So. Tornados. At WDW.

[mousermerf]

Lots of misinformation being thrown around...

First off, not "all" buildings at Walt Disney World are rated for hurricanes/tornados. In fact, a notable exception to this is the old Wonders of Life dome. That build has to evacuate into the service areas that house the Body Wars attractions and the Cranium Command theaters in the event of tornado in the area or other "C" level evacuation.

Second, the cast is trained in three main types of evacuations and know - or should know - which buildings and routes in the areas apply to which evacuation type. As in the above example, the dome at Wonders of Life is not rated for a "C" level evacuation.

The cast will tell you what to do. And it is standard procedure to close all of the shade umbrellas during a storm that involves lightning, for the explicit purpose of keeping guests from clustering underneath them. "Rain procedures" at most attractions involve checklists that involve putting out grip-mats at the entrance doors, calling to request walkway lighting be turned on, closing shade umbrellas, and setting things like automated doors to "open" so that people can still get out of the building if they are lingering (think of all the shows that unload in masses and people who don't want to leave because of the rain and how that backs up.)

They deal with this frequently, but rarely does is escalate into a major safety threat and evacuation order, though sometimes it does. Usually it's something along the lines of a radio call that the weather is "severe" and that guest are to be "discouraged" leaving their immediate location until it clears. At that point all the CM's are indoors, as exterior positions are dropped per policy as storm escalate (going back to rain procedures.)

 

[Danibelle]

Orlando is not immune to tornadoes. They can happen anywhere. While it is true that we don't tend to see the large, long lasting type like you see in the Midwest, we do get them. Most of the time, they are F0 and short in duration. If you are unlucky enough to be beneath one, you can still have damage.

I am originally from the Midwest and have lived through a tornado. The one thing I don't like about living in Florida is the lack of basements, but you get used to it. To answer your question, Disney does not have tornado sirens. There are no tornado sirens in greater Orlando. We use a weather radio and take cover in an interior area if necessary.

As for Orlando never having any real damage or injuries from tornadoes, it is true it hasn't happened in a long time. It has happened.

The 1998 Central Florida tornado outbreak of February 22–23, 1998, was the deadliest tornado event in Florida history. Forty-two people were killed and 260 were injured; seven tornadoes were involved in the event. The previous record for the highest tornado death toll in Florida history was 17 on March 31, 1962.

OP, don't let this ruin your fun at MK. You can't change things. If it looks really stormy, I'd hang out in one of the larger stores until it passes. To tell you the truth, I'm much more leery of lightening in this area than I am tornadoes.

We were there in 1998 for that event. We got out of MCO the morning of the 23. I'm glad Disney has a plan. We were staying offsite and heard the siren go off on the 22nd. I called my hotel office and they acted like I was sort of crazy for asking what plan they had if there was a tornado. I just tried to sleep through the storm and felt lucky to have gotten out the next day. I am originally from Tornado Alley and have lived through many watches and warnings. You just have to go on and get in out of the weather when there is a large storm (and yes, I am also leery of lightning).