Hurricane Irene

[wetoofun]

Looking for some opinions.

Looks like the hurricane will hit the Orlando area Friday. We are suppose to arrive on Sunday. Do you think things will be cleared out by Sunday to keep the parks open and also the airport open?

Thanks!

[Strmchsr]

Check the weather forecast thread in the vacation planning forum for all the latest on Irene. Yes, things should be fine by Sunday.

[WDWdriver]

It's still too soon to predict how close Irene will come to WDW. But if you assume a direct hit, then the parks will be closed during the storm and probably the next day as well. This was the case in 2004 when hurricanes Charley and Frances passed through central Florida. It took most of the day after the storm to clear the parks and get them ready to reopen.

The airport is likely to be open the day after the storm passes.

[wetoofun]

Thanks for the info.

Will be crossing my fingers.

[crltkcagle]

It's still too soon to predict how close Irene will come to WDW. But if you assume a direct hit, then the parks will be closed during the storm and probably the next day as well. This was the case in 2004 when hurricanes Charley and Frances passed through central Florida. It took most of the day after the storm to clear the parks and get them ready to reopen.

The airport is likely to be open the day after the storm passes.

My friends were CM's back in 1999 during Hurricane Floyd. She said they closed the park. And that Many of the cast members were required to stay after they sent the guests home to safety in order to sandbag toontown! She said it ended up not hitting Orlando so the park was open the next day.

[minnie04]

The Hurricane is NOT going to hit Florida !!! keep your plans.. we might get rain , but doesnt look like we will have anything big..

[Strmchsr]

The Hurricane is NOT going to hit Florida !!! keep your plans.. we might get rain , but doesnt look like we will have anything big..

Right now I doubt there will even be rain except maybe right along the coast. The models keep shifting her eastward.

[minnie04]

Yep... Its moving away by the minute.:joy::joy:

[Daisy'sMom]

But where are you flying from? Now they are thinking it is going to go up Northeast 95 corridor. :mickey:

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Prayers being sent for everyone in its path...

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

Looks like Irene will skirt the NC coast if it hits any land between NC and FL and miss Orlando all together. As I live just in from the NC coast - I've been watching Irene with extreme interest. Our Friday night football games are now on Thursday night.

[wetoofun]

We are flying out of Baltimore. Plane is suppose to leave at 7:30 am. It is going to be close.

[Sylvia]

It's still too soon to predict how close Irene will come to WDW. But if you assume a direct hit, then the parks will be closed during the storm and probably the next day as well. This was the case in 2004 when hurricanes Charley and Frances passed through central Florida. It took most of the day after the storm to clear the parks and get them ready to reopen.

I was actually in WDW when Charley hit. I was staying at Shades of Green, so I decided to go to the closed park (MK), just in case I couldn't get back to SoG easily. An announcement was made that the parks would close at 1 PM. It was eerie walking along Main Street and through the rest of the park. Many food and merchandise locations weren't open, in preparation. Anyway, to make a long story short, there's magic in that place. Exactly at 1 PM, while I was walking toward Main Street to exit the park, I felt some rain drops. To this day, I still wonder how they knew - I blame it on Pixie Dust.

I spent the night watching the rain come down sideways, and watching the news on the few TV stations that were still broadcasting. Riding the buses the next day around WDW was an adventure. We saw some of the poles which were bent flat to the ground, without any visible cracks.

In all the years we've vacationed in WDW during hurricane season, this was my first hurricane experience, and I hope it will be my last.