WDW During a Hurricane

[theweave]

I was just curious as to what happens around the WDW resort and parks during a hurricane? I have read people here talking about going to the parks during some hurricanes so obviously the parks were open than but I have a video about the TRIPLE WHAMMY that was Charley and other two that escapes me that said the parks were closed.

I would love to hear experiences about hurricanes, with photos if you have them too!

I would love to come to Florida in the summer but I know my luck... Category 5 would go right through WDW when I was there! so I will stay away for the safety of others!

So have you been? Did they close? What did you do?

 

[I'mNoPrince]

Well WDW is a evacuation point for surrounding areas. It's built with Breaks in the tree lines to help break up the high winds.

We have been down right after (day or so ) and the rest of Orlando had a ton of mess and WDW had a few trees down and that's it.

When it gets bad that they close the Parks down they bring Characters amd stuff to entertain the resort guess and such.

So getting in and out of WDW is the hard part once in you should be fine

 

[fla4fun]

The parks will stay open as long as reasonably possible, and still allow the CM's to get home before the storm. Sometimes that means parks will shut down for an entire day, sometimes they will stay open until noon and then shut down - it's all in the timing and severity of the storm. The parks will only close if the storm is predicted to be at a particular level - usually for tropical depressions and tropical storms they stay open (which is why we all read about so many really wet guests during Fay last year). They can't reopen until they have been checked for damage and cleared of any debris, as well as waiting until CM's are able to get to work. So during the 2004 hurricanes, it wasn't unusual for them to reopen one at a time - say MK and maybe Epcot first, then the next day DHS came back up, and last AK.

At the resorts, you will typically receive either written notices under the door or phone messages keeping you updated on the situation. When a hurricane is iminent, guests in resorts with exterior hallways will be instructed to remain in their rooms until further notice. Guests in resorts with interior hallways are advised to remain in their rooms, but they typically have a little more room to move around (WL is a great place to be during a hurricane, since it's all one building). It's a good idea to have some non perishable food in the room, enough for 24 hours at least. Even if you are in a resort with interior halls, the CM's that work housekeeping and in the restaurants may not be able to get to work for a day or so (and definitely not during the storm) so you need to be prepared. The great thing about hurricanes is that you get plenty of warning. If you are staying at FW, you will be evacuated to another resort for the duration of the storm. That's why I don't recommend FW during hurricane season - just a personal preference.

To be honest, even though I only live 20 minutes away, I've been at Disney during a hurricane warning, gone home to batten down the hatches, and returned to Disney to ride it out. With the exception of FW, Disney is a great place to ride out a storm and the periods just before and just after, the parks are not busy at all. Be aware though, that the areas around Disney may not be as well prepared - there could be wide spread power outages and curfews in place for a few days after the storm. It's not a good idea to go out and "sightsee" after one hits. Trust me on this one.

 

[goofy4tink]

We arrived in Orlando, on Friday, Aug 13, about 6 hrs ahead of Charley!!! Man, I was watching the weather like a hawk for days before that trip. Charley was 'supposed' to make landfall closer to Tampa, but veered in early, making it pass right over Orlando and WDW.
MCO closed down about 3 hrs after we arrived. We got to the CR about 2pm, they were closing MK at 3 in order to prepare for the storm. Same thing at the other parks. Charley passed over us about 8-9pm. We were supposed to eat at Chef Mickey's that night, but they closed it down due to all the glass in that area. The monorails were garaged...it was really strange to see two monorail lines sitting there, inside the CR lobby area. The ends of the building were covered with plywood.
We were told to go to the convention area in order to get some dinner...they let us fill styro boxes with food and take it back to our rooms. Then, we were told to stay in our rooms that night, away from the windows. There were Disney movies playing all night long on several tv channels.
When we got up in the morning, there was a message on the phones telling us not to expect housekeeping...that we would get fresh towels but no bedmaking or such...due to the limited staff.
The staff that was held over that night had taken in all the pool chaises...and that is what they slept on, in one of the convention halls. And those same CMs were still pretty cheery and pleasant in the morning!!! It was really incredible.
MK opened on time, AK did not...they took longer to reopen due to tree damage. Ft.W was evacuated....we missed our HDDR show that next night (Sat) so had to rebook. Ended up sitting upstairs, in the side balcony but at least we got to see it, a few days later into our trip.

