Place: Disney World
Location: Orlando, Florida
Personal Reflections:
So of course,
a tropical depression develops off the coast of Africa, and becomes Hurricane
Matthew in the Caribbean but even then, there are only guesses as to the path.
It looked like the hurricane would travel up the east coast, the outer bands
just barely brushing the east coast of Florida, so we decided to go ahead with
our vacation.
Off to Florida
four of us go...2 coming from Branson and 2 from Sacramento. Somehow when
making reservations we all ended up on the same plane in Chicago. Dirk and
Logan in row 24 and Danny and I in row 25. This was the 4th visit to
Disney World for Danny and I. Dirk had been to Disneyland but Logan had never
done anything Disney. It's really hard to imagine someone getting to be 23
years old and never been to any Disney property.
The next
morning, we have a message on our room phones saying that Disney is closely
watching the path of the hurricane and, at this point, it will pass to the
east. We spend the day at the Magic Kingdom, not really giving a thought to the
hurricane. We knew Disney was on top of it. By the end of the day, the
hurricane has toggled a bit and now will hit, to a greater or lesser degree, Orlando.
Up and out the
next day. The message from Disney is still they are keeping close watch, but by
mid morning, there's a new message coming out. We're at Disney Studios and word
goes out that the parks will all close at 5pm, stay close the next day and
reopen, maybe later, on Saturday. This is only the 4th time in
Disney World history that the parks closed.
I found out
there are 5 things that happen when a hurricane is aiming for Disney World.
- If you aren't in Disney World yet, you can request a refund or ask that your trip is rescheduled
- Attractions start to close down depending upon the strength of the storm and how much preparation the attraction takes to secure.
- Decisions are made on the availability of parks...limited or full closure.
- The "tie down" starts within 72 hours of a storm. Teams move through all the parks, the hotels complexes and Disney Springs, removing loose items, such as trash bins, table and chairs. Signs and banners will be tied down and secured. Lights that can't be removed are covered in cloth bags to contain any glass that may break.
- Lastly, guests and staff start "sheltering in place". Most rooms are safe to stay in but sometimes people are asked to move to interior rooms.
The one thing
we knew was that Disney would keep us safe. While others around us were
worrying and wondering what to do, we knew all we had to do was follow Disney's
instructions. Disney World has made it through more than two dozen hurricanes
and tropical storms in its 40 year history.
In 2009, the resort earned the
Storm Ready designation from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), meaning it is one of the safest
places to be in the United States when a hurricane strikes. Not only do they
take care of their guests, it is also somewhere the local residents can come
for shelter. The resort is unique in that it has several disaster command posts
where they can dispatch staff and supplies. If a storm is indicated, Disney
will continuously monitor weather reports but if a hurricane is projected to
hit central Florida, they bring in additional experts. Once the storm is within
72 hours of the parks, Disney goes from "watch" to
"prepare" with all staff acting as if the storm will directly hit
Disney World. This is when they will start notifying guests as to what is going
on and what to expect.
We stayed at
Disney Studios right to the end with the storm closing in. Before leaving the
park, we stopped at the bathroom. Ok, how long does it take to tinkle? Couple
of minutes and when I get to the door, it is absolutely pouring. This wasn't
one of those times you can out wait the rain, so we ran for the bus stop and so
did everyone else. We wait for the bus to take us back, and they are cramming
these buses as full as they can possibly get and of course, everyone is soaked
thru and thru.
Arriving at our hotel, everyone who was in the parks and at
Disney Springs are back at one time and need to be fed. Just think, normally
there are thousands of people spread all over the Disney properties...parks,
restaurants, Disney Springs and hotels and now they are back at the hotels and
all needing to be fed. The line of people waiting to eat wrapped twice around
the lobby and we were told was a 2 hour wait. We went back to the rooms,
changed and got in line. Logan started broadcasting on FaceBook live so people
could see what was going on. Danny showed us a charades game app on his phone
called Heads Up. Not only did we play but we had several people shout out
answers. Danny and Logan were taking this to the extreme...they're laying on
the ground acting out stuff...they're jumping up. The whole thing is amusing
and helps to pass the time.
