Keeping an eye on Tropical Weather 2024

[curse reversed]

We have a rental on the west coast we are supposed to return to on Thursday. I asked Disney what if we can’t get back, he said we would be offered a reduced rate to stay an additional night.

The hurricane will be over Orlando Thursday morning as a CAT 2. I think confidently, MCO will be closed Thursday and Friday at the least. Might want to take that extra night to be safe

I'm guessing lynnfitz means west coast of Florida, not west coast of the United States, so the airport being closed won't be an issue. The problem in this case-and the reason I agree that you should add the additional night lynnfitz is that depending on where your rental is the local authorities will more than likely not let anybody back into the area on Thursday. After Helene most of the beaches and barrier islands were closed to anybody who hadn't stayed for at least two or three days.

 

[TorchWood]

Unless the levees aren't maintained and are poorly engineered then this won't be Katrina.

That was the main issue, design failure and poor maintenance. My brother in law was a civil engineer employed after the fact with many others to study cause and affect.

Please don't compare Katrina to Milton. I rode out Katrina at a hospital(surrounded by 20ft of water) I worked at in New Orleans. Yes the levees broke but all the Parishes around New Orleans had catastrophic damage. From wind and the Mississippi River being pushed up and over land. Also the whole Mississippi state gulf coast was destroyed by storm surge and wind. We live on the westbank of Jefferson Parish and every house around us was damaged by trees and wind. Ours was the only one not damaged.
Hurricanes are deadly period.
My heart breaks for Florida. Be safe and if your in the cone get out. It's just stuff and your life means more.

 

[Selket]

My son is a CM and leaving work yesterday he saw an electronic sign on World drive that said it (the road) would be closed starting on Wednesday. **He was driving and read of it what he could so....it is possible he didn't see it clearly or see all the details**

Anyway, if he misread it, I'm curious what it said. His first thought was that it would mean the parks would be closed at some point on Wednesday if not all day. It would make sense I guess.

 

[Skywalker3]

O know there’s no crystal ball on this, but when do y’all think Disney might made a decision on closures? Like for Wednesday?

 

[Spridell]

O know there’s no crystal ball on this, but when do y’all think Disney might made a decision on closures? Like for Wednesday?

A CM on X said there's been talk about it behind closed doors.

They think 100% closed on Wed and Thursday and even possibly friday.

Announcement by noon today

 

[meremac]

Am I the only one surprised that Disney is not pre-emptively saying that the resort will close early on Wednesday and remain closed Thursday and Friday? There is no way they are not forming their hurricane crews for the resorts and parks and getting the commitments they need from CM for that already. This thing has the potential to be a Katrina level event if it hits anywhere close to the mouth of Tampa Bay.

MCO already starting closed for commercial traffic as of Wednesday should be all WDW and Universal need to notify people of the shutdown that we all know is going to happen.

I'm not surprised. There are so many moving parts and all of this takes time. Now that the storm is slowing down a little, they may not need to close the parks first thing tomorrow morning. And they typically don't announce multiple days of closures at once because there's just no way to know what the situation will be after the storm passes. It's usually a day-by-day thing, but they have contingency plans in place for multiple scenarios.

 

[Spridell]

I can see them opening up tomorrow and having an early closure since the worst of the storm wont be till later in the day.

Now on Thursday, I will be SHOCKED if they are not closed all day. CM's that live in the area wont be able to make it in on time.

VERY GOOD bet Thursday they are closed ALL day. The other days who knows.

 

[Teamubr]

This is the latest from the Ntl Weather Service (as of 8am EDT). Their prediction for Orlando is Cat 1 force winds. Hopefully this holds, but this storm is at least 36 hours away from Orlando and a lot can change.



j

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

In reference to the bolded...what is your source?
We are flying to Orlando on Oct. 15. First park day is the 16th. I hope the parks will be operational by then?

The source is watching all the local news in Florida. The eye of the storm will not hit the coast until 2am this coming Thursday. Won't become a 1 until off the east coast.

You can follow the following for more updates:

https://www.facebook.com/denisphillipsweatherman/
https://www.facebook.com/WeatherNoah/

The first guy is more calm with more experience who doesn't freak people out with scary words.
The second guy uses scary words and can freak people out more easily with big CAPS while typing about the hurricane etc.

Both know what they are talking about though, just go about it different ways. I prefer the first.

