Hurricane Matthew

[JohnD]

I hope your folks will be okay. I'm waiting to hear from my brother how my niece is doing. She told me where she moved to in Jax, but I've forgotten. Too many mimosas at my daughter's wedding.

I spoke with them not too long ago. Their land line went out while I was on the phone with them. Called them back on one of their cells. My mother didn't want to be on the phone long understandably to preserve power and keep it charged until they lose power.

 

[AEfx]

If it weren't for what's cause that surf, I'd say that's really great surfing water....

I guarantee you that there are surfers just itching to get out there, waiting until there is a modicum of safety. Up here in the north east where a hurricane is generally just a really big rainstorm and not really life threatening they go out in the middle of them.

 

[bunnyman]

Disney Springs to reopen at 5pm for Disney resort hotel guests only

Of course for resort guests only, they have to recoup revenues lost while those same guests were stuck in their rooms, and the refunds they had to issue for the cancelled MNSSHP's!

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Of course for resort guests only, they have to recoup revenues lost while those same guests were stuck in their rooms, and the refunds they had to issue for the cancelled MNSSHP's!

Do you honestly believe that they are going to come anywhere close to replacing the lost revenue????? Really?? I hope you are just full of sarcasm on that one, because it would be impossible to recover it all.

 

[rob0519]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the only thing Disney opens up to its vacationing guests after the storm is a mall? I'm sure this is why most of them booked rooms on-site.

Not really. The mall has a lot of independent stores that provide their own staffing, which leaves Disney to provide fewer people. It takes way more Disney personnel to open a theme park, even at some limited form. Once you've told your employees Friday is a day off, it would take an enormous amount of work to get them back that quickly.

 

[llrain]

is it not true that the majority of parking for vehicles is now quarantined to garages? If so would it not be just as easy to close off the access to the garage(s) therefore leaving the springs open to bus routes only, therefore you have only resort guests able to get to the springs, I doubt, could be wrong, that security is going to allow an automobile park at a resort right now without being a guest for those locals who park and ride Disney transport.

Its really that easy if they want to enforce the resort only guests allowed to the springs, no?

They actually going to enforce the "resort hotel guests only" thing?

It's an open air mall. How can something like "Resort Hotel Guests Only" be enforced?

 

[21stamps]

Living in the US didn't stop Hurricane Andrew from killing 65 or Katrina 1,800. Hurricanes are just as capable of causing widespread death and destruction here as anywhere else. The difference lies in the resources to recover post-storm.

The difference is more than post storm recovery, although that is a huge factor as I said in the original post. Hurricane Katrina, or the hurricane itself anyway, did not kill 1800 people. The resulting flood is what caused the majority of the deaths. It should never have happened, and it is terrible how it played out.

The 65 dead in Andrew was in 1992, building codes, and so much more, have been changed several times since then..most recently after Wilma. I'm well aware of that storm. 65 is not in the hundreds...not one hurricane has caused the level of destruction -from winds- as these other countries see, not in modern years.
They are not built with codes in mind. The government doesn't care. They live in extreme poverty, and their roads and electric systems have nothing in common with ours.

If you guys truly believe that our systems, our government, and our buildings are the same as those in Haiti.. I don't know, really. I just don't know how to tell you that you are wrong..besides plainly saying it, and hope you have a little more faith in the USA.

 

[RyMickey]

It would seem to me that it's not just an issue of staffing, but there's also a need to make sure that the areas they're re-opening to guests are safe. I manage a business in the Mid-Atlantic and following hurricanes or snowstorms here, it's not just a matter of staffing that determines when we can open. We also need to make sure there was no structural damage to the building that may create a liability for us. With the huge scale/footprint of each park, I imagine this is a huge reason why Disney Springs is open and not the parks at this point in time. (Although I'm sure staffing-wise, it makes more sense to try and open the smaller landscape of Springs as well.)

For the negative comments about Disney opening "a shopping mall" as opposed to the parks, this negativity is one of the reasons I lurk instead of post on this board. Not that Disney isn't often deserving of negative comments, but being negative about this? Makes no sense to me. They didn't have to open up anything.

 

[brb1006]

 

[LAKid53]

It would seem to me that it's not just an issue of staffing, but there's also a need to make sure that the areas they're re-opening to guests are safe. I manage a business in the Mid-Atlantic and following hurricanes or snowstorms here, it's not just a matter of staffing that determines when we can open. We also need to make sure there was no structural damage to the building that may create a liability for us. With the huge scale/footprint of each park, I imagine this is a huge reason why Disney Springs is open and not the parks at this point in time. (Although I'm sure staffing-wise, it makes more sense to try and open the smaller landscape of Springs as well.)

For the negative comments about Disney opening "a shopping mall" as opposed to the parks, this negativity is one of the reasons I lurk instead of post on this board. Not that Disney isn't often deserving of negative comments, but being negative about this? Makes no sense to me. They didn't have to open up anything.