All in all....I have no issues with being in WDW during a hurricane. It was really incredible to see how they handled it. I know other resorts had characters come in to entertain the guests, they had box meals they handed out. They really took care of the guests. It was actually a somewhat pleasant experience.

 

[CanadianImagineer]

I would love to come to Florida in the summer but I know my luck... Category 5 would go right through WDW when I was there! so I will stay away for the safety of others!

Don't be so sure! We went in August of 2004, and we somehow lucked out to arrive a few days after Charley and leave a few days before Frances. The world's looking out for everyone

 

[TaraPA]

I have never been there during a hurricane, but was there for Tropical Storm Gabrielle on 9/13/01. We had notices put under our doors & phone messages the evening before, saying to stay away from windows, do not go outside (we were at ASSp). If things became dangerous they said to go into the bathtub & close the bathroom door. Parks remained opened (they had just been closed 2 days prior for 9-11!). We chose to stay in that day - the winds & puring rains were horrendous. With a 13-month old and 3-year old we couldn't see it being any fun at the parks. We ordered in pizza, watched TV & made the best of it.

 

[theweave]

Wow, some pretty good answers in here already!I could see that staying in a resort with interior rooms would be good, the ones that all open to the outside would be scary!

Also interesting to read about them closing CM for the night because of all the glass. It would have been weird to see it all plywooded up and stuff.

I tend to think that they would take a lot of precautions during times like these. I read that a lot of hotels in the "bullseye" of Charley ecacuated the whole place, and with good reason, the storm totally destroyed them!

I admit, not a lot of hurricanes directly Orlando. Most do veer north or south of them. But these are great stories to read! Hope there are more!

Also, no wonder the "Free Dining" coincides directly with Hurricane Season!

 

[DisGal520]

As my siggy says, we survived Charley. The buildings are built to withstand hurricane force winds. And Disney has its own underground power plants so our resort never lost power when 90,000 Orlandoians did.

When we arrived 6 days prior to the hurricane there was really no indication it was coming. Like a PP said it was headed towards Tampa and sort of turned last minute to visit Orlando.

We were scheduled to leave MCO that Friday after a 6 day stay, but the hurricane changed all that because MCO had some damage and closed. We could not get a flight out until Sunday. Luckily so many travelers canceled their incoming plans so Disney was able to extend our room stay.



Anyway I cannot say enough about the wonderful CMs during that time. And Management had a hurricane plan they put into efffect. On the day before the hurricane it was lovely weather. Friday we awoke to messages on the phones that the parks would be open until 1 PM only AND open to people staying onsite in a Dis resort only. So my neice and I headed to MGM and the rest of the family to MK. Never ever saw the parks so empty. We got an early lunch with no ressies at Brown Derby and at 12 noon we headed to the buses. Those bus drivers were really hustling to get everyone back to the resorts.

At ASMU we stopped in the food court to grab some supplies and it was soooooo busy that there were some management type folks helping to serve food. Back in the room at 1:30 PM there was a knock at the door and two CMs in rain slickers gave us flashlights and sheets of info about what to do and what they would do. It said for ex: to not double lock the doors in case they needed to get in, stay away from windows, and watch the red phone message button for updates, etc.

By the time the rest of the family returned to the room at 2:30 they were soaked. Soon after the storm was wild. We watched outside go very dark and listened to the worst wind and rain all afternoon and into night.

The kids watched first run Disney movies on one TV (Finding Nemo was the big one then) while the rest of us huddled around the TV with CNN and Orlando WESH channel 2 broadcasting the storm.

Gotta say it was scary. But the lights never flickered once and we were all safe. Sometime around 2 AM (I think) there was a phone message that if you missed your dinner, limited fare was being served in the food court. In the morning we awoke to the sound of a chain saw. A small tree had fallen across a balcony and Disney was taking it down.


Another phone message said all the safety checks had been done at MK, MGM, and Epcot and they would open at 9 AM for on-property guests. AK did not open that Friday.