I would assume the parks will be open by the 16th. Just need to make sure the airlines are running all their planes etc. I would hope by Tuesday, things operationally will be normal at the airport

 

[meremac]

Just a general comment here to (hopefully) alleviate some anxiety for those who are worried about upcoming Disney World trips. I've been a Disney TA for over a decade now, so I've been through hurricane situations many times with clients. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is that there is NO point in worrying or speculating about what might happen until it happens. I know that's easier said than done, especially for people like myself who are planners by nature, but this is not something that any of us has any control over. Here are the facts right now. If you're checking in anytime between now and Sunday, you can cancel or reschedule without penalty. Beyond that, we just don't know yet. We don't know when the parks will be operational because we don't know for sure exactly where the brunt of the storm will hit, how strong it will be, and how much damage it might cause. After the storm passes, Disney will assess the situation and make further adjustments to their cancellation policy if needed. Airports will also have to assess the situation and decide when it's safe to reopen. But this is all still days away. In the meantime, the only thing we can do is sit tight, see how things unfold, and keep everyone in the path of the storm in our thoughts.

 

[seashoreCM]

I was told that parts of WDW built after 1990 were designed to withstand a cat 3 hurricane. I doubt that Milton will be more than cat 2 if/when/where it affects Orlando and WDW.

The first few scheduled flights out after the airport reopens will probably be cancelled. Few planes will be parked there ready to load up and go at reopening.

After the storm, Disney might open just one or two parks depending on what can be cleaned up and made ready, and how many CMs have reported to work.

In the past Disney has extended the expiration date of partially used tickets for guests affected by park storm closure, although upgrades and adding more days to the tickets were not allowed. Room and dining discounts you received are not honored later but you may look for new discounts when rebooking.

 

[Boopuff]

CMs are people, with homes, family etc. Many volunteer to be on ride-out, but others live around Tampa (rent is cheaper) and drive in. Expecting a "full staff" after this storm is crazy. There will be some damage (even at cat 1/2 are strong winds/rain) Keep the CMs in your thoughts.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

In reference to the bolded...what is your source?
We are flying to Orlando on Oct. 15. First park day is the 16th. I hope the parks will be operational by then?

Nobody knows where it will be and when. These are all still just projections. The cone is still over 150 miles of Florida's coast. The storm has lost strength overnight, and is still 500+ miles away. There is a lot of time for things to change - both the airport and WDW will do all they can to be open as soon as it is safe.

 

[Willows909]

Thanks for the info. In person seems the best way to go for folks! Fingers crossed for your departure!

Yes, they were very helpful. Of course now we just hope for that Friday is a go.

 

[Lesverts]

Unless the levees aren't maintained and are poorly engineered then this won't be Katrina.

That was the main issue, design failure and poor maintenance. My brother in law was a civil engineer employed after the fact with many others to study cause and affect.

Geography plus population density plus already recovering from a previous hit means this could be at Katrina’s damage cost level. That’s all I meant.

I'm not surprised. There are so many moving parts and all of this takes time. Now that the storm is slowing down a little, they may not need to close the parks first thing tomorrow morning. And they typically don't announce multiple days of closures at once because there's just no way to know what the situation will be after the storm passes. It's usually a day-by-day thing, but they have contingency plans in place for multiple scenarios.

I was there for Irma. They announced the closures for multiple days all at once. Closed early. Followed by two days of closures to do necessary cleanup.

 

[meremac]

Geography plus population density plus already recovering from a previous hit means this could be at Katrina’s damage cost level. That’s all I meant.



I was there for Irma. They announced the closures for multiple days all at once. Closed early. Followed by two days of closures to do necessary cleanup.

Yes that was an exception. But my point is that they will not announce when they are going to reopen right away because they won't know that until they assess the damage. They may say they "hope to reopen" at x time, but they just won't know for sure right away. I know it's hard, but people are going to have to be patient. There are a lot of moving parts, and they'll give us the information when they have it.

 

[neverlandsky]

I anticipate that WDW will be closed Wednesday 100%. Thursday will be a ? However, Disney prides itself on being open rain or shine. So if they can safely be open with a few attractions down, they’ll do it. They have an awesome overnight maintenance & inspection CMs that doesn’t get much credit.

ETA well scratch that prediction since the storm has slowed down. It does look like it’s dipping more South and weakening inland from original projections.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I anticipate that WDW will be closed Wednesday 100%. Thursday will be a ? However, Disney prides itself on being open rain or shine. So if they can safely be open with a few attractions down, they’ll do it. They have an awesome overnight maintenance & inspection CMs that doesn’t get much credit.

ETA well scratch that prediction since the storm has slowed down. It does look like it’s dipping more South and weakening inland from original projections.

Thursday is not a question mark sadly.

Update from 10 mins ago. It hits the shore as a Cat 3 Thursday at 2:00am

It is still a Cat 3 maybe cat 2 moving over Orlando Thursday morning/afternoon then becoming Cat 1 as it leaves the east coast

They will 100 percent be closed Thursday. I would be surprised if they even opened on Friday.

Sadly, time will tell =[

 

[gottalovepluto]

In reference to the bolded...what is your source?
We are flying to Orlando on Oct. 15. First park day is the 16th. I hope the parks will be operational by then?

You have nothing to worry about from Milton. They are not expecting park destroying damage from this in Orlando.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]