Hurricane Irma?

[AngiTN]

I think the point is that for purposes of this thread some people are feeling bad and second guessing cancelling because the storm is "weakening." It is still a very large, powerful and dangerous storm and no one should take the sign that it's dropped to about 150mph top wind speed as a sign that they should, in fact, try to come to Orlando during this storm because now it is "just a cat 4". Even a cat 3 storm can do TREMENDOUS damage when it makes landfall and cat 1-2 can cause quite a bit of disruption as well. Weakening is a relative term, it is still a very very large, fast moving and strong storm and no one should stop being vigilant because it's "only" a cat 4.

Again, I'm not sure where I told anyone they would still go or feel bad for cancelling or anything like that. My point is, if it was a 5 and getting stronger that would be way worse than a 4 and getting stronger. That's all. Why folks insist on putting words in folks posts are beyond me. I was finding a silver lining in that fact that it's a 4 now and yeah, it may get a little stronger and still be a 3 or strong 2 in Orlando. But all that's better than if it were a 5 now and just getting stronger. Why can't anyone find something good to focus on in a storm that is full of bad?

 

[Marionnette]

I think the point is that for purposes of this thread some people are feeling bad and second guessing cancelling because the storm is "weakening." It is still a very large, powerful and dangerous storm and no one should take the sign that it's dropped to about 150mph top wind speed as a sign that they should, in fact, try to come to Orlando during this storm because now it is "just a cat 4". Even a cat 3 storm can do TREMENDOUS damage when it makes landfall and cat 1-2 can cause quite a bit of disruption as well. Weakening is a relative term, it is still a very very large, fast moving and strong storm and no one should stop being vigilant because it's "only" a cat 4.

ITA!

However, just one small correction. Irma is currently at 150 mph sustained winds. The gusts will be much worse.

 

[mab2012]

Cat. 5 is 157+ mph winds. This storm is not that far away from having been a Cat. 5. Does it really matter if it slams into southern Florida as a Cat.4 at 150 mph or as a Cat.5 at 158 mph?

You are missing my point.

Deliberately, I think.

If I'm not mistaken, peak wind speeds for this storm were measured at 188 or 189 MPH. As of this morning, they were down to 155 MPH. So no, the classification of the storm as a Category 4 or 5 is not particularly relevant, but the 35-ish MPH reduction in wind speed probably is. Maybe less so for communities on the south coast than for those further inland, where that 35 MPH reduction now might be the difference between hurricane force winds or tropical storm conditions at the other end of the scale.

 

[HarperLeigh]

From our governor and others:

Express Lanes in I75 will remain Northbound at all times. NO TOLLS required. Use them.

Call 511 for non-emergency assistance (but still call for accidents, flat tires, etc.)

Asking those who are coming North to go up to North GA for shelter (as opposed to staying in South GA)

I 16 will have contra flow (I forgot what start time) so no EAST bound traffic --at all.

All State parks will be open (Go to gastateparks.org for info). No fees or pet fees. DNR will not turn anyone away (not sure how this will work but it's what they said) I know the state park next to me (Red Top Mountain) has an actual lodge and other parks have non camping facilities/lodges/cabins. (I would never have thought to look into shelter there.)

Hopefully this entire press conference will be online somewhere.

---------------

Contra flow on I 16 starts at 8am tomorrow morning (Saturday).

 

[ITALIANNYC]

Again, I'm not sure where I told anyone they would still go or feel bad for cancelling or anything like that. My point is, if it was a 5 and getting stronger that would be way worse than a 4 and getting stronger. That's all. Why folks insist on putting words in folks posts are beyond me. I was finding a silver lining in that fact that it's a 4 now and yeah, it may get a little stronger and still be a 3 or strong 2 in Orlando. But all that's better than if it were a 5 now and just getting stronger. Why can't anyone find something good to focus on in a storm that is full of bad?

It's at 150 mph now. It's 7mph from cat 5. It's basically the same thing. There's not really any difference between it being a cat 4 and getting strong then a cat 5 and getting stronger.

Once you hit 150mph, it's basically the same destruction you'd get at 170

 

[AngiTN]

From our governor and others:

Express Lanes in I75 will remain Northbound at all times. NO TOLLS required. Use them.

Call 511 for non-emergency assistance (but still call for accidents, flat tires, etc.)

Asking those who are coming North to go up to North GA for shelter (as opposed to staying in South GA)

I 16 will have contra flow (I forgot what start time) so no EAST bound traffic --at all.

All State parks will be open (Go to gastateparks.org for info). No fees or pet fees. DNR will not turn anyone away (not sure how this will work but it's what they said) I know the state park next to me (Red Top Mountain) has an actual lodge and other parks have non camping facilities/lodges/cabins. (I would never have thought to look into shelter there.)

