Hurricane Irma

[LAKid53]

I'm nervous about this hurricane. I just don't know if people are taking it seriously. I do have some friends who were able to get flights out of FLL and PBI, insanely priced flights.
It's impossible to get a flight out of KW now, and no one knows exactly where they're going yet. They don't want to go to SoFla mainland, and hotels are becoming harder and harder to find.

Last year during Matthew my best friend stayed in her home on A1A, in an oceanfront condo.. I was furious with her. @LAKid53 may remember that lol. Anyway, Matthew turned at the last second, and she ridiculed me with video clips of a few downed palm fronds. I think people have grown complacent over the past 12 years, and really weigh if they want to sit on traffic to get out of the state.

As an ex South Floridian yourself, you already know the distance, without traffic! Orlando is 400 miles North of Key West, then you have the rest of the state. And highly probable long wait times for fuel. NONE of that means that they should wait to the last minute to leave, but many of them are, because they just don't know where to go just yet.
I'm on edge because I can't do anything except for continuing to also search for hotels.

I remember those photos. But better to plan rather than be caught without anything.

 

[Prince-1]

I'm nervous about this hurricane. I just don't know if people are taking it seriously. I do have some friends who were able to get flights out of FLL and PBI, insanely priced flights.
It's impossible to get a flight out of KW now, and no one knows exactly where they're going yet. They don't want to go to SoFla mainland, and hotels are becoming harder and harder to find.

Last year during Matthew my best friend stayed in her home on A1A, in an oceanfront condo.. I was furious with her. @LAKid53 may remember that lol. Anyway, Matthew turned at the last second, and she ridiculed me with video clips of a few downed palm fronds. I think people have grown complacent over the past 12 years, and really weigh if they want to sit on traffic to get out of the state.

As an ex South Floridian yourself, you already know the distance, without traffic! Orlando is 400 miles North of Key West, then you have the rest of the state. And highly probable long wait times for fuel. NONE of that means that they should wait to the last minute to leave, but many of them are, because they just don't know where to go just yet.
I'm on edge because I can't do anything except for continuing to also search for hotels.

I've got a story for you 21...so sit back and kick your feet back and relax. I was living in Broward County in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit. It came across Florida from the gulf and when it hit us it was a Cat 3. We were lucky as it caused minimal damage to our house but we expected power to be out for several days (it was out for 6 days) and predicted that schools would be out for days (it was 10 days due to the amount of debris on the roads making it dangerous for buses navigate) and as I was on sabbatical from my job at the hospital we decided to pack the kids and pets and drive to Disney. We got lucky and got a room at the GF and was able to board the dogs at the place in the Epcot parking lot (old school doggie accommodations) and we packed up and left. Normally this trip took 3-3 1/2 hours to make with normal traffic but this time it took over 8 hours due to traffic on the Turnpike and broken roads on I-95 which was our original route. We had a full tank of gas when we left and did not have to wait on the lines for gas at the Turnpike rest stops that went back for over a mile at some places but when we finally made it to our exit in Orlando we ran out of gas and actually was able to coast into a gas station in the nick of time. We eventually made it to our resort and had an amazing 9 day unplanned vacation and then went home to deal with reality.

So long story short...I get people's fear and anxiety and frustration. Disney will most likely be safe for those who are there and is a much better alternative to staying in South Florida. If you can't get out of SF or the Keys then do your best to prepare for the worst.

 

[Ziggie]

Disney is only about 180 miles north of us.. but more in the middle of the state. Would 180 miles of land make a big enough impact on Irma to weaken her?

 

[lazyboy97o]

Even in south Florida there are still homes built with wood frames for the second floors. Regulations (in some areas) only require concrete block for the bottom floor.

I'm not recommending anyone stay in an off property hotel in the orlando area. The discussion was specifically referring to WDW. The EPCOT building codes that govern the RCID are the strictest in the state.

While the EPCOT Building Code must be more stringent than the Florida Building Code, this only applies to where the building is located. As an example, the Ultimate Design Wind Speed for Risk Category II in EPCOT is 139 mph. There are parts of Orange and Osceola County that require >140 mph under the Florida Building Code and that is much lower than the 180 mph requirement at the southern end of the state.

 

[Minnie1986]

I'm nervous about this hurricane. I just don't know if people are taking it seriously. I do have some friends who were able to get flights out of FLL and PBI, insanely priced flights.
It's impossible to get a flight out of KW now, and no one knows exactly where they're going yet. They don't want to go to SoFla mainland, and hotels are becoming harder and harder to find.

Last year during Matthew my best friend stayed in her home on A1A, in an oceanfront condo.. I was furious with her. @LAKid53 may remember that lol. Anyway, Matthew turned at the last second, and she ridiculed me with video clips of a few downed palm fronds. I think people have grown complacent over the past 12 years, and really weigh if they want to sit on traffic to get out of the state.

As an ex South Floridian yourself, you already know the distance, without traffic! Orlando is 400 miles North of Key West, then you have the rest of the state. And highly probable long wait times for fuel. NONE of that means that they should wait to the last minute to leave, but many of them are, because they just don't know where to go just yet.
I'm on edge because I can't do anything except for continuing to also search for hotels.

My fingers are crossed for you. Hope it all turns out well. Keep us posted (as best you can, should you lose power, etc).

