I guess you're not a true WDW veteran unless you've experienced hurricane related shutdowns and closures. Ours was Wilma 12 years ago. Stay safe people!
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I guess you're not a true WDW veteran unless you've experienced hurricane related shutdowns and closures. Ours was Wilma 12 years ago. Stay safe people!
If you're coming down here make sure to bring water or have it shipped as all our stores are out and lines have formed for when the arrival of the rucks come to restock. Also...everyone who will be evacuating will do so starting Friday so heading North will be gridlocked.
We were there right after Charley lots of trees were down
This makes me miss Strmchsr. :(
What if we're coming from the north and heading south? It looks like the hurricane has slowed down (not expected to hit Orlando area until Monday now), and that the eye will stay off of the east coast. Storm surge and coastal flooding for sure, but Orlando should have lessened winds (still dangerous) and some strong rain. If we're coming from Georgia on I-95, will they have the southbound lanes reversed in Florida to aid evacuation?
I think you'll be fine unless there's a mandatory evacuation. We might head out early Saturday along with millions of others if it looks like its coming directly to us. We are in the middle of the state so hopefully by the time it hits us it'll be only a 1 or 2 hurricane. Its this wait and see thing that's making us all nervous! We just moved from Texas a day after the hurricane last week... think they're following us:confused:
I figure that if it hits on the south tip and the eye heads straight up the middle of the state, it should be much weakened by the time it hits Orlando. But if it tracks east and the eye stays over water, Orlando will still get a lot of rain, and tropical storm winds, but not the stuff within ten miles of the eye, which is where the real heavy damage occurs.
I don't know. Part of me thinks it's crazy to be even considering driving towards the storm to wait it out at a place I've been 20 times. But the other part of me is thinking that where else would I rather wait it out! And once it passes, it will likely be business as usual at WDW. Likely.
It will keep changing but now they are saying it will likely skirt the east coast & make landfall in the Carolinas
Should I worry about changing my plans right now? Supposed to land at 1:30pm Saturday. Looks like Irma will still be down toward Cuba at that time. Will flights get canceled if it's not expected to hit FL until Sunday? I want to keep all my plans intact; my dad keeps telling me to cancel the entire thing and book a different week.
With all these storms, nothing is certain outside of a 24 hour window. Hopefully it keeps turning to the east like the current predictions show.
Good call! We moved our arrival up 2 days and booked our first 2 nights at Port Orleans Riverside, I wonder if we can move our garden grocer delivery two days and change the resort?
I am the same way, I have no issue riding it out in WDW and I'm getting the same pressure from my dad at 47 years old. "I think you should postpone a week or two" he says. If it were only that easy!
Seriously! I booked in February or March. ADRs and FP+ and what I'm doing each day are planned out. Not to mention approved time off from work! It might be a solo trip, but that doesn't mean I'm completely flexible. I just want the peace of mind of getting down there and then riding it out. I'm more worried about my flight getting canceled and having to deal with all that. So I'm focused on what is happening Saturday and if I can get down on there and hop on ME. After that, whatever happens, happens.
Plus, this entire thing could not be as big of a deal. I'm trying to stay away from the hype and which news outlets can use the most scary language ("catastrophic" is being used a lot). My rational side says this is something to report on other than politics, and they want to be more prepared than they were for Harvey (so FL can say they at least issued a warning). I mean, the ENTIRE STATE is under a warning right now. That seems extreme. I come from New England where we're frequently told to prepare for the "blizzard of the century" that turns out to be a few inches.
The truth is, no one knows. And no one will know until Friday. I'm in a discussion on Facebook with a weatherman from CT who is telling me I'm being stupid and the only reason to go to Orlando this weekend is "to chase the hurricane," but even he doesn't know for sure what will happen.
Right now, my plan is to keep everything as-is, and let the status of the flight be my determination.
And at the very least, if this turns out to be less extreme than expected, my dad owes me $50. ;)
From what I understand, WDW is now allowing cancellations or rescheduling of vacations scheduled for next week. Most likely flights will start getting cancelled in the next few days.
From my Facebook discussion:
Me: This CT resident is due to go to Orlando on Saturday. Think getting down there will be okay?
Weatherman: The forecast is still in doubt, but honestly, the only reason I'd go to Orlando this weekend is to chase a hurricane. It could be ugly in Florida by this weekend/early next week.
Me: This Disney trip has been planned for MONTHS. I'd rather head down and deal with it than succumb to panic and cancel or postpone the trip. If my flight isn't canceled, then off I'll go! If the flight is canceled, well, then I have no choice... I'm HOPING Saturday will be okay as it's not projected to hit FL until Sunday anyway.
Weatherman: Good luck. I think that's a really risky move. Orlando is more inland, but if Irma is close enough you'll experience high end tropical storm conditions if not hurricane conditions. Saturday could be ok, but what about the days after the storm? It's not panic to project out 4-5 days and factor in the possibility (not guaranteed) of a severe hit.
I ended up canceling our Fri-Mon trip and re-booking for later next Wed-Sat. JetBlue switched my flights with no fee even though my flights were not on the dates expressly laid out on their website as subject to the weather advisory. I was on hold almost an hour with Disney. They didn't have any Epcot resort area hotels available, so they refunded my deposit and then I booked online at the Swan.
Hotels will be a problem, if people stuck there (perhaps for flights, etc) and hang on to their room. Disney won't be able to evict them.
I'd also Amazon a raft, and a ton of OFF spray. Mosquitoes will be even worse afterwards.
Don't count on that, last year during Matthew those checking out had to move if there was no room for them. There were lines of people they were trying to get settled somewhere on property because there were a lot of locals checking in to ride out the storm. In the end it appeared that they had accommodated mostly everyone somewhere.
My daughter is on the ride out team. Should be some interesting stories!