Hurricane Irma?

[AWdesign8]

I am wondering if I should try to add a night to my current reservation in case I am unable to get into Orlando on Tuesday 9/12/17. I am on hold with Disney now to see what my options are. Thinking I can add a day at end of my current reservation in case MCO is closed on my scheduled date of arrival. But then, if MCO is open can I turn around and cancel that one day that I added?

 

[CAS239]

Just because somewhere is a mandatory evacuation zone doesn't mean you're forced to evacuate. It just means that first responders will not go to that area.

 

[KimBean]

So we decided that we want to cancel our trip that starts on the 13th, but my TA basically didn't call today, doesn't really seem like she wants to. What do I do?? She told me I am not going to get a refund since its after the storm, but honestly I am DRIVING in. Gas is hard to come by, I also don't want to sit on the highway with returning traffic all day. I feel like she's not gonna call, and I am screwed here, Disney won't even talk to me about my package.

Nope. Unacceptable of her. Demand she calls. We are still going to have effects in GA/AL/TN on the 12th (if tack stays same.) How will you drive there? Unless you are in FL and that is a whole other mess. I believe disney will let you reschedule or cancel.

 

[tink1970]

Kind of beating myself up for canceling last night, like others have posted. DH really wanted to go, but I was getting too stressed over it. I didn't mind the thought of being cooped up in the room, and I'm not afraid of storms, but like I mentioned before it seemed ridiculous to be going into what could be a bad situation when others were trying to get out.

I hope no one who has cancelled or rescheduled is second guessing their decision. I don't want to get dinked for being too gloom and doom/realistic but you have to understand that after a storm there is a complete change in life. Our area sustained a Cat 4/cat 3 when it hit and we were out of electricity for 3 weeks, the airport was down for days, part of the interstate (bridge) collapsed. It was life altering for many. A year later we were one of the cities who received the Katrina refugees, again the stories were heartbreaking.

For those who are at WDW, I don't want to be a fearmonger; Disney will do their best to take care of you. A storm of this magnitude is serious though.

Things that are taken for granted- "I'll fly into MCO, get picked up by DME, driven to the resort" can be disrupted in so many ways- buses can be destroyed, there can be no gas for the buses, there can be roads that are impassable, there can be a driver shortage because the people who drive them could be at home, in a shelter without transportation or impassable roads. To choose to be at Disney during this time is hard for me to understand.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who will be or is already affected.

 

[Eastern]

I think that some posters are being way too judgemental about those choosing to keep their vacation plans. Everyone has to make their own decision, and I am sure that each decision is being made with a lot of consideration.

This should be an information/support thread, not a 'how could you' thread.

 

[AngiTN]

So we decided that we want to cancel our trip that starts on the 13th, but my TA basically didn't call today, doesn't really seem like she wants to. What do I do?? She told me I am not going to get a refund since its after the storm, but honestly I am DRIVING in. Gas is hard to come by, I also don't want to sit on the highway with returning traffic all day. I feel like she's not gonna call, and I am screwed here, Disney won't even talk to me about my package.

Does she have a boss? If so, demand to speak with that person. If not, demand she cancel your trip.

 

[RedK]

I called this morning to cancel 2 tours - only 1.5 hours on hold - but got some useful information about the cancellation/change process.

All cancellations/changes require the CM to fill out a form to get the fees waived. That form is sent over to a team which has to process the fee-removal manually. They are backed up ( no surprise) and it will take them several days to get it all processed. Our packages and reservations will still show up on MyDisney until they get them processed, likely several days from now. Once they do get them manually processed, money will be refunded to the credit card on which it was charged. The cancellation will have the same transaction ID as the confirmation code of the original transaction. So, if my tour had transaction code DIS123, the cancellation and refund will have the same code of DIS123. That will help you if you need to follow up.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[KStash]

I think that some posters are being way too judgemental about those choosing to keep their vacation plans. Everyone has to make their own decision, and I am sure that each decision is being made with a lot of consideration.

This should be an information/support thread, not a 'how could you' thread.

Everyone who posts on this board is crazy Disney people, I think we all understand how devastating it is to cancel or postpone a trip. People have every right to feel sad and vent.

But FYI, if tourists had been around competing for resources while my family was digging out of 3 feet of flood water in our houses during Sandy, I would have given them the Jersey middle finger salute. If that makes me a bad person, so be it.

Not saying that Orlando is going to get floods or damage, we don't know what will happen. Reason why it's best to stay away if possible.

 

[AngiTN]

So far my hotel is unwilling to work with us to move our dates or cancel our trip. We are due to arrive Sunday, but I wonder if they will just let us show up a day or two late to let it pass. We were supposed to drive down there from Atlanta.

What hotel? Non-Disney one?

 

[Tom Cottone]

On the lighter side, Jim Cantore is not at Disney!

 

[yulilin3]

This is not the place or the time to judge anyone for canceling reservations or deciding to still come to orlando.
Every families situation is different.
No need to call anyone selfish, or crazy, or fearful and panicky.
For those who have decided to cancel , I feel for you, I know how hard it is to plan a Disney vacation but I'm sure you jade the right choice for you situation
For those who are still coming x have your plans double checked and expect delays. Bring your supplies and be safe.
I for one ask leaving my house (5 minutes away from MCO) to check into AoA tomorrow. We are taking all of our hurricane kit items, some important papers and some cherished items.
Upon check in will be asking for extra toiletries and then telling them we do not need any maid service. So they don't have to worry about us.

 

[Eastern]

Everyone who posts on this board is crazy Disney people, I think we all understand how devastating it is to cancel or postpone a trip. People have every right to feel sad and vent.

