Only hours to go-how to survive a hurricane

[Jennifer S]

we leave tomorrow. Anyone that was there during Charley or Frances have any tips or suggestions on how to survive during the hurricane - Jeanne may hit this weekend. Also, how long until thing were OK again?

Thanks . We are so excited even Jeanne won't damper our spirits!

 

[LibertyBelle]

If Jeanne stays on her current course then WDW should be feeling affects from her Sunday afternoon into Sunday night. The course probably will change a few more times before then, shifting back and forth. WDW is watching the movement and the projected path and if it does become necessary to close the theme parks they will make that decision to do so. I would expect to see a decision on the parks by Late Saturday given the current path.

If it becomes necessary to close the parks the hotels are really good about keeping the guests entertained. I would bring a small flashlight with you just in case), maybe a board game or a deck of cards. And I would get some snacks and drinks for the room. If the the storm does affect property they will ask you to stay in your room for a certain amount of time for safety reasons. If you are staying at a hotel that is not all one building (IE: All Stars, Polynesian, etc...where the rooms are in seperate buildings) you will not have access to food as the food court and dining areas would require you to go outside.

As for how long it takes to get back to normal, with Charley he came through over night so the Parks closed early the night he was arriving and were open on time the next morning (all but AK which stayed closed the following day). With Frances, she was such a slow mover that MK and Epcot were closed for 2 days and AK and MGM were closed for 3 days.

Right now we just have to wait and see what Jeanne does, the track will shift a few times before it arrives, so nothing is set in stone yet. I hope you enjoy your vacation regardless of the weather

 

[RickNWendy]

Tell ya what, TS Bonnie and H Ivan were enough for me. We go in a week- and I do not want to see another hurricane.

 

[jwfla422]

WELL neither do we!! But, do we have a choice...not much can be done about it, getting to be like normal life around here!

 

[JohnathanS]

I'm heading out tomorrow for a solo trip myself...I'm hoping Jeanne will only shut things down for a day, but nothing can be certain. I'm bringing a few good books!


I was curious...I know WDW has only shut its theme parks down 3 times for hurricanes. Do they usually not pass over Orlando? It seems that they are so big that if they hit Florida at all they would also get Orlando (Obviously, I'm not a Floridian, lol!)

 

[goofy4tink]

For Charley, they closed the parks at 1:00 the day the storm was due to hit. (it hit at about 9 pm). We were kept in our rooms for the most part. Have to say that I slept thru the whole thing. But, then again, Charley was a quick moving storm. Not like Francis. So, my advice would be to have plenty of snacks for your room. Use the ice machine. Have some extra water. Bring a good book. We never lost power and they had on 3 different Disney movies for the kids. Most everything was up the next day. Ak was closed for one day. Things were a little slow since a lot of the CMs couldn't get there!!! The destruction outside of WDW was pretty incredible. Be prepared for PS's to be cancelled. We lost 2 of them, one of them HDDR!!
Have a great time.

And for all you guys down there....I'm huffing and puffing, hoping to blow all the 'stuff' away. You sure don't need anymore weather. Saying some weather prayers to the weather gods for ya!!!

 

[WishingOnAStar]

OMG - I can't handle the parks being closed - I'm WAY too anal for that!!!

I have a spreadsheet for our whole time there and - gosh, darn-it! - we're going to follow it!!!! LOL



GO AWAY JEANNE!!!!!

 

[gigi1313]

having lived thru frances at pop century, i would advise bringing or buying a decent cooler... the styrofoam ones did not do the job well, and there was a shortage of ice in the ice machines... we had a nice sized coleman from walmart for under $10... also, be sure to get some provisions in your room like bottled water, snacks, etc... we enjoyed the cheese/veggie/fruit plates from the grab 'n go... a bottle of wine would not hurt either ;o)

maybe stock up on quarters for the soda/snack machines...

do all your "must do's" as soon as you can... we were very thankful we saw fantasmic and HDDR our first few nights before the storm came thru 'cause both were cancelled for a few days after...

and enjoy a "different disney" experience... we did!

