept. We made it to AK at 2PM and did Dinosaur, Kilamanjaro Safari, It's tough to be a bug, The Jungle Trek thing and some shopping. Kali River Rapids was closed. By 5PM the rain began to pour and we had to leave. We still got to do everything at that park that we wanted to except Tarzan Rocks. By the way - this was our first time at this park AND IT IS AMAZING!!!!!!! Went home to wait out the rain, got hungry, headed to a different Waffle House which only had hash browns and waffles. Ate and went home to a house with electricity!! Yayyyy!!!!! We were some of the lucky ones who had it on by Sunday night.
Monday - Went to Orlando and did the Sky Coaster and G-Force. Got to Epcot about 4PM and did the entire park including shopping, eating and Illuminations. First time on Test track and LOVED IT!!
Tuesday - slept late. We were worn out. Got to MGM about 3PM and did the entire park including Fantasmic.
Wednesday we rested and then headed to Daytone Beach on Thrus - Sat. It was beautiful on the beach. Not much damage there.
It turned out to be a great vacation but it had a rough start. The one thing I learned is that is a great time to go to the parks just after a hurricane. Fast Pass wasn't even open at any park with the exception of Test Track at Epcot. Everything else was pretty much walk-on. The parks averaged 21,000 peeps per day while we were there according to a CM.
I didn't experience any rude people, sunburned children, angry dad's or anything like that. It was really a good time to be at the parks. My husband didn't 'feel' the magic like I had hoped, but it was kind of hard to given the circumstances. He really did like Epcot though. That was a shock.
If any of you have any questions, please let me know. I'll be happy to answer. Sorry this was so long but just had to share our experience. Already planning our next trip!
~HMF~
PS - I will NEVER ride Mission Space again!!! I didn't get sick on it but I literally thought I was going to die during the initial take-off. I couldn't breath and felt like my heart would explode! I got off and couldn't walk straight for an hour. DH and DS10 loved it though. On another note - I LOVED test track!!!! Laughed all the way through it!
