Hurricane Matthew Closes WDW - Reopens Saturday, October 8th

[Nancyg56]

We were supposed to fly out tomorrow night for home. We had been watching the forecasts since Monday morning and made the preemptive decision on Wednesday to cancel our flight (thank you JetBlue - full refund and no penalty) and reserve a car for yesterday morning for the long drive home to New York. I'm glad we did. Many people were scrambling yesterday as we were leaving trying to find transportation of any kind trying to get out.

We're used to blizzards and ice storms. We know it's better to be safe than sorry when you hear Mother Nature is in a furry and heading your way.

I hope everyone who stayed behind is safe. Thinking and praying for all visitors and cast members still there.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I also agree with the better "safe than sorry" decisions. I got caught once about 24 years ago, when an ice storm just popped in, the transformer on out street blew up, and we, along with the rest of the are went without power for 8 days. It never happened again!!! LOL! Snow you say? Not a dirty dish to be found, and not a scrap of laundry! LOL! Mother Nature is unpredictable, so we are those folks everyone laughs at....milk, bread and sandwich meat....wine donuts, chocolate and cheese. I'm good. LOL!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

No. I'm in southwest Florida. What are you seeing?

Latest charts are showing it as a Cat 3 by Friday morning. And wind charts around 11 were showing top winds Orlando had seen so far was like 41mph

I'm in SW FL and I have watched our local and the weather channel and heard that due to the changes, Orlando wasn't going to get hurricane force winds either. So I am hearing what you are and that's on the weather channel too

 

[cel_disney]

So far all is well at our room at Poly! We all slept great and didn't hear any noise or wind yet!! A few minutes ago I woke up and my daughter told me about how when she woke up she looked out the window and saw the most amazing and beautiful sky/sunrise.

Looks like wind and rain right now but nothing tragic or that will do a lot of damage. Still a few more hours to go but fingers crossed it stays that way!!

I think that Disney has done more right than wrong here. But to those that say that even when in the Disney bubble you need to be responsible for preparation in these situations - As someone who wanted to prepare - it's harder to do than you think!!!! I really relied on this thread for so much info as it was very difficult to get it elsewhere - I tried to get weather news on Wednesday and Thursday am from my resort tv with little luck due to the timing and that there are not infinite channels available.

Going to have some cereal! Stay safe!

 

[NYDisneyKid]

LOL - this is helping Disney, not their patrons. They aren't doing anyone a favor by selling a $5 meal for $13 - and the drink isn't even included.

Can we say "price gouging"? Lets say it together

 

[CariC]

Thanks for the very helpful posts. Glad everyone is staying safe. We are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, assuming our flight is not cancelled. I am wondering what folks are hearing about how the airlines are handling the high volume of cancelled flights and the related backlog of travelers. Very curious to see updated reports from Disney about park damage and potential re-opening times. Also, we were planning to use Uber/Lyft vs. renting a car (for transportation from SFB and to Universal). I would love to hear if anyone is having trouble finding drivers once things settle down and things open back up.

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Sleepy425]

So far all is well at our room at Poly! We all slept great and didn't hear any noise or wind yet!! A few minutes ago I woke up and my daughter told me about how when she woke up she looked out the window and saw the most amazing and beautiful sky/sunrise.

Looks like wind and rain right now but nothing tragic or that will do a lot of damage. Still a few more hours to go but fingers crossed it stays that way!!

I think that Disney has done more right than wrong here. But to those that say that even when in the Disney bubble you need to be responsible for preparation in these situations - As someone who wanted to prepare - it's harder to do than you think!!!! I really relied on this thread for so much info as it was very difficult to get it elsewhere - I tried to get weather news on Wednesday and Thursday am from my resort tv with little luck due to the timing and that there are not infinite channels available.

Going to have some cereal! Stay safe!

I'm here at Poly too - I can hear the trees bending outside, and there's a good amount of debris on the ground.
I've been very happy with Disney's response to the storm. We were in the parks when the announcement was made that they were closing. Headed back here and had the friendliest cast members answer my questions about switching resorts today for our split stay (she told me we are not expected to check out at 11, and to just wait til we see cast members out and about to inquire about when to try to move. Although now with the curfew I'm afraid we are stuck here in our studio one more night instead of moving to an OKW 2BR).

