Looking like a canceled trip for us :(

Dizneykid

Dizneykid

Active Member
I want to start by saying that safety is always most important and I pray that this hurricane miraculously turns away from us.

I'm from the northern United States and we had planned to drive down on Saturday afternoon. This would pass us through the Carolinas on Sunday. I have no idea what the forecast will be but it's looking like a prolonged flooding event through the weekend and beyond.

Our only options left would be to take a crazy detour into Tennessee or delay our trip by several days. I don't know if that will be an option either if it doesn't let up by then.

I'm just sad but this was precisely why we got the insurance. It feels strange to cancel a trip because of a hurricane that isn't affecting where we currently are or where we will end up. I'm being told that all of NC will be a mess through the weekend. I feel terrible about anyone dealing with it directly. I should be grateful for not being impacted by it. I just had to grieve somewhere. Bless.
 
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DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
wplong1 said:
Not to hijack the thread, but would travel insurance cover this situation?? (I have looked at, but never purchased travel insurance personally.) The hurricane is not affecting the destination or point of origin and there are alternate travel options of driving around the impacted area or flying.
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I'd agree. They'd need cancel for any reason insurance.

Disney cancellation policies are very good, if cancelled early enough, they'd get back all money except the $200 deposit and the cost of the insurance.

I'd recommend postponing vs cancellation if it comes to that.
 
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Disneyhead'71

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I would postpone. Even over on I-81 they are going to get 20 inches of rain and have all the evacuees. This storm is going to hammer VA, NC, and SC really hard. To go around it you would have to go west of the Appalachian Mtns., like over to Cincinnati and then south.
 
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Dizneykid

Dizneykid

Active Member
Original Poster
DisneyJoe said:
I'd agree. They'd need cancel for any reason insurance.

Disney cancellation policies are very good, if cancelled early enough, they'd get back all money except the $200 deposit and the cost of the insurance.

I'd recommend postponing vs cancellation if it comes to that.
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Should I cancel now? I did not know this wouldn't be covered under travel insurance. What does it cover then?

This will be a devastating financial loss. We saved for 2 years.
 
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wplong1

wplong1

Premium Member
Dizneykid said:
Thank you. I appreciate all of the advice given. I'm trying to be optimistic. Where does 81 end? I'm looking at a map and it seems to go into Tennessee and I can't find where I should connect south that will keep me away from the affected areas.

I thought travel insurance covered everything. Gosh I hope so. We also got it in case my father had any issues from a cancer recurrence screening this week (which was all clear).
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You are right. You said Tennessee and I wrote Tennessee and I was thinking Kentucky!! I-81 takes you through Eastern Tennessee where you would pick up I-40 to I-75 around Knoxville and then head south on I-75 to Chattanooga, Atlanta and on to Orlando. These roads are much less congested than I-95 under the best of conditions anyway.
 
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DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Dizneykid said:
Should I cancel now? I did not know this wouldn't be covered under travel insurance. What does it cover then?

This will be a devastating financial loss. We saved for 2 years.
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You would only lose everything if you waited until the day before your trip to cancel.

Call Disney or your travel agent to get details. Your trip confirmation should have the terms and conditions for everything.

If you purchased the Disney insurance, I'll try to find the link to their info.
 
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DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
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Dizneykid

Dizneykid

Active Member
Original Poster
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LeighM

LeighM

Well-Known Member
I'm from Virginia and we're preparing for Florence now. If the storm track changes from the predicted path and goes to SW Virginia, do NOT go on 81 in Virginia. They could possibly be hit very hard. If the amount of rain predicted happens, mudslides and rockslides in that area could be a very real threat - not even counting the issues with flash flooding. Rain like that in the mountains can be quick and disastrous. It's looking to be a very slow moving inland storm so it probably won't be over on Saturday and VA to SC is looking bad. I do know some local/regional meteorologists that you can follow if you want to keep up to date. I know it's still early and they are still predicting the path but we're all being warned to take this very seriously. Also, as a side note - we had to fly from MCO to Virginia after Hurricane Matthew hit FL and the storm was over the Carolinas. It was the most miserable flight ever! We had severe turbulence and had to fly at maximum flying altitude. I would never do that again! I would just reschedule the Disney trip during a less stressful time.
 
