The Five Phases of (Disney) Hurricane Preparedness

Cheshire Figment

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To effectively manage the WDW Resort Property we needed a plan to protect people, property, and the brand before, during, and after a storm. The local County Offices of Emergency Management have 3 Levels of Activation. With our large size, amount of people on property, and operation of specialized ride equipment and shows we had to set a plan that would give us enough lead time to effectively shut down operations and notify our Cast & Guests of the storm and status of our property. So we developed 5 phases of hurricane preparedness.

Phase 5 (Monitoring Storm Possible)
Review current plan, checklists and business recovery plans. Review personnel and resource availability for the ride-out crew. Verify contact numbers and emergency data. Prepare WDW Emergency Operations Center for activation.

Phase 4 (Storm likely within 24–36 hrs)
General readiness imposed. Brief personnel. Review checklists. Consider possible shut down of long lead operations and not starting extended operations. Limited activation and staffing of WDW Emergency Operations Center.

Phase 3 (Storm probable within 12–24 hrs)
Intensify clean up and tie down. Prepare for phase 2 activity. Selected ride-out crew personnel given the opportunity to secure their personal property. Turn in excess radios and vehicles. Test start all generators. Note: Generally this is when the WDW Emergency Operations Center, command centers, and command posts will be fully activated. This is an executive decision and is subject to change.

Phase 2 (Storm impending -within 6 to 12 hours)
All WDW Resort operations (i.e. Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney, Typhoon Lagoon) begin to close. Scheduled hotel and campground guests notified of conditions. Guest campground trailers removed or secured by the guests. Complete all clean up and tie down activities short of shutdown. Authorized ride-out families move to pre-designated shelters. Ride-out crew fully staffed at start of phase 1 or as directed by the WDW Emergency Operations Center. Personnel not in ride-out crew released as soon as possible.

Phase 1
(Storm Imminent -take shelter)
Shutdown all activities and immediately take shelter. Fulfill ride-out requirement plans.

Post Storm Phase (“All Clear”must be given from the EOC)
Command Centers submit situation reports to WDW Emergency Operations Center. Establish business resumption / recovery schedule. Notify employees through media and Cast Member emergency lines of call back as directed by WDW Emergency Operations Center.
 
Amazing! Even during a crisis, they are not only thinking of their guests, but also their employees! That says a lot.
 
They must currently be operating under Double Secret Phase, which is SCREW THE ALLEGED HURRICANE - OPEN PARKS EARLY
 

:rotfl:
They must currently be operating under Double Secret Phase, which is SCREW THE ALLEGED HURRICANE - OPEN PARKS EARLY
Just back to our OKW villa and got the message from front desk....

ROFLMAO FloridaFam08!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:rotfl:


:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:
 
The five stages should be a sticky. And then everyone can go to one place to find out what is going on.

And I just read this today, the 19th. When Fay decided she wanted to veer her projected path. That's the thing with hurricanes. They can change their minds anytime they want to. In 1985, Elena was headed right for Biloxi, MS so I evacuated. During the next four days, she decided to head over towards Tampa (where a lot of people from Biloxi evacuated - not me). Then, she turned right around and slammed into Biloxi anyway (where the people had returned home - not me).

So never assume you know exactly what a hurricane is going to do.
 
Thanks for sharing that. I was at Old Key West during Charley and must say that I was extremely impressed with how Disney handled hurricane preparedness. I still have one of the flashlights they distributed to each unit.

John
 





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