Hurricane Dorian / WDW Theme Parks Discussion

[Mom2Stitch]

I very much appreciate those of you sharing your experiences. We are scheduled to fly in on Saturday and staying until 9/9- at this point we are sticking to that. We figure we will be wet most of the time and have closed parks for some of the time. We feel like we can hopefully make up some time after the storm passes.

 

[Alicenwonderment]

The Weather Channel is saying this could be an unprecedented event. There's still uncertainty, but if it hits Florida they expect it to move slowly north and dump a lot rain with hurricane force winds from Sunday evening into Wednesday. This is going to ruin a lot of vacations,

I was watching the 11 pm update of the weather channel too. The big point being made is the amount of rainfall. It sounds like most of the other storms that have moved through FL were more quickly moving than this storm would be. Point was made that an area may be able to stand hurricane winds for 6-8 hours but this storm could last for at least 18 hours. That is a lot of rain in an area that already has full lakes and streams from earlier weather moving through.
Stay safe eveyone! Latest report has storm now at Cat 2.

 

[anniebean]

Here now and originally planned on staying until Sunday morning. We drove and live 10 hours away. Main concern is traffic & gas availability. We may end up leaving a day early

We filled up tank at 7/11 on I drive last night with no issue. I think like $2.69 gallon?

 

[jenkel]

Here now. Was suppose to fly out late Monday. Changed flight to Sunday. May change again if I can find one

 

[RaySharpton]

Hi, Tonyz. That was a great report. I am going to make sure that I have enough cash just in case.

Animal Kingdom Lodge during Hurricane Irma. Amazing experience!

- The parks closed early Saturday night and stayed closed the next two days. Sunday morning we were giving information on what to expect for the new two days. There would be a channel that played nothing but Disney movies if you didn’t want to leave your room. There would be activities every hour in the lobby, concluding with a screening of Aladdin at 8:30 that night. The gift shop would be open. The Mara would be open. Boma would be open… and only 20 bucks! Housekeeping would not be available, but we were given extra towels, toilet paper, coffee and a flashlight.

- The whole day there were good vibes throughout the place. Safari Goofy and Rafiki led dance parties. There was face painting and drum circles, trivia and games.

- With the storm starting to pick up around 8:00 PM, kids were still in the lobby singing Let It Go. It could have been a very scary experience for these kids, but the cast members turned it into a party. I went to shop at the gift shop and management was sitting on sandbags making sure the water was getting into the store. They were laughing and joking around, and asked me to join them so of course I did!

- The morning after it hits, it was basically business as usual for the resort. I went down to The Mara at about 8 in the morning and kids were already in the lobby playing games with the cast members. The pathway to The Mara was currently being cleaned so we were taken through the backway that the cast members use. A couple hours later everything was cleaned up and you were free to go outside to The Mara or walk the pathways in the savannah. Safari Mickey made an appearance in the lobby and led another dance party. Later that day Minnie made an appearance too. Boma was open and delicious as ever. And at 20 bucks it felt like stealing.


Nothing but good things to say about doing Disney during a hurricane!

Hi, drp4video. Thank you. I have snacks with me just in case.

It is my understanding that Disney has it's own power generator and most of the lines are underground so they do not lose power during hurricanes. In 2004 I was there for Hurricane Charlie, staying at POP, we did not lose power. The parks closed at 1:00 p.m. on the day of the hurricane and disney showed movies on the tv all night. Parks were opened the next day, except for the Animal Kingdom which was closed for two days. The food court did close the afternoon of the hurricane and only free snacks were handed out by CM's. Those of us smart enough, coughmecough, stocked up on food before the food court closed. Once the hurricane went through, at about 11:00 pm, the food court opened up for sandwiches and other cold items. It was opened for full breakfast the next day. Disney kept us updated with flyers and phone calls to the room.

Hi, Maggie'sMom. Thank you.

Has anyone stayed on Walt Disney World Resort property during a hurricane in the past?
Yes.

Which hurricane or approximate date were you at WDW?
We were there for Irma (September 2017). We arrived on the Friday and Irma hit on Sunday evening.

Which resort did you stay at?
Bay Lake Tower

Did the parks close while you were there?
Yes. They closed early Saturday night, in order to start getting the parks ready for the storm. And they stayed closed Sunday and Monday. They reopened on Tuesday but I can't remember if it was on time or if the opening was delayed.