 

[denegate]

So, overall, looks like Disney is fairing well....better than expected?

 

[DrunkJam]

This is the only thread I am looking at right now.
It seems kind of wrong to check out holiday planning and reviews and such while people are dealing with this.
Good to hear there should be less damage than feared.
Still, don't take any unnecessary risks.

 

[otten]

There's always room for improvement but this is also pretty unprecedented.

Other than not confirming the closure sooner I think Disney has handled the situation quite well. They appear to have emergency procedures that I would expect from more life and death operations.

From what I saw at AoA yesterday evening the issue with food was more that people had to wait in line a long time. I don't really see that as a huge failing on Disney's part.

 

[yulilin3]

So, overall, looks like Disney is fairing well....better than expected?

the eye weakened overnight and also started going in a more north rather than north west trajectory. So I think better than expected. We still have about 3 hours left before we can say we are completely out of the woods

 

[Roxyfire]

Here at CSR now, I can see signs of the wind picking up now. I've seen people walking around, not sure where they are going as we're supposed to be in our rooms until further notice.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Checking in from the Winter Garden area... Water's coming in under my front door but my roommate stuffed the crack with towels - her restaurant was closed last night so she didn't go to work at all. Some flying debris ripped a hole in the screen on our porch and there's a good deal of water in there too, but it's not coming in the house. There's something loose on the side of our house that's thumping against the siding with every wind gust. We'll need to check that when everything blows over. Also, our power went out overnight but then came back an hour later.

My second roommate is riding out the storm at the resort he works at, he was told yesterday to come in early and stay until it's over. He works overnights anyway and right now wouldn't be a great time to drive home!

My schedule got adjusted for tomorrow to come in two hours earlier than I was originally scheduled, in order to reset our area. That'll make up for a little of the time I lost, at least. And since we're expecting tomorrow to be slammed, I'll try and extend my shift to closing to get a little extra overtime.

 

[dburg30]

This is the only thread I am looking at right now.
It seems kind of wrong to check out holiday planning and reviews and such while people are dealing with this.
Good to hear there should be less damage than feared.
Still, don't take any unnecessary risks.

I hear ya, I do feel 'guilty' to a point since we are going a week from now..

And to others talking about the curfew, remember, if they start doing assessments and find less damage / problems around the area, they can lift it early. I do hope that is what they find and what happens!!! Looked at the radar at it appears matthew is pretty much due east of orlando right now, or close, so hopefully things will start to head towards improvement!!

Stay safe and stay calm everyone!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I have class tomorrow why am I still up watching the weather channel thinking about Orlando. And just throwing this out there: to those who were saying Disney had bad communication, Legoland said they might close early on Thursday if need be. Not that legoland has the giant infrastructure of Disney but I thought that was really strange. And Busch gardens I don't think closed early yesterday or are closed today

Bush Gardens probably wouldn't close, they are on the West Coast and not getting anything that Orlando is or even Winter Haven where Legoland is. Not really a fair comparison to place Bush Gardens there. In fact some from the Orlando area evacuated to the Bush Gardens area.

 

[Nancyg56]

So far all is well at our room at Poly! We all slept great and didn't hear any noise or wind yet!! A few minutes ago I woke up and my daughter told me about how when she woke up she looked out the window and saw the most amazing and beautiful sky/sunrise.

Looks like wind and rain right now but nothing tragic or that will do a lot of damage. Still a few more hours to go but fingers crossed it stays that way!!

I think that Disney has done more right than wrong here. But to those that say that even when in the Disney bubble you need to be responsible for preparation in these situations - As someone who wanted to prepare - it's harder to do than you think!!!! I really relied on this thread for so much info as it was very difficult to get it elsewhere - I tried to get weather news on Wednesday and Thursday am from my resort tv with little luck due to the timing and that there are not infinite channels available.

Going to have some cereal! Stay safe!

