What happens in the venet of a Category 4 or 5 hurricane at the resorts?..

[SNylund]

I wouldn't worry at all being in Orlando, its in the middle of the state. If I were on the coast of course evacuate, but Orlando is too far inland IMO, I'd just stay at the resort.

 

[yoopermom]

. . . not always
. . . Fort Wilderness is abandoned and guests either relocated or thrown out
. . . some CM's will stay around and ride-out the storm

I would gently disagree with your "thrown out" portion. I was at FW immediately prior to that hurricane as others have mentioned, with my 6yoDS and dog in our class C motorhome. I have NEVER seen the kind of service given to us by the management and CMs at FW that week, no matter where else I've traveled. We had notices put on our camper doors, CMs were always willing to talk with us either at the checkin or by phone, and I spoke personally to someone quite high in charge at great length because of concerns I had about my elderly dog being on required meds. He would have been put up at their kennels, but they could not guarantee that a CM would be able to be there to give him his pills 3Xday (which I could completely understand), nor would we have been able to get to him from our resort. They also would not allow us to bring him to whatever resort we were being sent to. Because of this we CHOSE to leave ahead of the storm, but I would have completely safe with the way WDW management was prepared for the eventuality of this hurricane.

The dog has traversed the Rainbow Bridge, the motorhome has sold, and DS now had "grown up" interests, but I will be a lifelong WDW fan (and FW camper, even if in just a tent), thanks to the care and concern they showed me and my family that week.

Terri

 

[ParrotBill]

You are right in that the number of storms to hit the Orlando area has been very few. 2004 was a fluke in the grand scheme of things. Prior to 2004, the central Florida area had not had a hurricane hit in many, many years. I hope that we are back on that track. As a tourist, I don't think people should be that concerned about storms. The chances of experiencing one at WDW is slim. As a homeowner, the storms that came through were enough to really mess up insurance coverage for homes in this area. To me, that was the worst damage. I love living in Florida and would never consider moving due to the possibility of a major hurricane. However, I don't take them for granted. I keep my eye to the sky and I will take whatever precautions necessary if the worst should occur to stay safe.

Goodness, we were talking about guests and the risks of visiting WDW during a hurricane. For homeowners it's a completely different thing!

 

[KELLY]

I was at the WL in 2004. Yeah not a great year for hurricanes in Florida. but we were fine. Staff was awesome. I wouldn't let in worry you to much.

 

[Flametamr]

There is nothing to worry about with Hurricanes hitting Disney. They are well prepared and stocked up ahead of time. You would only be inconvienced the day it hit most likely or maybe the day after.

 

[seashoreCM]

Assuming you can stay at your resort, which is true of all Disney's resorts except one*, it is better to ride it out if you have several days of vacation remaining. Disney will be up and running the next day, or if not, the day after. Also, if you decide to fly home early, you could be stranded at the airport.

What to do with a rental car could be tricky. But I would expect you could return it early for the express purpose of ending your responsibility for it, although you would be on your own getting back to Disney.

* Ft. Wilderness is the exception but as mentioned, those guests don't have to leave town either.