But FYI, if tourists had been around competing for resources while my family was digging out of 3 feet of flood water in our houses during Sandy, I would have given them the Jersey middle finger salute. If that makes me a bad person, so be it.

Not saying that Orlando is going to get floods or damage, we don't know what will happen. Reason why it's best to stay away if possible.

Weather is unpredictable. People have reasons and motivation that you do not know about. It's really not anyone's business to criticize another person's choice, or to make them seem inconsiderate or stupid for making the choice that they made. We're not talking about people traveling into a mandatory evacuation zone; we're talking about people deciding to travel into an area that may or may not experience extensive damage.

btw I and members of my family went through Sandy, too.

 

[MonicaSR87]

Does anyone have the road closure traveling into Orlando? Thanks

 

[KateP85]

If you're second guessing your decision to cancel, please know that you did the right thing. I'm so glad the storm is weakening and I really hope it continues to do so, but even if it only hits us as a Cat 2 hurricane, I can't imagine how much damage that is going to do. People here are stressed and on edge. My husband had about half of his ride out crew bail today and say they were just too scared to come in. I was out boarding up my windows at 6am. If you are here then yes, Disney is the safest place to be. But as another poster said, it is 100% safer for you to not be here at all.

 

[DisneyDeb83]

I think that a lot of us are second guessing. For me, a lot of it comes down to the fact that I tend to think of the glass half full, as in, "Oh, I know it won't be that bad, and I can handle it". Living inland in NJ I have never experienced a true hurricane, so I admit I have no knowledge as to how devastating they can be. So for now we are delaying arrival.

As for those who can't believe many are rescheduling for next week, I don't think that means that everyone will necessarily be going. We personally are planning on checking out the aftermath, and if things are really bad in the Disney area, we will be cancelling again. But if MCO is open and there do not seem to be major issues, then yes, we will be there.

 

[vacationer1954]

Some areas of the state have southbound lanes closed

Governor Scott said that Google Maps would be kept updated with such closures, but so far I don't see any posted.

 

[laurabelle]

We were still planning on arriving (via SW) this Saturday, Sept 7th, at 8:15 AM, but... I just got a text that our flight was just cancelled.
Changing DVC Reservations are NOT easy, and we were staying at the Beach Club (EXTREMELY hard to get).
I have terminal brain cancer (6 months into a 12 month median survival rate). We were staying at BC so that I could go to the room via a scooter any time Epcot/HS got overwhelming for me.
We already moved up our arrival time, and added a day at the end. If I could just move everything back a week, I would.
Today is an MRI for me. We were delaying my chemo infusion from today until we got back. Now, I have to make a decision based on all these unknowns.
Leaving home for my MRI/Chemo/doc appoint at 9:00am, DVC guest services open at 9:00am. SIGH.

Thinking of you.

 

[AngiTN]

For anybody second guessing your decision that you cancelled, you should not feel that way. Hurricanes are unpredictable and can change at any time. I was just on CNN and the hurricane bounced back and forth between a category two and a three in the Orlando area in about a half hour. I have been through hurricanes and storms and have seen things get better or worse at the same time right before a direct hit. You just don't know and better to be safe than sorry. You have made the best decision for you and your family and look forward to your next trip. Good luck to everybody!

Yep, you really won't know a thing even now. They know more today than yesterday but still a lot unknown. Never forget we are talking about a force of nature and no one, at all, no matter how experienced or how much science they use, can predict what it will do or where it will go, till it does it. They can, and do, move at the very last second. Even once on land they don't always follow the expected or forecast paths. So things have gone from maybe it will graze FL, to dire in FL to not so dire to who knows? All because we are dealing with a natural entity that can't be predicted. It's so annoying in a world where we want to control everything. Nature is the one place we still have no control and it sucks. People always want the weathermen to get it right and they just can't always do that

 

[minniegirl19]

I'm hoping I can get people's opinions here from the people familiar with the college program. My sister is a CP right now and we couldn't get her a flight home. She lives in Vista Way on the first floor. She has food and water prepared and an extra battery pack. Her roommates however said the storm wouldn't hit so they didn't get anything. My friend who lives in Orlando offered her to come stay with her. My friend is very very prepared and lives on the second floor of a building. Positives of the first floor if a tornado were to hit they are low to the ground but if it flooded it wouldn't be good. Also debris could be an issue and she faces a parking lot. Second floor wouldn't be good for a tornado but good for flooding. She doesn't face a parking lot. I just don't know where is safer to go so I was hoping to get some opinions on here.

 

[Lovethemouse82]

A Saturday closure for MCO does seem a little cautious but I guess the theme of this whole thing is better safe than sorry.

So if your flight is scheduled to take off at like 4:45 and it gets delayed 20 minutes would they still let it go?

So sorry, we had to cancel too and last night with the help of Guest services we got a trip rebooked. Took 2 days of calling and a total of 16 hours on hold (I gave up twice, the last was almost 6 hours on hold). We could not get our Free dining back but settled to a room discount and a shorter trip to offset the cost of food. GS was good to us and helped with what they could. But it had to be them as the regular reservations people could not help with ours. We were going to lose money. GS was able to transfer our travel Ins etc to a new booking so that was nice. Availability was very bad, and had to book Late October. That's probably why we couldn't get FD back. There just wasn't many dates available. And we had an open schedule. Good luck to you.


I think you're right. I'm surprised they could even find a rebooking date so close to theirs. It's pretty tight!


The regular reservations people really couldn't do much for us except cancel our reservation. It pretty much had to be GS to get any help beyond that. And good luck to anyone getting through to them. (That was our experience, and I'm finally ok with us canceling. This is a crazy scary situation and not like Matthew last year when we were there.)

i agree cm couldn’t book my new dates but gs could keep trying