to all who weathered Jeanne at Disney

[jenjen212]

i was just wondering how things were there?

did you feel safe? were there any problems? how were they in accomodating guests? etc. did they have any activities for the kids to do while they were inside?

i was just wondering how disney handled it...

thank you,

jen

 

[disneyvoice]

No problems at all! We were at the Polynesian and watched the news a bit so we knew what was coming. Honestly everyone was very calm, even the CMs didn't seem bothered, I think they are used to the hurricanes now!

They put a note under our door saying that we should stay inside once the hurricane arrives and that they would let is know when it is safe to go outside. They closed the parks about an hour early and most people grabbed some snacks since we didn't know if we would be able to get to any restaurants. The hurricane came in Saturday night so we slept through most of it. It lingered through the morning but by mid morning the Great Ceremonial house was filled with kids visiting with characters, doing crafts, etc. They even opened up the restaurants that usually don't serve lunch since most people were hungry for a real meal.

We felt very safe. Lots of limbs and leaves on the ground but really no major damage. They had everything cleaned up by the next morning. The parks were closed on Sunday but by Monday morning everything was back to normal - you wouldn't have known that a hurricane had just passed through.

It really wasn't a big deal. Lots of wind and rain (the carpet by our balcony was soaked by the end of the whole thing) but nothing too terribly bad. Now, if you were in a mobile home than I'm sure it was a much different experience!

 

[Jen D]

Just seconding what Disneyvoice said. We were also at the Polynesian.After this hurricane season, Disney kind of has thi s down to a science. We were updated regularly with voice mail messages about the storm's progress, what services were and were not available, openings and closings, etc. We got a letter from resort with detailed information. We were advised to stock up on food for room and were issued a flashlight. Saturday night the Great Ceremonial House was selling box breakfasts for 3 dollars and box lunches for 5 dollars. They opened the GCH at 11am on Sunday
(it was still pretty rainy and windy by this time) and Ohana and Kona were open, there were tons of characters out all day, kids activities, live music, acrobats, and the shops were open as well. We felt very safe.

Our family slept through the worst part of the storm.

 

[laurajetter]

We were forced to extend our stay at the Wilderness Lodge because of the storm. They couldn't have possibly been more accommodating!! I was completely amazed to find a schedule in the lobby of the day's activities; musical entertainment, simon says for the kids as well as other games, how to make towel animals, etc. They had planned activities from morning until night. They had a variety of movies they rotated. We watched Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Armageddon and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They updated us at regular intervals via phone messages and flyers stuck under the door. We felt completely safe during the storm. The only problem they seemed to be having were numerous leaks in the lobby and surrounding area which they seemed to be constantly trying to deal with. At one point one of the lobby hallways was completely covered with towels to help people safely walk.

Anyway, I think Disney did a great job acommodating everyone.

-Laura

 

[westjones]

We were also at the Poly for Jeanne. It was our first stay at the Poly and they handled everything very well. We felt safe at all times and they did a great job of keeping us updated and providing entertainment in the main lobby for the kids on Sunday afternoon.

DJ

 

[ctrabada]

We spent the hurricane at POFQ and, since it doesn't have a shared lobby, they closed everything and advised us to stay in our rooms. On Saturday night they had characters in the main building. On Sunday we spent the whole day in our rooms. Disney updated us via phone messages and flyers. They opened the food court in the afternoon but still advised us to stay in our rooms until early evening. People were out and about, walking, running, letting off some pent up energy. The resort store opened and characters came out. The CM's were wonderful and Disney showed that they are a class act all the way when it comes to hurricane preparations. There were a lot of trees down and debris everywhere, but they started repairs and cleanup right away. On Monday, we spent the whole day in Epcot and today at AK, and you really couldn't tell a hurricane passed by.

 

[mkcp91]

We weathered the storm at Pop Century. We received one memo under the door on Saturday afternoon that informed us tropical force winds were coming. We were told to prepare to be in our rooms until Sunday evening (about 24 hours) and to stock up on food for breakfast, lunch and dinner as Everything Pop would be closing.

So we headed out to a grocery store Saturday evening and stocked up on supplies (mostly beer, ice Doritos and Oreos). We drove into Lake Buena Vista and back and my mother was still in line at Everything Pop paying for the pizzas! It was CRAZY down there!! The staff in the food court was working hard and had great attitudes the entire evening.

We had a continuous stream of movies on the TV (Finding Nemo, Tarzan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Armegedon, Holes, and more). Our group consisted of 5 adults and only one child and that child (mine) doesn't get to watch TV or eat junk at home. I think Sunday was the best day of his vacation - he laid in bed, watched TV and ate Oreos all day. Someone told me there were characters at Everything Pop on Saturday night, but I didn't see them so I don't know if that is true or not.

We had about 3 phone messages that told us to stay in our rooms and that we would be informed when it was safe to go about. We were also informed that there would be no housekeeping service on Sunday, but we saw that housekeeping had left extra towels and a huge garbage bag (and a towel kitten - meow).

Well, there were people in the Hippy Dippy pool when I went to bed at 1:30 am and people in the pool when I woke up at 7am. We were in rooms 4304 and 4305 facing the pool and didn't hear the storm at all. We went out and about the resort Saturday morning and there were dozens of people out. Everything Pop was closed until about 4pm Sunday when it opened for beverage service only. The rumor we heard was they can't serve food until the winds die down to below 40 mph. We have NO idea if that was true. By about 6pm they were serving a limited menu (cheeseburgers, pizza, chicken soup, penne pasta with alfredo sauce and chicken, vegetable lo mein and chicken strips).

The big 1970's sign was knocked down out front and a lot of trees were down. We also saw a lot of light fixtures from the outside hallways were down. The little door blew off the play-dough can.

We felt safe and sound, but we had a touch of cabin fever from being in the room so long. By about 7pm Minnie and Goofy were in the lobby, followed shortly by Mickey and Pluto.

I hope to get a trip report done this week or next.

~Heather

 

[jenjen212]

wow! it is so great to hear such stories!

i am glad that everyone who stayed there during this period was safe and sound. it is so wonderful to hear how disney stayed true to form, and tried to keep the "magic" up as much as they could.

thank goodness for the CMs who stayed at the resorts to help the guests weather the storm, when they could have been home with their familes. and then to stay in the "spirit of disney" instead of stressed out, is another accomplishment too!

jen