Hurricane Season?

We loved our first trip to WDW last May. We stayed at the GF and decided to try the Poly next time. Our oldest, who will be 5, loves Halloween. We were thinking about going in September 2017 to try out MNSSHP. My youngest turns 3 in early October, so we'd like to go before then and avoid paying for extra park tickets. A FL resident warned me that mid-September is peak hurricane season... now I'm wondering if I should change our plans to April or May 2017. Is rain a sure thing even if there's no hurricane danger? Also, I'd really like to find another room discount like I had in May. Are there room discounts in September, too? Thanks!
 

21stamps

Well-Known Member
I'm not around Hurricanes. (I'm used to Tornadoes where you need to go into the basement or interior room for safety.). Is it safe to be on a top floor of a hotel during a Hurricane?
Yes. You will be fine. There aren't any Disney resorts that are an actual big high rise, but even if there were you'd still be fine.
The main danger is Windows and glass doors. They are called "hurricane proof" but they can break if an object hits them during hurricane force winds. Chances of that happening while you're there- slim to none.

Especially in Orlando.
 
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Master Yoda

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Yes. You will be fine. There aren't any Disney resorts that are an actual big high rise, but even if there were you'd still be fine.
The main danger is Windows and glass doors. They are called "hurricane proof" but they can break if an object hits them during hurricane force winds. Chances of that happening while you're there- slim to none.

Especially in Orlando.
"Hurricane proof" windows and doors might technically break, but they will not come out of their frame or lend any measurable amount of wind or rain in.

 
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21stamps

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"Hurricane proof" windows and doors might technically break, but they will not come out of their frame or lend any measurable amount of wind or rain in.


Unfortunately, plenty of them did in 2005. These were all in buildings that were built to the most recent codes at the time.

But no they aren't supposed to, hence the name "hurricane proof glass".
 
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Master Yoda

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Premium Member
Unfortunately, plenty of them did in 2005. These were all in buildings that were built to the most recent codes at the time.
Where?

Florida code only requires impact glass in certain areas known as the wind born debris zone which is primarily along the coast. Also back in 2005 the code allowed the use of "shutters" (in many cases this was just pre-cut plywood left in the garage at the time of inspection) in place of impact glass.
 
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21stamps

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Where?

Florida code only requires impact glass in certain areas known as the wind born debris zone which is primarily along the coast. Also back in 2005 the code allowed the use of "shutters" (in many cases this was just pre-cut plywood left in the garage at the time of inspection) in place of impact glass.
Miami, Aventura, Ft Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Jupiter.

I lived in an evacuation zone (east of US1 near the intracoastal), but didn't evacuate. My windows/doors were fine. The couple who lived across the hall from me had theirs broken. It was horrible. Their furniture was ruined and we were all in shock over it.
Our building was built in 2003.

Originally edited to 2002, but I checked and it was '03.lol
 
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TXDisney

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I try mixing up seasons we go to WDW. Whatever it's been the longest since I've last done always seems to be when I wanna go bad for my next trip. This happens to be April/May. We haven't been during that season since 2013. I love the F&G festival. That is hurricane season and its hit or miss. But so is September/Octover during the F&W festival. I say book and take the risk. You can't predict the weather.
 
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Master Yoda

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Miami, Aventura, Ft Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Jupiter.

I lived in an evacuation zone (east of US1 near the intracoastal), but didn't evacuate. My windows/doors were fine. The couple who lived across the hall from me had theirs broken. It was horrible. Their furniture was ruined and we were all in shock over it.
Our building was built in 2003.
The windows were not required to be impact glass back then. It was an either or thing with shutters. You could also design the building as "partially enclosed" and get around it entirely.

If the windows shattered like regular glass they were not impact glass. If they were and came out of the frame they were defective and/or not rated.

I have seen the rated impact windows go through test after test and still stay intact. You can beat on these things over and over again with a baseball bat and while the glass breaks, it still stays in the frame.
 
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21stamps

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The windows were not required to be impact glass back then. It was an either or thing with shutters. You could also design the building as "partially enclosed" and get around it entirely.

If the windows shattered like regular glass they were not impact glass. If they were and came out of the frame they were defective and/or not rated.

I have seen the rated impact windows go through test after test and still stay intact. You can beat on these things over and over again with a baseball bat and while the glass breaks, it still stays in the frame.
I always lived east, 1 high rise in east downtown Ft Laud, 2 in east downtown Boca, and 1 house on the Island of PB. The condos were all "new" when I moved in, and each claimed to have hurricane proof doors and windows. I thought that was required when you lived in an evac zone, but I could be wrong. (the house was not new, but everything was "hurricane proofed" as well, it's a narrow area of land between an ocean and a waterway, but we didn't have or want shutters). You can tell just by opening and closing the windows that they are are what they claimed, and I never gave it a second thought during any of the '04-'05 storms-especially because it was "listed" as so. Needless to say we were shocked when a few broke, it was only the people who were facing west (away from the ocean) that were impacted, none of us on the east side of the building has an issue.

It was actually a huge deal then...so many buildings in SoFla with windows blown out unexpectedly. I'm pretty sure they revised the building codes again after Wilma.
 
