Hurricane Irma?

[K0482]

We decided to cancel our 8th-20th stay this morning. The rep tried very hard to get us to reconsider, and also tried to get us to apply the money to a future stay instead of receiving the refund. I declined, obviously, but they're sure trying to hold onto those dollars. Anyway, for those who called and requested a refund: Did the agent say they had to submit your request through a form that another department will process later? The rep herself had no authority to do the canceling and refunding. I got off of the call without a reference number or any kind of reassurance that the refund will take place soon. Any similar experiences today for anyone else? Has anyone received an email confirming their cancelation?

We are supposed to fly down Sat 9/9. I called to cancel today and because I paid with gift cards the Disney rep didn't know if the amounts that I paid had to go back on each individual gift card or if the total amount would be refunded to one single gift card. She said she would have to transfer me to someone in billing - and when she did it was a recording, they gave me options 1,2 or 3... and I chose 2 for "existing reservation". Then it said sorry that extension is unavailable. So - I waited 45 mins for practically nothing. Still have reservations for the 9th-13th, don't know what I'm going to do. Might give it one more day and call again tomorrow. I doubt we will even be able to fly into Orlando on the 9th.

 

[AndreaA]

Sorry, but I can only guess that with that statement, you have never been through a major hurricane. What do you consider "close?" This is not a small wind event. It is wind/rain/surge/tornadoes, etc. Power could be out for several days depending on the track and damage incurred. I see a lot of people suggesting that people should not worry because the eye may only skirt the coast of Florida. The eye is not the entire storm and paths have error margins. This is no small storm. It is a significant decision for someone to make to bring their families into an area that could be significantly affected.

I already said elsewhere that I HAVE been thru similar severe storms (including hurricanes). I've had power out for almost two weeks. I've seen trees down and wires across streets.

I've also seen many, many, MANY dire predictions of horrific storms days out that end up shifting and causing little to no damage to my area.

We are still at LEAST a day away from knowing anything with certainty, and with every projection, the track of the hurricane shifts east away from the coast. Every shift means that the winds that would hit Florida, much less Orlando, will be slower.

Yes it IS a significant decision, and no one should be pushing people to make it before it's absolutely necessary. I'm not crazy... If it looks like the storm is still going to be hanging around by Monday afternoon, or looks like it will be close enough to the coast that the edges really do a number on Orlando, then I will cancel. But I'm not going to go into panic mode while projections keep shifting in a favorable direction.

 

[Jennasis]

I hate this. I hate it all. I hate waiting, worrying, not knowing.

 

[K0482]

Thank you for this. It's beyond frustrating that this thread has turned into a constant feud, mostly unrelated to plans regarding Disney. The simple fact of the matter is, nobody changes anyone's mind over the internet. If there is legitimate new information available or questions that can actually be answered, that's one thing. But to post countless times about why someone is an idiot for not canceling or is stupid for canceling so early is pointless. Let's keep this thread civil and helpful because goodness knows people don't need something else to get stressed about. Rant over!

I'm personally getting pumped for my Disney vacation from 9/9-9/15. Anyone else that makes the informed decision to be there, I look forward to seeing you and making the best out of what will hopefully be some empty, wet Disney parks!

I'm supposed to arrive the evening of 9/9. It will be my first time at Disney and our family (of 10) is flying in from NC and California. We have no idea what to do. I don't know if our flights will even make it to Orlando Sat evening.

 

[KaylaH]

did they charge you any fee yet? we were coming sept 9-14th and are considering moving to the 12-18th

 

[ms mouse]

P

As of right now we fly out tomorrow through the 15th. We are still planning on going. Its my first time to CB. Is it motel style (Doors to outside)? Are there indoor activities at the resort? Would they be open if park were closed or would we be quarantined to our room?

*Prayers to anyone in the path. Whichever path they may be.*

It is a motel type resort with doors to the outside. Be prepared with food in your room you will be asked not to leave and even before it arrives you will have rain bands that might make it unwise to walk around.

 

[Dr B0b L0blaw]

We are supposed to fly down Sat 9/9. I called to cancel today and because I paid with gift cards the Disney rep didn't know if the amounts that I paid had to go back on each individual gift card or if the total amount would be refunded to one single gift card. She said she would have to transfer me to someone in billing - and when she did it was a recording, they gave me options 1,2 or 3... and I chose 2 for "existing reservation". Then it said sorry that extension is unavailable. So - I waited 45 mins for practically nothing. Still have reservations for the 9th-13th, don't know what I'm going to do. Might give it one more day and call again tomorrow. I doubt we will even be able to fly into Orlando on the 9th.

I'm currently planning on flying in on the 9th (unless the situation starts to look even more bleak). What time is your flight? It seems most people speculate (key word here is speculate) that flights on Saturday in Orlando should be fine.

 

[LoveToGoToDisneyWorld]

did they charge you any fee yet? we were coming sept 9-14th and are considering moving to the 12-18th

For my refund, there was no cancelation fee. I'd be surprised if there was a fee to move the dates because my rep did look at November for me. Nothing came up, but no mention of a fee was made when I inquired about moving to a different date.

 

[MEP5]

I hate this. I hate it all. I hate waiting, worrying, not knowing.