Were your resort restaurants or food courts still open or were they closed?
The restaurants including the Contempo Cafe (quick service) were open. Since we were in Bay Lake and the restaurants are in the Contemporary, we didn't have access during the actual hurricane because getting to the Contemporary meant leaving the building and walking over. I believe the restaurants were open during that time for guests of the Contemporary. Restaurants were open on Monday and we were able to walk over because the storm had passed. They had a buffet set up in The Wave and it was only $15 per person, an awesome deal. Because of that, we ate there for both lunch and dinner on Monday and didn't even check out the Contempo Cafe to see what they were serving.

For during the hurricane, I packed some snacks in our luggage. I was concerned about lines for food on Saturday due to horror stories I'd read here about super long lines at the food courts and them only having boxed lunches available. So when we arrived Friday night, we ate at the Contempo Cafe, and I ordered a couple extra meals to go. We took those back to our room and stored them in the refrigerator. Since we were in a villa, we had a microwave in order to reheat the meals, and that was dinner for Sunday.

 

[wendlle]

So we ended up cancelling our Tuesday flight and changed it to Thursday.
We're going to go to Anaheim and Disneyland for a few days - although I hadn't realised how much prices went up OUCH!
It's cut a portion of our Universal stay right down but I don't think there was anyway our Tuesday flight was going to go ahead.

 

[Jonathan Friedman]

Looks like the storm is now tracking further south, coming on shore closer to palm beach area. Again it’s early, but this is better news for the Disney area.

 

[tinkerbella16]

We cancelled as well. We were supposed to arrive Sunday evening, check out on Saturday. They did allow me to cancel and said I would get a full refund. She said it would take 7-10 business days for the refund to come through. I paid with gift cards for part of my trip and they will refund to the gift cards - which I don't have any longer. So now I have to either call it a loss for that or go through guest services to get that money back. Thankfully it isn't too much.

When we had to leave 2 days early due to Irma, my whole trip was paid with gift cards and I didn't have the gift cards either (now I save all of them when I merge them and get rid of the ones I transfer to another card). We lost 2 nights and Disney refunded us those nights and mailed us new gift cards with the 2 nights balance on them. I am not sure if they would have done that had I canceled the whole trip but they did work with us. Southwest refunded our flight home since it was cancelled.. we rented a car and drove home and got out of there early instead. After that trip we vowed never to go in September again and welp, that lasted 2 years because we are going back in 2 weeks.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

So the news up here in NY is saying that the storm is going to strengthen to a Category 5 storm. Were supposed to fly down tonight. Has anyone been for a category 5? We’re staying at the All Stars and are growing more concerned because most of if not all of the rooms are open to the elements outside. Has anyone weathered out a hurricane at the All Stars what was your experience? Has anyone been at WDW for a category 5? What was that like did you feel unsafe?

 

[Jonathan Friedman]

We are scheduled to drive down to Disney from the Atlanta area Thursday night. Hopefully the storm will be gone by then with minimal damage.

 

[Bran Fox]

For those coming into town, this is a very useful tracker to see who has gas. I will reiterate my native Floridian mantra, you are safer and more comfortable not putting yourself into the path of a major hurricane.

https://tracker.gasbuddy.com/?_ga=2...lat=29.711996300000003&lng=-82.39007090000001

 

[Bran Fox]

So the news up here in NY is saying that the storm is going to strengthen to a Category 5 storm. Were supposed to fly down tonight. Has anyone been for a category 5? We’re staying at the All Stars and are growing more concerned because most of if not all of the rooms are open to the elements outside. Has anyone weathered out a hurricane at the All Stars what was your experience? Has anyone been at WDW for a category 5? What was that like did you feel unsafe?

I know you must have a ton of time and money invested in this trip. A slow moving Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane is truly no joke. You’ll be stuck in your room a few days with no cell, internet, TV, most likely. It will take time for the Orlando area to recover, but Disney does a good job. The airport is likely to be a nightmare. If you can reschedule or cancel this trip, you should.

