Hurricane Matthew

[21stamps]

Seriously, leaving might as well be equated to a suicide mission. There are almost no positives and you just greatly increase the chances of hurting your family. Stay put.

I wish I had a photo of i95 and the turnpike from Wilma. I just remember watching the news and seeing cars stopped on the highway for hours. People running out of gas. General madness. It's why a lot of people in SoFla don't evacuate if we can't get a flight out. The drive is just too long.

A very good friend of mines neighbor decided to evacuate from Charleston to Orlando. I can't even begin to speculate their logic on that...

Yeah, that's kind of strange. In the past I have evacuated from Boca to Miami, which sounds weird, but depending on where it's supposed to hit it can be better. Most of my friends have gone to hotels west of 95. Better to be a little inland...not so sure if I would go from SC to inland Florida though..

 

[Kylo Ken]

This will be my first FL hurricane, however I was still living in NJ for Sandy back in 2012...not fun.

Ugh I was living in Sayreville when Sandy hit and that was not fun. I cannot even begin to imagine what a Cat 3/4 would be like.

 

[21stamps]

Please please please stay safe up there.

Evidently the area of Florida I live in is the area everyone is fleeing to. Hotels in the area are almost all booked and the price gouging has begun.

Stay safe folks and don't do anything illogical, like driving from Charleston to Orlando haha

Report the gouging!!! Ugh I hate those people.

 

[Princess Leia]

The Weather Channel is currently predicting 50-60 mph winds at 8:00 tonight.

 

[Kylo Ken]

Report the gouging!!! Ugh I hate those people.

It's sad. Hotels that would normally be about say 95 a night are now 200 a night. People argue supply and demand but this is unethical.

 

[21stamps]

It's sad. Hotels that would normally be about say 95 a night are now 200 a night. People argue supply and demand but this is unethical.

It's illegal!! There are loopholes though..
Example- there was 1 restaurant in walking distance from my condo that was open after Wilma. All candlelight and giving you your meal in a to go box with plastic ware. Typical meal is around $45. They were still charging $45..and all you received was 1 piece of chicken from a grill. People reported them but "technically" it wasn't gouging bc it was the menu price. Most expensive piece of chicken that I've ever purchased lol.

But if you see water getting marked up, fuel, etc.. Definitely report it. Florida will stop it, and impose hefty fines.

 

[matt9112]

I did read my first post. And again, I simply said I hate it. I didn't go on and on aND poo poo all over it. So I don't agree with you. I understand your concern for your family, I do. But people can still be dissapointed in things, hating their current situation and yet know that they're still much more fortunate than others. Doesn't make them a bad person.

I think being disappointed is a better word. Hating it makes you sound way too snobby.

 

[monothingie]

Report the gouging!!! Ugh I hate those people.

http://myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/5D2710E379EAD6BC85256F03006AA2C5

 

[cjgren]

We land tonight at Tampa and were planning on staying off property for the evening. Does anyone know what the chance would be of us getting an extra night at AKL upon arrival? The stress of moving from our off property hotel (although it's less than a mile from AKL) to AKL is really stressing me out. Thanks!

 

[Jelfff]

The link below displays a Google/GIS map that always shows the latest Hurricane Mathew data that is hosted on the federal GIS (Geographical Information System) servers. Each time you open the map the most recent data hosted on the GIS servers is displayed.

The map also displays the U.S. National Grid (USNG) which is the official coordinate system used by FEMA for all ground operations.

To (1) see the map key, (2) learn how to turn other GIS overlay layers on/off and (3) get other tips for using the map, please click “About this map” in the upper left corner.

Hurricane Mathew Google/GIS map: http://bit.ly/2d3jDFc

I am the developer of Gmap4 which is the software that is displaying the map. This project is a public service and part of my way to “pay it forward”. For more information please see the Gmap4 homepage:
https://mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html

 

[disney4life2008]

What I find amazing is that Universal has not made any announcement. I have friends going to Halloween Horror Nights tonight but hurricane or not, the weather is predicted to be worse after 10pm tonight.

 

[sgtmgd]

We are flying into Orlando on Saturday afternoon. We are hoping the airport will be open too. With all that wind and rain on Friday, who knows what condition the airport will be. If we cannot make it down Saturday, we'll have to cancel the trip.

cant change to tampa and drive over to Orlando?

 

[21stamps]

We land tonight at Tampa and were planning on staying off property for the evening. Does anyone know what the chance would be of us getting an extra night at AKL upon arrival? The stress of moving from our off property hotel (although it's less than a mile from AKL) to AKL is really stressing me out. Thanks!

Did you call and try to add a night? I would think they may be full.. Definitely don't cancel what you have until you've booked the AKL night.

 

[Biggen]

I guess they are stalling just "in case" there is a change in direction of the storm that would allow them to stay open. Seems unlikely at this point.

I have lived in PCB, FL for 36 years now and I've been through my share of hurricanes during that time. Probably more than anyone else on this board. It's hard to imagine there will much open this weekend. Public utilities are likely to be offline once the storm makes landfall. Couple this with mandatory curfews and evacuations and I think it's optimistic to believe the parks are open before next Monday after a Cat 4 runs through the area.

 

[cjgren]

Did you call and try to add a night? I would think they may be full.. Definitely don't cancel what you have until you've booked the AKL night.

The wait has been 2 hours since tried calling when they opened this morning. My TA is also trying to get on and get me a night and I've been refreshing the webpage while I was at work today. My plan is to call as soon as I get out of work to speak with them to see what they may have.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I can't wait to see all the people that try to get things out of Disney/Universal etc for their ruined vacation.

 

[disney4life2008]

It's sad. Hotels that would normally be about say 95 a night are now 200 a night. People argue supply and demand but this is unethical.

The super 8 is now $100 plus. It is normally $50.

I guess they are stalling just "in case" there is a change in direction of the storm that would allow them to stay open. Seems unlikely at this point.

I have lived in PCB, FL for 36 years now and I've been through my share of hurricanes during that time. Probably more than anyone else on this board. It's hard to imagine there will much open this weekend. Public utilities are likely to be offline once the storm makes landfall. Couple this with mandatory curfews and evacuations and I think it's optimistic to believe the parks are open before next Monday after a Cat 4 runs through the area.

It has been reported that UCF and area schools may still be closed Monday and Tuesday of next week due to power outages and utilities.

 

[21stamps]

I guess they are stalling just "in case" there is a change in direction of the storm that would allow them to stay open. Seems unlikely at this point.

I have lived in PCB, FL for 36 years now and I've been through my share of hurricanes during that time. Probably more than anyone else on this board. It's hard to imagine there will much open this weekend. Public utilities are likely to be offline once the storm makes landfall. Couple this with mandatory curfews and evacuations and I think it's optimistic to believe the parks are open before next Monday after a Cat 4 runs through the area.

Then you know that sometimes the storm can change even a few hours before. I'm not giving up yet.. It could weaken.

 

[21stamps]

I can't wait to see all the people that try to get things out of Disney/Universal etc for their ruined vacation.

They should have purchased trip insurance. I'm sure this will be criticized- but if you don't buy it, that's your own fault. No reason you should be compensated when others chose to protect their travel plans.

Sorry, but anyone who doesn't purchase travel insurance during hurricane season, or even in the winter when coming from a northern state, is a fool.

 

[fotofx]

Keep in mind that when it comes to hotels, there is usually a rack rate which is considerably higher then many of the "special" rates that we commonly pay. Gouging would be if they were significantly charging more then the rack rate. They can not be required to continue to give "special" pricing.