Hurricane Irma

[JohnD]

My weather radio just went off. Wakulla County (south of Tallahassee) is now under a Tropical Storm Warning. Leon County (Tallahassee) remains under a hurricane warning.

Sounds like it means this is thing moving north fast: We'll have the biggest impacts later this morning (50-60mph) winds. That should be enough to knock out power around here unfortunately.

 

[thehowiet]

Because it is unnecessarily dangerous.

Thanks for sharing. Nose to nose inside the Contemporary appeared to be standard procedure during severe storms for many years. Any idea how recently this changed?

 

[Spectro]

Orlando doesn't seem to have been hit bad at all I was woken up earlier to what sounded like a tile slipping from roof at hard rock as we are on the top floor. I'm glad we stayed through it now and didn't fly home early. Looking forward to checking in at Saratoga springs tomorrow

 

[JohnD]

BTW, we have a tropical system bearing down on us and it's 63 degrees here. So we have that working in our favor if power goes out.

 

[Musicman20]

Whilst it is low priority, how on earth do certain buildings and part of the themed lands take such a battering? E.g. the mountains of Pandora and Everest?

 

[fiftiesdean]

Whilst it is low priority, how on earth do certain buildings and part of the themed lands take such a battering? E.g. the mountains of Pandora and Everest?

Easy. They are built to withstand it. We can construct buildings to withstand hurricanes and tornados, the price goes up exponentially though.

 

[prberk]

Glad to see everyone is still safe and damage limited in many places so far.

I have a question about Animal Kingdom:
How do they take care of the birds there that are normally simply confined by a net? Do they just leave it like it is, assuming that the net will survive? I can't imagine any way to collect up the birds. Just curious.

I know that the larger animals have large barns also, but not sure if any are just left out as they would be in the wild (perhaps safer than trying to corralling for some species).

 

[andysol]

Was it @andysol or someone else talking about the monorails parked in the Contemporary with storm doors shut? Anyone see this?

Hopefully someone can give us a postmortem in the morning. Looks like if WDW can make it through the next 6-8 hrs or so, they'll be in the clear.

I'm wondering the most about construction sites.

I'm still on lockdown over here at the garden wing of the contemporary. When I get out of here I'll try to get up to the cali grill and snap some pics of Magic Kingdom. Only have my iPhone- so apologies in advance

As for the garden wing- mousekeeping came in at 9:30PM and put towels by window/door- I'm on ground floor. It was one knock and they were in. They weren't waiting for anyone- moving Quick.

This morning there are lots of wet towels by windows and doors and sandbags keeping all hallway doors closed. It's a lot calmer this morning but we're still getting some really really strong gusts. I'm shocked the entry/Lobby awning to the wing is holding up. No broken glass anywhere or serious landscaping that I can see so far- but again- I'm limited to the garden wing, so if I can get to the main building at 7, I'll update.

I was supposed to be going to Disney tomorrow but had to reschedule until the first week of March, still kinda bummed, can anyone cheer me up with stuff to look forward to at springtime in Disney? I've only ever been in the fall before.

Jeez man, really?
Looking at staff/CMs with this look of worry on their face like "do I still have a roof at my house or is a tree through my window" and millions without power- but please, let's cheer you up due to your rescheduled vacation- that should certainly be top of mind.

Please keep things in perspective. It's one thing to feel bummed. It's another thing to express those feeling while a devastating storm is still ongoing.

 

[donsullivan]

I was supposed to be going to Disney tomorrow but had to reschedule until the first week of March, still kinda bummed, can anyone cheer me up with stuff to look forward to at springtime in Disney? I've only ever been in the fall before.

Really? Millions of us are without power. Countless homes have been damaged and/or destroyed, people have lost their lives and you want someone to chear you up because you had to reschedule your vacation to Disney World? Get some perspective here.

 

[PhilliesPhan93]

I'd really like to say I'm sorry to anyone I offended with my comment It was not meant to be selfish but I can see how it was taken that way I am praying for everyone in Florida and all affected areas

 

[PhilliesPhan93]

Really? Millions of us are without power. Countless homes have been damaged and/or destroyed, people have lost their lives and you want someone to chear you up because you had to reschedule your vacation to Disney World? Get some perspective here.

I'm really sorry about my comment

 

[John park hopper]

Weather channel reporting ~ 5.5 million so far without power across Fl may be more before it is over. Where do you begin? Glad WDW appears to not have lost power and only minor damage, all are safe. For the rest of FL it's going to be rough going for many and we will know more in the coming days. Thankfully the storm is down to 75 mph other than associated tornados further damage should be minor. To all stay safe to those who evacuated be very careful driving back may your homes have little damage.

