Oh no! Snow!!

[mickeymom629]

We are supposed to fly out Sunday from MD, and the weather people are calling for major snow!! We are staying at AKL and BLT - first time with just DH and myself! I'm so worried about getting the dog to the kennel and getting us to the airport and thinking about the flight delays....

 

[Granny]

Hey, when's the last time a forecast was right 5 days ahead of time?

Good luck to you and all who are travelling at this time.

 

[lovin'fl]

MIL and FIL fly out Thursday morning and SIL, BIL and niece fly out Friday night...also from MD to WDW. MIL and FIL should be okay and SIL is looking at switching to Thursday night flight. Fingers crossed for you all!

 

[luckyman_apd]

I just returned EXTREMELY late last night. Glad it wasn't this upcoming weekend. The only negative about going in January. Best of luck. Knock on wood we've always beaten the weather. What airline? BWI airport?

 

[cmarsh31]

Looks like the storm is more Thurs-Fri for your area. I would think things would be moving by Sunday. I'd be much more concerned trying to fly out on Friday.

Of course, here in Upstate NY, we're assuming it will go out to sea and miss us entirely. Sigh. Skiing sucks this year.

 

[MrPTato]

Best of luck OP! We are flying out of MHT on Sunday morning as well and it sounds like it won't be good. Staying at Poly for first time with our DVC.

 

[goofy4tink]

Flying out of Worcester, Ma Sunday afternoon! Hopefully it will be late enough in the day to fly. I need my BWV time!!'

 

[wildernessDad]

I live near the BWI airport in Severn, MD. My forecast is currently showing 1-3 inches of snow Friday morning, 8-12 inches of snow Friday evening and 8-12 inches of snow on Saturday. A friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook of the Magic Kingdom showing what a beautiful day it is today.

 

[n2mm]

Airlines will often let you change flights with no fees. Watch your airline closely. Also near by in WV (near MD/VA/PA).

 

[mickeymom629]

What airline? BWI airport?

Yes, Southwest. Neighbors up the street, coincidentally, are flying out to WDW an hour later than us on Southwest.

I live near the BWI airport in Severn, MD. My forecast is currently showing 1-3 inches of snow Friday morning, 8-12 inches of snow Friday evening and 8-12 inches of snow on Saturday.

Hey, when's the last time a forecast was right 5 days ahead of time?

Good luck to you and all who are travelling at this time.

 

[CraigInPA]

If your airline is concerned about the flight being on time due to weather, they will cancel it 3-4 days before it is scheduled to leave. You'll then scramble to find an alternative way to get there.

In 2011, my wife and I were scheduled to arrive in early February at the Poly. 12" of Snow was forecast for Philadelphia the Friday we were to leave. On Monday, 4 days before the flight, US Air texted me that my Friday afternoon flight was cancelled. I called, and they gave me a Saturday afternoon Flight. I called Disney, and got the reservation moved 1 day. I was paying, not using points, so they were accommodating. The next day, Tuesday, US Air cancelled my Saturday flight and put me on Sunday morning. I called Disney, and moved it back another day. On Friday, US Air texted me again. Sunday flight cancelled. I re-scheduled for Monday morning. I called Disney. The CM thanked me for calling to cancel, and moved my reservation again.

It started to snow Friday late afternoon (hours after my initial flight was to be), and it continued snowing until Sunday afternoon. 20+ inches of snow. The airport opened at 11pm Sunday night. I flew out at 7am Monday morning.

When we arrived at the Poly, the lobby was full of guests. Apparently, for the last few days, people had been extending their vacations because there were no flights on the east coast. Now that the planes were again flying, everyone was leaving. We were told that the only empty room the previous night was a suite in the Contemporary that was $3k a night.

We watched the forecast for the return flight, and fortunately didn't have an issue getting home. Had we been stuck due to planes not flying, we had a backup plan to stay with my brother in Tampa until we could fly home.

I'd advise anyone being in a similar circumstance to strongly consider driving out a day early instead of being at the mercy of the airlines. Had my wife and I not had understanding employers, our 10 day trip would have been a 6 day trip or cancelled. Had we driven south on Thursday or even Friday morning, we could have flown out of anywhere south of Washington without any issue whatsoever or just driven the whole distance (Ford Expedition 4WD, goes through anything).

 

[mickeymom629]

If your airline is concerned about the flight being on time due to weather, they will cancel it 3-4 days before it is scheduled to leave. You'll then scramble to find an alternative way to get there.

In 2011, ...

Wow! What an ordeal.

