Tropical Weather in WDW

[huzzah4]

I know none of the storms currently churning are any threat to the parks, but it looks like this hurricane season is starting to get warmed up. I am a little nervous about our October trip, we have just been too lucky with the weather for our last several trips. Has anyone experienced any tropical weather while in Disney? How do the resorts handle it? Do they evacuate everyone or just hunker down and hope for the best? I assume that they close the parks those days, but how long does it typically take them to reopen? I am not really anticipating any problems, but I just haven't thought about any of this in the past and am curious as to Disney's plans for such a situation, I know there must be detailed plans in place, but I am interested in hearing from anyone who has seen it firsthand.

[Texas Tinkerbell Too]

Thanks for asking this question. We will be there Sept 13th-21st. I am curious about the weather and how Disney handles things, also. Don't they have a protective shield that covers all the parks and life as we know it at Disney just keeps going? :laughing:

[SgtTigger]

We are in peak hurricane season right now.....

October should be much better than now....

I have been through the edge of a tropical storm while at Disney it was just some wind and a lot of rain.... it was fine. We even stayed an extra day so we did not have to drive through the storm on the way home.
Now Disney has shut down everything at least 2 times in reference to storms. Once everyone had to stay in there rooms but they had bag lunches for everyone and I have heard that they give out flashlights just in case.
I know that some people leave there home and evacuate to Disney world for some place to stay.....





:cop: :tigger:

[Nekochan]

I went to Epcot during a tropical storm. You get very, very wet. Disney rarely closes their parks - as long as the guests are not in danger.

[tinkerbell04]

We were at Disney as Hurricane Charley blew through. It was a quick moving storm, but it did close the parks. We were given updates and told to stay in our rooms. They gave us bag lunches and had movies on the telvision for the kids. I never felt unsafe, as the hotels are designed to withstand hurricanes. The storm came through overnight and the paeks opened late, but did open the following day, except for Animal Kingdom. Magic Kingdom was deserted! If you are there for a hurricane, try to make the best of the situation, the CM's are trying to give you the best service possible, while some of them have destruction to deal with at their own homes!:mickey:

[KAJUNKING]

Thanks for asking this question. We will be there Sept 13th-21st. I am curious about the weather and how Disney handles things, also. Don't they have a protective shield that covers all the parks and life as we know it at Disney just keeps going? :laughing:

we are going at the same time as you, ireally hope there are no problems with storms

[DizneyFreak2002]

Ohh yes... I experienced some tropical weather... October 2004.... Seemed to rain every day I was down there..... you could actually see the clouds were moving in a spinning direction... Needless to say, my clothes got wet on many occasions...

[dteed]

Labor Day weekend 04 we were there for a direct hit. Not sure which storm it was but they handed out flashlights, played many movies on the TV, and you were to stay in your room the entire time. We left but others in our group stayed and were just fine. The parks opened the next day. You will be safe and taken care of. October is not the most active month anyway.

[ElenitaB]

We were there in Aug/Sept 04 and were caught for 2-1/2 days in our room by Hurricane Frances. Disney takes incredible care of its guests (and keep in mind that the CMs who are taking care of YOU and away from their own families and homes) and safety is the first consideration. Everyday we received an update under our door about what was expected for the day. There was a continental breakfast and bag lunches available for a moderate price in the lobby (we were staying at BWV), and there were activities for the kids as well. Needless to say, this was a very memorable trip for us.

For those who had park hoppers, WDW returned their money. If you had reservations and couldn't make it in, no penalties were applied. If you were "stuck" in Orlando as MCO was closed, you stayed in your room (I'm not sure what arrangements were made vis a vis room rate).

And, last but not least, if you'd like to see pictures of Hurricane Frances passing through Epcot, click here (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/551471262rPYZcL).

Bottom Line: WDW treats its guests very well... in ordinary and extraordinary conditions.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

I've never been when they've had to close the park down. I've been 3 or 4 times durning that time of year and have only had to deal with rain. The one year it rained nonstop and every picture looked like a sea of yellow ponchos. Last year we went mid-Sept and it rained just a little. Hopefully it will be the same this year. According to the 10-day weather channel report.....they are calling for isolated and scattered thunderstorms.

[McGoofy]

I honestly don't remember which hurricane it was Frances, Charley, Ivan...there were so many in 2004, it is hard to recall. Anyhow, we were at Disney for Night of Joy on September 9-11, 2004. There were feeder bands of one of the previously named hurricanes that were passing through. Business went on as usual, but the parks were practically empty. The CM at our hotel gave us a terrific upgrade because he said the hotel was also practically empty. He also refunded half of what we paid on our Night of Joy tickets because he said that because of the really bad hurricane like weather they were selling the tickets at half price now. Bonus, bonus, bonus...we were making out like bandits!:D So we continued to brave the weather. We figured if Disney wasn't worried, then we wouldn't be either. They did have sand bags out at various places, but I really didn't notice much of anything else out of the ordinary. So we went to Night of Joy. It was POURING down rain, but they continued on with the various venues. :rain: We really had a great time at the concerts even though we were soaking wet. Disney even gave everybody that was there free Mickey Mouse ponchos--you know those $10.00 ones that suddenly appear at all the stores when it starts to rain at Disney. Anyway, it was just the feeder bands of a hurricane, so it wasn't true hurricane weather, but that is my only experience with hurricanes at Disney. From what I hear, Disney really takes good care of their guests during extreme weather situations.