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DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
Dizneykid said:
Thanks. I don't know why we got the insurance for. I didn't know they refunded you that close to your arrival date. I hope we know enough about the storm by tomorrow to finalize this. It's hard enough to let go of my dream vacation but not getting refunded would crush us. I will call in a bit.
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Insurance is best for when you are ON your trip - from the time you step out of your front door until you return. Flying problems, luggage problems, get sick at Disney, a parent dies and you need to go home? All likely covered reasons. Cancel for any reason? You'd need a different policy. You should also know the cancellation terms of any package you book. Read everything that you can when you book trips - or use a travel agent to advise you before booking, like @Kingdom Konsultant who sponsors this site.

Good luck!
 
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Clamman73

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
Dizneykid said:
Thanks! What does stalling mean? I keep reading about that and how it's mostly bad news because of prolonged flooding. What makes it stall? Conditions at the coast?
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It looks a little like it's gonna hit the coast early friday and then stay around close to the coast for a few days...a little bizarre for this to happen on the east coast where it might normally push straight up or recurve out to sea in a hurry.

I understand you're in a tough spot trying to decide what to do and I wish you the best...If I was driving I might have started today if I was able to have the time off even if it meant staying at a couple of places overnight along the way.
 
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wplong1

wplong1

Premium Member
I really think you can get around this with a little extra time and patience. Ultimately this storm is going North and East away from where you are going. I think you will find that outside of "ground zero" of the hurricane hit things will get going pretty quickly. To cancel you would have to check the details of insurance and/or Disney's cancellation policy and decide. Postponing a week would mess up all your fastpasses and dining reservations, and possibly your accommodations as well.

In my opinion going to Cleveland is not necessary.
 
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TheGuyThatMakesSwords

TheGuyThatMakesSwords

Well-Known Member
Damn - I am SO sorry for anyone from the East Coast, stuck in yet another Hurricane mess, around Sept-Nov :(.

Right off.... regardless of WDW? PLEASE get a Natural Gas fired Generator? This stuff is going to happen over, and over and over.... overhead power will die, you won't be able to get gasoline.... and (if) you have natural gas lines, buried? They will do what you desire. OR? Good Nat Gas generators can run off stored PROPANE tanks. This must be the 4th year running when the EC Power grid has put everyone back into 1875 :(.

Second.... just personal advice? CANCEL. Sadly, the looters are absolutely going to show up :(. I HATE to say that. But it's pretty much History :(. Yes, the Govt wants evacuation.... YOUR choice.

Now - for others living in other parts of the country.... WDW demographics indicate that a good 78% of their traffic comes from the East Coast of the US (check on the demographics projection, exit of Space Ship Earth). As with most years? SEPT-NOV will be "Cancellation Season". If this helps you? Good.
All personal opinion - I'm not necessarily right, no one else is necessarily wrong.
 
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DisneyGigi

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
Just wanted to let you know, that even though the forecast has changed again for our area - (mountains) People are hoarding gas, several stations out today. 😑 If people would not panic, especially here...the stations would not run out. But something to think of, we found that leaving WDW ahead of Irma too.
 
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TheGuyThatMakesSwords

TheGuyThatMakesSwords

Well-Known Member
DisneyShe said:
Just wanted to let you know, that even though the forecast has changed again for our area - (mountains) People are hoarding gas, several stations out today. 😑 If people would not panic, especially here...the stations would not run out. But something to think of, we found that leaving WDW ahead of Irma too.
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More of a :( than a like :(. I am SO sorry for your dilemma :(. You absolutely do not deserve all this grief :(.
 
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yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
DisneyShe said:
Just wanted to let you know, that even though the forecast has changed again for our area - (mountains) People are hoarding gas, several stations out today. 😑 If people would not panic, especially here...the stations would not run out. But something to think of, we found that leaving WDW ahead of Irma too.
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Fill up with gas before you leave so you have gas on way down(and back).
 
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