HURRICANE INFORMATION (AUGUST 15, 2004): All parks except TL are OPEN

[SlightlyGoofy]

Pumpkinfish, you are my kind of people. I truly believe that it is possible to disagree without being disagreeable. LOL

SG/Linda

 

[tmli]

I have a question? Does insurance cover any of this damage? My policy does not cover acts of God so I assume the answer is no....however I have always wondered if people living in areas like Florida have the option of buying "hurricane" insurance.

Second question, this may be a dumb one. How do people financially rebuild after something like this? The Red Cross is helping now with things like shelter and supplies, is part of their money also given to families to rebuild and replace things lost. Or is this where Gov't aid comes in.

Sorry if these are dumb questions but I have never had the opportunity to ask them before to people who may know the answers.

 

[YesDear]

Windstrom is a covered peril in almost all policies in the US, so yes most everyone with insurance will have coverage to repair the damgage caused by the wind. For those that were damaged by storm surge, that is considered flood or rising water. That peril is excluded from almost all policies in the US but they can purchase flood insurance. Flood insurance, almost exclusively is sold by the US Government. While individual insurance companies may offer it, the actual insurer is uncle sam.

Hope that answers your first question

 

[SplshMtn99]

While windstorm is a covered peril....many times policies written for coastal property have LARGER deductibles for windstorm damage.

Also, some coastal locations are just getting harder & harder to find insurance for. For instance, many companies here in MA have refused to insure properties here on Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket. Recently, one of the largest remaining compainies writing insurance there stopped. Those residents are forced to now buy insurance thru the state's insurance "pool" called MPIUA (or the "Fair Plan")......for property that can't find insurance in the normal marketplace. Last resort insurance.

Oh yeah....it's Sunday...my day off. Please, no more insurance talk. LOL

 

[barbnjmom]

I don't want to sound selfish but we will be arriving this Sat. 8/21 for 8 magical days at WDW and was looking for the general status of WDW...from what I have been reading in snippets there was damage but the parks are open..........

Any quick thoughts!!!

Thanks and love and prayers to all WDW CM and their families...

 

[barbnjmom]

bump

 

[smittys_girl]

From what I've heard, WDW fared very well except for a few trees or signs down. I also heard that the Cirque de Solei building was outwardly damaged. Everything else is completly normal. Just so you know, I don't blame you or anyone else for being concerned. I'm a Floridian and our economy would be ruined if WDW was damaged significantly. I just want to take this time so extend my prayers to all those who were effected by Charley.

 

[GeekChic]

I just wanted the FL victims, and friends/families of those victimized to know that they are not alone.

thank you for clarifying Pumpkinfish! i did get a different impression from reading your post and it was very kind of you to clarify that for me. I am glad you didn't take offense at what i said (which i'm not even sure what it was at this point but i know someone took offense at it LOL)

anyway...sending out positive energy and good wishes for all who have been harmed in any way by this storm, that is what it is all about, everyone does that in their own way and that's great! those that have survived can, and will go on, it's all that they can do...and i agree with lots of people helping them the work won't be as overwhelming. thank goodness for all the volunteers!!!

i took your original post to mean that you didn't think people should be discussing this issue anymore, and if i misunderstood than, i apologize.

geek

 

[pumpkinfish]

Oh Geekchic,

Your apology is not needed. Don't worry, we are one big happy family here! (that is why I love this place so much!)

 

[PixiePower62]

ok, this may be off the general topic, but I just thought I would share me story.

My husband works with FEMA and has been deployed to the area in the path of the storm.

He did not receive any info on friday, even though they had him on standby since wednesday. well he figured that since he did not hear anything, that they would wait until monday to deploy him. (he actually does work with the clean up crew, working the the contractors and setting things up to clear away the debris. He is not a first responder.)

Anyway, he gets a call on saturday evening, about 6:00 pm, that he as to be in tallahasse, fl by noon on sunday. so we need to run around, get a car rental and get him packed since the office is not open until monday. He gets there today, and they assign each man an area to go and work with the city government on monday. Well, his area is about an hour and a half past disney.

He calls me late this after noon and says, find me a room, in this area, (I am sure that you can now figure out were I am going with this story), I was on the phone and computer for over 2 hours trying to find a room for him. He is drive south, and I start telling him, don't go to far down, I can not find a room. Do not go past disney, (since we know the area very well), needless to say he is at downtown disney right now, and I can not even go, because the kids start school tomorrow.

I can not believe this, he is not even disney crazy like me, he is complaining that the fireworks are going to wake him up.

I know that he has a very important job to take care of, and he is going to be able to provide alot of needed help, but why does he have to be in my favorite place in the entire world.

Just thought that I would let ya'll know what is going on. Will try to update when he find more out in the morning. But for now, he was just wanting a pillow, he had been up and driving for over 15 hours.

Hope to have more info, tomorrow.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

PixiePower62, I am asking for special Pixie Dust to overcome your husband while on his solo trip so that he comes home eager to make a WDW trip soon and many more to follow. Ya never know!! Seriously, I am glad to hear that such people are in the area to help. If I were able to swing a hammer or something I would love to go, will send cash instead. Not much else I can do. Is a way of being grateful to be in better circumstances.

