If they cared about safety and not $$$ they would be offering their rooms for free to displaced florida residents, turning their many buildings into shelters, etc. Or they would have closed MK today to discourage folks from traveling to Orlando and allow castmembers time to make their own preparations Instead they chose to keep their resorts full, keep the park open till the last minute, continue accepting new reservations while not making sure sufficient staff were on hand to support the care of small city size number of families.
Are you saying that those thousands and thousands of people who had tickets would have been happy to see the parks close? I cannot imagine the balancing act that these theme parks must navigate. We live in CT, and I can tell you that the few times when a major storm seems to be looming, and predictions made that businesses use to make the decision to send everyone home, and schools to close prematurely and then.....nothing......the aftermath is not pretty. Not at all. HAd Disney closed those parks earlier guests who had planned to use their tickets on a perfectly lovely day woudld have had plenty to say.
Actually it does to me. During Hurricane the rules change and being safe is the only real concern. No one is going to starve before food service is back up to speed. Being in the dark won't kill you or having extra towels. So really everyone needs to simply focus on being safe and nothing else. As long as that is accomplished the rest does not matter. And yes I been through 3 hurricanes as a guest at Disney.
Disney is working with a lesser staff, staff that are also worried about their homes and family. I think they do a fabulous job during the storms, and I would never come on a forum and give them a hard time about any of it during a hurricane.
While the risk is a small one this is the risk you take when you travel during hurricane season. Also who travels without at least a small flashlight. Not me. Also I don't wait until the last moment to secure some food and water when a major hurricane is coming, even if I am at Disney. Sadly some of this misery is self inflicted.
I agree.
No matter where a person is there should be personal responsibility, even in the Disney bubble.
There's so many ways to get a weather report and plan how to take care of yourself and family no matter if you've been in that particular weather or not.
Exactly. I do nto think you need to have lived through hurricanes to knwo that if there is an impending storm, you just prepare a litte.
I think people have the right to complain. Remember, they are tourists. Many are experiencing a hurricane for the first time. I'm sure they are feeling anxiety. I also think Disney can do better than having guests wait in lines for 5 hours for a boxed sandwhich.
I, too, love Disney, but it's disappointing to hear they don't have a better plan at this point. It isn't like they have no experience with hurricanes in the past.
I do nto think this is an excuse. I don't know hurricanes but folks in the north understand storms. If we have a major storm heading our way we also have the same kind of prep drill that southerners have for hurricanes. While the damage is not usually as devasting as hurricane damage is, we have the travel restrictions, power outages, etc. I cannto give folks a pass because the yu think that while they are in the Disney bubble all will be business as usual. TO be honest, my sandwiches and snacks would have been in my fridge before that line even formed, and my family meal would not have been that boxed lunch. I would not have placed my own needs on DIsney to manage. If I choose to vacation during a hurricane, and choosing trips this time of year is indeed a choice, I also choose to be responsible for myself. If I do not plan ahead, it's on me to take what Ican get and make the best of it.
The poster you quoted is also from coastal South Carolina, so I can almost guarantee you that they're familiar with the intricacies of a hurricane. Someone from Nebraska might have a little less experience. Some (many in fact) people think it's just an elongated thunderstorm. This kind of reminds me of the gator incident where everyone was arguing about "commonsense," yet the definition of "commonsense" changes based on an individual's experiences.
I rode out five hurricanes in my life, but now that I'm in Chicago, I've talked with a number of people who weren't aware of the intricacies of it (i.e. the difference between a hurricane and a TS, the whole category system, storm surge, the fact that widespread power outages are expected, etc...), much like I wasn't really aware of all the intricacies of a snowstorm, growing up in Florida my whole life. Certainly, if you watch lots of news coverage of this, you'll have a better idea, but these people are just visitors and they're there on vacation. Could they have prepared better? Possibly, but I don't think this is the time to try to churn a profit. I think some compassion can go a long way. You combine the price of the snack boxes with the PTO situation with the CMs, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Winter storms. Believe me, a storm plan is a storm plan. When folks travel up here and are stranded, I feel sympathy, but it's winter time. Snow happens. Hotels charge what they charge, meals are not discounted, and if you wait too long, you get what you get and you stand in line.
I understand that some folks do not get it, but honestly there was plenty of coverage on the news, and when you travel during a hurricane season you really need to consider that one may happen.
That's how it always is. No matter what they did they were going to anger someone.
Now watch if this storm isn't as bad and the parks are fine people will complain that they never should have announced they were closing tomorrow.
Oh boy! WE get this everytime there are preemptive closings. Business cannot win.
It's a nice gesture but it's a bit of a bummer for folks in resorts that aren't connected to main areas. They're stuck in their rooms for the next 18 to 24 hours.
I agree that it seems unfair, but IMO safety trumps everything,
I'll be honest, I think that $13 for those stinky lunches was pretty awful, but other than that, I think that Disney boots on the ground are going above and beyond what anyone should expect. I have no idea what Disney did not just bite the bullet and close up shop given that the management seemed to know it was inevitable that they would, but those folks who are out there doing all they can for guests are my heroes. Years ago my son's place of employment turned into an emergency center for first responders and utilities people during hurricanes, He volunteered to work through it and said it was all about attitude. The folks who stayed on for over 9 days knew what they were going to be in for, and they made the best of it and had a good time doing it. He said the bonus was hot running water! LOL! I look at the theme parks ride out crews the same way, but even moreso. They are there through the storms, caring for guests, looking after the animals, and monitoring storm damage.