 

[joviroxx]

I know you must have a ton of time and money invested in this trip. A slow moving Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane is truly no joke. You’ll be stuck in your room a few days with no cell, internet, TV, most likely. It will take time for the Orlando area to recover, but Disney does a good job. The airport is likely to be a nightmare. If you can reschedule or cancel this trip, you should.

Adding to your advice..Each hurricane is different. It’s dangerous to believe going through a Cat 4/5 or even a 3 is a simple few hours and done. The aftermath of a strong storm can last days. The biggest issue with this one is the slow speed they are expecting. The further south it comes, the later it will affect Orlando. There is still a lot of uncertainty.

 

[wendlle]

So the news up here in NY is saying that the storm is going to strengthen to a Category 5 storm. Were supposed to fly down tonight. Has anyone been for a category 5? We’re staying at the All Stars and are growing more concerned because most of if not all of the rooms are open to the elements outside. Has anyone weathered out a hurricane at the All Stars what was your experience? Has anyone been at WDW for a category 5? What was that like did you feel unsafe?

I've been at Pop Century during two Category 4/5 storms and felt completely safe the entire time. I was never scared or felt unsafe the whole time and both times we had ground floor rooms. Just make sure you have enough food and water.

 

[Bran Fox]

I've been at Pop Century during two Category 4/5 storms and felt completely safe the entire time. I was never scared or felt unsafe the whole time and both times we had ground floor rooms. Just make sure you have enough food and water.

That’s some terrible luck. I’ve lived here my whole life and only ridden out two cat 4/5 storms. Andrew and Irma. Twice at Pop Century!? You need to stay away from Orlando during hurricane season.

 

[wendlle]

That’s some terrible luck. I’ve lived here my whole life and only ridden out two cat 4/5 storms. Andrew and Irma. Twice at Pop Century!? You need to stay away from Orlando during hurricane season.

LOL, I said this to my DH today. NO MORE SEPTEMBER TRIPS! I'm putting a stop to it. This is #3 and I've had enough. It was OK when it was just us but now we have two small kids, it is way too much disruption. And the added cost of going to Disneyland has added almost $2000 onto my trip and made me pretty much waste my Universal tickets as we now don't have time to use them before we have to head over to WDW.

 

[Smoomoo]

I just wanted to say good luck to everyone travelling and everyone living in the area.
I hope you all keep safe.

 

[GPC0321]

Watching Dorian from up here in eastern NC. From our news/weather outlets, we're being told right now to keep an eye on her, but that she currently poses no threat to us. The reason for that is the area of high pressure we've got draped over us that is keeping Dorian south and steering her into Florida. If that high pressure lifts, which they currently don't anticipate happening, the storm could start a more northerly turn earlier. It looks like the low is staying strong and keeping her down in Florida though. At least for now.

These things are so unpredictable though. When Florence was heading for us last year, it sounded like it was going to be catastrophic for my area, and a last minute shift in the track kept us from getting the full brunt of what was then a Cat 4 storm coming ashore. It was still bad enough with an indirect and weakened system, but not the devastation we were worried was coming.

The models and predictions I've seen for Dorian show her coming ashore as a Cat 4 (and now they're talking Cat 5? yikes), but weakening after landfall and slowly churning over the center of the state (Orlando) as a Cat 1. Regardless, 48 hours of even a Cat 1 hurricane is going to cause a whole lot of issues (flooding mainly) and definitely ruin a WDW vacation.

If I were heading down this weekend/next week, I'd definitely reschedule. That's a lot of money to spend to sit cooped up in a hotel room for a few days.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Looks like the storm is now tracking further south, coming on shore closer to palm beach area. Again it’s early, but this is better news for the Disney area.

Better news yes wind wise but if it continues that up the coast or middle of florida track, they could get like a foot of rain over a 24 hour period.

We all know how horrible Disney drainage is. Could make it worse

 

[Melindarella]

Scheduled to arrive today, departing Tuesday. Considered making the trip to see if we could salvage the weekend and come home on Monday instead. Like many of you, I'm conflicted. Hard to reschedule, especially for my daughter - so our only option of course is to cancel. My only real concern is getting down there, and then finding a gas shortage in Orlando, and then not being able to leave on Monday, or even Tuesday. Given that uncertainty, I will probably cancel............just not looking forward to being on the phone for hours to reach Disney!