Me too. I have so much anxiety on what to do. We are leaning towards canceling but SW will only apply our flight credit until next March and there's no way we'll be flying to DISNEY before then for a new trip. Unless Disney can do something for us at a later time this year without costing us a ton more $$ we currently have the delux dining on our trip as a huge deal bc we got it when free dining launched. And if we cancel we won't have that anymore (unless it gets hinted which om sire it won't) and will have a huge difference to pay for flights and Disney

 

[spartankid34]

Ok, so let's say I decide to go to Disney for a trip, and have a hotel booked until Monday. If my flight home gets pushed out to say Tuesday/Wednesday, but there are no rooms available to stay, what can Disney do in that situation? or am I on my own?

 

[xWilliam]

ECMWF 12z for sep 6th rolling out.

As suspected the forecast is tilting Westward a bit. ECMWF 12z shows hurricane hitting upper Florida keys directly, going through land and hitting Miami before going back out to sea, traveling up the coastline and making landfall again around georgia/south Carolina

https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/ana...g=T850&runtime=2017090612&fh=24&xpos=0&ypos=0

 

[AngiTN]

Per Jet Blue. They expanded waivers! Its funny cause I am now leaning towards coming if projections look more east tomorrow.

Customers traveling Wednesday, September 6, 2017 through Sunday, September 10, 2017 to/from:

• Daytona Beach, FL (DAB)
• Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)
• Jacksonville, FL (JAX)
• Fort Myers, FL (RSW)
• Orlando, FL (MCO)
• Sarasota, FL (SRQ)
• Tampa, FL (TPA)
• West Palm Beach, FL (PBI)

Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Tuesday, September 12, 2017 online in the ‘Manage Flights’ section of jetblue.com or by calling 1-800-JETBLUE (538-2583) prior to the departure time of their originally scheduled flight. Customers with cancelled flights may also opt for a refund to the original form of payment. Original travel must have been booked on or before Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

S
Someone posted this upthread and their dates make no sense, or little sense. Have they not looked at the forecasts? Do they not know that Monday is due to be bad? I still don't get it

 

[JoeP78]

Well not having much luck reschedule our AKL 9/9-9/16 free dining stay. I am on hold now for guest services. Funny how they have plenty of AKL rooms for 9/23-9/30 but none for the free dining package. I can understand that if I was trying to take advantage of the system but I am obviously not. If we can't get in we may go down a day early (Friday) if it is feasible. Getting a refund isn't a option because I paid with gift cards from Sams.

 

[LoveToGoToDisneyWorld]

Ok, so let's say I decide to go to Disney for a trip, and have a hotel booked until Monday. If my flight home gets pushed out to say Tuesday/Wednesday, but there are no rooms available to stay, what can Disney do in that situation? or am I on my own?

You'll be on your own.

 

[GOOFY D]

I know what the eye of the storm feels like, I've been through it. Like you said the highest sustained winds only go about 60 miles from it, after that the intensity starts dying down. If it takes the east trajectory and stays at sea it will stay strong, but again we will NOT be in the center with the highest sustained winds.
As to your last sentence, I am not one to like conflict. I am just stating facts.

But for those that have not experienced a major hurricane, those facts are somewhat misleading. A hurricane is not simply a wind event. Dozens and dozens of tornadoes are spawned well away from the eye and squalls with damaging rain and winds occur well away from the eye. Power outages could occur for days or weeks depending on damage. The airport could even be significantly affected. I returned from a cruise after Charley hit and MCO airport was down for a few days (and obviously took a while to get back to "normal"). It was huge chaos trying to get out of the city. I lived through Katrina and could never suggest anyone travel into the path of a category 3 storm. Heck, I remember TS Juan that sat over the New Orleans area for days causing widespread flooding and we were without power for 8 days. I just would not want people to think that simply because the eye could pass slightly east or because the storm "weakens" to a category 3, that there is little to worry about. There could still be potential for a dangerous situation.

 

[Interpol]

I'm supposed to arrive the evening of 9/9. It will be my first time at Disney and our family (of 10) is flying in from NC and California. We have no idea what to do. I don't know if our flights will even make it to Orlando Sat evening.

Right now all you can do is decide if you want to cancel/postpone and potentially take a financial hit. If you don't want to cancel (which is a valid option), then come up with contingency plans/checklists for any number of scenarios that may happen during your travel: flight delays/cancellations (both inbound and outbound), preparation in case widespread damage/floods/power outages occur, possible need for evacuation from the area, etc. For example, if your flight gets delayed, think of and write down a sequence of tasks that you'll need to perform to address the issue and minimize inconvenience.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

ECMWF 12z for sep 6th rolling out.

As suspected the forecast is tilting Westward a bit. ECMWF 12z shows hurricane hitting upper Florida keys directly, going through land and hitting Miami before going back out to sea, traveling up the coastline and making landfall again around georgia/south Carolina

https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/ana...g=T850&runtime=2017090612&fh=24&xpos=0&ypos=0

This is what I am finding everywhere. Thanks for posting!

 

[Calee]

I changed my dates (finally after 3 hours!). The dates have not changed in mydisneyexperience though. However it does show my new balance (which is the amount i expected). Should i be worried?

 

[Jasten]

S
Someone posted this upthread and their dates make no sense, or little sense. Have they not looked at the forecasts? Do they not know that Monday is due to be bad? I still don't get it

I think what they are saying is that you must cancel or reschedule by that date (its not the date you can reschedule to but just a deadline for moving the dates)

 

[rastandrea]

We were scheduled to come in Friday 8th departing Saturday 16th from South Carolina. Seriously thinking of cancelling. Was trying to hold out as long as possible. Does anyone know if Disney is waiving all fees?