 

[LibertyBelle]

Originally posted by JohnathanS
I was curious...I know WDW has only shut its theme parks down 3 times for hurricanes. Do they usually not pass over Orlando? It seems that they are so big that if they hit Florida at all they would also get Orlando (Obviously, I'm not a Floridian, lol!)

Until this year Central Florida had not been hit right on with a Hurricane since the 60's. WDW was closed for Hurricane Floyd, which ended up turning in the ocean and not affecting WDW, Hurricane Charley and Frances (which we all know how much damage they did). There was also Hurricane Erin in 1995 that came inland over night and caused some minor tree damage. The Theme parks opened late, but they still opened. I have lived in Florida since 1982 and with the exception of Charley and Frances, I have only been through Erin (which again was overnight, quick moving and the parks opened up the next day) and the outskirts of Elena in the 80's. This is very rare for us. As you pointed out they are big and we have had the outskirts of storms here and there, but not enough to cause any closings.

 

[Uncleromulus]

I recall Floyd very well--all the forecasts had it laying waste to WDW. Then it "turned unexpectedly" and headed up the coast. I don't recall if it even made landfall anywhwere--

Perhaps this will be the case with Jeanne as well--we can all hope that it turns and stays at sea.

 

[gigi1313]

do i dare share our family's history w/wdw vacations?

first time dh/i took the kids we flew out on the last plane before floyd hit... that would be the very first time wdw theme parks were ever closed in 30 year history...

second time dh/i took the kids we flew home on 9/09/01, theme parks closing two days later due to 9/11...

dh/i decide we'll head to disney again for a last minute vacation, and i confirm all of our ressies on 8/13/04, just before charley hits and closes parks for the third time in history...

then, just a few days into our third wdw family vacation, hurricane frances hits while we are there and closes the parks for two days...

so, anyone wanna pay us to stay away? or perhaps we'll try our luck and head to disneyland in california, although i am sure we'll be responsible for an earthquake!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Originally posted by Uncleromulus
I recall Floyd very well--all the forecasts had it laying waste to WDW. Then it "turned unexpectedly" and headed up the coast. I don't recall if it even made landfall anywhwere--

Floyd wound up making landfall up near NC. It almost turned parts of eastern NC into a lake. I have been part of several clean-up rebuilding crews down there; believe it or not they are STILL cleaning up from Floyd in some areas.

 

[phamton]

FYI:

According to WESH tv Orlando, Orlando International Airport will stop commercial flights at 5 p.m. Saturday.
http://a.www.orlandoweather.com/hurricanes/3695921/detail.html

 

[ksdave]

I'm supposed to be flying to my comapny's plant in Savannah on Sunday morning and back out on Monday evening. The latest five day track on NOAA.gov shows the eye of Jeanne directly over Savannah at 2PM Monday.
I think I may be staying home.

 

[flyball]

We were lucky to be at the AKL during Frances. I say that we were lucky because we felt safe, we were never confined to our rooms (even during the worst part of the storm), and we were not having to worry about damage to our home. Because Frances was such a slow mover and the parks were closed for two days, by the second day we were tiring of the African drums being played in the lobby (they are very talented and usually lovely, but not when they're played non-stop for two days!). Anyway, we found the Play Station we brought down kept the girls busy with video games and movies we had purchased before we left. Disney does play movies, but if your children are older, the Play Station's a lifesaver! (We also had plenty of food and water and a flashlight, but the girls probably would have ditched all of that for the Play Station!)

 

[Blueberry]

We were there right after Frances, day after the parks reopened ...everything was up and running. Disney does an excellent job of getting back on their feet...A big debt of gratitude to those poor CMs who lost their homes, yet came into work to get things back in order. They are in my thoughts and prayers and I hope Orlando is spared another round of this...