Hurricane Irma?

[ITALIANNYC]

Definitely an interesting question. I can't speak for anyone else but I was there during Matthew and I felt incredibly safe. Many people from coastal regions evacuate into Orlando. I think that Cancun being on the coast and Orlando being further inland also make it a little difficult to compare. And I would also think that Disney has better building standards and infrastructure than most areas in Cancun. Those are just my two cents

Well I meant basically anywhere else besides Disney lol.

Cancun was the first thing to come into my head

 

[AngiTN]

A couple of questions. 1) we have moved up our arrival by a day but are staying at AKL. Scheduled to move to WL on Sunday. Will we be allowed to move over there? 2) any reports of success having Amazon supplies shipped down for Friday/Saturday arrival?

1) Provided all is operating as normal on Sunday, yes. If there's a curfew issued, probably not

 

[MandyLovesMulan]

Thanks for all the tips. We will be watching the news and this discussion board to see how Florida is doing.

If supplies are limited, I'll see if I can pack some snacks/water bottles in case garden grocer is unable to fulfill my order for our upcoming Disney trip. (We don't want to be a burden).

If Florida is badly damaged, we will probably delay or cancel our trip (fingers crossed that the hurricane blows by without too much damage).

 

[yulilin3]

A couple of questions. 1) we have moved up our arrival by a day but are staying at AKL. Scheduled to move to WL on Sunday. Will we be allowed to move over there? 2) any reports of success having Amazon supplies shipped down for Friday/Saturday arrival?

I can only answer to 1) at this moment there is no curfew in place for Orange Co. so you are able to move freely. If a curfew is to come I expect it to come for Sunday maybe starting at 5?

 

[scrappinginontario]

I am also packing a power bar so that I can keep as many electronics charged as possible just in case power is lost at the Disney resorts.

Another comment, for those packing extra batteries, I believe these need to be in your carry on baggage. Not 100% positive but I remember last year at Pop having to unpack my suitcase to find a portable battery charger that I'd packed in there. Not sure if it's just chargers that have to be separate or all batteries but probably something to check on your airline's website.

 

[TACK]

Well, after much consideration (and my daughter asking me not to go), I realize that the right decision for me is to cancel. I am only booked at WDW from the 10-16 and it doesn't make sense to fly in Sunday and hunker down for a few days and then leave. I have to call tonight to cancel my hotel and MNSSHP. I'm only having issues with my airline return because it's on points with Aeroplan (Air Canada) and too soon to cancel and get a refund. But Alaska Airlines gave me a full refund, I was able to cancel my pre-paid car prior to penalties (although they had sent me a text to advise of potential issues). I'm coming in Nov/December so all is not lost. Please everyone there and travelling, stay safe.

 

[ElenaJane]

My local meteorologist just posted this:
*Concerning Orlando and Disney World, Sunday will be very wet and windy, but for now it looks like the highest impact will be a little east of there. The weather will improve greatly Monday.

Is your local Meteorologist James Spann by any chance? I think I read this as a post he did earlier. I grew up watching his forecasts and I trust him!

 

[sky13]

Good information

Only downside to newer phones...no removable batteries--having multiple portable battery chargers (charged up of course) would be helpful for those with phones without removable batteries.

I was in T Mobile in Florida Mall yesterday and they had a little box labelled "hurricane supplies" that had portable battery chargers they were selling! Didn't see how much they were (but I had just bought two portable battery chargers from elsewhere at that point).

I'm still in two minds as to whether to try to get out on Saturday or before, or stay and ride through the hurricane here at Pop. The worry I have about trying to get out on Saturday or before is the possibility of overbooked/cancelled/delayed flights which would not be fun as I would then need to either make my way back to Pop and hope they still have a room for me or hope that I can find an alternative place to shelter, as opposed to just staying put at Pop and not having to deal with the stress of packing/getting to the airport/etc.

If I stay though, I currently have something like 12 litres of water in my room and 24 cans of fizzy drinks and cereal and cereal bars, plus a few portable battery chargers...

 

[Mrs. Magic]

Our resort stay was scheduled for Sept 10-16. We don't really have a choice of rescheduling, so instead of canceling, our current plan is try drive down and try to check in Saturday instead of Sunday, ahead of the storm. We are planning to pack gas, food, water, etc.. and being stuck in a room for 1-2 days. My bigger concern is just being safe. It seems the general consensus is that Disney is safe at this point, correct? We are hoping we could still salvage 3 days at the park as long as there is not catastrophic damage. Also worst case scenario if it shifts west on Saturday, we could turn around and drive home.. Thoughts?

Safety of the guests will be the number 1 priority, so I would say that Disney is ahead of the curve on this one. If you don't already have a room for Saturday night, you should probably get one. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that, because of the mandatory evacuations coming from the southern counties in FL, hotels are being booked quickly.

I would also plan on driving in as early as possible on Saturday, because some of the winds will probably be starting to pick up on Saturday afternoon... but if I had to be in FL during this hurricane, I would want to be in Disney. Not just because I'm a Disney geek, but because they are trained for this stuff.

