Hurricane Irma?

[Tonyz]

Tuesday the 13th, but I didn't see any flights out earlier...I'll have to look again.

Try calling instead. Flights that were said to be sold out on JetBlue were still available. I was able to get a direct flight and even an aisle seat too!

But I would do it soon.

 

[wonder whisper]

I'm coming down Friday. As of now I'm not making any changes, but still checking everything

Based on everything we're seeing, you may be getting in just under the window. I suspect people with Saturday arrivals are the ones who -- depending where Irma is at that point -- may be at risk of having the rug pulled out from under them (flights cancelled)

 

[xiphoid76]

Live in Orlando - 5 miles from OIA. Other than a shortage of bottled water and some lines at gas stations, it is business as usual. Kids are in school, people at work, folks enjoying the theme parks, etc. Traffic on the roads is normal to slighly congested based upon the removal of tolls. Most people from coastal regions will evacuate to Orlando so that is expected starting tomorrow or Friday. Some schools are announcing closures, though Orange County (Orlando) has not announced anything yet. Coastal schools close tomorrow or Friday. Colleges closing tomorrow. High school football games being moved to Thursday night. UCF football game moved to Friday night (from Saturday). We all will keep watching the models hoping to only see the left side of the storm as the most dangerous part is the northeast quadrant (from 12:00 to 3:00). Everyone planning on coming down should keep an eye on things and be safe. The tracks typically change all the way up until landfall, so there are never any assurances. A 5 mile bobble 4 days before landfall could end up being a 175 mile difference in where it goes.

Thank you for the nice summary. Coming from Minneapolis it is hard to get a grasp on what is actually happening there - other than the horror stories they show on the news. We are flying down tomorrow night and hunkering down at an airport hotel and then at Polynesian on Saturday to weather the storm from there. Hopefully there will be little to no damage and everyone will be safe.

 

[BigMac3001]

If either the white or light green tracks turns out to be accurate, get ready for Disney to be rebuilding Vero Beach again.

Oh, so now you believe the models? Wow.

 

[flatlandcycle]

Ugh that sounds miserable. I don't know who would consider staying in that line instead of checking around at the surrounding restaurants.

Last year there was a curfew, many restraunts were closed because employees couldn't travel. It was box or nothing at some resorts.

 

[yulilin3]

OCPS (Orange County Public Schools) just said that Friday is school as usual but extra school activities after school on Friday and the weekend are cancelled, they are still monitoring to announce school cancellation for Monday

 

[disneycountrygirl]

This is maybe one of those answers no one knows....but curious as to thoughts anyway.

We were flying into MCO on Friday. We rescheduled last night to fly in on Tues, the 12th now. For us, the important part was coming in AFTER landfall (wherever that may be), not beforehand with all the unknowns.

But do you guys think MCO and Disney will both be up and running by the 12th? Will it be dicey only in worst case scenario or is it close enough to be dicey period in all scenarios?

Also, does Disney have ride-checking protocol in place to make sure the storms don't affect the rides at all?

 

[Roxyfire]

Last year there was a curfew, many restraunts were closed because employees couldn't travel. It was box or nothing at some resorts.

I was there, I know! I was just lamenting at the lack of dining options at that time at a deluxe resort.

 

[BigMac3001]

Based on everything we're seeing, you may be getting in just under the window. I suspect people with Saturday arrivals are the ones who -- depending where Irma is at that point -- may be at risk pf having the rug pulled out from under them (flights cancelled)

Yeah, not so much, but you've been so accurate up to this point.

Sunday is when the tracks show issues for central Florida. Now, the storm could speed up or slow down, but Wonder's magic 8 ball is not a source I would rely on.

 

[AngiTN]

This is maybe one of those answers no one knows....but curious as to thoughts anyway.

We were flying into MCO today. We rescheduled last night to fly in on Tues, the 12th now. I know it's only 4 days, but for us, the important part was coming in AFTER landfall (wherever that may be), not beforehand with all the unknowns.

Do you guys think MCO and Disney will both be up and running by the 12th? Will it be dicey only in worst case scenario or is it close enough to be dicey period in all scenarios?

Also, does Disney have ride-checking protocol in place to make sure the storms don't affect the rides at all?

Of course they do.

Will they be ready by the 12th? Toss a coin for that one

 

[AngiTN]

I was there, I know! I was just lamenting at the lack of dining options at that time at a deluxe resort.

I'm shocked they didn't do more. BWI did. We had a great buffet with options they put together from the Boardwalk Bakery and the Pizza window, along with Tratoria pastas and soups (if my old memory is working well)
It was reasonably priced, good and we could eat our fill and fill a box to take to the room for later

 

[dgramling]

This was suppose to be a weird trip for us to begin with and that complexity has cause the decision if to cancel or not to be harder

Our original plan was to stay in a airport hotel in Baltimore (already book nonrefundable) Thursday night 7/7
Arrive in Orlando Friday morning
Discovery Cove Saturday
Universal Sunday & Monday with a stay at Royal Pacific Sunday night
Disney World Wednesday & Thursday with a stay at All Star Movies Wednesday night
the nights in between we were going to stay at my parents snowbird home in the Titusville area (probably not a good place to be in a hurricane)
Fly out Saturday the 16th


a lot of moving parts to cancel or move, trying to make decisions but the unpredictability makes it much harder, thought if we were to still go we would try to stay at wdw during the storm but seeing no availability at any resorts

 

[jayohjayoh]

I work in the Metrowest area of Orlando, offices are closing at Noon on Friday, with leadership monitoring the storm for updates about Monday since it's still unclear.

 

[tmcd1126]

I'm glad someone else is also waiting it out! And yes I will be packing some food with me as well. Like I said I'm hoping if they fly us in Sunday afternoon that by then they'll have a solid idea that says it won't be as bad as they may have thought.

 

[Roxyfire]

I'm shocked they didn't do more. BWI did. We had a great buffet with options they put together from the Boardwalk Bakery and the Pizza window, along with Tratoria pastas and soups (if my old memory is working well)
It was reasonably priced, good and we could eat our fill and fill a box to take to the room for later

That just goes to show even with WDW resorts your mileage will seriously vary. And who knows, last year it seems like they were playing catch up the whole time. Maybe they have different plans in place this time and it'll be better. Or maybe it'll be worse, there's no way to know.

 

[AngiTN]

That just goes to show even with WDW resorts your mileage will seriously vary. And who knows, last year it seems like they were playing catch up the whole time. Maybe they have different plans in place this time and it'll be better. Or maybe it'll be worse, there's no way to know.

I do have a feeling they learned a lesson or two last year. If they have a repeat of closures I think (hope at least) for a few changes

 

[laurabelle]

Southwest updated through Wed. now.

I wanted to add that even though I already changed my flight from Monday to Tuesday, if I click on change flight I am still offered the option to change without paying the difference. So this free change is not a one time only deal.

 

[HarperLeigh]

OCPS (Orange County Public Schools) just said that Friday is school as usual but extra school activities after school on Friday and the weekend are cancelled, they are still monitoring to announce school cancellation for Monday

That is Orlando area, right?

 

[BigMac3001]

I'm glad someone else is also waiting it out! And yes I will be packing some food with me as well. Like I said I'm hoping if they fly us in Sunday afternoon that by then they'll have a solid idea that says it won't be as bad as they may have thought.

If the parks close, come over to Pop Century for the party in our room.

 

[HarperLeigh]

If the parks close, come over to Pop Century for the party in our room.

If the parks close, guests will be confined to their rooms unless they are staying at a resort with interior corridors.