 

[21stamps]

I've got a story for you 21...so sit back and kick your feet back and relax. I was living in Broward County in 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit. It came across Florida from the gulf and when it hit us it was a Cat 3. We were lucky as it caused minimal damage to our house but we expected power to be out for several days (it was out for 6 days) and predicted that schools would be out for days (it was 10 days due to the amount of debris on the roads making it dangerous for buses navigate) and as I was on sabbatical from my job at the hospital we decided to pack the kids and pets and drive to Disney. We got lucky and got a room at the GF and was able to board the dogs at the place in the Epcot parking lot (old school doggie accommodations) and we packed up and left. Normally this trip took 3-3 1/2 hours to make with normal traffic but this time it took over 8 hours due to traffic on the Turnpike and broken roads on I-95 which was our original route. We had a full tank of gas when we left and did not have to wait on the lines for gas at the Turnpike rest stops that went back for over a mile at some places but when we finally made it to our exit in Orlando we ran out of gas and actually was able to coast into a gas station in the nick of time. We eventually made it to our resort and had an amazing 9 day unplanned vacation and then went home to deal with reality.

So long story short...I get people's fear and anxiety and frustration. Disney will most likely be safe for those who are there and is a much better alternative to staying in South Florida. If you can't get out of SF or the Keys then do your best to prepare for the worst.

You should have picked me up on your way!lol.

I was stuck in Palm Beach County East of A1A with debris everywhere, without water for about 5 days, and without power for 2 weeks, without cable for close to a month. I would have given anything to be in Disney.


With the Keys and Irma. They can't prepare for the worst.. they have to evacuate. If it hits the loss of life would be almost inevitable to the people who stayed.

 

[21stamps]

My fingers are crossed for you. Hope it all turns out well. Keep us posted (as best you can, should you lose power, etc).

I'm safe in Ohio now. I'm just trying to get my friends here.

 

[The Mom]

The hoarding has already begun. I was in Publix yesterday, and one customer bought 12 cases of water - essentially emptying the shelves. The same is happening with batteries, plywood, contractor bags, etc. I can understand the fear, but it's sad to make others suffer in your effort to keep yourself comfortable.

 

[LAKid53]

Disney is only about 180 miles north of us.. but more in the middle of the state. Would 180 miles of land make a big enough impact on Irma to weaken her?

Maybe. I think back to Charlie. What was the wind speed when it reached the Orlando area?

I think you'll be ok at Disney. Try, though, not to get (1) a bottom floor (flooding) or (2) top floor (roof damage). Will be much more pleasant than a shelter.

 

[21stamps]

Maybe. I think back to Charlie. What was the wind speed when it reached the Orlando area?

I think you'll be ok at Disney. Try, though, not not get (1) a bottom floor (flooding) or (2) top floor (roof damage). Will be much more pleasant than a shelter.

90mph in Orlando for Charlie.

120-150mph winds from Wilma in PBC.

 

[Prince-1]

You should have picked me up on your way!lol.

I was stuck in Boca Raton with debris everywhere, without water for about 5 days, and without power for 2 weeks, without cable for close to a month. I would have given anything to be in Disney.


With the Keys and Irma. They can't prepare for the worst.. they have to evacuate. If it hits the loss of life would be almost inevitable to the people who stayed.

We would have had some spirited political debates back then heading to Disney (not as exciting as today!) but I agree with you that if you can go north then do so but natives in the Keys are a different breed and this is just a great excuse to hit the bars.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

The hoarding has already begun. I was in Publix yesterday, and one customer bought 12 cases of water - essentially emptying the shelves.

Geezus. I understand preparing but that is a little excessive. Unless, however he was buying for his neighbors, family near by, etc. But I highly doubt that that was the case.

 

[LAKid53]

The hoarding has already begun. I was in Publix yesterday, and one customer bought 12 cases of water - essentially emptying the shelves. The same is happening with batteries, plywood, contractor bags, etc. I can understand the fear, but it's sad to make others suffer in your effort to keep yourself comfortable.

My Costco had signs all over telling members they could only purchase 5 cases of water per member. Surprised Publix didn't do the same.

 

[LAKid53]

90mph in Orlando for Charlie.

120-150mph winds from Wilma in PBC.

Thanks, Stamps. 90 mph winds won't be fun at all....

 

[Master Yoda]

Disney is only about 180 miles north of us.. but more in the middle of the state. Would 180 miles of land make a big enough impact on Irma to weaken her?

Yes.

Maybe. I think back to Charlie. What was the wind speed when it reached the Orlando area?

I think you'll be ok at Disney. Try, though, not to get (1) a bottom floor (flooding) or (2) top floor (roof damage). Will be much more pleasant than a shelter.

Avoiding the first floor is a good idea, but if there is severe roof damage, all of the floors are going to have a bad time.

 

[21stamps]

We would have had some spirited political debates back then heading to Disney (not as exciting as today!) but I agree with you that if you can go north then do so but natives in the Keys are a different breed and this is just a great excuse to hit the bars.

Ha ha. I leave politics behind when at Disney

I think/hope everyone evacuates from the Keys, we'll see if they take this one seriously.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

Can anyone suggest a list or a link for a rundown of what and how much is needed?

Like say: Water enough for such and such days/nights

I think @LAKid53 you mentioned this in a previous post?

 

[LAKid53]

We would have had some spirited political debates back then heading to Disney (not as exciting as today!) but I agree with you that if you can go north then do so but natives in the Keys are a different breed and this is just a great excuse to hit the bars.

When Dennis plowed through Panacea and Eastpoint, I bet those oyster bars were packed...

 

[21stamps]

The hoarding has already begun. I was in Publix yesterday, and one customer bought 12 cases of water - essentially emptying the shelves. The same is happening with batteries, plywood, contractor bags, etc. I can understand the fear, but it's sad to make others suffer in your effort to keep yourself comfortable.

If you know anyone still looking, tell them to check IKEA. A friend of mine said there was plenty, in Miami.. but I'm thinking people won't have IKEA on their radar in any city.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

A minimum of three-four days of both

Thanks!