Yeah, Category 3 Katrina wiped out Mississippi, but a 2 is nothing :)
If it floods, watch out for alligators.
May the force be with you.
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Yeah, Category 3 Katrina wiped out Mississippi, but a 2 is nothing :)
If it floods, watch out for alligators.
May the force be with you.
I posted this as a sticky topic, but putting it here also, WDW has announced closing of their parks for IRMA
Walt Disney World theme parks will be closed Sunday and Monday (9/10 and 9/11). Mk and Epcot will close at 9pm on Saturday (9/9) and DHS and DAK will close at 7pm on Saturday (9/9)
I canceled my entire trip very early this morning. Got a full refund on everything. Almost forgot to cancel all my dining and FP+ until I got the dining email reminder! Am having a lot of trouble booking a different week though. :( Magical Express is awesome as always but they can't make rooms appear. I might have to stay off-site for the first time in over a decade. I need my Disney fix!
For those who are braving it, stay safe. And keep posting here so we know you're okay. I'll keep checking in.
I think that is great. Kudos. Don't need to add more people to a disaster area. Responders will have enough to do. Plus, why intentionally go to a Cat 2 or 3 hurricane? Finally, those that work there will have plenty to do on and off the clock in regards to the hurricane. I think people who are coming down amidst all this, are probably the same folks who go to the grocery store Thanksgiving or Xmas day.
Watch some disney shows, plan the next trip! You made the right choice.
Maybe!! I was actually looking at arriving October 14. I just don't understand why the crowd levels are so high that week! Sheesh! Will miss my after Labor Day light crowds.
Also in my original post I wrote Magical Express but I meant Magical Journeys! I don't know how to edit a post (or if you can).
But back to the point... I was living in a bubble up until this morning really hoping the hurricane wouldn't be that big of a deal and it was mostly hype. I just wanted my vacation, since I plan for over 6 months, picking the perfect week and then the perfect resort and the perfect ADRs and FP+ and what days to go to each park, etc.
I finally came to my senses while I was getting ready this morning. I felt sick to my stomach from the stress of it all and didn't feel better until I put the cancelation plan into motion.
Nope. They use what they call the "5 Million Dollar Corks". You and I know them better as "monorails" . They park them with most of the train inside the building and the end in those openings. Helps cut down on the airflow and protects the monorails at the same time.
I lived in Central Florida quite a bit of my adult life and don't recall the WDW parks staying open during a direct impact from a Cat 1 hurricane. Did the article say which storm that was?
The people on the west coast of Florida will have a very wild ride, but Disney World is far enough inland that most of the damage will be limited to roof damage, downed trees and tree limbs and localized widespread power outages (similar to what happened with Charley in 2004). The resorts and parks are well-equipped to handle that. Good luck with your vacation and Irma!
........ listening to various FLA radio stations online and live hurricane and tornado coverage .....I live in NJ ....but I'm an American ....and am right there with all the FLA residents.
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We are at Saratoga Springs, not horrible. Trees down, looks like Congress Park buildings took the brunt at this resort, mostly shingle and tree damage. Hoping everyone else in the state gets relief quickly. My sister works for Ohio Power and they sent 900 crew members down yesterday.
Here at OKW, we passed the storm just fine. A couple of trees down around the golf course, and a few branches down in parking lots, but now at 7pm the next evening, and it's mostly cleaned up. Seriously, you would never know that a hurricane came through last night. They reopened the main building around lunch, and the pool was opened by 3pm. Chip and Dale have been running rampant, and Dale even took my daughter's algebra homework and did it for her. If you're interested in seeing a great character interaction, search YouTube for "Dale Does Algebra".
I'm glad we came down, even if it was questionable judgement to drive into the path of a hurricane. We have had a good time bonding as a family, and it's been relaxing just hanging out at the resort.
The reason for the trip was that my wife had a conference she was supposed to attend on Amelia Island (outside of Jacksonville) on Friday and Saturday, and so we thought we'd blow our AP's (which expire on Saturday) before her conference. But today the conference was postponed, as Jacksonville suffered historic flooding. Luckily, OKW is discounting the room's cash price 50%, so we're just staying put and enjoying a few extra days in the parks before heading north again.
I would be interested to hear from others that canceled a Disney hotel when you see your deposit credited back. Mine hasn't shown up yet.
I also had to cancel my rescheduled hotel for this week because JetBlue preemptively canceled flights through Friday as they restart their FL schedule. My rescheduled hotel was the Swan and they've yet to confirm they'll refund my deposit.
No refund yet. My agent through Magical Journeys said it could take 7-10 days.
I rebooked my trip but am staying off property cause there was ZERO availability the week I could go in October. But my parents are giving me use of their time share so it all worked out in the end.
Am mostly bummed that I lost by FOP FP+!! I was able to snag one for late in my trip and now I'm resigned to the fact we'll have to wait forever to ride. Boo.
We have a trip planned arriving on Sept 19,flying into Orlando International. I am very torn. I don't know what to do at this point. I have no idea if magical express will be running due to the gas situation or if the airport and airlines will be back up and running. I feel so bad for those suffering through this and my vacation seems trivial. I just need to have information to make decisions. Does anyone have any info about airport or magic express operations?
We arrived about 2:30 (with a 9.5 hr drive instead of 7.). Things seem very business as usual here on property. We passed a lot of stations with gas but we also fought a lot of traffic. Seems very low occupancy here. Wait times in the parks are very short and there are 8 people total at the new WL quiet pool at almost 5pm.
Beware though if you are driving check conditions as the Sante Fe river could cause closing of 75 in both directions.
In six days things should be getting somewhat back to normal in Orlando, especially as power crews from all over the country have been working to restore electricity in Florida. The airport reopened yesterday with limited operations and the airlines are getting their flights back on schedule. I haven't heard about Magical Express, but if the airport is up and running, I would guess that Magical Express is too.