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Master Yoda

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I always lived east, 1 high rise in east downtown Ft Laud, 2 in east downtown Boca, and 1 house on the Island of PB. The condos were all "new" when I moved in, and each claimed to have hurricane proof doors and windows. I thought that was required when you lived in an evac zone, but I could be wrong. You can tell just by opening and closing them that they are, and I never gave it a second thought during any of the '04-'05 storms-especially because it was "listed" as so. Needless to say we were shocked when a few broke, it was only the people who were facing west (away from the ocean) that were impacted, none of us on the east side of the building has an issue.

It was actually a huge deal then...so many buildings in SoFla with windows blown out unexpectedly. I'm pretty sure they revised the building codes again after Wilma.
Structural engineer in Florida for 20 years.

The code got a full scale rewrite from the ground up in 2000. It gets tweaked pretty much every year.
 
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21stamps

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Structural engineer in Florida for 20 years.

The code got a full scale rewrite from the ground up in 2000. It gets tweaked pretty much every year.
So what happened? Why did so many "new" high rises have the windows go out during Wilma? I lived in SoFla during Andrew, so I definitely remember when everything changed, but I admittedly don't know every law and code. I just know that I was never frightened, even living so close to the ocean, because I thought our buildings were so "safe". They were safe for the most part which is why I rarely evacuated when we were supposed to.

I'm not at all arguing with you, I just remember that time vividly, and I know I'm not imagining that scenario.lol
 
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Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
So what happened? Why did so many "new" high rises have the windows go out? I lived in SoFla during Andrew, so I definitely remember when everything changed, but I admittedly don't know every law and code. I just know that I was never frightened, even living so close to the ocean, because I thought our buildings were so "safe". They were safe for the most part.

I'm not at all arguing with you, I just remember that time vividly, and I know I'm not imagining that scenario.lol
Andrew was more about a failure to enforce the coed than the code really being inadequate.

At the time, code require I believe 35 nails in a sheet of plywood on a roof, hurricane clips on the framing members or trusses, plywood clips gable bracing and a myriad of other things that would have held the average house together just fine or at least, minimized the damage.

When they went through the wreckage they found sheets of plywood that had a single nail in each corner. Some only had a few staples. Trusses held down with a single toe nail and gable ends were not only framed incorrectly but they were not braced at all.

The high rise window failures during Wilma were due to the use of tempered glass instead of impact glass. Tempered glass is roughly 4 times stronger than conventional glass, but it quite literally turns to dust when it breaks.

The link below is to an article that describes the window failures that occurred during Wilma.

http://www.flcaj.com/pdfdocs/Windows and Doors/High-Rise Windows that Failed by Dave Olmstead.pdf
 
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21stamps

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The windows were not required to be impact glass back then. It was an either or thing with shutters. You could also design the building as "partially enclosed" and get around it entirely.

If the windows shattered like regular glass they were not impact glass. If they were and came out of the frame they were defective and/or not rated.

I have seen the rated impact windows go through test after test and still stay intact. You can beat on these things over and over again with a baseball bat and while the glass breaks, it still stays in the frame.
Ok I just googled and found this- I also read somewhere that buildings could get around it by only having so many floors with actual "hurricane proof glass" like they advertised.
image.jpeg
 
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21stamps

Well-Known Member
Andrew was more about a failure to enforce the coed than the code really being inadequate.

At the time, code require I believe 35 nails in a sheet of plywood on a roof, hurricane clips on the framing members or trusses, plywood clips gable bracing and a myriad of other things that would have held the average house together just fine or at least, minimized the damage.

When they went through the wreckage they found sheets of plywood that had a single nail in each corner. Some only had a few staples. Trusses held down with a single toe nail and gable ends were not only framed incorrectly but they were not braced at all.

The high rise window failures during Wilma were due to the use of tempered glass instead of impact glass. Tempered glass is roughly 4 times stronger than conventional glass, but it quite literally turns to dust when it breaks.

The link below is to an article that describes the window failures that occurred during Wilma.

http://www.flcaj.com/pdfdocs/Windows and Doors/High-Rise Windows that Failed by Dave Olmstead.pdf
Oh, thank you! I just still to this day think it is strange that the 3 people in my building who had their windows break were all facing west, so I don't k ow if they had different glass than the east facing units. A palm tree branch flew all the way up and hit one of my windows, but everything stayed in tact. Sadly, and irresponsibly, I think those of us who didn't evacuate did so for 2 reasons- 1. Because every other storm and hurricane in that last year was weaker than expected when hit. 2. Because we felt "safe and secure" being so high up and away from debris- we thought.
 
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Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Ok I just googled and found this- I also read somewhere that buildings could get around it by only having so many floors with actual "hurricane proof glass" like they advertised. View attachment 153971
Correct. A condo salesman claiming something is "hurricane proof" ranks right up there with the "all natural" label.

The article I linked should contain the product testing codes for impact windows that have to meet certain standards. If your windows don't have those codes on them you will want to put up plywood or prepare for a shower when the next Cat 2 or better comes to town.;)
 
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21stamps

Well-Known Member
Correct. A condo salesman claiming something is "hurricane proof" ranks right up there with the "all natural" label.

The article I linked should contain the product testing codes for impact windows that have to meet certain standards. If your windows don't have those codes on them you will want to put up plywood or prepare for a shower when the next Cat 2 or better comes to town.;)
I think at the time I remember the big controversy being that the claim of "protection from high winds" was accurate, but if something hit the glass during the high winds then that protection could be breached.
 
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