Glad to see that everyone has kissed and made up. Warms the cockles of my old heart. LOL

I am interested in knowing from someone who has gone through this sort of thing or knows someone who does. Are people actually helped much if they do not have insurance or do they just get low interest loans to start all over again, including buying a home? From what I saw last time, everyone's insurance bills will soar.

SplshMtn99, an insurance agent that does NOT want to talk insurance every waking moment and in his dreams as well? I never thought I would meet such. LOL Some of my best friends are insurance agents. (grin)

SG/Linda

 

[LibertyBelle]

Originally posted by smittys_girl
I also heard that the Cirque de Solei building was outwardly damaged.

This is the most damage that I have seen on property and it is not that bad... This is mostly a cosmetic issue as it has nothing to do with the structral integrity of the building itself. Also when looking at the photos please know that the poles are NOT bent, they can be lowered (and they were) to take the tension cords off. You will notice that the white canvas "sails" that make it look more like a tent were damaged.

This is how the Cirque building "should" look

this is how it looks after charley:

 

[seashoreCM]

Originally posted by SlightlyGoofy
I am interested in knowing from someone who has gone through this sort of thing or knows someone who does. Are people actually helped much if they do not have insurance or do they just get low interest loans to start all over again, including buying a home? SG/Linda

(FOrtunately( I have not gone through this kind of disaster but...

It is important to nbot rush into repairs. There are lots of ripoffs out there. Choose your contractor carefully.

Also (talk show host Tom Martino says) there is no reason under the sun to pay a contractor lots of money up front. Yes it iOK ot pay for materials as they are delivered or to pay in multiple small installments for work as it is completed, but when the contractor asks for retainer fees or deposits that usually means he has cash flow problems. It is not your duty to help him finish previous jobs.

Homeowners may want to consider using the insurance money to pay off/down the mortgage loan, sell the property, rent for awhile, and buy elsewhere. A massive repair job is just as complicated as having a house custom built. You need to do a lot of watchdogging and that is not for the faint of heart.

Useful hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr

hile it is nice to be able to help those less fortunate, not all of us have extra money. Just my opinion, a family should not have to forego even a Disney vacation and donate the money instead just beacuse several towns elswehre got wiped out by a storm. Meanwhile those in affected communities should mobilize and help themselves more. Make use of donations of things as opposed to money. Use several days of school for the kids to o sort clothing and futniture donations and stage a long ongoing rummage salexxxx giveaway in the gymnasium. Use kids to stand in the assistance lines to ensure that people don't forfeit benefits for being tardy to apply. Lift zoning and other prohibitions against mobile homes and camping for as much as two years so people can economize while rebuilding and wait for a good contractor to free up. Just to name a few ideas.

Check out the Sleaze Brigade, ripoff artists named on Troubleshooter.com

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

SeashoreCM, thanks for the input. I imagine that when there is so much damage a lot of rip off artists come out from under rocks to take advantage of the situation. What I was wondering was if FEMA and such offer anything other than low cost loans to rebuild or relocate. I am imagining a lot of the people were older, on limited income with their trailers and such fully paid for and if it were destroyed and they did not have enough insurance, the right insurance, or enough insurance how they might manage. I can see some having to start from less than the beginning (costs a bunch to clean up and get rid of the debris) and then to have to start paying housing payments again would be painful on limited income. Living in the north we are always bombarded with stories of how cheap living can be in Florida. One trailer park near Tampa has mobile homes for sale for $15-20K, often fully furnished, and you own the land, paying a small monthly fee to cover lawn mowing and such. Is tempting until something like this comes up. I am asking out of ignorance but would love to be educated.

I like the idea of school children being allowed to help in some capacity. If everyone pitches in a bit things get done. Seems like a few do the most and it is hard on them.

I enjoy my vacations and meals a whole lot more if I share what I have with others also. Is hard to digest my food if I know that someone else has nothing to eat. JMO I am quite willing to eat a meal or two at counter service so that I have money to tip the mousekeeper or help out my local, well run, food bank or such. I grew up poor and remember those days well. Back when I was having to help support my mom and sisters I did not have money to donate to other causes. Everyone does what they can, mostly.

SG/Linda

 

[Julia M]

We were also at WDW during Charley. We were staying at Vistana. I thought they did a pretty good job of keeping everyone informed. We had long messages left on our machines 4 or 5 times on TH night and FRI.

We went to the the Magic Kingdom on FRI. Everyone who went there was given early admission, not just resort guests. It was wierd seeing the MK with signs tied down, carts covered in tarp and so on. It was obvious alot of work went into getting ready on TH night and FRI day.

At 1:00, the park was closed, and I do mean closed. All the shops were closed, no one getting in for a last minute expenditure. We got on the road, and there were tornado warnings going off at 2 (the loud sirens) Being West Coasters, it was a bit scary.

We went to DD on Saturday morning and it looked great.

