***Riding out the hurricane at a Disney resort? Post your experiences here!***

[Rachie0507]

Our trip is from Colorado - flying in on sept 18th, staying at AKL. After reading this thread, we figure as long as we can fly in - we are going!
We are keeping a close watch on Jose - who is now going in a circle.

We are flying in on the 19th and staying at AKL as well. I feel a little guilty with the destruction in the area but we don't plan to change anything. It's an adults-only weekend and I'm perfectly content sitting by the pool for 4 days if the parks aren't fully functional yet.

 

[Sydney2977]

So glad to hear you all are safe and making the best of your situations! The pics enjoying the activities are great! We're in the Charleston, SC area and are getting the rain and high winds now. Hopefully they can get everything cleaned up and you all can get back to enjoying your vacations normally tomorrow!

 

[CarrieR]

Oh we're flying. I'm from Wyoming. No road trip for me!

Can't imagine you'll have any sort of issue. Stay tuned for updates, of course.

 

[trfishin]

Port Orleans French Quarter this morning. I wanted to check on our rental car and this is the aftermath of the grounds around the resort. Call me crazy but I want to help them clean up the place.

The other two videos aren't ready yet.

JD

Thank for the videos and reports. I don't think your crazy if we were there we would want to help clean up to Disneyworld is a great place to vacation with our family over the past years and hope to make it there again in the summer of 2018

 

[alisonslp]

That's unsettling as someone who has been related to volunteer firefighters and paid-firefighters for over 40 years - that is most definitely against fire code!!!! Sit a person in front of the doors or put a sign up

the zip ties were apparently to keep the doors from swinging open with all the wind. But I agree that someone was posted around the door area (in a safe area) in the event that those needed to be cut in an emergency

WE SURVIVED! That's the good news! SSR never lost power! Now the bad news- I just checked the parking lot to see if our car sustained damage and the water level is at the bottom of the doors. The waters moving fast so I can't tell if the lot is filling up or receding. Can't tell if water is in the car yet. Wanted to go to Polk county to check our house today but ain't gonna happen!

that stinks.. sorry. please update when you know about the car. We were scheduled to be down there at OKW and we were really worried about the car sitting in the parking lot during the storm. Both SSR and OKW appear to have lower elevations. We ended up cutting the front few days off our trip and will arrive tomorrow instead.

Wonder if I'm safe to proceed with starting my trip the 17th.

Oh we're flying. I'm from Wyoming. No road trip for me!

you will be totally fine by then. Everything will be up and running in the next day or two. Flights will be running fully by Thursday

 

[famsen]

We are planning on driving down from Chicago on Friday September 22nd. We are spending the night in Tennessee and driving straight to WDW on Saturday the 23rd. I am going with my gut and keeping my plans as is. I am hoping the gas situation will be situated by then and most of the major roadways back to normal at least in Georgia and northern to central Florida. I honestly feel good about going not just because it is vacation but also because Florida will need money and I know we spend a lot of money while we are there; not just in Disney but in surrounding areas too.

 

[trfishin]

Thank you to everyone for the reports, pictures and videos. I'm glad to hear everyone made it through the hurricane safe and that it looks like disneyworld will be back up and going very soon

 

[HarperLeigh]

Any updates from WL? Or FW? I know guests were evacuated from FW, but I assume some Managers/CM's were still there.

 

[dreamerkath]

We are at Pop Century, in the 80s section facing the computer pool. Can't see any damage from our room, but we plan on walking around the resort later so I'll snap some pics. We did not lose power, cable, or internet last night. Winds were very strong in the middle of the night, but slept through most of it. Despite some lingering wind, it's a nice day and we are having a great time at Disney and very glad we did not cancel our vacation (DBF quite enjoyed taking a day off and resting his feet, haha!).

 

[Christiaan]

Thank for the videos and reports. I don't think your crazy if we were there we would want to help clean up to Disneyworld is a great place to vacation with our family over the past years and hope to make it there again in the summer of 2018

Wow, just wow. Wonder how long it will take to clean up. Any visible damage to structures? Are they still making beignets?! (Trying too add a little POF humor. Lol)

 

[Amy___M]

the zip ties were apparently to keep the doors from swinging open with all the wind. But I agree that someone was posted around the door area (in a safe area) in the event that those needed to be cut in an emergency

that stinks.. sorry. please update when you know about the car. We were scheduled to be down there at OKW and we were really worried about the car sitting in the parking lot during the storm. Both SSR and OKW appear to have lower elevations. We ended up cutting the front few days off our trip and will arrive tomorrow instead.



you will be totally fine by then. Everything will be up and running in the next day or two. Flights will be running fully by Thursday

Why do you think flights will be running fully on Thurs? We are scheduled to land on Thurs (originally today) and my nerves are shot with all of the waiting and stress :/ So I'm looking for any reassurance

 

[Christiaan]

Why do you think flights will be running fully on Thurs? We are scheduled to land on Thurs (originally today) and my nerves are shot with all of the waiting and stress :/ So I'm looking for any reassurance

Weather is expected to continue to improve which will allow airlines to start moving aircraft back into Florida. United made an announcement of flights beginning again I Miami on Thursday. It may be optimistic for Miami, but the rest of the state should be good.

