Should I be worried about weather?

[Tonka's Skipper]

As others have posted, you cannot control the weather, especially this early!.......In the 45 years WDW has been open , many hurricanes had passed over Florida, but I believe only 3 ever shut down the parks and that was for 1 day, That is a total of only 3, a pretty good record.

Disney has a full storm plan in place and how to keep there guest safe.

Have a great vacation!


AKK

 

[SgtTibbs]

I'd say worse case scenario, you have to stay in your room for a day while it blows over. On your honeymoon. In your room.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Weather is one of the things you can do absolutely nothing about.

There's no way to tell if there will be a hurricane during your trip, no way to tell if it will impact WDW at all (which is rare) and no way to tell whether if it does, it will result in closed parks. You'd need to watch the National Hurricane Center's site to see what it's doing should there be one. And you won't know if there might be an impact until a few days out.

This is all the hurricane closures:

Full day closings (all parks closed for the full day):
September 2, 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)
September 4 and 5, 2004 (Hurricane Frances) - Frances closed the parks for 2 days, not one. She was huge and extremely slow moving.
September 27, 2004 (Hurricane Jeanne)

Partial closings (all or some parks were open for part of the day):
September 1, 1999 (Hurricane Floyd)
August 13, 2004 (Hurricane Charley)
October 25, 2005 (Hurricane Wilma)

And a partial closure on September 11, 2001 unrelated to weather.

That is three instances of a full day closure, and four of partial day closure (one of which was unrelated to weather), and 3 of the 6 weather-related closures occurred in 2004. The odds are not in favor of a park closure.

I can't say I'd be too concerned about being AT WDW during a hurricane. Worst case scenario you will just be told to stay in your room. The biggest concern is with flight and travel delays. you might have to decide whether to arrive or leave at a different time than you had planned.

 

[Pigletpal40]

We headed down ahead of Jeanne, which took a U-turn right before our trip. We were supposed to be at VWL on that Sunday, right when it was to hit Orlando. We changed our flights to Thursday, got an All Star, and waited it out. Lots of trees down by Epcot and the Studios after. The Magic Kingdom opened the front of the park on time and the back half past Liberty Square after 10 am on that Monday.
We checked into VWL on Sunday morning as planned, not knowing there was still a curfew and wondered why nobody else was on the road. The Log Gateway was knocked down at the lodge. My parents were stuck at a hotel near MCO. They arrived Monday. With all the cancellations, Disney bumped their stay ahead one day and they didn't lose any nights! After that, we enjoyed one of our best vacations, NO CROWDS!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I remember all the palm fronds down at the Polynesian after Frances finally passed through. And some CMs trying to push water out of the POTC store with brooms. Chatted with them awhile and they said water had run in, but the merchandise was OK and so was the ride. They couldn't use their credit card scanners. The MK was almost completely deserted. It was weird.

 

[planning42012]

We were at the parks in 2012 the week Hurricane Sandy was out in the Caribbean. Honestly we didn't even know about it until we went to Cocoa Beach and couldn't do anything because the winds were so strong. I remember one day of it being really windy in the park, and we did have rain in the afternoon. But I think unless a hurricane hits Florida directly you will be fine. And is sounds like even those who were there for a direct hit still managed to have a good time.

 

[anniemae]

If you are worried then you should book after Hurricane season. You'll never know till right before you leave.

This is true. They are spinning around and take days to really form, but the news starts warning and preparing you. Even when it is just days out, they still don't know where they will hit. they change paths, break up and dissipate, or get stronger. Unfortunately things change hour to hour when one is approaching land. Just be aware, but Disney is great at keeping guests informed and letting you know what "could" happen if it will impact Orlando area.

 

[Grumpy247365]

I've lived in FL my whole life and the weather changes by the hour. August and September are active months during hurricane season. Just keep an eye out as it gets closer to your travel dates. I always go to weather underground; they seem to have the best info when forecasting the path of a hurricane. I've never been to Disney during hurricane season because I avoid Disney during the summer, but going through a hurricane is not fun. I wouldn't stress about it yet, just enjoy planning your trip and I hope everything is all clear when you travel.

 

[disneylove16]

There's no reason at all to be worried about a hurricane hitting. Especially in the middle of the state in Orlando. Even if one was heading directly to you, unless it's something insane, most you'd be getting at Disney is rain and mild wind. They fall apart once they hit land. Your odds of not having a hurricane during your trip are astronomically better than to have one.

Thank you! This makes me feel much better!

This doesn't include 2015 but I don't think there were any last year. None have hit Florida since 2005.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hurdat/All_U.S._Hurricanes.html

Thank you for the info!

Walt himself could not control the weather. There's nothing you can do about it.............I'd be aware but don't let it overwhelm you. If you have that much concern purchase trip insurance.....but be sure to make sure things like hurricanes are covered.

You're gonna have a magical trip!

Doug

Thank you!

Well if it helps here's our hurricane input. We were there during Hurricane Francis. They gave us repeated info on how long to expect to be in the room, when all the stores, restaurants etc, would be closing at our resort and reminded you to keep that in mind and be sure to have enough food provisions to get you through. That being said, the resort amenities were not closed as long as they predicted. The parks closed for 1 day only and they did a great job of keeping us informed. Now when we went it was our sons first trip, 9 mos. old. They made sure we had a mini fridge put into our room, they brought characters to the resort to do meet and greets when the weather permitted. It really wasn't a big deal. The biggest hassle for us was that we had taken a fifth wheel down and had to move from Ft. Wilderness to Port Orleans because the campgrounds flood easily. It is actually pretty cool to tell people we have been through a Hurricane as we are from the Midwest. They generally don't loose power or anything like that biz most of their utilities are underground. I would not worry too much, and if one does hit, think of the great stories you'll have!

Wow! What an experience! Sounds like you still had a good time!

 

[disneylove16]

Thank you @MakiraMarlena those are pretty good odds!

As others have posted, you cannot control the weather, especially this early!.......In the 45 years WDW has been open , many hurricanes had passed over Florida, but I believe only 3 ever shut down the parks and that was for 1 day, That is a total of only 3, a pretty good record.

Disney has a full storm plan in place and how to keep there guest safe.

Have a great vacation!


AKK

Thank you!

I'd say worse case scenario, you have to stay in your room for a day while it blows over. On your honeymoon. In your room.

I've lived in FL my whole life and the weather changes by the hour. August and September are active months during hurricane season. Just keep an eye out as it gets closer to your travel dates. I always go to weather underground; they seem to have the best info when forecasting the path of a hurricane. I've never been to Disney during hurricane season because I avoid Disney during the summer, but going through a hurricane is not fun. I wouldn't stress about it yet, just enjoy planning your trip and I hope everything is all clear when you travel.

Thank you!

 

[biondagirl]

We've gone three times in August and have never had a hurricane. Rain, yes, often. But no hurricane. On the positive note, you'll see fewer crowds that week!

 

[DisDadDVC]

Side note: A hurricane will be a welcome respite from the broiling heat!

 

[momimouse27]

Honestly, we used to go every year in August/September when my girls were small and we've never gotten a hurricane. Like others say, there's no way to predict really until right before. There's usually a good bit of rain, but that sometimes clears out the parks. Throw on a poncho and enjoy it!

We are there during Labor Day this year, too.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

On the bright side, how cool would it be to have a hurricane above you when you are hanging out at the resort? Id have a bottle of wine ready, id sit on my balcony and I would enjoy the show