Hurricane Ian - WDW Resorts Related Updates, Planning & Discussion

[EpcotPhoenician]

As inconvenient as it is for people to be stuck in a resort hotel, I think Disney should remain closed tomorrow if it is concerned about employees. Cast members drive from all over Central Florida and there are those with blocked roads, flooding, damaged homes. Local schools are closed tomorrow. And cast members should not have to choose between calling out and being penalized, or coming to work to hear guests complain about lack of staffing, long lines, closures, or whatever other problem that they think Disney should handle better while worrying about their own families or homes.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The Cast Member who checked us in at 9AM yesterday said she was running out the door at 12PM as soon as the “ride out crew” took over. She has family in the area.

Yet, there she was, dealing with a large crowd of frustrated guests, checking people into their rooms as quickly as possible.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Looks flooded to me too lol.

Just shows you what a little creative photography can do

 

[rlk]

Just shows you what a little creative photography can do

But I wasn't trying to make it look like it was flooded. To me, when I posted the picture, it looked like a normal rainy day boardwalk photo.

 

[DLgal]

I was trying to show the boardwalk was in good shape.

So why the weird angle?

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Shame on Disney. Cots aren't that expensive

For real. Here at Royal Pacfic they got rooms

 

[DVC Doctor]

Lesson learned for us - Don’t buy tickets thru Undercover Tourist ever again.

I always advise buying tickets direct from Disney and Universal

 

[cakebaker]

As I already mentioned, this was a previous hurricane and hopefully Disney is no longer doing that.

They aren’t for sure at the BC. We were sitting in an area next to a room where several of them were located. They were coming in and out and seemed as though they were having a great time.

Yes, they work hard and deserve our appreciation but they also volunteer and it’s actually a pretty coveted position/ getting assigned to hurricane duty. They are paid more and paid for 24 hour shifts - including while they sleep. My daughter is friends with several CM’s that jump at the chance to work events like this.

 

[cakebaker]

For real. Here at Royal Pacfic they got rooms

They got rooms at disney as well.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

But I wasn't trying to make it look like it was flooded. To me, when I posted the picture, it looked like a normal rainy day boardwalk photo.

It did look like you were. Sorry
There are much better ways to take the photo if you were wanting a direct shot.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

They aren’t for sure at the BC. We were sitting in an area next to a room where several of them were located. They were coming in and out and seemed as though they were having a great time.

Yes, they work hard and deserve our appreciation but they also volunteer and it’s actually a pretty coveted position/ getting assigned to hurricane duty. They are paid more and paid for 24 hour shifts - including while they sleep. My daughter is friends with several CM’s that jump at the chance to work events like this.

Here at Universal they brought family members with them too. And pets. So most TM working have kids/spouses and their animals here. If they wanted to bring them. Those who preferred to could remain at home to keep an eye on things there. From what we’ve seen/talked to, most seem to have come here.

They are all very happy to be here, or darn good at acting like it

 

[Lisa F]

That's fantastic. Unfortunately my friend's experience was not the same and was during a previous hurricane. Hopefully they learned from their mistakes. And yes, she really did sleep on concrete.

I think this hurricane was pretty mild compared to some past events at Disney. My memory is not what it used to be but I remember following along with other hurricanes.. if I recall the response was pretty uncoordinated during Matthew and Irma was a major hurricane that was still expected to be a hurricane when it hit WDW and there was a lot more damage than what happened here. I believe there were even power outages. I would not be surprised if the hotels were completely full during Irma as they took in a TON of evacuees and that is when they waived their no-dog rule (which they did not do this time) and there was no room for cast. Glad to hear too that they learned from previous experiences but I absolutely believe that this could have happened during past hurricanes.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

@rlk - I’m sorry your attempt at a somewhat artsy post storm pic was misinterpreted so much, likely due to the way the board software degrades picture quality and people just combining all the talk of flooding with that image. I bet the original of your photo looks pretty cool.

As for me, all I could think about was various vacation mornings and runD races that have been in the rain or morning dampness gingerly running on those boards for fear of accidentally catching a slippery spot.

Enjoy your day around the Boardwalk, hope you’re making the most of it.

 

[Lewisc]

As I already mentioned, this was a previous hurricane and hopefully Disney is no longer doing that.

I doubt Disney ever did this, as policy. Not sure if it's completely fabricated or is missing information.

 

[mom2rtk]

Was this different from prior hurricanes that Disney didn't take new reservations (and has even extended it)? I thought a lot of people used Disney hotels as a way of escaping higher risk areas of the state.

 

[rdaky]

They aren’t for sure at the BC. We were sitting in an area next to a room where several of them were located. They were coming in and out and seemed as though they were having a great time.

Yes, they work hard and deserve our appreciation but they also volunteer and it’s actually a pretty coveted position/ getting assigned to hurricane duty. They are paid more and paid for 24 hour shifts - including while they sleep. My daughter is friends with several CM’s that jump at the chance to work events like this.

I'm glad they're having fun. Again, that is not everyone's experience and it's not coveted among most cast members who have families or other responsibilities. It's probably a super good time for those who are 23, single, don't own a home, don't have kids to worry about. But there are others who take the role because they are desperate for money because even though they work FT at Disney, it's just not quite enough to cover the bills. All perspectives are worth noting.

 

[jeni1072]

My daughter's friend who works there said she has gotten the call to come in to work tomorrow. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[elaine amj]

This morning, I used my AP to book MK for Saturday.

 

[Deb in IA]

At OKW they said that Olivia’s open for breakfast and maybe goods to go. They have some food in the shop but not a lot of choice. They are doing lunch kits tomorrow depending on what they get delivered. Got some DVDs and a board game on loan. Never been in a hurricane before so quite worried.

Curious to see how you fared.
We were at OKW just last weekend, checked in on Friday, left early Monday, just in time to miss the storm.

 

[elaine amj]

I have a lot of alerts set up. For days, nothing has popped at all for the weekend, but a lot has popped up for Monday-Weds. I think they are blocking new bookings completely.

This makes sense. Hoping to get some good walk-ins. Would love to get Ohana dinner on Friday or Saturday

 

[rdaky]

I doubt Disney ever did this, as policy. Not sure if it's completely fabricated or is missing information.

So you think I'm lying? She slept on the floor as a ride out cast member during a previous hurricane. Disney does a lot of things that aren't policy. That's why there are unions. I love Disney but it's not always as sweet and pretty as they want you to believe.