Hopefully this entire press conference will be online somewhere.

---------------

DNR?
I also have been told that Atlanta Speedway is opening up to allow campers to park, I think for free but I'm not certain on cost/no cost. There's been discussion on why Bonnaroo site here in TN has not done the same.

 

[DisneyMom93]

At this point, Disney should be telling people not to come or at least close the park Sunday and Monday with an announcement by now.

That's my opinion

Disney is not going to close the parks until they HAVE to. They are probably hoping the storm turns, or lessens.

 

[KimBean]

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!

Thank you for restating this. Dash zap let us know about this yesterday but that is buried now.

 

[sibesx2]

Latest NHC has Irma at cat 2 by the time it goes over Orlando. Better than 4-5. WDW will probably be fine.

I live in Louisiana and have been through many Hurricanes. The only one that scared me was a Cat 2 storm (Hurricane Gustav).

 

[ITALIANNYC]

Disney is not going to close the parks until they HAVE to. They are probably hoping the storm turns, or lessens.

Yeah well I personally see that as endangering people who are coming for no reason. It's not announced but let's get serious for a minute. Do you actually think the parks are gonna open Sunday and Monday? I don't.

 

[TheSwex]

Jose is now a Cat 4. Really hope Jose doesn't hit Florida. They have enough to deal with.

 

[HopperFan]

DNR?
I also have been told that Atlanta Speedway is opening up to allow campers to park, I think for free but I'm not certain on cost/no cost. There's been discussion on why Bonnaroo site here in TN has not done the same.

Department Natural Resources.

Yes Speedway open, free and showers etc provided. They will continue to have normal activity without rushing folks out because they have 40 acres to camp that won't impact operations. They expect most to stay around 5 days and then head to their homes.

http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com...g-facilities-for-hurricane-irma-evacuees.html

Also Talladega

http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.c...ne-Irma-Evacuees-Welcome.aspx?PromotionCode=1

 

[scrappinginontario]

December is still in the Free Dining promo window
Dates were
8/21/17-12/23/17
with some black out dates
10/1-11/13, 11/21-11/24, 11/28-12/7

so if you move your trip from now to a date within the above dates you should still be able to keep free dining

You're quite right that the Free Dining promo window dates are still there but the challenge seems to be that there is little/no availability of rooms for that promotion. People were having problems finding availability even before Irma so now it's much worse. As with any Disney promotion they only allot a certain number of rooms to a promotion. I hope people find availability but I know my SIL tried yesterday and she and the CM just couldn't find anything.

 

[Belle1962]

Sorry-DNR Dept. of Natural Resources

 

[HarperLeigh]

DNR?
I also have been told that Atlanta Speedway is opening up to allow campers to park, I think for free but I'm not certain on cost/no cost. There's been discussion on why Bonnaroo site here in TN has not done the same.

Here, DNR stands for Department of Natural Resources. I'm assuming Georgia has something similar?

 

[DisneyMom93]

Yeah well I personally see that as endangering people who are coming for no reason. It's not announced but let's get serious for a minute. Do you actually think the parks are gonna open Sunday and Monday? I don't.

Disney has a full refund policy. Anyone that chooses to go to Disney World during a hurricane warning is making that decision, not Disney. I'm not defending Disney, but I wouldn't say it's on them for endangering guests. Employees maybe, but not guests.

EDITED: But Disney has closed for hurricanes in the past, so yes, they may close. I just think they won't decide until that day, or the evening before.

 

[KimBean]

You should be able to open a browser on your mobile device and do it that way. Or at least try. It may use Flash and that may be an issue

Using browser safari iPhone 7 and no option for chat. They might be able to pull that and add it depending on availability though.

 

[HarperLeigh]

DNR?
I also have been told that Atlanta Speedway is opening up to allow campers to park, I think for free but I'm not certain on cost/no cost. There's been discussion on why Bonnaroo site here in TN has not done the same.

Talladega (AL) and AMS are opening for evacuees. http://www.nascar.com/news-media/20...mping-facilities-for-hurricane-irma-evacuees/

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

At what point might Disney announce park closure for Sun? Seems like a fairy safe bet at this point... I can't recall how they handled this for Matthew or others...

 

[AngiTN]

At what point might Disney announce park closure for Sun? Seems like a fairy safe bet at this point... I can't recall how they handled this for Matthew or others...

They didn't announce closures for Matthew till a few hours out. We arrived at 10:00 or so and they had JUST made the announcements for closing at 5:00 that day, and then closing the next day.