Hurricane Irma?

[MommaBerd]

I am not a scaredy person but looking at the models it almost exclusively shows that Irma is going to eat up all of middle to northern Florida at this point. I understand wishful thinking but you cant be daft when it comes to your safety.

As has been stated many times earlier, it is WAY too early to know where Irma will make landfall, if at all. All the models do NOT "almost exclusively show" that Irma will be impacting northern Florida.

 

[SpookyJ]

As has been stated many times earlier, it is WAY too early to know where Irma will make landfall, if at all. All the models do NOT "almost exclusively show" that Irma will be impacting northern Florida.

Yeah, from what I can see right now there's maybe a 1/5 chance it will pass through in such a way to really impact the weekend. I hope it stays that way... This is probably a once in a lifetime trip for my boyfriend and I, us being pretty low-income. Seems that in the worst case scenario we might lose 1 our of our 4 park days which sucks, but I'm trying to not get too upset over it. Either way it will be my first vacation at all in 4 years so not working will be nice, even if we are trapped in a hotel room!

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I've actually gotten to a point where I'm going to stop looking at anything but the NHC forecasts and advisories. At this exact moment, all trips coming up in the next 5-10 days are perfectly fine. No one knows where Irma will go. Heck they can't even say with confidence that she will hit the Antilles or PR. They sent the first Hurricane Hunter plane into the storm today. That will provide better data and in turn will produce better models in the coming days.

 

[SpookyJ]

I've actually gotten to a point where I'm going to stop looking at anything but the NHC forecasts and advisories. At this exact moment, all trips coming up in the next 5-10 days are perfectly fine. No one knows where Irma will go. Heck they can't even say with confidence that she will hit the Antilles or PR. They sent the first Hurricane Hunter plane into the storm today. That will provide better data and in turn will produce better models in the coming days.

Good idea- I think I'm going to stop looking at the weather too, and take my anxiety meds and go to bed!

 

[KateP85]

As a local, all we're doing is keeping an eye on things and starting to get some extra supplies in. It does no good to worry, but it is a good idea to be prepared.

 

[Dbktmc]

I do have one question. We fly home the evening of the 10th. Let's say a hurricane hits that day and MCO shuts down before we leave and we are stuck - but our trip is over. Last year with Matthew, was it hard to extend a couple days/get another room? Presumably there could be availability because people wouldn't be able to come in, correct?

We'd also consider just renting a car and driving home if it looked like it could happen (and if we could find a car.)

We were staying at POR during Matthew. I had a "magical deal" travel agent and requested her help in extending our stay because we knew our flight would be cancelled as we were scheduled to leave the day the hurricane was supposed to hit. By the time she got back to me to tell me that she could not (would not??) help me and we needed to do it ourselves we were already in EPCOT. I called the reservations number and waited on hold for about 75 minutes. When it was finally my turn the operator hung up on me before I had the chance to speak. We left the park and headed back to the resort to extend our stay. After about a 2 hour wait in line I finally was able to speak with someone at the front desk. He told me that the resort was at 95% capacity when he had arrived that morning and that Disney probably couldn't help me. He then told me that he would provide me with phone numbers to local hotels and we could try and find a place to stay at one of those hotels. I became quite teary eyed at this point because we didn't have a car, our flight had been cancelled, I had heard on TV that all hotels were filled, and I was afraid for my 5 year old son. In the end, the man was able to allow us to stay in our room and we weren't asked to leave the resort. It was a really scary and awful experience as I didn't know where we could go. In fact, we took a break from Disney after that experience even though we had invested in annual passes for the first time. We went to the beach this year and will probably go to Disney next year.

 

[wgeo]

Everyone wants reassurances about where Irma will hit, but the truth is that no one knows. I wonder where everyone is getting the idea that "most of the models" show it hitting Orlando or Florida. I live here, and no one will put out anything past next Wed and everything every single weather person says is "IF" and "MAYBE" and "too soon to tell" So while I know it's incredibly hard to plan a vacation around IF, there simply won't be good answers for a few more days.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We (Me, wife, and our girls 4 and 6) are driving from Georgia (7 hours) to the Contemporary Resort on the 7th for 11 days. Born in Houston, Grew up in Titusville and having been through many storms, my main concern is how safe the Contemporary is in the event the storm does make a direct hit on Orlando. We have 2 MNSSHP bookings so one day wash out wont spoil our vacation. Just want the family to be safe.