The "sit down" restaurant at our hotel
was undergoing remodeling so we had more of a fast food type place; definitely
not equipped to handle the number of people. As time goes on, they are running
out of things and the menu is getting smaller and smaller. At one point, they
told everyone there was no more hot food left. They couldn't cook the stuff
fast enough. I felt sorry for the staff. You know they have family and homes
outside of Disney too and here they are stuck taking care of some cranky
people. We were also informed that Disney wanted each person to pick up a
"box" meal in case the hurricane got bad and we couldn't leave our
rooms.
After 3 1/2 hours, we ordered but then had to wait longer for the food
to be prepared. At least at that point we were sitting down. It was funny, each
time food came out from the kitchen, the room would erupt in cheers and applause
as we all anxiously hoped it was our food.
We got back to our rooms after
midnight...windy and rain but ready to ride out the storm. The boys had the
room next to us and we told them that they could call us at any time and if
they didn't want to be alone, could come to our room. What I didn't say was
that if it got bad, I wanted my son with me. It looked like the hurricane would
arrive during the night, but nothing woke me.
By morning, the
hurricane has moved through and we carefully peek outside. It was a bit messy
but no more than a bad storm anywhere. Of course, I have no idea how quickly
Disney moved to clean things up. Obviously, each park has to have a sweep to
check conditions and start clean up. Being the happiest place on earth, I'm
sure they move pretty darn quick to restore the magic. The hurricane has just
brushed Orlando.
But before our magic could start again, we headed down to the
restaurant where we find they have a limited menu with a much shorter wait. Before
coming down, we had looked at our box "meal" that we had brought back
to the room the previous night. It consisted of half a french roll...dry, no
condiments, with 3 slices of very thin deli ham and 1 unripe orange. Really? We
took the sandwiches with us and the manager apologized and said they shouldn't
have been served.
By the way, Disney did NOT give us those box lunches...we had
to use our meal plan to get them; which irritated me even more. Needing
something to do for the day, we went to the gift shop and bought a $10 deck of
cards and occupied ourselves and the boys with multiple games of Hearts.
Later
that afternoon, we heard that Disney Springs was opening on a very limited
basis at 5pm. I'm sure the hotels just about begged the restaurants to open so
they wouldn't have to go through what they did the night before. But now you
have ALL these people heading to Disney Springs...lines, LONG lines everywhere.
All these people cooped up in their hotels with only one place to go. Waiting
in line at Ragland Irish Pub, one of their bartenders went by and said if we didn't
have anyone under 21 and didn't mind eating at the bar, we could go right in. They
didn't have to tell us twice.
The last three
days were mostly uneventful, a rather normal Disney World vacation. I did want
to mention that at Epcot, we were coming out from having lunch at the
Biergarten and saw the line to see Frozen's "Elsa" was short. Kidding
the boys, because they both had a thing for her, I asked if they wanted pictures
with her and they jumped at the chance. Listening to them while waiting in line
was so amusing. Each of them boasting about what they would say and what they
would do and where their hands would be; each guy trying to best the other. I
really wasn’t sure what would happen when we got up there.
Want to know what?
Both boys turned shy. It was really funny but so sweet too. I would never tell
them that. Their whole body language changed. Danny stood there with his hands
clasped in front of him and Logan kept looking down...the perfect gentlemen.
And so ended
another vacation with this California girl experiencing weather she'd rather
not be in. First the tornado in Branson, MO and now a hurricane in Orlando, FL.
What's next?
Post script...A week
after we returned home, I wrote an email to Disney explaining that we purchased
a package deal. I told them that although I may gripe about the cost, there is
a level of service we've come to appreciate and expect and Disney fell short
this time. We felt a refund was in order for 2 days on our meal plan and 1 day
in the parks and we got it. Is Disney expensive? Yes... Unfair? No
Yet another
post script...about a year later, another hurricane hit Florida and Disney had
to go through the same thing, but with more damage. I read complaints about price
gouging and felt I had to step in. I said that Disney wasn't price
gouging...Disney is expensive...always has been, always will be, but they were
not taking advantage of people.
