Hurricane Matthew

[21stamps]

Okay, reality check. You might find it difficult driving to the Orlando area. Why? Because roads like I-4 will become one way, both sides, to facilitate evacuation. Which means in the direction away from Central Florida.

I don't care if you have a car service. It will not be fun driving in the direction of the storm, once the outer bands hit the area today. Stay in Tampa tonight. Don't risk it.

Exactly..people are not supposed to be going north or east right now.

 

[Bayoubengal88]

So silly Canadian question as we've never had to deal with anything like this is the past (Don't really get hurricanes up this way). We are driving down and will be leaving from Atlanta to Orlando on Saturday, well, Kissimmee anyway. We are contemplating booking an extra night in Atlanta just in case (we rented a home so whether we arrive Sat or Sun makes no difference) but wondering if that would be necessary or if we should be ok arriving Saturday afternoon/ evening?

Storm wise you should be ok. Traffic wise might be a different story with everyone else trying to make it back home. Word of advice though, I75 construction South of Atlanta near Stockbridge is awful.

 

[Bayoubengal88]

What's the deal with Fort wilderness Resort and Campsite closing now thru Sunday? Have guests been asked to leave and find shelter elsewhere? Or is it that no further check-ins allowed?

All I know is that guests have been relocated to other resorts on property

 

[JohnD]

My god, people, if you are currently at WDW, stay put! Most of the resorts look like they can survive a major storm. You DO NOT WANT TO BE STUCK ON THE ROADS WHEN THIS THING BLOWS THROUGH! I-4, I-95 and I-75 are major evacuation routes in Florida and most likely both north and southbound lanes will be redirected to facilitate evacuations. So, if you plan on driving to WDW (why?) today or tomorrow, don't.

If you are in a room with a balcony, bring everything on the balcony inside, if you can. Move items away from windows and close the blinds, both sets. Resist the temptation to look out your window or go outside during the storm.

Fill up the bathtub with water to flush your toilets. If you haven't (and I doubt there's any left), go to the food court/gift shop and buy a couple of bottles of water, the biggest you can get.

Always travel with a flashlight and batteries. And charging sticks for your cell phone.

I've lived in Florida 50 years. Been through several hurricanes. The last two I was without power 6-7 days each, most recently Hurricane Hermine. THIS one has me worried...and I'm up in the Florida panhandle hoping it makes an immediate turn eastward and spares Florida's east coast. My niece and her fiance live in Jax, but my brother called them and they are both prepared and will be okay.

I had friends in Miami during Andrew and they showed me videos of the destruction. I went to high school in Miami and didn't recognize streets that I routinely hung out on.

Hope everyone stays safe.

I would rather wish my parents were at a resort in WDW right now than in their home in Jacksonville. I'm at the point of begging them to stay with me in Tallahassee. I told them, "Leave now or forever hold your peace" because they have to stay put tomorrow if they don't come over today.

 

[Seanual757]

The airline is going to charge me the price difference to fly into another city and the price is about $200 per ticket. Thought about driving but the drive is about 16+ hours, and I would need to leave Friday.

What Airline are you flying on

 

[DisneyDoug85]

Can someone help me regarding flight delays? I don't fly often and have never been delayed. My flight is scheduled to leave philly and arrive in Orlando by 11 am Saturday. Assuming the bad weather is pretty clear of the Orlando area by then, what goes into determining a flight delay? I know that my plane is scheduled to come in from California and then take me to Orlando. Does that help my chances seeing as how it's not coming from Orlando (bad weather) and then making a return trip? There are cancelations already for Thursday and Friday, do those cancellations affect my flight or do they try and reschedule those cancellations around flights like mine that may not have to be altered? Sorry for the long post, I'm just not sure how it all works...

 

[Rutt]

We live in Toronto, traffic we can handle. We're giving ourselves the entire day to get there Saturday, so if it takes us 10-12 hrs it takes 12 hrs... just want to make sure we likely would be ok to drive it (Atlanta hotels are booking up and prices are soaring).

 

[Seanual757]

GOAA (Greater Orlando Aviation Authority) will be suspending ops as of 8pm this evening. Most airlines will be long gone well before 8pm. I know United has cancelled most flights in and out after 2pm today.

 

[mgpan]

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

I would just want a refund as per their policy, and might have to cancel Friday late, but as of right now, their lines are slammed and i can't get through to ask questions. Since there are those trying to get rooms, i've stopped calling to help keep lines free. I'll worry about refund next week after storm passes if need be.

 

[zakattack99]

I don't wish that for her. She's my closest friend. Her defense has been that there has been so many new laws, codes, and preparations since Wilma. I just wanted to point out how different people react when you have lived in a hurricane zone your entire life. It's a stark contrast.

The whole Mercedes and shoe thing is just funny to me because that mentality played a huge factor in me deciding to raise my son elsewhere.. It's so odd that I am so removed from it now. It's also odd to be watching a hurricane on the weather channel and not my local news. Lol

Glad to know that we all have that one friend... lol

 

[fvrs7189]

Does anyone know what some of the structures are rated at in terms of winds? Like spaceship earth. I am sure there is some standard building code, but these are very large structures. It looks like this thing will be a monster. Talking about Port Canaveral being hit very hard partly b/c of it being an island and all but WDW is only like 50 miles or so away. Heard some discussion this could be a CAT 5 soon

 

[intheATL]

Storm wise you should be ok. Traffic wise might be a different story with everyone else trying to make it back home. Word of advice though, I75 construction South of Atlanta near Stockbridge is awful.

Tell me about it....that's where I live! I'll be glad when it is finished!! Never thought I'd be glad to see toll lanes but I actually think it may help!

