Advice Please: What if sunday's severe thunderstorms prevent us from getting to our prepaid Castle R

[Debby7]

Has anyone ever had a situation where the weather kept you from getting to your prepaid reservation? What do we do if we simply can't get to the castle: 4 adults , a 5 yr old and an infant. The tab is over $300 dollars and I don't want to just lose it. Can we just show up as soon as we can or call the restaurant or what? Suggestions?

 

[loves to dive]

I think you are going to find WDW is going to tell you that it's your responsibility to get yourself there. I'm not sure why rain would prevent you from going unless it's just the logistics of trying to transport two little ones with rain gear. I would suggest #1 you don't worry about the weather until the day of, Florida weather turns on a dime. Spring, summer and fall there is a 95% chance on most days you are going to have a storm, sometimes they last 10 minutes, sometimes a hour and sometimes all day. Unless they totally shut down the park, you won't have much luck with not getting charged if you don't show up. I don't think there is going to be an issue if you are a little late and you can certainly try calling. I would suggest if it does look like it's going to be a gully washer, bundle the kids up and leave a little early. Obviously, don't put your kids or yourself at risk and if it gets real bad get inside but I wouldn't worry about it right now.

 

[AngiTN]

They won't prevent you from getting there. If it does get so bad you can't move around (really rare) you'll be fine to get there as soon as they give the all clear. It never lasts that long

 

[Sugart]

Kinda happened to us a few years ago at Hoop De Doo. We took the bus to MK and we're going to take the boat, but a real bad storm came thru for about an hour. We went to concierge back at the hotel and they were able to make a reservation for us later in our trip. My experience is if you go in not demanding anything, they are more willingly too work with you.

 

[AngiTN]

Kinda happened to us a few years ago at Hoop De Doo. We took the bus to MK and we're going to take the boat, but a real bad storm came thru for about an hour. We went to concierge back at the hotel and they were able to make a reservation for us later in our trip. My experience is if you go in not demanding anything, they are more willingly too work with you.

Now that is a good reminder. Don't lock yourself in to boat transportation if it gets really bad. They do shut those down. You can always go by bus but that can really blow your timeline if you aren't prepared for it.

 

[Gracie09]

Kinda happened to us a few years ago at Hoop De Doo. We took the bus to MK and we're going to take the boat, but a real bad storm came thru for about an hour. We went to concierge back at the hotel and they were able to make a reservation for us later in our trip. My experience is if you go in not demanding anything, they are more willingly too work with you.

that's because it was boats - boats often don't run in thunder storms. If they are down for sometime, they will have alternative transportation. I think there are buses from MK to fort wilderness in addition to the boats on a regular day.

 

[Sugart]

that's because it was boats - boats often don't run in thunder storms. If they are down for sometime, they will have alternative transportation. I think there are buses from MK to fort wilderness in addition to the boats on a regular day.

Exactly, there are buses and Disney still took care of me.

 

[Debby7]

The forecast for Sunday is for a day long severe weather outbreak including possible tornadoes. I am concerned about being stuck elsewhere in the park and not being able to get to the reservation on time. Also not really wanting to run in the rain with the baby, so I was just wondering what options there might be. Thanks !

 

[Hopefully]

The forecast for Sunday is for a day long severe weather outbreak including possible tornadoes. I am concerned about being stuck elsewhere in the park and not being able to get to the reservation on time. Also not really wanting to run in the rain with the baby, so I was just wondering what options there might be. Thanks !

If the forecast the day before continues to worry you you can cancel before 11:59 the night before.
Other than canceling if you don't show up you will be charged the no show fee.
I am not sure what else you are looking for. If the weather is severe enough the MK will be closed. Short of that it's your responsibility.

 

[msb578]

that's because it was boats - boats often don't run in thunder storms. If they are down for sometime, they will have alternative transportation. I think there are buses from MK to fort wilderness in addition to the boats on a regular day.

It's a little weird- the Fort doesn't regularly have a bus to/from MK. WL does though. A Fort bus will run if the boat isn't.

 

[supersnoop]

The forecast for Sunday is for a day long severe weather outbreak including possible tornadoes.

Where are you seeing a "day long severe weather" forecast? I see a 100% chance of thunderstorms, but that doesn't mean they'll last all day. More than likely, there will be two or three hours of storms.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

The forecast for Sunday is for a day long severe weather outbreak including possible tornadoes. I am concerned about being stuck elsewhere in the park and not being able to get to the reservation on time. Also not really wanting to run in the rain with the baby, so I was just wondering what options there might be. Thanks !

Unless Disney orders on-site guests to shelter in their rooms and closes the parks for a hurricane warning, you'd be expected to be able to make it to CRT unless you cancel. But very rarely is rain all day in Orlando, and very rarely is it everywhere. It's usually concentrated in specific areas as passing afternoon storms. We get severe weather warnings like that all the time in Chicago, and the worse the storm, the more quickly the worst part blows through. If you're really concerned, just arrive early and wait underneath the castle or in the shop next to the meet and greet area next to the carousel.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

If everyone is in lockdown mode because of a tornado, sure, they'll probably grant an exception. But rain and some wind? If the park is open and operating, you are expected to either cancel in the agreed time, or be there.

 

[Accident]

The current forecast is afternoon maybe evening rain but it's too far away to say that is what will happen. It's coming from a cold front that may not reach here, may get here earlier or later..

If it's unsafe, disney will close the park and you dont need to worry about your reservation, disney is good at handling that. however do you not go out in the rain at home? It's florida, it rains a lot and very quick most of the time. Grab ponchos and head to dinner. have a route that doesn't include a boat if there is lightning. are you not planning to be at the park the rest of the day and just need to wander over?