Didn't W encourage us to shop after 9/11? Sometimes a little retail therapy is a good thing. I know which stores I'd be headed for at Disney Springs...... ;-)

 

[wdwfan22]

Retail open tonight at Disney Springs
Basin
Chapel Hats
Coca Cola Store
Curl by Sammy Duvall
Disney's Candy Cauldron
Disney Days of Christmas
Erwin Pearl
Pop Gallery
SANUK
Something Silver
Sound Lion
Star Wars A Galactic Outpost
Super Hero Headquarters
The Ganachery
United Soccer World
World of Disney

 

[R W B]

Because they are people too I would imagine....

They are people and I didn't say they weren't, I was very clear is what I said and what I meant.

It's horrible that they had so many fatalities but just because Hati has 300+ deaths, mostly from areas where the avg home isn't much stronger than a canopy, you can't use that to try and gauge the strength of it or the amount of damage it will cause if it hits the state's.

 

[LAKid53]

Here's a picture from the local paper of the flooding from the storm surge in St. Augustine.

 

[21stamps]

Here's a picture from the local paper of the flooding from the storm surge in St. Augustine.

View attachment 167733

Ouch!!!!

 

[LAKid53]

Everyone go buy a Christmas ornament.. Every year that you hang it on the tree you will be have a "remember that one time at Disney.." memory

I have so many Disney ornaments, my tree can't hold any more. But I'd be in Basin in a heartbeat.

But Kate Spade in Town Center won't be open. :-(

 

[Eddie Garrison]

So watching a Periscope from a CM (whom I will not name, sorry) they are at Disney Springs right now. Not too many people there right now at all. They showed the sign up that stats who will be open for both shops & food.

Food options include these beginning at 5:00 PM local time:

Blaze Pizza
Homecoming Kitchen
D-Luxe Burger
Earl of Sandwich
Morimoto
Paridiso
Portobello
Raglan Road
Splitsville
T-Rex

Also on the "over priced" box deal...Here it is straight from CM's working at the resorts. Again, I am not naming names to protect my friends. However, some of them are working at the resorts yesterday & today that were offering the boxes. Here is what they told me:

The "over priced boxes" were available to any guests. However, the full counter service menus were also available to any resort guests at anytime. Any guest that out right complained about the "over priced boxes" were given the box at no charge.

Not sure if that had been already mentioned or not. I did not want to go back through all the posts to see if had been mentioned.

Also, they are not turning away non resort guests at this time.

 

[LAKid53]

And for those who think hurricanes are well, no big deal, here's an interesting map from NOAA:

 

[Andrew C]

It's horrible that they had so many fatalities but just because Hati has 300+ deaths, mostly from areas where the avg home isn't much stronger than a canopy, you can't use that to try and gauge the strength of it or the amount of damage it will cause if it hits the state's.

This additional context makes it clear to me what you meant now...thanks for clearing that up.

 

[LAKid53]

So watching a Periscope from a CM (whom I will not name, sorry) they are at Disney Springs right now. Not too many people there right now at all. They showed the sign up that stats who will be open for both shops & food.

Food options include these beginning at 5:00 PM local time:

Blaze Pizza
Homecoming Kitchen
D-Luxe Burger
Earl of Sandwich
Morimoto
Paridiso
Portobello
Raglan Road
Splitsville
T-Rex

Also on the "over priced" box deal...Here it is straight from CM's working at the resorts. Again, I am not naming names to protect my friends. However, some of them are working at the resorts yesterday & today that were offering the boxes. Here is what they told me:

The "over priced boxes" were available to any guests. However, the full counter service menus were also available to any resort guests at anytime. Any guest that out right complained about the "over priced boxes" were given the box at no charge.

Not sure if that had been already mentioned or not. I did not want to go back through all the posts to see if had been mentioned.

Also, they are not turning away non resort guests at this time.

Me, a brew, and bread pudding at Raglan Road...

 

[hannahabigail]

UPDATED BY MODERATOR WITH LATEST INFORMATION

- Walt Disney World Gas Stations, Car Rental and Pet Care closing early today
- CONFIRMED - Walt Disney World theme parks closing at 5pm today, closed all day Friday
- Disney releases FAQ for guests impacted by Hurricane Matthew
- Orlando International Airport expects to cease all air traffic later this evening
- Hurricane Matthew latest impact to Walt Disney World
- Tonight's Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party cancelled due to Hurricane Matthew
- Hurricane Matthew - Latest impacts to Walt Disney World operations
- Blizzard Beach closed tomorrow ahead of Hurricane Matthew
- Hurricane Warning issued for the theme park areas
- Hurricane Matthew to impact the theme parks later this week


ORIGINAL POST.

Here we go again. Looks like the forecast track has it closer to Florida. I wonder how it will impact operations at WDW? Will they extend MSEP for several days because of the hurricane?

Real-time forecast track from National Hurricane Center:

i'm in wdw right now. we're staying at pop century and it's just sprinkling right now. it rained on and off all day today and last night. i was expecting much stronger winds and rain but it has been fine.