Hurricane season??

[TFrauts]

This might sound like a strange question...
I was just wondering if anyone has ever stayed at disney during a hurricane warning/watch or an actual hurricane??
WHat happens? Does everyne have to stay in their rooms?
Our trip is the beginning of august...Luckily it is just the beginning of the hurricane season, but with the weather these days, you just never know!!
Thanks

[Disneyfun]

I know that Disney asks for CM volunteers to come in and stay at the resorts in vacant rooms in order to have enough staff to take care of the guests that are in the hotel. I can't see them making you stay in your room unless the hurricane was actually hitting and that would be a no-brainer.
I am not sure what kind of precaution they take for all the sliding glass doors/balcony doors that the rooms have. I would imagine that they do board them up though.
They will make sure that you are safe. They have many contengency plans in place. I actually helped prep sand bags while I worked there in '97 that would be used to shore up the utilidors from flooding.

[Donald]

Depending on the hotel you are staying at, you may have to stay in your room until everything settles down. If the hotel room entrance is an exterior door, your stuck. Be prepared for at least 24 hours: have plenty of food and beverages for you and your family (they brought in coolers for sale at the lobby gift shop). Disney usually provides you with a flashlight. They have at least 3 of their stations playing non-stop movies (we saw Pirates of the Carribean Curse of the Black Pearl at least 2 times!), and a station giving current updates on weather and restrictions.

The Orlando area is usually under a curfew, and no driving off-site is allowed. On property transportation stops (I believed it stopped at 6pm when the storm was scheduled to make it to our area noon the next day) and did not resume until the day following the storm. We were fortunate to have a rental car that allowed us to change to another hotel on property (we came in early due to the storm and was not able to get into the hotel we were staying at for the week).

The food courts closed about the same time transportation did. They did have enough staff available to open back up after the storm had settled down(about 4 pm).

I guess if you are going to get stuck in a hurricane, do it at Disney. They can't make a hurricane magical, but they can make it tolerable!!!

[Donald]

They did not board up any windows or patio doors when we were there. They basically put away anything that could become airborn- chairs, trash, etc. We were able to look and see everything going on.

They claim their buildings are able to withstand a Cat 5 wind. Their electrical and phone lines are below ground therefore we never lost power or phone service (although it did flicker from time to time). They request that you leave the dead bolt unlocked in case they have to get into your room for any reason (emergency), but the door shook so much during the storm, I had to lock it--it was driving me crazy.

Have a great vacation!!
(sorry I'm so chatty tonight!):blush:

[wdwdreamer]

My best friend was in Disney a few years ago when Francis came through. She said they provided coolers and she said they kept dropping off fresh towels. She said, how many showers do they think we are going to take - hee-hee. She said they had to stay in the room and they opened the TV movies and dropped off news letters to keep everyone informed. She said if she was ever going to get stuck, do it in Disney they treat you very well! :thumbsup:

[TFrauts]

THanks a lot!! THis makes us feel much better..we are from Ontario, so we haven't ever been in that kind of weather before!! It always looks exciting on CNN, but I can imagine its a lot different when you are actually experiencing it!!

[Tick-Tock]

From everything I've read on Intercot, WDW is a great place to be for a hurricane.

By the way, I believe that hurricane season officially starts June 1.

[Strmchsr]

By the way, I believe that hurricane season officially starts June 1.

Yes, that's correct. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30 with August - mid October as the "peak" of the season.

As for what you do during a hurricane, which side of FL the hurricane is coming from can make a big difference. An Atlantic hurricane would have a much bigger impact on Orlando than a Gulf hurricane since Orlando is closer to the Atlantic coast. Neither is good news, but Atlantic hurricanes are worse for Orlando. Fortunately, they are also pretty rare. Most Atlantic hurricanes either hit Miami or slide up the coast to one of the Carolinas.

[TFrauts]

We will actually be on a cruise from August 4-11 with 3 days at Disney before the cruise and 4 days after...has anyone ever been on a cruise during a hurricane??? :sick:

[Strmchsr]

We will actually be on a cruise from August 4-11 with 3 days at Disney before the cruise and 4 days after...has anyone ever been on a cruise during a hurricane??? :sick:

A cruise ship will not go into a hurricane if at all possible. If the possibility exists they will try to get you to a port and get you home ASAP. If they is not possible they will try to sail the ship out of the path of the storm. If the ship is hit by a hurricane, it's big enough to take it, but it wouldn't be very comfortable.

[faline]

There are a number of trip reports that have been posted by folks who have experienced a hurricane while at Disney.

Some resorts will be evacuated in such a storm - most notably the campground. Guests are reassigned to other resorts for the duration of the storm.

When a storm is approaching, Disney will provide information on what guests can expect. Guests were provided with notice to stock up on provisions for their rooms as they would need to remain in their rooms during the storm. By all accounts, Disney never lost power and guests felt well-taken care of - if a tad bit bored.

My closest experience was that we left a day early to avoid one hurricane due to a commitment I had to keep at home!

[MNNHFLTX]

WDW (and most of Orlando) is far enough inland that most minimal to moderate hurricanes would not have a tremendous impact on it. Hurricane Charley (from the 2004 season) was an exception as it was a remarkably fast-moving hurricane that strengthened just before landfall in Florida. As a result, it still packed a considerable whollop and so caused a fair amount of damage when it got up to Orlando.

Most hurricanes on either coast are more likely to bring rainy, blustery weather to the Orlando area, not unlike a severe thunderstorm. As a precaution (especially after Charley), WDW may close the parks and have guests stay in their rooms during the storm, but as mentioned previously, they try to make it as tolerable as possible. Probably the biggest inconvenience would be for people traveling in or out of the area, as flights may be delayed or cancelled.

As far as cruise ships, I believe it is common for them to re-route their itinerary so that they stay out of the paths of hurricanes.:)

[TFrauts]

That would definitely make our honeymoon memorable!! Thanks a lot for the insight!!