 

[ShellieMimi]

The forecast for Sunday is for a day long severe weather outbreak including possible tornadoes. I am concerned about being stuck elsewhere in the park and not being able to get to the reservation on time. Also not really wanting to run in the rain with the baby, so I was just wondering what options there might be. Thanks !

They will not close the park by area. It will either be completely open or completely closed.

Now if you mean that you just don't want to get wet, that's a different story, and you should cancel the ADR before it becomes an issue. There really are no other options.

 

[GPC0321]

The closer you get to the actual time, and certainly on that day, you'll want to keep monitoring the radar to see when particularly bad storm cells are moving into the area. Despite the huge red swath across the deep South on the Weather Channel map, it won't actually be storming non-stop for the entire day. So have the local radar pulled up on your phone, and make sure you are near the castle in advance of your ADR. Don't wander too far away and risk getting caught out in a bad storm.

When we were there last spring, we hopped over from Epcot to MK. As we were reaching the entrance to MK, the skies were looking ominous and the thunder was rumbling in the distance. A random guy showed me his phone with the radar pulled up and said, "Look what's coming." It was a typical big, spring thunderstorm that pops up in Florida in the afternoons. We headed into MK and had to take shelter in the shops along Main Street because it started pouring, the wind was blowing, and it was thundering and lightning. We were in the shops for probably 30 minutes watching the swarms of people coming past in a mad dash to leave the park. Eventually the lightning and thunder slacked off, and the rain calmed down a little, so we put on ponchos and went splashing off towards Liberty Square to grab a bite at Columbia Harbor House.

Now, I would not have WANTED to be trying to make it to the castle when that storm was at its worst, especially with all the lightning, but it definitely could have been done.

So just be in the park well before your reservation, don't stray too far from the castle, and keep an eye on the radar. You'll be fine.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

It's a little weird- the Fort doesn't regularly have a bus to/from MK. WL does though. A Fort bus will run if the boat isn't.

has been a few years but had a day where storms closed the boats to MK from the Fort but there is a one of the internal buses that runs to the Lodge where we caught a bus to MK. took a lot longer but was doable we did make it to Poly and Ohana on time around the storm

 

[Debby7]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. Weather Channel .com is saying scattered storms in am, widespread in pm and continued in evening. We do have fast passes in Fantasyland that morning so provided it is only rain and we can get to the park from WL we will be in the area and should be OK. I have memories of being trapped in the Imagination building for over an hour one year due to heavy storms and was worried about something similar happening with a prepaid dining reservation at stake.

 

[Accident]

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. Weather Channel .com is saying scattered storms in am, widespread in pm and continued in evening. We do have fast passes in Fantasyland that morning so provided it is only rain and we can get to the park from WL we will be in the area and should be OK. I have memories of being trapped in the Imagination building for over an hour one year due to heavy storms and was worried about something similar happening with a prepaid dining reservation at stake.

Don't listen to a national weather report. A local weather report will have a different forecast for every half county.. it's florida, storms aren't really big giant masses most of the time. It's not like home where the state or half of state will have the same storm... Central florida rain doesn't really mean it'll hit where oyu are in central florida. central florida is larger than some states. also being flat, storms that last days up north only last minutes down here. they move really quick which is why they all seem biblical. same rain, just compressed into 20 minutes instead of 2 days.

The local CBS (news6) has a lot of news in the morning, near lunch and near dinner. So if your in your resort just flip on the tv to cbs and it'll most likely be news and 10-20 minutes after turning it on you'll get a better idea of not only if it'll rain but where and when. It could be 100% chance of rain and never touch disney property or only touch the southern half (all the other parks). http://www.clickorlando.com/weather/attractions is their weather news site for only the disney property.. There is also a video you can play on there that gets updated 4-6 times a day so you can get actual local weather on what's happening down here and what they are predicting (which btw, they aren't talking about sunday yet, just saying things like "could be wet for the afternoon")..

 

[AngiTN]

Don't listen to a national weather report. A local weather report will have a different forecast for every half county.. it's florida, storms aren't really big giant masses most of the time. It's not like home where the state or half of state will have the same storm... Central florida rain doesn't really mean it'll hit where oyu are in central florida. central florida is larger than some states. also being flat, storms that last days up north only last minutes down here. they move really quick which is why they all seem biblical. same rain, just compressed into 20 minutes instead of 2 days.

The local CBS (news6) has a lot of news in the morning, near lunch and near dinner. So if your in your resort just flip on the tv to cbs and it'll most likely be news and 10-20 minutes after turning it on you'll get a better idea of not only if it'll rain but where and when. It could be 100% chance of rain and never touch disney property or only touch the southern half (all the other parks). http://www.clickorlando.com/weather/attractions is their weather news site for only the disney property.. There is also a video you can play on there that gets updated 4-6 times a day so you can get actual local weather on what's happening down here and what they are predicting (which btw, they aren't talking about sunday yet, just saying things like "could be wet for the afternoon")..

This is exactly correct. We have the same issues here too. National weather can't read the idiosyncrasies with our local weather. We have mountains surrounding us and they alter the path of storms to a significant degree. National forecasters don't consider that so they never get our weather right. Plus, they don't read the temps in the mountains, only the valley. Our local guys know these things and their weather will be as right as weather can be.

Slightly different issues in FL but similar results. You need a local guy to know the quirks/trends. It's too far out to know anything for the weekend forecast for sure