Hurricane Irma

[JoeCamel]

funny how irma is so hard to predict so far, usually the experts have a pretty good idea of possible movements..
btw im in central florida so im kinda anxious as well

Only because it formed so early. It is still a week out from us so it has a lot of time to get pushed around or run over land and be shredded. Remember how Harvey blew up just before landfall or when Charley said "Right turn Clyde"!

 

[bclane]

We are supposed to be driving into WDW on Monday. Our first night is kind of a "pre-arrival night" at All-Star Movies. Our "real" reservation begins Tuesday, with free dining, at Art of Animation for seven nights.

A couple of questions for those more in the know on these things than me:

1. If the predictions are correct for it hitting Florida, is it looking like everything should be clear by Tuesday at least? We could dump the All-Star Movies night and drive in a day later without too much trouble.

2. If you have a multi-night reservation and have to miss the first night for some reason -- say this thing slows down and really impacts Tuesday -- will Disney let you miss the first night and still show up for the rest of your stay, particularly if its a pre-paid package that's already paid in full?

Thanks folks.

No way of knowing yet. Even after we get close enough that most of the models start to agree on where it's going, Irma can still decide to just sit down on a location for a few days or she can just blast right through. The models are getting better all the time but they are really just best educated guesses and leave lots of room for surprises. Your best plan is to be flexible, prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

 

[danlb_2000]

We are slated to arrive Sept 30...so after the storm hits, but my concern is the integrity of the bulidings and power etc. Does anyone know protocol? I called this morning but I was on hold for a long time and had to hang up. We've had our trip booked since last July and made this "our trip to remember" with grandparents etc....we are on the free dining plan but still have she'll dout over several thousand dollars to get the trip together. I'm praying for safety of everyone first and just wondering where this leaves us?

The odds of a hurricane hitting Disney World is pretty low. The odds of a hurricane doing enough damage to the Disney World area that it would impact your vacation three weeks later are even slimmer.

 

[peter11435]

We are slated to arrive Sept 30...so after the storm hits, but my concern is the integrity of the bulidings and power etc. Does anyone know protocol? I called this morning but I was on hold for a long time and had to hang up. We've had our trip booked since last July and made this "our trip to remember" with grandparents etc....we are on the free dining plan but still have she'll dout over several thousand dollars to get the trip together. I'm praying for safety of everyone first and just wondering where this leaves us?

You will be there several weeks after the storm. You'll be fine.

 

[BubbaQuest]

We're flying in Friday afternoon. We checked with the airlines and Universal...we can cancel everything *if* a Hurricane warning is issued. However, I've been reading horror stories about people on previous trips being on the last plane *before* the warning is issued and pretty much getting stuck.

Wondering if anyone has been through this before and has advice. We're planning on making a go/no-go decision Thursday morning.

 

[DisAl]

Here is my take on hurricane predictions.
Hurricanes are like three year old children. It is very difficult to predict where they will go, but you can usually tell where they have been.
That being said, I do take it very seriously. I am retired from and electric utility and served on several storm teams and have seen first hand the devastation a hurricane can leave behind.. One hurricane came through my home town 140 miles from the gulf coast with 110 mile per hour winds. If this one makes it to the Gulf of Mexico it could very well end up in my back yard....
Don't panic, but watch closely and heed any warnings from emergency management agencies! You should know within the next week or ten days if there are going to be any issues in Orlando that would impact your trip.

 

[Tom P.]

No way of knowing yet. Even after we get close enough that most of the models start to agree on where it's going, Irma can still decide to just sit down on a location for a few days or she can just blast right through. The models are getting better all the time but they are really just best educated guesses and leave lots of room for surprises. Your best plan is to be flexible, prepare for the worst, and hope for the best.

I appreciate your response and I understand that it's difficult to predict. However, remaining flexible introduces some "financial complexities," so I have to be doing my best to predict and plan and best guess as best I can.

For example, if we can't check in on Tuesday as planned due to a hurricane warning, Disney will refund us and help us move the date. However, if we move the reservation by even one day, we lose free dining *and* have to pay rack rate for the room, since all the September offers have expired. For us, that means the same number of nights, tickets, etc. adds an extra $1,600 to our cost. That is not at all insignificant.

I wish I could not be worrying about it, but I can't help it.