 

[Belle1962]

No one will be allowed to shelter in place at any of the airports. MCO and MIA have made that explicitly clear.

Wow- Thanks for the info. I wonder how they will be enforcing that if people on the last few inbound flights can't get to hotels, rental cars, etc.? Are they kicking them out? Maybe they are stopping flights with enough time to ensure the airport clears. With all of the glass in airports I can understand WHY they would want to do that but I'm anxious to see how they accomplish it.

I've never seen an airport shut totally down. But I've seen them almost Langoliers empty. (Stephen King reference)

 

[Mrs. Magic]

Wow- Thanks for the info. I wonder how they will be enforcing that if people on the last few inbound flights can't get to hotels, rental cars, etc.? Are they kicking them out? Maybe they are stopping flights with enough time to ensure the airport clears. With all of the glass in airports I can understand WHY they would want to do that but I'm anxious to see how they accomplish it.

I've never seen an airport shut totally down. But I've seen them almost Langoliers empty. (Stephen King reference)

The flights will probably stop in time to completely clear the airport. The airport can't be a designated shelter for the hurricane, and their workers will need to get home safely.

 

[Feralpeg]

A couple of questions. 1) we have moved up our arrival by a day but are staying at AKL. Scheduled to move to WL on Sunday. Will we be allowed to move over there? 2) any reports of success having Amazon supplies shipped down for Friday/Saturday arrival?

If anything like previous hurricanes, a curfew will go into place when the storm hits. No cars, other than emergency personnel, will be allowed on the roads. I doubt you will be able to move on Sunday, as that will be during the height of the storm. Can't say for sure, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[FastPasser.]

Even though Disney has its own power grid, it is not out of the realm of possibility that some power could be lost if there is enough damage.

Disney generates only about 25% of it's electricity, the rest is purchased from other utilities.

https://www.rcid.org/doing-business/utilities/systems-services/

 

[b1234]

Safety of the guests will be the number 1 priority, so I would say that Disney is ahead of the curve on this one. If you don't already have a room for Saturday night, you should probably get one. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that, because of the mandatory evacuations coming from the southern counties in FL, hotels are being booked quickly.

I would also plan on driving in as early as possible on Saturday, because some of the winds will probably be starting to pick up on Saturday afternoon... but if I had to be in FL during this hurricane, I would want to be in Disney. Not just because I'm a Disney geek, but because they are trained for this stuff.

Ok thanks, that is basically what I was thinking. I also don't want to be a burden on resources but hope that by packing our own supplies we can help a little with that. Hoping it shifts east.

 

[SL6827]

I just looked and plugged in the dates of the 9th-11th and the only rooms it says are available are at CSR. Not a single room anywhere else on property for those dates.

Then I added a few more days onto it and some rooms at CBR suddenly appeared.

 

[sky13]

I am also packing a power bar so that I can keep as many electronics charged as possible just in case power is lost at the Disney resorts.

Another comment, for those packing extra batteries, I believe these need to be in your carry on baggage. Not 100% positive but I remember last year at Pop having to unpack my suitcase to find a portable battery charger that I'd packed in there. Not sure if it's just chargers that have to be separate or all batteries but probably something to check on your airline's website.

Yes the portable batteries need to go in carry on. I think there's also a limit on the battery size (something like 100 Watt-hours if I don't remember wrongly, no idea how to calculate that though!).

 

[KateP85]

Funny I was down there as well this morning and had a CM who was totally indifferent to the situation. She couldn't make any promises about getting us a room extension anywhere on property if needed and also said that Disney isn't in the handout business and we shouldn't expect any discounts. The last bit really bothered my GF and myself. Especially after hearing during other big storms Disney was quick to make sure people were taken care of, and was giving people 40% off rack rate for an emergency extended stay.

While it sounds like you got a grumpy cast member, they were right in that you shouldn't expect discounted rooms if you need to stay on and extend your stay. There were multiple people last year who had to pay rack rate for rooms at the last minute, which can get incredibly expensive.

 

[sky13]

I just looked and plugged in the dates of the 9th-11th and the only rooms it says are available are at CSR. Not a single room anywhere else on property for those dates.

I think it's a possibility that Disney might be holding off bookings right now. Spoke to the front desk at Pop last night and apparently there are (were?) still rooms at Pop. I think there are plenty of people who are cancelling right now as well...

 

[2009CAN]

At LAX right now, flight leaving in 2 hrs. Ended up checking a 4th bag filled entirely with water bottles! Also grabbed extra food supplies just in case. The entire time I was packing last night I was having momentary freak outs and wondering if this was going to be a horrible decision. But once my mom dropped me and my sister off at the airport I knew, can't go back now. For good or bad, this trip is happening!

Wont the water explode in your luggage?

 

[tmcd1126]

I'm on hold with Disney now to cancel and the Disney hold music is making me wanna cry. They should know if you're cancelling to play solemn somber music. Killing meeeee.