Disney gave us all an extra free day on our park hoppers so we did visit the parks. On the bus we passed areas with downed trees, bent over signs and lots of water.

Couple more things.
* We heard that before the storm hit that all the animals IN AK had been coralled and stabled and that keepers stayed with them.
* All of the CMs we spoke with during and the days after were wonderful to us. And I'm sure many of them had a lot of hurricane problems to deal with at their homes.
* By noon all the debris had been cleared out of the resort pools and guests were swimming.


More than you wanted to know?????

 

[LarryBoy]

What is the typical hurricane season in Florida?

 

[DisGal520]

June 1 through November 30 each year

 

[Shleedogg]

DH and I were there for hurricane Jeanne. We got engaged at POFQ 2 days before she hit. They closed the parks early the night before she was supposed to hit, a Saturday and everything was closed the following day, Sunday. They reopened Monday morning. Since we were staying at a Mod with no indoor hallways and lobby, we were stuck in our room for over 24 hrs. They ran the same 3 movies on the movie channel over and over again. We bought snacks in the gift shop and an over-priced Disney board game. It was pretty boring . I heard though they were having activities at the deluxe resort, which probably made the whole thing less monotonous.

We also ran out into the storm periodically to take pictures. Of course they all just came out black. There was a river running down the streets of POFQ and lots of trees down. I just found our pics last week. Have to buy a new scanner so I can upload them eventually.

Disney didn't offer any discounts for those who had to stay another night (we had to), thought that would have been nice. Nor did they offer any ticket compensation. However, this was before park hopper expired 14 days after first use. We ended up with an extra day that we used the following summer. Not sure what they'd do now.

 

[disneydiva0729]

I was a little nervous about hurricanes as my trip is Sep. 17-28 and I've only ever gone past hurricane season (or really close to the end of it as I went Nov. 25 last year). But it seems from everything here that WDW does a great job with storms and hey, if all of Orlando gets shut down, and I'm stuck in Disney for three extra days, you won't hear me complaining!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

im not letting a storm mess up my vacation lol j/k

 

[DisneyMim]

We were there during Charly too. We were staying at the Poly that trip and all the CMS did a wonderful job. Yes the parks closed early and everyone went back to their resorts (or home). We were kept informed by telephone messages and notices under our door. My brother was there at the same time staying at Fort Wilderness in their RV. They were sent to PO and stayed there for a couple of days until everything passed. We were staying concierge that trip and I remember meeting some people in the lounge that were Florida residents who left their homes on the coast and came to WDW. I also remember the next morning walking around the resort and seeing all the trees down, etc. Disney didn't waste any time cleaning up. All in all I would not travel during a hurricane, but I have to say if I had to be anywhere it would be WDW. They are just fantastic!!

 

[theweave]

As my siggy says, we survived Charley. The buildings are built to withstand hurricane force winds. And Disney has its own underground power plants so our resort never lost power when 90,000 Orlandoians did.

When we arrived 6 days prior to the hurricane there was really no indication it was coming. Like a PP said it was headed towards Tampa and sort of turned last minute to visit Orlando.

We were scheduled to leave MCO that Friday after a 6 day stay, but the hurricane changed all that because MCO had some damage and closed. We could not get a flight out until Sunday. Luckily so many travelers canceled their incoming plans so Disney was able to extend our room stay.



Anyway I cannot say enough about the wonderful CMs during that time. And Management had a hurricane plan they put into efffect. On the day before the hurricane it was lovely weather. Friday we awoke to messages on the phones that the parks would be open until 1 PM only AND open to people staying onsite in a Dis resort only. So my neice and I headed to MGM and the rest of the family to MK. Never ever saw the parks so empty. We got an early lunch with no ressies at Brown Derby and at 12 noon we headed to the buses. Those bus drivers were really hustling to get everyone back to the resorts.

At ASMU we stopped in the food court to grab some supplies and it was soooooo busy that there were some management type folks helping to serve food. Back in the room at 1:30 PM there was a knock at the door and two CMs in rain slickers gave us flashlights and sheets of info about what to do and what they would do. It said for ex: to not double lock the doors in case they needed to get in, stay away from windows, and watch the red phone message button for updates, etc.

