My Ivan story...need opinion also...

[Rozzie]

hello out there, just had power turned on, one week exactly without. Ivan's eye slammed pensacola, this place is devestated. long lines for gas, food. national guard walking around with their m-16's. the beaches are wiped. we were so blessed, we need a new roof, but it is not leaking yet. lost a few trees. we know 10 families on a very personal level that have lost their entire homes. we have converted our house into a makeshift shelter, hot showers, etc. my hospital where i work was also heavily damaged...but we are all banding together up here. the community support is awesome.

I had to cancel our disney trip sept 19-26. it was so hard this week, as i cleaned debris the thought would come to me, "today is our epcot day, dinner at bistro,...." last night was our v & a dinner. but we have rescheduled for nov 16-22. i have never been in nov and quite nervous about it. this was the only time poly had open for my florida resident rate. (by the way, disney has been fantastic through this, bending over backwards trying to get me poly had previous rate i had) We have always gone in sept, oct at latest.
any feedback for nov, 16-22? i cannot muster enough strenghth to reschedule ressies, i know i need to get crackin, but the magic is gone. the disappointment of not being there this week was tough, i don't know if i take canceling all that work again. a whole year's worth of planning, now i have less than 2 months. I really would appreciate all your feedback. i allready looked up nov hours, just scared about that turkey day crowd....

 

[B'rer Karen]

I think you will have a fabulous time. The last few days may start to get crowded, but the first half of your trip it should be very quiet. I wish you all the best. You deserve this trip!

 

[gigi1313]

i am sure you will have a wonderful trip... having been thru frances at wdw, i like to say i had a "different disney adventure," certainly not the one i planned and spreadsheeted, and arranged months in advance, but a great time w/my family and some disney magic as well!

if you'd like, pm me what ps's you're thinking of and i will be glad to call wdw-dine and make them for you... can't promise crt or psb or anything that requires a credit card, but it is a lot of work, and after all you/yours have been thru, i'd be happy to help!

 

[kilee]

I think you'll be fine making the last minute plans when you find a moments piece to do so. I am so to hear about all the devestation that you and your family/friends are dealing with. Here's hoping you'll have the most magical trip ever!!!

 

[Rozzie]

thank you for all of your encouragement. It is so wonderful to know there are such caring people out there. Blessings to all of you, and happy planning!
my prayers are will all of you on the east coast, stay safe. This has to come to an end sometime or another.

 

[Local_Girl]

Rozzie,

Sending prayers and pixie dust your way for your family and friends as you continue to deal with the aftermath of Ivan! I agree with the others...you need this trip! Ivan also caused us to cancel our trip the morning we were due to leave, and I did the same thing you did ("now we'd be doing this..." etc.). We've rescheduled for next year.

I think November is a great time to go! We went at the end of Nov. in 2002, arriving on Friday after Thanksgiving. We waited until Sunday to go to the parks, and the crowds were gone. We like the late fall because it's cooler and generally less crowded. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[MINNIEBOWSER]

Rozzie,
I was there last year the week before Thanksgiving and it was so nice that I made plans this year for the same week. I will be there Nov. 13th - 20th. You might like it so much that you might have a new favorite time of year to visit. I hope you have a wonderful time!!!

 

[Metallicat]

Hi,
I love pensacola beach. it was heartbreaking seeing all the damage your area suffered. I just wanted to say, God bless you for opening your home like you did. I'm sure God will bless you ten fold.

I'm about 300 miles north of you and our area lost power too. in fact, a friend just got his back on a couple of days ago. of course it was nothing like you guys went through. just downed trees and the such. anyways, just wanted to say that I think its great you helped your neighbors. I wish we had neighbors as nice as you are.
and when you get to WDW, have a great time! Linda

 

[LisaRay]

Well i think you may be surprised to find how nice November is. It is my favorite month to visit. We are going the 6th-13th of Nov. and I have just been making my PS's. There seemed to be plenty of times to chose from the only thing was early eating times 5-6:30 were a little harder to come by at the most poplar places. ( chef mickey's, Ohanas ). .

Also I wanted to tell you I am very happy to hear that you and your family have fared as well as you have through Ivan. So sorry to hear of all the damage to Pensacola. My family always packed up and went to PCBeach for 2 weeks every summer when i was growing up. My parents were never into disney but PCB was our disney growing up. As I got married and had kids we discovered disney so had taken a break from the beach but in the past 3 years have been going back again. We were just there in July with my family and my parents. So very sad to see all the damage.