OT- Oil and Disney

[SDSorority]

Hi all. My sister said that we should be aware that the Oil Spill is affecting all of Florida, including Disney. I asked her if she thought that we shold cancel our trip scared1 and she said no, but to just know that things aren't going well down there.

Is the oil spill affecting Disney (or could it affect Disney in the fall)? She's got me paronoid... I hate that.

 

[woodkins]

effect it how? Orlando is in central Florida, and not on any coastline, so I don't see how the oil spill could be effecting WDW.

 

[mom2cookies]

Not to call out your sister, but how other than maybe financially? WDW is not near the coast/beach.

 

[bigdisneygroup]

I can't say for sure since I haven't been there, but according to the visitflorida.com website, most of their beaches haven't even been affected so I'm not quite sure how it could be affecting disney which isn't even near the water? Anyway, I'm hoping it's not affecting anything since we are due to be there in a little over three weeks.

 

[vicki_c]

Other than possibly adding to the crowds (if people choose Disney over the beach), how could the oil spill be affecting Disney/Orlando in the middle of the state?

Does your sister live in Florida or something (it sounded like that). In any case, I would ask her what specifically she means by "things aren't going well".

 

[kamik86]

The only effects I can think of are:

1) Financially because the entire state is broke
2) Larger crowds (although this would help the financial problem) from all the people who would be at the beach.

Unless they mean the cruise line? Disney does normally have western caribbean cruises right? are those still running?

 

[SDSorority]

I'm not sure what she meant by it but it freaked me out!!

 

[kelann7]

To me, the biggest problem is that people are saying things like that and making people panic for no reason. The news media is the most - they say the worst case scenario just to make people panic and freak out. I heard of people canceling trips to the East Coast - which has not been affected by the oil spill - only the Gulf Coast - but people freak out and think the worst.

Even the beaches that are affected - the oil is only on the shoreline - it comes up to where the water hits the beach at high tide - not any further - and clean up crews are there every day cleaning it up as fast as it gets there. Unless you are going in the water in the GULF - I don't see how you can be affected.

The people that are being affected the worst is the tourism industry because people are panicking and canceling their trips - the hotels and restaurants and business owners on the beaches are being affected by this.

Kelly

 

[ceecee]

My SIL lives on the beach and so far they haven't been affected (they are on the other side). I honestly can't see how Disney can be affected. We just got back and it was VERY crowded! Maybe people cancelled the beach and opted for Disney instead.

 

[txvjc]

I don't know how it would be affecting Disney, but maybe your sister heard about the tar balls that washed up in Cocoa Beach a few days ago and Melbourne beach a few weeks before that. The media of course made a huge deal out of it, but then at the very end said the Coast Guard doesn't think that it has anything to do with the BP spill and that more than likely came from a tanker ship off shore, and it's not really that uncommon...it just gets more attention now because of the spill.

 

[SDSorority]

This is making me feel better

 

[momof1princess]

i'm sorry, OP, but your sister is woefully misinformed. i live in a gulf coast state, and the only areas of florida that have been affected by oil coming ashore at this point are on the florida panhandle, about as far east as destin, if i recall correctly. the oil has not even reached panama city beach yet, and it's going to be at least 2-3 more weeks before that becomes a concern, according to my local weatherman.
now, as far as crowds, the oil spill may be affecting disney by raising crowd levels and bringing more people to the orlando area. this i can't attest to personally, because i haven't been there this summer. and as a PP said, it may be affecting the state financially, because, at least from what has happened in MY state, BP has been very slow with paying cleanup claims.

 

[SDSorority]

Has the oil started to get into the waterways yet?

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Has the oil started to get into the waterways yet?

In Louisiana, yes. It is getting into the bays, wetlands, and even Lake Pontchartrain.

I think in the other Gulf states, it's staying mainly on some beaches. Not all the beaches are affected, it depends on the currents and geography. WDW does not have oil; it is inland and it's also not even along the stretch of Florida that is affected at this time.

This page has the trajectory maps for the oil at the bottom of the page.

 

[Kies99]

momof1princess mentions Destin FL.

My parents live in Destin and have a beach house down the road a bit in Santa Rosa Beach. As of now, the oil isn't really affecting them. Some tar balls and such, but the beaches are still open.

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I think the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon had 3 inch tarballs yesterday.
The sharks in shark reef are okay though.

 

[wmharley]

Hi all. My sister said that we should be aware that the Oil Spill is affecting all of Florida, including Disney. I asked her if she thought that we shold cancel our trip scared1 and she said no, but to just know that things aren't going well down there.

Is the oil spill affecting Disney (or could it affect Disney in the fall)? She's got me paronoid... I hate that.

Sorry, but your sister is an idiot. unless she's seen oil all over the coastline, she's wrong.

As has been posted, the oil has only affected a small area in the panhandle. The rest of the state is fine.

disney, other than some folks scared at misinformation and jamming the parks instead of the beach, won't be affected as the parks are in the middle of the state.

As a tourist, you won't be owning a home so you aren't directly affected by a state's financial situation, like lower taxes and services for homeowners.

so come down, enjoy, and tell your sister never to get into marketing or PR work.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

I think the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon had 3 inch tarballs yesterday.
The sharks in shark reef are okay though.

 

[kymmyk13]

Sorry, but your sister is an idiot.

that wasn't very nice.

 

[sharlon]

I was reading a story the other day about how people are ill-informed and freaking out thinking all of Florida is covered in oil. In actuallity, as others have mentioned, only a small portion of the Gulf Coast of FL is affected. The really bad part is that people are panicking and cancelling their vacations and it's causing financial hardship on tourism based businesses in other parts of the state where there is not oil and these people will not qualify for payments from BP because they are no where near the oil.