 

[*Q*]

Does anyone know if Disney forces cast members to come in work their shifts during a Hurricane? I mean all the hotels are not closing and they do need to have some type of skeleton crew working. Same thing with essential operations throughout the rest of the property. Just curious to know what they do with cast members.

Things kind of get rearranged a bit. I believe most departments at the beginning of hurricane season have their Cast Members voluntarily sign up to be part of ride-out crews for when hurricanes come through. I don't know if they are this year, but in the past, they've also posted general ride-out shifts that any CM can pick up for one of the resorts to go and help out. It can be a sweet deal if you don't have any other obligations, you'll more than likely get some extra pay, get fed, etc.

 

[21stamps]

Does anyone know what some of the structures are rated at in terms of winds? Like spaceship earth. I am sure there is some standard building code, but these are very large structures. It looks like this thing will be a monster. Talking about Port Canaveral being hit very hard partly b/c of it being an island and all but WDW is only like 50 miles or so away. Heard some discussion this could be a CAT 5 soon

Where did you hear that?

 

[Bayoubengal88]

Tell me about it....that's where I live! I'll be glad when it is finished!! Never thought I'd be glad to see toll lanes but I actually think it may help!

I'll be glad that my Florida sunpass will work with the toll lanes!!

 

[LAKid53]

For all of you saying, "yeah, it will be okay after the storm blows through", you have absolutely no clue what your talking about.

This is a Category 4 storm. Even if the eye stays off shore or brushes it, Orlando area is going to take a beating. And until it passes and officials can go out and do damage assessments, you have no idea how bad it will be. 80% of Tallahassee was without power after Hermine. It took 11 days until all had power restored. And the highest gusts recorded? A little over 60 mph.

Roads will need to be cleared of downed trees and power lines. There most likely will be flooding, due to the rain. Gas stations with no gas. Stores with no power. ATMs not working or out of money. Curfews likely.

Look, I realize for many this is a trip you've planned for a long time. But I would seriously reconsider delaying your arrival until Monday at the earliest. People who had to evacuate will be trying to get back to their homes as soon as the storm passes. And you will be in the middle of that. And frankly, they have a higher priority to get home than you do to get to WDW.

Listen to those of us on this thread who live in Florida and have been through hurricanes. This is big. If this thing jogs 50 miles west, it's a major disaster for Central Florida. Stay away. If you're already here stay put.

If you think it's not going to be too bad, go find pictures of Miami after Andrew. Because that's what you are heading into. I still have a tree down in my back yard, waiting on my tree guy. There are still trees on the side of my street. and Hermine was a little over a month ago. And Matthew is much, much bigger than she was.

 

[JohnD]

Actually, it's illegal. And should be reported to the attorney general's or local state attorney's office. We had the same problem after Hermine. One of the local tree removal companies stated in a newspaper article that they were charging people $3,000 an hour to remove fallen trees. Stupid, because when the list came out of companies being investigated for price gouging, they were at the top of the list. Vendors, especially hotels, know price gouging during/after a storm is illegal. But some still try to do it.

Publix was amazing after Hermine. All their stores have generators and they kept them open as long as they could before the storm and opened up as soon as possible the next morning. And made every effort to keep ice stocked. Walmart? Yeah, had to pull perishable food from the shelves because they didn't have anyway to keep it cold. But probably sold some before they were told to toss it.

I agree about Publix, especially the free coffee. Who knew it was such a priority? Tip: If you have to hunker down, brew your coffee now, put it in a stainless steel container, refrigerate it, and heat it up on your grill if you don't have power.

 

[21stamps]

Glad to know that we all have that one friend... lol

Really it is tough to make the decision to leave your own home when you have all of your supplies and feel prepared. I do understand, I've done it. It sounds simple to just leave to people in different parts of the country, but living on the beach or intracoastal in SoFla you've been through plenty of storms...and there has been a lot of changes made after 2005.

 

[mcstensrud]

We were there for Hurricane Jeanne at the Boardwalk.locked in for 24 hours,we were escorted through the buildings to the convention center to eat! The next day there were shingles and debris everywhere but were cleaned up quickly and all was back to normal ASAP.
At this point if you are still there just stay put. WDW does a great job of taking care of you during the storm and Getting back to normal afterwards. Be Safe All!

 

[JohnD]

I'll be glad that my Florida sunpass will work with the toll roads!!

I'm sure that tolls will be lifted in this instance.

 

[Andrew C]

For all of you saying, "yeah, it will be okay after the storm blows through", you have absolutely no clue what your talking about.

This is a Category 4 storm. Even if the eye stays off shore or brushes it, Orlando area is going to take a beating. And until it passes and officials can go out and do damage assessments, you have no idea how bad it will be. 80% of Tallahassee was without power after Hermine. It took 11 days until all had power restored. And the highest gusts recorded? A little over 60 mph.

Roads will need to be cleared of downed trees and power lines. There most likely will be flooding, due to the rain. Gas stations with no gas. Stores with no power. ATMs not working or out of money. Curfews likely.

Look, I realize for many this is a trip you've planned for a long time. But I would seriously reconsider delaying your arrival until Monday at the earliest. People who had to evacuate will be trying to get back to their homes as soon as the storm passes. And you will be in the middle of that. And frankly, they have a higher priority to get home than you do to get to WDW.

Listen to those of us on this thread who live in Florida and have been through hurricanes. This is big. If this thing jogs 50 miles west, it's a major disaster for Central Florida. Stay away. If you're already here stay put.

If you think it's not going to be too bad, go find pictures of Miami after Andrew. Because that's what you are heading into. I still have a tree down in my back yard, waiting on my tree guy. There are still trees on the side of my street. and Hermine wad over a month ago. And Matthew is much, much bigger than she was.

This...seriously....geez....