[cal5755]

Originally Posted by Texas Tinkerbell Too
Thanks for asking this question. We will be there Sept 13th-21st. I am curious about the weather and how Disney handles things, also. Don't they have a protective shield that covers all the parks and life as we know it at Disney just keeps going?


We will be there the 14th - 21st!! It is great to read about how Disney takes care of its guests during the hurricaine season... we go the same week every 2 years (3rd trip so far) and have never encountered any bad weather... we had one 10 minute shower the first time and that was all!!

[MinnieMommie]

October usually has very nice weather. If you post this question on the "vacation planning" forum it might be helpful. Strmchaser is a moderator there and is quite the weather expert. He made a very good call on predicting my vacation weather 1 month out. :mickey:

[Polynesian Dweller]

We always go in October and had only one close call in 16 years. Even though we didn't get hit it was clear that the Disney folks were ready to help if needed. We just go and enjoy.

[Strmchsr]

I know I've posted this before, but maybe it'll be helpful to post again. Peak hurricane season runs though October and things start calming down in November, though the hurricane season runs through the end of that month.

To the best of my knowledge and research ability WDW rarely ever closes. In fact, the earliest time I could find that it had closed due to weather was 9/14-15/99 due to hurricane Floyd. All parks closed on 9/11/01, of course, and then twice in 2004 for Hurricanes Charley and Frances, and for Wilma in 2005. Given that WDW went it's first 18 years without closing, the chances of you facing a hurricane closure are pretty slim, and even when it did close briefly it was only for a few hours, or a day at most.

Now, as for what actually happens, here's the operational plan for WDW when a storm becomes a possibility:


Phase 5
(Monitoring Storm Possible)
Review current plan, checklists and business recovery plans. Review personnel and resource availability for the ride-out crew. Verify contact numbers and emergency data. Prepare WDW Emergency Operations Center for activation.

Phase 4
(Storm likely within 24–36 hrs)
General readiness imposed. Brief personnel. Review checklists. Consider possible shut down of long lead operations and not starting extended operations. Limited activation and staffing of WDW Emergency Operations Center.

Phase 3
(Storm probable within 12–24 hrs)
Intensify clean up and tie down. Prepare for phase 2 activity. Selected ride-out crew personnel given the opportunity to secure their personal property. Turn in excess radios and vehicles. WDW Emergency Operations Center opens and is fully staffed. Note: Generally this is when the WDW Emergency Operations Center, command centers, and command posts will be fully activated. However, this is an Executive Policy Team decision.

Phase 2
(Storm impending)
Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney close. Guest campground trailers removed and secured by the guests. Scheduled hotel and campground guests notified of conditions. Complete all clean up and tie down short of shutdown. Authorized ride-out families move to pre-designated shelters. Ride-out crew fully staffed at start of phase 1 or as directed by the WDW Emergency Operations Center. Personnel not in ride-out crew released as soon as possible.

Phase 1
(Storm imminent, take shelter)
Shutdown all activities and immediately take shelter. Fulfill ride-out requirement plans.

Post Storm Phase
Command Centers submit situation reports to WDW Emergency Operations Center. Establish business resumption / recovery schedule. Notify employees through media and cast Member emergency lines of call back as directed by WDW Emergency Operations Center.

[DDuck66]

We were at WDW when Hurricane Charley came through. We checked in at about 6:00 pm and they had us go straight to our room. The parks and the stores and the resort restaurant had already closed. The parks were only open for resort guests that day and they closed about 5:00 pm. The Hurricane hit about 9:00 pm. It did a lot of damage to trees and telephone poles in the area, but most of WDW has underground power and telephone lines. The storm moved very quickly and the front desk called us about 10:30 to let us know the store and restaurant was reopened. The next morning all of the parks were open except for AK. Some of the maintenence roads and the main entrance for CM's were blocked with downed trees. I was very impressed with how quickly they had everything cleaned up and ready to go.

[RBrooksC]

When Hurricaine Francis went through in 2004 we almost didn't make it down since I fly non-rev. I had to book my seat and then the flights were cancelled. We were lucky there was a charter flight to get SWA planes into MCO for originators the next day.

We made it to the California Grill for our Honeymoon dinner and the next day the parks were virtually deserted and except for some foilage damage, one couldn't tell a storm had been through there. Oh, well, there was still wind and the air was nice and cool. By the last day, the weather was HOT, HOT HOT with no breeze.

The longest wait we had for a ride that week was, I think, fifteen minutes. Otherwise, it was mostly walk-on, even RNR and TOT.

[ThanxForNoticin]

We were there for Frances Labor Day Weekend, 2004. It was one of the very few times they felt they needed to close the parks and keep home employees. So for about 1 1/2 days, we stayed in our room (AS Sports). We never felt in any danger in our room, as the Disney hotels are very well constructed. In fact, some folks coming from the Florida coast to avoid a direct hit from Frances drove to Disney to wait out the storm there.

The truth is the chance of a hurricane hitting Disney like that are very slim. But if one does come through, Disney's procedures definitely work, and you will not have to worry about your safety. We had a couple day's notice that Frances would like hit, so we did a few things - we rented a frig and we went to the grocery store for a few extra things to hold us over.

I would NOT let a very remote possibility of a hurricane at Disney ruin your plans.