By the time the rest of the family returned to the room at 2:30 they were soaked. Soon after the storm was wild. We watched outside go very dark and listened to the worst wind and rain all afternoon and into night.

The kids watched first run Disney movies on one TV (Finding Nemo was the big one then) while the rest of us huddled around the TV with CNN and Orlando WESH channel 2 broadcasting the storm.

Gotta say it was scary. But the lights never flickered once and we were all safe. Sometime around 2 AM (I think) there was a phone message that if you missed your dinner, limited fare was being served in the food court. In the morning we awoke to the sound of a chain saw. A small tree had fallen across a balcony and Disney was taking it down.


Another phone message said all the safety checks had been done at MK, MGM, and Epcot and they would open at 9 AM for on-property guests. AK did not open that Friday.

Disney gave us all an extra free day on our park hoppers so we did visit the parks. On the bus we passed areas with downed trees, bent over signs and lots of water.

Couple more things.
* We heard that before the storm hit that all the animals IN AK had been coralled and stabled and that keepers stayed with them.
* All of the CMs we spoke with during and the days after were wonderful to us. And I'm sure many of them had a lot of hurricane problems to deal with at their homes.
* By noon all the debris had been cleared out of the resort pools and guests were swimming.


More than you wanted to know?????

Wow that is quite the report! The DVD that I have is from Channel 9 news in Orlando. They were the first ones to call that Charley was not going to hit Tampa, it had "jogged" and was going to hit Orlando instead. The one report they gave was five minutes after the NHC gave their latest update. After channel 9 gave the news, the National Hurricane Center changed their forecast and put the path through Central Florida instead!

I am sure that it was scary, just hearing the wind howling would be enough! I am lucky enough in Ontario that we don't get weather like that! We get storms for sure but nothing like that!

Still being able to tour the parks with no one there would have been a weird experience but oh so nice! No need for a Fast Pass I would assume!

Still would love to see pictures if anyone dared to take some! The pics on the video were pretty incredible. I think those reporters must be insane!

Thanks to all, keep em coming!

P.S. Didn't see nothing in your siggy about Charley!

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

Since I am very familiar with hurricanes living in Houston I ALWAYS get the trip insurance in our vacation packages. We were at Disney in 2005 when Hurricane Rita hit Houston. We were scheduled to leave on the same Saturday that she hit. Houston shut down the Airport and we were "stuck" at Disney. It was great! We couldn't leave...how many times have you been getting ready to leave and you just wish you would be forced to stay? Is it bad to equate a hurricane with Pixie Dust?

The CM's who helped us really understood what we were dealing with and one even suggested that we upgrade to WLV from the CBR since our vacation package insurance would cover it all. We were able to add days to our park hoppers and relax knowing that our room and meals were covered.

In case you are wondering the trip insurance covers up to $200 per person per day for food and lodging with a max. of $800 per family. We were "stuck for 3 days and it was such a relief knowing we did not have to pay out of pocket.

 

[Justsyd2]

We have trip insurance, but in cases like this, how does it work? You don't pay out of pocket first for meals and upgrades? If not, do you save meal receipts? Thanks!

 

[theweave]

We have trip insurance, but in cases like this, how does it work? You don't pay out of pocket first for meals and upgrades? If not, do you save meal receipts? Thanks!

I know when my mom was in hospital once in Orlando, we had to save our meal receipts and submit them. They paid most of them but not all of them. We also sent the hotel receipt in but I guess they realized that the bill was for the same time we had the insurance for so they said No Way Jose! *LOL* Don't hurt to try I guess!

Insurance companies are funny in what they will pay and what they won't. I say send everything you can in and let them sort it out!

 

[LarryBoy]

June 1 through November 30 each year

Isn't it rare though for there to be a hurricane during June or July?

 

[AmberLuvsWDW]

We arrived in Orlando, on Friday, Aug 13, about 6 hrs ahead of Charley!!!

We were at the CR during Charley too! I agree that everything was handled very well. I guess that's what you should expect from the happiest place on Earth...even during a hurricane!