 

[AngiTN]

I remember you and I having completely different experiences when in Epcot last year in regards to communication about the park closing, you said that announcements were made over the loud speaker and I said nothing was said, or at least I didn't hear anything specifically that I was inside a building and did not hear em.

Not just that, everyone we saw said something.
The boat driver
The CM at the turnstile
The CM working all the F&W booths.
Every CM we encountered throughout WS
All of them asked if we knew the park was closing at 5:00 that day.
So yeah, even without the announcements we would have known
The CM that were pulling out trashcans and taking down anything loose around the F&W booths were also another sign that something was up.

 

[Dasania41]

How soon in years past does MCO close?

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

How soon in years past does MCO close?

Last year we were there during Hurricane Matthew. The hurricane was at the bottom of the state on Thursday evening. MCO closed at 8pm. It swept up the coast and Orlando got wind and rain overnight on Thursday and during the day Friday. By Friday 5pm Disney has re-opened Disney Springs and the lock down was lifted. MCO reopened at 6:30am on Saturday, though there were definitely cancellations, delays etc.

Plus, I'm not sure that MCO always closes fully as it did for Matthew. There are a lot of factors that go into whether or not they will close or simply ground flights for X number of hours but keep the airport open.

 

[DLM1980]

Not just that, everyone we saw said something.
The boat driver
The CM at the turnstile
The CM working all the F&W booths.
Every CM we encountered throughout WS
All of them asked if we knew the park was closing at 5:00 that day.
So yeah, even without the announcements we would have known
The CM that were pulling out trashcans and taking down anything loose around the F&W booths were also another sign that something was up.

I'm not debating that we didn't know. I'm saying we had different experiences in an official over the PA system announcement was made. Im glad that you had that experience but it was not the same for others. I believe I ended up over hearing it from another guest as cast members in my area of the FW didn't know anything about it. But this is history at this point

The whole point of my posts were if you are at Disney when or if Irma hits just keep an eye on the phone. Your updates only come through that if your at a value or a moderate, such as I was. If your at a deluxe you can walk freely through the building to talk to a cast member

 

[North of Mouse]

How soon in years past does MCO close?

There is absolutely no way for them to know this until the storm path is more certain, and they know it's imminent and a necessity. They do not close X amount of hours before each storm - it's not a decision to be made lightly. No one knows where this storm will make landfall - or if it even will.

 

[j2thomason]

The live spaghetti models that I am watching on Facebook (ABC Tampa station) right now have Irma headed toward the Maimi/Fort Lauderdale area. Not good!

 

[SL6827]

The live spaghetti models that I am watching on Facebook (ABC Tampa station) right now have Irma headed toward the Maimi/Fort Lauderdale area. Not good!

Ewwwwwwww

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

The live spaghetti models that I am watching on Facebook (ABC Tampa station) right now have Irma headed toward the Maimi/Fort Lauderdale area. Not good!

And yesterday there were models heading into SC, NC etc. Today more than one model has shown it going out to sea, or scraping up the florida coast. As hard as it is, there won't be any reliable idea of where it is headed until mid-next week. Tuesday there might be some better indications, but Wednesday/Thursday will likely be more accurate. And even then, it can change. Don't get caught up in the spaghetti models. They are infamously inaccurate this far out.

 

[Tom P.]

Okay, well, let me just ask this...

What do you all think about when we can look at the models/forecasts and feel comfortable that what they are showing is true? We are scheduled to drive down next Sunday and Monday (splitting over two days) and it's not that easy to just change everything on 24 hours notice.

Thanks.

 

[AngiTN]

Okay, well, let me just ask this...

What do you all think about when we can look at the models/forecasts and feel comfortable that what they are showing is true? We are scheduled to drive down next Sunday and Monday (splitting over two days) and it's not that easy to just change everything on 24 hours notice.

Thanks.

When they start to issue watches

 

[j2thomason]

And yesterday there were models heading into SC, NC etc. Today more than one model has shown it going out to sea, or scraping up the florida coast. As hard as it is, there won't be any reliable idea of where it is headed until mid-next week. Tuesday there might be some better indications, but Wednesday/Thursday will likely be more accurate. And even then, it can change. Don't get caught up in the spaghetti models. They are infamously inaccurate this far out.

My biggest issue is I am flying into MCO on Friday and supposed to fly out of MCO early on 9/11 when the worst of it is supposed to hit. I will have to make a call on Wednesday whether to cancel my trip or not.

 

[OneTrueKing]

https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/blo...ward-islands-beginning-late-tuesday/#comments

Worth the watch for anyone wanting some reliable updated information