Hurricane Matthew

[PhotoDave219]

I am staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge-Jambo. Disney has been contacting guests and asking permission to enter their rooms to remove the chairs and tables from their balconies. They also have letters in the common areas to inform guests. I also received a call to let me know that my advanced dining reservation was cancelled for tonight at Jiko. Also the staff are removing animals from the savanna around the hotel.

All of this is extremely prudent. Smart to remove tables & chairs.

 

[WASaMATTR]

All of this is extremely prudent. Smart to remove tables & chairs.

I agree Dave. Especially if you are on the 5th floor.

 

[scpergj]

Friday after 6pm should be fine. However, driving on the roads is the problem. There may be widespread damage.

Definitely will be difficult on the roads; we are expecting the same up here. Again, Disney should probably be doing something to inform people that may be traveling - but then, the people in the Orlando area are probably already otherwise occupied...

 

[brb1006]

The Weather Channel's Youtube Account just uploaded this.

 

[Goofnut1980]

..... while we're all Kvetching about how informed humans should/should not be.....

For perspective? The Death toll in Haiti is 283. This will rise. Some Morons people in Halifax harbor in Daytona Beach are going to ride out the storm on their boat tied to a palm tree. I'll be surprised if they live. Not trying to be cold or harsh, its just the reality of the situation.

This is a deadly storm at Disney is doing what they have to do in order to keep guests safe and people alive. I personally dont feel they should be charging $13 for a sammich but depending on the aftermath, $13 may be cheap for a sammich.

Disney has food. So i'm a little confused why they wouldn't keep the restaurants or quick service running at resorts??

 

[PhotoDave219]

This thread has turned as ugly as the storm. Disappointing, really.

Only way to turn it around is to put out good information...

The first major rain band just went thru (based on radar).... Can anyone at the resorts give us a good picture of whats going on right now?

 

[scpergj]

All of this is extremely prudent. Smart to remove tables & chairs.

yeah, definitely should be removing stuff from the balcony.

We have nothing left in our yard. Nothing....because we are supposed to move into a new home next weekend. Assuming the storm doesn't hurt that house or our current one...

 

[GrumpyFan]

So everyone can talk about their trips being cancelled, but we can't talk about a football game between two major schools in Florida possibly being cancelled? Do you have any idea how much revenue that game will generate for Miami?

Sheesh...

Sure you can, but please start another thread for it.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Disney has food. So i'm a little confused why they wouldn't keep the restaurants or quick service running at resorts??

You're assuming that trucks would be able to resupply resorts or the WDW as a whole would be able to get shipments in. You're assuming that trees, power poles, bridges, etc., all withstand this storm without a problem.

The actual storm is the easier part compared to the days afterward. Disney is in a good spot, but you cant take the basic necessities of a city like power and water for granted in these storms.

 

[JohnD]

Here are the overnight conditions for WDW. Looks like pretty much what Tallahassee got from a direct Cat 1 hit -- tropical storm conditions. Lots of wind and rain and inconvenience. Be glad you're not on the coast. You'll be back in the parks on Saturday. Magical dreams!

 

[rickdrat]

So you check up on the local building codes whenever you are traveling? Letting people know that the EPCOT Builing Codes are some of the first and most stringent codes in the state, including when it comes to wind loads, could have been part of letting people know that staying in their rooms will be the safest option if/when the storm hits.

I imagine Disney has to walk a very fine line between not wanting to kick guests to the curb and actually proclaiming yourself a safe haven from the storm. As it stands, Disney can claim guests are staying there of their own volition and still charge them for the room and the $12 box lunch. If they actually put in writing how safe their structures are then, no matter how true it may be, if something tragic should happen the lawyers will be all over them for making false claims as some form of storm shelter.

 

[Disney-Trains]

I don't think anyone is saying Disney needed to inform people of the hurricane. The complaint is that Disney did a poor job of informing their guests of the operation of the resort and parks.

I don't think Disney did something that wrong... I just think it could have been done better. That seems to be what others are saying as well.