If it was just DH and I, I probably would try to get an earlier flight and just pay cash to stay somewhere offsite. But I hate the thought of leaving our dog in the kennel for longer than we had already planned. Though that is a thought... The other unfortunate issue is that my youngest is supposed to move back into the dorms on Saturday, so we were going to drop him off, of course. We could just let him park the car on campus (UMD) for the week, if there is even class... I guess we'll all have to discuss more in the next couple of days.

This "inexpensive" trip for 2 could turn out to be much more money than I envisioned.

Though I refuse to drive to WDW anymore, there was something wonderful about being in control.

 

[Paticake]

We fly out of Manchester NH Friday morning at 6:35am. I think we will be able to beat the storm- probably a bumpy ride though. I will be watching the weather reports and SW's site and possibly try to fly Thurs night if worse comes to worse.

 

[Lakegirl]

Flying out of Worcester, Ma Sunday afternoon! Hopefully it will be late enough in the day to fly. I need my BWV time!!'

What airline do you fly out of from Worcester ? I always forget to check with
That airport.

 

[gdrj]

We are supposed to fly out Sunday from MD, and the weather people are calling for major snow!! We are staying at AKL and BLT - first time with just DH and myself! I'm so worried about getting the dog to the kennel and getting us to the airport and thinking about the flight delays....

Definitely keep an eye on it. As others have said currently Fri/Sat but its not uncommon with an extended forecast to change by a day, making it Sat/Sun.
Personally I would use it as an excuse to leave on Friday! May not be practical for you but that's what I would do. With Southwest I would keep an eye on DCA flights as well.

 

[suebeelin]

good luck! Hopefully the storm isn't very strong by Sunday. I think the worst of it is on Friday night through Saturday.

We are going Tuesday morning out of philly (leaving 5am for an 8am flight). I knew, when I was planning the vacay, that January is a tricky month.

Two years ago (2014) we were stuck at Disney during the big storm right after MLK weekend (fb keeps sending me DW pics from then!). All flights cancelled. We scrambled for a dvc room, and had a choice of the treehouse, 2bd ssr, or moving over to two 1bd pool/garden at bwv. Since we were staying at a 2bd std at bwv, we opted to blow the points and stay put.

Maybe you'll get lucky and be forced to stay in Disney an extra day on your way back . We were so happy!

 

[sharona]

We are supposed to fly out Sunday from MD, and the weather people are calling for major snow!! We are staying at AKL and BLT - first time with just DH and myself! I'm so worried about getting the dog to the kennel and getting us to the airport and thinking about the flight delays....

Flying out of Worcester, Ma Sunday afternoon! Hopefully it will be late enough in the day to fly. I need my BWV time!!'

Can you try to get out on Saturday to beat the storm? Flying SouthWest? You can try to change your flight now and at least no change fees.

We fly out of Manchester NH Friday morning at 6:35am. I think we will be able to beat the storm- probably a bumpy ride though. I will be watching the weather reports and SW's site and possibly try to fly Thurs night if worse comes to worse.

We're supposed to get the storm beginning on Saturday afternoon so you should be ok, assuming they are right. Good luck!

 

[bumbershoot]

If your airline is concerned about the flight being on time due to weather, they will cancel it 3-4 days before it is scheduled to leave. You'll then scramble to find an alternative way to get there.

They won't necessarily do it that far in advance.

And you never want to be at the mercy of the airlines as much as you were. We have to be proactive. if there's a storm coming, constantly check the airline and airport websites, and the moment you see the advisory go up, get on the phone to them. YOU be the one changing things around; don't wait for texts and calls from them.

DH was in the Dallas ice storm trying to get home for 24 hours (and then get back to Dallas) a couple years ago. Their version of reasonable flights did NOT match our version of it. They were wanting him to get back to TX nearly a week later; um, no. There were flights, and he needed to be on one of them, LOL. At one point, after getting him home, him seeing our son's dance performance (first with the company), and getting home, he was on the phone with the airline and we were both on our computers, hitting Refresh. When we suddenly saw something perfect come up, we told the rep, the rep found it, and got DH on it. This was after the computers had assigned him to the flight nearly a week later. If we had waited for, relied on, the airlines, he would have been in serious trouble.

 

[MrPTato]

Just checked the weather channel again...still not sure which way, with certainty, the store will go.

 

[mickeymom629]

OP here...well, we are now flying out tomorrow and staying at ASM for 3 nights. DS will have to take dog to kennel tomorrow and himself to campus Friday... hopefully he can pick the dog up before we get home next weekend, since he'll still have the car and then we can take him back... so many logistics to take care of today. I didn't cancel Sunday's flight and transfer funds (I was a bit frantic and not thinking this a.m.), so now I will have Southwest credit when I do cancel.