 

[_ZJ]

I appreciate your response and I understand that it's difficult to predict. However, remaining flexible introduces some "financial complexities," so I have to be doing my best to predict and plan and best guess as best I can.

For example, if we can't check in on Tuesday as planned due to a hurricane warning, Disney will refund us and help us move the date. However, if we move the reservation by even one day, we lose free dining *and* have to pay rack rate for the room, since all the September offers have expired. For us, that means the same number of nights, tickets, etc. adds an extra $1,600 to our cost. That is not at all insignificant.

I wish I could not be worrying about it, but I can't help it.

I'll bet you every dollar I can scrape together that if you genuinely cannot arrive on schedule due to hurricane and must delay, Disney will honor your package for your new dates. We all criticize Disney for lots of things, but their reservations department has always been excellent IMO.

 

[bclane]

I appreciate your response and I understand that it's difficult to predict. However, remaining flexible introduces some "financial complexities," so I have to be doing my best to predict and plan and best guess as best I can.

For example, suppose we can't check in on Tuesday as planned due to a hurricane warning, Disney will refund us and help us move the date. However, if we move the reservation by even one day, we lose free dining *and* have to pay rack rate for the room, since all the September offers have expired. For us, that means the same number of nights, tickets, etc. adds an extra $1,600 to our cost. That is not at all insignificant.

I wish I could not be worrying about it, but I can't help it.

I understand. It is a bad situation to be in and I feel for you. And yes, it will come down to your best guess as you say. These storms are unpredictable beasts, especially this far out. Be wary of anyone who gives you a definite plan to follow. Things will be much clearer by the end of the week but even then nothing is guaranteed. If I sound insensitive, believe me, I'm not. I have very dear friends in Houston and it literally kills me to think about what all those folks over there are going through right now. I just know that flexibility is the only option in this situation. In other words, don't make a decision until the last minute that you can make one...whenever that moment is for you. I wouldn't decide today. Good luck to you.

 

[bclane]

I'll bet you every dollar I can scrape together that if you genuinely cannot arrive on schedule due to hurricane and must delay, Disney will honor your package for your new dates. We all criticize Disney for lots of things, but their reservations department has always been excellent IMO.

I haven't had any personal experience with them in this type of situation, but I have heard that they were willing to bend their policies in situations like these.

 

[Ryan H. Serowinski]

Glad Disney World never gets destroyed by Hurricanes, it does however get damaged. fingers crossed for WDW to survive another hurricane

 

[peter11435]

Glad Disney World never gets destroyed by Hurricanes, it does however get damaged. fingers crossed for WDW to survive another hurricane

Very minimally. The damage is usually restricted to tree/landscaping. Occasionally some minor singnage and decor damage, nothing significant.

 

[mcstensrud]

WESH news reporting Governor Scott Declares state of Emergency.

 

[Tom P.]

Irma is now a Category 4 and the tip of Florida is now within the five day cone.

 

[IanDLBZF]

WESH news reporting Governor Scott Declares state of Emergency.

Also the FL State EOC is/has been at Level 2 Activation per floridadisaster.org

 

[Winter]

How would Disney be affected if this hurricane came right through it?

 

[Bacon]

So if someone goes on Wednesday through Thursday/Friday would there days be cancelled

 

[Bacon]

How would Disney be affected if this hurricane came right through it?

Luckly WDW is built VERRRY Well, If anything goes it will be the Tom sawyer island barrel bridge That is if it hits WDW

 

[BMP]

If the track does go through FLA and they close WDW, my advice (having been there last year for Matthew)... buy food at the park and bring it back to the room for the next day (we got pizza from via Napoli).

The line for boxed lunches at the resort stretched over 2 hrs long the night before Matthew.

And the price for the boxes was crazy

 

[lazyboy97o]

How would Disney be affected if this hurricane came right through it?

It’s too early to say. The parks have been closed for past hurricanes, including Matthew last year.

Luckly WDW is built VERRRY Well, If anything goes it will be the Tom sawyer island barrel bridge That is if it hits WDW

There is no benefit in making such declarative statements. Yes, Walt Disney World is built to stricter codes that doesn’t mean the situation should not be treated seriously.

And the price for the boxes was crazy

That was quite the blunder. Allegedly, the box meals were supposed to be free but the write off price was miscommunicated as a price to charge.