 

[ErinsMommy]

United made an announcement of flights beginning again I Miami on Thursday. It may be optimistic for Miami, but the rest of the state should be good.

Do you mind me asking where you read/saw this?

 

[taylor91]

In room message has changed at POFQ to state that if you leave your room to be careful and the food court and shop will be open from noon

 

[Pluto777]

Bay Lake Tower questions and a salute to the CM's and staff!

Firstoff I hope everyone is safe. I was a former professional rescuer and I think there is nothing more beautiful than watching people help each other when they are scared or in need. To the CM's who entertained kids and kept them smiling, I was genuinely moved. You have to remember many of these folks have their own families and fears and yet they smiled and helped the guests smile and stay comfortable - kudos to you all.

Secondly, I have to ask a bit selfishly as a owner at BLT, does anyone know if there was any damage at all to the BLT? flooding etc?

 

[cwis]

Port Orleans French Quarter this morning. I wanted to check on our rental car and this is the aftermath of the grounds around the resort. Call me crazy but I want to help them clean up the place.

The other two videos aren't ready yet.

JD

As much as I understand how much you're willing to help, please keep in mind that some areas may still be dangerous. To illustrate, the MCO airport is not sure yet when it will reopen, because their security staff was not able to access each area to assess the damage. Some walkways inside the resorts might be unsuspiciously hazardous (you never know where water and electricity touches under the surface, and above, trees might fall at a sudden because the floor is so wet…)

Please stay safe at all times! To all: stay in your room until you got clearance to get outside. To those willing to help: go to the front desk of your resort, and ask if there is anything you can do.

We do not want anyone to get hurt now that Irma is gone!

 

[hbg4]

My daughter and her dog have been staying at the Polynesian villas since she was evacuated from college last Thursday. She was well prepared with loads of precooked food and case of water. She loaded up her car with her stuff, the dog's crate and packed a bag of dog food too. She's terrified of storms and thunder but did remarkably well last night. All that happened was just a flickering of lights. There are trees down outside.The villa inside is still good and so are my girls. I'm so grateful for Disney vacation club providing shelter at such short notice.

 

[mamamelody2]

https://imgur.com/a/WcbHm

Some pictures I took at the Poly this morning

Thanks so much for sharing those pics!

 

[ktlm]

We are flying in on the 19th and staying at AKL as well. I feel a little guilty with the destruction in the area but we don't plan to change anything.

I would not feel guilty. I live just a few miles from where an F5 tornado left a long path of total destruction. As soon as the businesses near the path which did not sustain heavy damage got their power back on they started putting big signs in their windows that they were open and begging for business. I also got an E-mail last Thursday stating "Galveston is open for business" (Galveston is a beach town south of Houston) and advising that "Galveston tourism has made a full return to business" after Harvey. When they are up and running, they need those tourism dollars to keep their profits from declining and to help fund clean-up.

Disney had crews in place ready to start clean-up as soon as it was safe. I would bet that it does not take them too long to get things cleaned up and safe enough to be running again. I would expect that of the parks, AK would take the longest because of all the trees. I would think there would be more damage there, and also more need to check to make sure the trees and branches are secure.

Saw a report that the reason MCO is not re-opening today is that they have some water damage, and need to access what other damage there may be. Hopefully, they will be able to get up and running tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone posting photos of the damage. I'm having a hard time hitting like to the posts because it depicts damage, but I do really appreciate seeing what is there. Stay safe everyone who is there. Remember, branches can still fall after the storm (of course we almost got taken out by a Palm Tree Frond at DLH last year in good weather (fell right in front of us just a few feet away)- so you just never know).

 

[R2-JD]

Wow, just wow. Wonder how long it will take to clean up. Any visible damage to structures? Are they still making beignets?! (Trying too add a little POF humor. Lol)

During my short walks around, I did not see any damage to any structures. Mostly branches and leaves of trees all over the place and some very large limbs of trees. The worst I did see was the large uprooted tree next to the main building and there was one of the beautiful ornate light fixtures alongside the pool area that was knocked down and destroyed.

No beignets until they open the main building. Mmmm... beignets....

JD