The "Disney Bubble" was me, and I was not tryng to be offensive. I know planning ahead on vacation is not as easy as it sounds, but I do think that there are a few things anyone can do that will make that last minute rush for food, towels, etc a little easier and less stressful. Once it looks like a storm is approaching, a few bottle of water and some snacks can be purchased ahead. They do not go bad, and do not need to be refrigerated. I always make it a habit to ask mousekeping for a few extra towels, and leave them in the closet. Not for storms, but I hate to come back and want to shower again, and there are no more towels, etc. I think that in this circumstance, some muffins on the shelf, a few grab and go sandwiches left in the fridge are an inexpensive insurance plan. Now to be fair, I am "that" person in the family. When Alfred was bearing down on us I did my shopping early, had plenty on hand for three days, JIC. Never expected my home to be that storm shelter for over 25 people while DH went out and dragged friends and neighbor's to spend the day. My family of 9 was here for over a week. I am that worry wart who brings a few things to occupy the family when we travel to WDW in August and who keeps food in the room. God forbid I waste away! LOL! And wine...I always stash my emergency wine in the closet....you know.... In case it rains.

 

[Aurora0427]

After reading all the posts about food shortages, and Disney only offering a boxed lunch to get guests through 24 hours of hurricane, if we ever go to WDW during hurricane season, I'm adding extra provisions to our advance Garden Grocer order. Although being from SE Texas, I would've been the first person at the food court stocking up. I'm that person.

 

[maranara]

Glad that everyone in FL is safe. Was talking to DH this morning about it and he commented that we would probably have been the people who weren't prepared. Not because we don't know what to do - we do. But because when we go on vacation we generally unplug from the real world. I don't know if we would have realized a hurricane was coming. Mental note for our trip in January? Check in with the news every now and then...

 

[tink2020]

I can tell you why this is 100% Disney's fault. POOR POOR communication - to everyone!

Until 1:30 today this is what showed on the website. Business as usual, all is good, we aren't closing. Folks are in the parks and having fun, they aren't hunkered over CNN and the Weather Channel. They depend on Disney in this situation.

But hey then they changed it .... but who at Disney is opening up the full website? I think most are using MDE. I didn't hear one person reporting receiving a text or email to notify them of the change. Please correct me if I am wrong. But you know what is interesting .... it didn't change until lots of folks were tweeting tagging Disney asking why the early close has leaked but they aren't telling anyone. Only if you tweeted and questioned them did they send a reply to the notice, which no one sees. I know I responded that you are handling this poorly, I'm not the only one. How about direct tweet the change, put it on facebook, send a text or email to your guests .............

IF guests had received a notification at 1:30 that parks close at 5 and all day tomorrow and they want you in your rooms ............ I guarantee you most would have eaten in the parks, shopped for snacks and drinks, gone on a quick run to grocery if they had a car, stopped by the food court at hotel immediately. BUT no they got virtually no notification, I bet some didn't even know until they were told at the park it is closing soon - and there comes the mad rush for food because now they may be trapped in their rooms for 24 hours.

There wouldn't be these lines if this weren't their ONLY option for food for possibly the next 24 hours. There was no valid reason to withhold this information so folks had the opportunity to prepare for themselves and their family. None.

YES YES YES! All day yesterday we said the same thing. We're a really nice group, and would have been extremely gracious had we just been told anything.

For 2 hours, every CM we passed said the (accurate) statement that the parks were closing at 5 and all of Friday. Meanwhile, the website showed what you have posted (or the "somewhat ate the website" 404), and the official WDWToday twitter account kept replying to people that yes, it was 100% normal operations. That's not ok! We were not only then left to get food at about 4 when everything was clarified (we just got in town yesterday and are only here a couple of days), but we didn't know if our dinner plans were on or off, if our room was actually available (due to a DVC/Front Desk miscommunication), etc.

As I said (very politely) to the hostess last night at Sanaa when our "we should be able to get you seated a few minutes ahead of your reservation" turned into "Actually, I think we'll just leave since now you're two hours behind, we're hungry, and we're supposed to be back at our resort in 10 minutes," - transparency and communication go a long way.

 

[Nancyg56]

After reading all the posts about food shortages, and Disney only offering a boxed lunch to get guests through 24 hours of hurricane, if we ever go to WDW during hurricane season, I'm adding extra provisions to our advance Garden Grocer order. Although being from SE Texas, I would've been the first person at the food court stocking up. I'm that person.

LOL! Nope, you and I would be commiserating together. Once bitten twice shy.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

For those complaining about the $13 boxed meal, break the price down. How much would each cost you separately Disney's prices, not Walmart. It breaks out to an average Disney price. They aren't gouging any more than any other time. It's just that now, you don't have a choice of what you are getting, that's the only difference