 

[larandtra]

Thoughts out to those in Florida. My brother lives there and I have numerous friends in the Orlando area, as well as many who work for WDW. Some of the messages I have gotten have been nice to find everyone safe. Interestingly, even more amazing, is how well WDW was and is prepared for things like this. Damage crews in the parks taking care of issues during the storm even when most do not realize it, the resort teams all trying to make guests comfortable even as they have their own families and homes in the area. Keep everyone in mind as you go through your day.

 

[PhilliesPhan93]

Thoughts out to those in Florida. My brother lives there and I have numerous friends in the Orlando area, as well as many who work for WDW. Some of the messages I have gotten have been nice to find everyone safe. Interestingly, even more amazing, is how well WDW was and is prepared for things like this. Damage crews in the parks taking care of issues during the storm even when most do not realize it, the resort teams all trying to make guests comfortable even as they have their own families and homes in the area. Keep everyone in mind as you go through your day.

Hope all is well with your family and friends in the area! I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers along with everyone else affected by Irma. You are right this is just another way of showing how professional Disney is and just how much they care for their cast and guests!

 

[LAKid53]

BTW, we have a tropical system bearing down on us and it's 63 degrees here. So we have that working in our favor if power goes out.

It's starting to get pretty breezy outside. According to the Democrat, 10,000 are without power. But the 62 degrees right now is marvelous. Can Irma leave those temps behind?

 

[xdan0920]

I'm really sorry about my comment

Don't be. You are allowed to feel disappointment about having to postpone your trip, anyone would. If we all limited our disappointment to the worst possible scenario happening in the world at any given time. only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the general population would be allowed to feel disappointment. Orlando shouldn't be upset about storm damage look at Houston, Houston shouldn't be upset look at St Martin, and so on.

 

[andysol]

7am and all through the contemporary, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.
Literally just me and two employees in here

Walked around to assess some damage (disregarding the safety signs- don't tell)

Mickey topiary standing strong

Some minor flooding in between Mickey topiary and bay lake

They lost a trash can- all trash cans were serran wrapped two to a pole. This one that was nearest to south wing got free

Found it by bay lake tower

And this area has a bunch of blown over smaller trees. About 7-8 I believe (look in background too)

Outside of that, just some small branches and lots of leaves. Luckily it doesn't seem that bad here.
They said cali grill isn't open but I'll see if I can sweet talk my way up in a couple hrs.

Thoughts and prayers to all those without power!

ETA: here are a couple of the pool area

 

[PhilliesPhan93]

7am and all through the contemporary, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.
Literally just me and two employees in here

Walked around to assess some damage (disregarding the safety signs- don't tell)

Mickey topiary standing strong

Some minor flooding in between Mickey topiary and bay lake

They lost a trash can- all trash cans were serran wrapped two to a pole. This one that was nearest to south wing got free

Found it by bay lake tower

And this area has a bunch of blown over smaller trees. About 7-8 I believe (look in background too)

Outside of that, just some small branches and lots of leaves. Luckily it doesn't seem that bad here.
They said cali grill isn't open but I'll see if I can sweet talk my way up in a couple hrs.

Thoughts and prayers to all those without power!

Wow that first picture is so eerie, looks like an end of the world type of picture, really hope all will be well in Florida and everywhere else

 

[LAKid53]

7am and all through the contemporary, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.
Literally just me and two employees in here

Walked around to assess some damage (disregarding the safety signs- don't tell)

Mickey topiary standing strong

Some minor flooding in between Mickey topiary and bay lake

They lost a trash can- all trash cans were serran wrapped two to a pole. This one that was nearest to south wing got free

Found it by bay lake tower

And this area has a bunch of blown over smaller trees. About 7-8 I believe (look in background too)

Outside of that, just some small branches and lots of leaves. Luckily it doesn't seem that bad here.
They said cali grill isn't open but I'll see if I can sweet talk my way up in a couple hrs.

Thoughts and prayers to all those without power!

That poor trash can, I hope it's okay.

 

[upgraiden]

I'd really like to say I'm sorry to anyone I offended with my comment It was not meant to be selfish but I can see how it was taken that way I am praying for everyone in Florida and all affected areas

There's no need to apologise. Despite the devastation, a holiday to WDW still takes a lot of time and money to plan and you're allowed to be upset about it. People shouldn't be so rudely shooting you down IMO. I hope your rescheduled trip turns out to be amazing!