 

[danlb_2000]

Disney has food. So i'm a little confused why they wouldn't keep the restaurants or quick service running at resorts??

According to the WDW web site most of the resort restaurants will remain open.

 

[PhotoDave219]

yeah, definitely should be removing stuff from the balcony.

We have nothing left in our yard. Nothing....because we are supposed to move into a new home next weekend. Assuming the storm doesn't hurt that house or our current one...

Several friends in Orlando have dumped their porch furniture into the pool. Safest place for them.

 

[PhotoDave219]

According to the WDW web site most of the resort restaurants will remain open.

I think what he missed was that resorts resupply food daily and that theres a chance that may not be able to happen.

 

[senor_jorge]

Disney has food. So i'm a little confused why they wouldn't keep the restaurants or quick service running at resorts??

Staffing, they may have shut off gas as a precaution, perishables may have been moved to a central location that has failover power. Most likely is to give guests the fewest possible reasons to be outside of their rooms, where they are the safest..

 

[21stamps]

I think there may be some misunderstanding as to my point here. In no way am I suggesting that people should not stay informed themselves. You are absolutely right that you have multiple avenues to obtain information on the storm, be it phone, tv, or internet. And I frankly think it's stupid for anyone to travel during hurricane season and not check for the possibility of, y'know, hurricanes.

What I mean in terms of information is that once it became clear the resorts would be impacted, resort guests should have been kept up to speed regarding operational procedures. Not backstage things, per se, but things directly pertinent to them.

I know that we are supposed to shelter in place until the afternoon tomorrow - because I explicitly asked a cast member last night, and because it was mentioned in one of the forum threads. At no point did I receive any official notice from Disney regarding this. Or that we should be on the lookout for the room phone's message icon lighting up with possible information. Someone else at my own resort spoke about notices being handed out door to door - we've been here since before 4pm, and no one has stopped here. Dining is closing early tonight at Pop, but the only phone message I had was warning me not to try to eat at outside Disney resorts because reservations wouldn't be honored and touting the 12.99 bagged meal. No mention of the shortened hours.

All my information has been sussed out by my own searching. It takes very little to send those types of updates, be it notes under hotel doors, in person by staff, email, and it is something that I have received at other hotels during natural disasters. And especially in light of the extensivness of MDE, it's something that could be accomplished easily. It would have alleviated the confusion of many hotel guests, especially those who have no experience with hurricanes.

I'm hardly blaming Disney for not being a duplicate of the Weather Channel. I'm certainly not blaming them for the hurricane. All I'm saying is that there could have been a more direct and consistent way to keep resort guests appraised.

I do understand why you may feel that way.

To "defend" Disney, you guys are in Orlando, which is obviously inland. I think waiting til later today, to find out if there was even a reason to change things, is understandable on Disney's part. Hurricanes can change paths quickly, at the beginning of the day the storm hadn't even hit Nassau yet, which is still very far from WDW. I don't think they knew what they were going to do either, so there couldn't have been an intentional lack of communication.
If you were at a Disney owned beach resort then it may have been a different scenario with the notifications.

They moved people from ft wilderness yesterday, and they announced closures when the decisions were made. So again, I do understand how you may feel like you don't know what is going on.. But if it makes you feel any better, no one in Florida really knows what is going on before a hurricane hits, no human does..Not until a very short time before. It's frustrating!

 

[marktuppance]

Just give me a bottle of tequila and a straw.....

That is a great plan! )

 

[kverdon]

Disney has food. So i'm a little confused why they wouldn't keep the restaurants or quick service running at resorts??

I would believe that though they may have food, the cast members that need to prepare, cook and serve that food are being sent home, or are staying home, to take care of their homes and families.

 

[21stamps]

So you check up on the local building codes whenever you are traveling? Letting people know that the EPCOT Builing Codes are some of the first and most stringent codes in the state, including when it comes to wind loads, could have been part of letting people know that staying in their rooms will be the safest option if/when the storm hits.

The governor and the weather channel have been telling people all day to stay inside when the storm hits. You don't need building codes for that info.