VB Update (long)

[madcoco]

They reopened access to Orchid and Wabasso Beach.Was over there early this morning before heading to Sebastian and took a walk on the beach to the Resort. Major tree damage on 510(looks like a tornado touchdown) approaching the Causeway from US1. The developments at Orchid Island actually look in pretty decent shape from the limited view you could see from the road. Tree damage, roof siding damage and without power. Down the sidestreets before you reach AIA it looks much worse where some of the older homes were built. Miss seeing Peggy(Global Lifeguard Parasol Lady) with her parasol in hand walking down to Wabasso like clockwork in the morning and hope she is OK. A number of homes on the north side of Wabasso are destroyed and as reported earlier Jeanne finished off what Francis already damaged. However Boppy's Market was still standing as was the pizza shop.

Imho the Resort came throught in good shape considering the surrounding area. Did not view any major structure damage. There were numerous workers already working on the roof and around the resort. As has been reported beach erosion is severe but there is still some dune left but not much. The beach looks really bad . The boardwalk access is missing some pilings just past the Green Cabin Storage Shack(its still there) and has buckled in two just East of the shack. Could not get past the beach access to check out the far Beach Cottages up close but from what I could see they looked fairly close to the edge of the dune.
The east edge of the campfire area now drops straight to the beach. Did not notice any windows missing in the cottages or Inn Rooms but could only see the upper stories. The waves definitely breached the dunes. Take this for what it is worth but an IRC disaster relief member told me he didn't think the resort took on severe water damage. Doesn't tell you much but hopefully the lower doors and windows held. Imho one of the main concerns even with minor water damage is mold. It grows fast.One bit of good luck has been a dry spell after the Hurricane avoiding further water damage to homes. Lots of trim missing and in some spots of The Inn Building, fairly large areas of siding gone. The peaks and ceilings of the balconies of the Inn Rooms up on the 3rd and 4th floors have taken wind damage. If I find a card reader tonight,will try to post pictures from this computer in the next few days. Well that's about it for now. Here is hoping to hear some good news from DVC. Mike

 

[Patty3]

Thanks for the update, appreciate it.

 

[poj7]

Thank you for taking the time to post.

Does anyone know the laws in Florida regarding reclaiming the beach by importing or moving sand back to the beach? Strictly forbidden?

 

[thegoods]

Last Spring, Disney added a significant amount of sand to the dune. Therefore, Disney has the ability to add material to stabilize the dune and the property. I can only imagine the condition of the resort after Jeanne had this sand not been added.

 

[peter11435]

Originally posted by poj7
Thank you for taking the time to post.

Does anyone know the laws in Florida regarding reclaiming the beach by importing or moving sand back to the beach? Strictly forbidden?

It's done all the time. The only problem is that it is very expensive to do properly.

 

[PamOKW]

Originally posted by madcoco
Miss seeing Peggy(Global Lifeguard Parasol Lady) with her parasol in hand walking down to Wabasso like clockwork in the morning and hope she is OK.

Peggy evacuated to Kissimmee for the storm and is now back home. She didn't have any major damage to her home but is without power and water. She can't post much until she gets her power back.

Thanks so much for the in-depth report. I know what you mean about the mold....another reason to get the power and a/c back working.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

What a great report. I could almost see the resort as I was reading your description. It's nice to hear some first hand info on the condition of the resort.

Thanx again....

MG

 

[trainfun]

Madcoco,
Thanks for this report.

Your informative posts are highly valued by this Vero owner who is 1100 miles away on Long Island.

We occasionally see serious beach erosion from Nor'easter storms during our winters. Often Mother Nature rebuilds our beaches during the gentler summer months. I wonder if this might be the case during Florida's winters.

Thanks again for the good info you have shared with all of us.

 

[ceejay13]

Been waiting to hear from someone. Thanks so much for the update.

 

[MarkRG]

Thanks for taking the time to do this for us Mike!

 

[madcoco]

You're all welcome. Just trying to help. Thanks Pam for the update on Peggy.That was great news. Haven't been keeping up to date much on DVC info. Has Disney released any "official" info on their damage assessment yet?

Often Mother Nature rebuilds our beaches during the gentler summer months. I wonder if this might be the case during Florida's winters.

trainfun unfortunately in this area during the late fall/winter months, the northeastwinds strike as well and erode the beach. Before Disney redesigned the beach access,you could count on erosion damaging it once or twice every winter.Even though it has buckled(but imho repairable) it is amazing that almost all of it is still standing after this.

 

[MarkRG]

Has Disney released any "official" info on their damage assessment yet?

Nope, the only info we have is they have cancelled all reservations thru Oct 31st.

 

[ahutton]

Not sure if anyone knows, but is the Ocean Grill okay? I think that was the name... DH and I went there on our last vacation before kids for a romantic dinner. It was a special place for us.

 

[PamOKW]

The Ocean Grill came through the storm. I'm not sure whether they might be some damage but nothing catastrophic.

 

[loribell]

Thanks so much for the great update. We had such a great time there this summer.

One thing I have been wondering through both hurricanes is if they did something to relocate the turtle eggs. I sure hope there was something they could do for them too.

Thanks again,
Lori

 

[JimB.]

Any word on the parking garage under the Inn?

I've only been to VB once (in spite of that, it is my favorite DVC resort), & I seem to remeber one of the staff telling me that the garage underneath the Inn was also designed to be secondary protection from flooding.

Wonder if it is full of sand now..........................

 

[AOPI57]

JimB. Haven't heard anything about he parking garage but I did see you're from St. Augustine. My son is a sophomore at Flagler College. We just love the city of St. Augustine. Beautiful place and tons of stuff to do. My son loves school there.

 

[Pig Pen]

Thanks for the update. As a VB owner who has never been there, I am anxious to see the resort in person in April! Good luck to all you Floridians during the rest of this hurricane season.

 

[dis-happy]

As far as the turtle nests go...

My family has been volunteering on the turtle patrol for several years in SC. Thankfully, most of the nests would have hatched before the big storms came.

 

[General Custer]

Glad to hear Peggy is ok and her house.