Really, the worst part of our trip was trying to leave Saturday. Southwest Airlines was very unprepared and obviously wasn't ready to handle what was going on. There was obviously limited, if any, communication between SWA in Orlando and their 800 number. They were lying about the reasons that they weren't flying. My guess was that maybe they didn't want people trying to switch to other flights. On Saturday they were not offering or wanting to give refunds if you changed flights........a man near us argued and yelled and argued and yelled some more until he got someone there to approve his refund. For our Saturday flight we were being told to expect to get out Tuesday or Wednesday. We couldn't get info on trying to fly out of a different city. Dh went to American Airlines and while we were told we couldn't get out of Orlando, we were given options of where we could fly out of a different city,

By Sunday, I think they had things better organized and weren't so overwhelmed. I called to request (expecting to have to fight for) a refund, and I didn't even have to ask, it was just assumed it was happening.

But it was obvious that they were totally overwhelmed. I don't think that they thought it was going to hit Orlando, so they made no preparations. Saturday was not their finer hour.

My kids had alot to tell their friends about!

Julia

 

[safetymom]

I wouldn't judge the airlines too harshly. When you consider that the hurricane had gone through the day before I am sure they were overwhelmed with the situation.

There wasn't much they could do until the airport and runways were cleaned up.

The best advice before heading to the airport in a case like this is to check with the airlines.

 

[Barbday62]

We was one of the lucky ones who got out Saturday night. The airport was closed until midday and security was closed until 5PM. The first flight on Terminal A was at 5:30 and there was only a few gates avalible to use for every airlines. I think they did a good job with what was there but communication was horrible. If i would have been told when I called about my flight that the airport had ceiling tiles falling and in such disrepair I certainly would have considered rebooking and staying a couple extra days. The phone lines should have given better info. We flew Alaska arilines and the people at the airport were so kind and tried really hard. I applaud how they reacted after the storm. We took off about 3 1/2 hours late but at least we got out.

 

[Julia M]

Originally posted by safetymom
I wouldn't judge the airlines too harshly. When you consider that the hurricane had gone through the day before I am sure they were overwhelmed with the situation.

There wasn't much they could do until the airport and runways were cleaned up.

The best advice before heading to the airport in a case like this is to check with the airlines.

I totally agree......we were in constant communication with the airline (SWA) via their 800 number. Unfortunately, they had no info and in fact, were giving out info that was absoultely incorrect.

What I was trying to do was make a comparison between SWA and some of the other airlines. Southwest appeared to be having much more difficulty than the other airlines in communicating with their customers. When I called in mid afternoon I was told very specifically that the airline was, in fact, flying and that my flight would leave. I asked to try and rebook, to a different day (just in case) and this was not allowed. The reality was that they had not had a flight leave.

We were very specifically told that the reason SWA was not flying on Saturday was because of tornado warnings. Not damage to the airport, or anything else, but tornado warnings. When asked why other flights were leaving, no answer was given.

All the airlines were impacted by the hurricane. Some more than others and some less. I was just pointing out that SWA appeared to be very poorly organized, was not getting information to their 800 number, which resulted in very inaccurate info being shared and that other airlines seemed to be doing a better job.

This wasn't like an earthquake, which happens suddenly, with no warning. There was time to get some things in place, such as how communication would occur between the actual impacted areas, and the 800 numbers. I believe (and I absolutely could be wrong) that at least some levels, they weren't expecting it to really happen, and therefore weren't prepared.

I did point out, also, that the airline seemed to have things better in hand Sunday, but they really dropped the ball on Saturday.

Julia

 

[puckdad]

Interesting post there reagarding SWA. I spoke with them several times between Friday and Saturday as I had a flight scheduled for 6:10pm on Friday out of BWI, which of course was canceled. They re-booked me on a flight Saturday morning, around 10pm Friday night as the storm was passing by the Orlando airport. Not surpsingly, that flight was canceled by morning like most others that day. However, I spoke with them a few times Saturday, and had been told from the outset, the reason they were not flying in and out of MCO was due to the damage to the airport, specifically their terminal and gate areas. The agents told me they were getting hourly updates on the condition of OIA. Seemed by around noon, they were making the decision to cancel flights in and out for the rest of Saturday. I found their information helpful and as accurate as it could be under the circumstances.

Not sure what was expected before the storm hit, but they were making arrangements starting Thursday to re-book flights as early as there was availability to get as many passengers as they could in or out of MCO prior to the storms arrival. Maybe you talked with an agent in training!!

 

[NotUrsula]

According to the announcement that was up on the SWA website Saturday (8/14, around noon CT), they had tried to open the gates, but had to give up because of the volume of water coming through the missing roof areas. The announcement also said that passengers on flights through Tuesday could call and make changes without penalty.

If someone on the phone after that time told you flights were leaving, you just lucked into someone who didn't bother to really look; b/c the announcement that they would not be flying was clearly posted on the public page; in nice bold print. I actually posted it on this thread at about 3:45 CT.

All airlines have "stock excuses" that front-line employees use when they don't know what is delaying a flight; apparently they think it's bad karma to just admit not knowing what is wrong. I think that for a lot of employees, the pressure of that long line of people bearing down on you makes it seem like taking the time to look for an answer would make passengers even more annoyed. Personally, I'd prefer "I don't know, but I'm going to take the time right now to try to find out."