Hurricane Irma Advice and Preparations

News Updates about the Port Orleans Resorts.
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The Sassagoula Sentinel
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Hurricane Irma Advice and Preparations

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After barrelling though the offshore islands and Cuba and causing huge devastation and some loss of life, Hurricane Irma is now heading northwards towards Miami and then up into the rest of Florida. Current predictions show the eye will most likely track very slightly to the west of Orlando (most directly over the St. Petersburg/Tampa area) during Sunday night, and will probably still be at Category 3 or 4 level by that point which poses a severe threat of damage to buildings and personal injury. Orlando International Airport will be closed from 5pm on Saturday.

Although this will be a very serious event, remember that Disney takes the safety of its guests extremely seriously and has a whole range of contingency plans are already in place. Also their building construction is second-to-none in the area and generally the work is significantly above locally required specifications. Walt Disney World will be one of the safest places to ride this out.

Disney will be closing all of its theme parks on Saturday night, with no evening entertainment or fireworks scheduled, and nothing is expected to be reopened until Tuesday. Blizzard Beach and ESPN Wide World of Sports are already closed, and Typhoon Lagoon will shut on Saturday afternoon. Disney Springs will close at 9pm on Saturday. The planned Night of Joy at ESPN on Saturday and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Sunday are cancelled, and exchanges or full refunds will be offered for these and any other pre-booked activities. All dining cancellation charges are also being waived until Tuesday. For more detailed information and advice, see Disney's dedicated Irma page, https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/hurricane-irma-info/ and their general hurricane policies at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/hurricane-policy/ or tune in to Channel 3 on your in-room television if you are already on site.

There may need to be a mandatory room curfew (in line with any local policies) which could potentially last from 24 to 48 hours, and there will probably be no housekeeping services available for the duration of the storm, so please ensure that you are as prepared as possible. Disney movies will be complimentary on Channel 31 of the in-room television system to help to keep the kids occupied.

Port Orleans is advising guests to stock up with water, snacks and non-perishable items for their rooms, ideally purchasing from the theme parks or Disney Springs as resort services will be severely stretched as all guests return to the resort to hunker down over the weekend. Distribution of emergency food packages will commence at 5pm on Saturday from the main buildings, but from previous experiences you should expect lengthy queues. Disney is providing flashlights for all rooms, and you would be advised to fully charge all of your necessary battery-powered devices in advance in case of power outages.

Our thoughts and good wishes are with everyone in the path of this unprecedented hurricane, and we hope that all our friends, cast members, and the "hunkered down" resort guests stay safe.


[Update on 10 Sept] Orange Country, FL - which covers almost all of Walt Disney World, including the Port Orleans Resorts - has announced that a mandatory curfew will take place from 7pm tonight (Sunday 10th September) until 6pm on Monday. This will exclude emergency services, medical personnel and critical services staff. See https://newsroom.ocfl.net/2017/09/orang ... -10-7-p-m/ .

This means that guests will be unable to leave Port Orleans for the duration of the curfew, and given the external access nature of the accommodation buildings, people will effectively be confined to their rooms from 7pm tonight. Make sure you have sufficient provisions for you and your family and hunker down!

I've also heard from someone I know at the resort that Port Orleans is hosting about 400 rooms of emergency electrical teams from all over the country, and 110 rooms of nurses and doctors to assist with relief efforts. There are apparently many more at the other resorts too. As noted in previous posts, the main parking lots are packed with emergency and maintenance vehicles too. When you need to accommodate a lot of people in a single geographical area with good access to where they are going to be needed, I guess Disney is the place to be.


A few photos posted via the Disney's Port Orleans Resorts - A Magical Guide Facebook Group (thanks to the admins for the permission to repost here):

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In-room information flyer.

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More In-room information communication, with a complimentary flashlight.

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Emergency maintenance vehicles waiting in the Riverside parking lot ready for the aftermath.

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More Preparation around the resort.


Update at 5pm EST Saturday. The packaged snack bag at resorts is much cheaper than the one that they offered during last year's hurricane, looks like they took note of some rather disgruntled feedback from guests:

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Re: Hurricane Irma Advice and Preparations

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The packaged snack bag at resorts is much cheaper than the one that they offered during last year's hurricane, looks like they took note of the disgruntled feedback from guests:

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Re: Hurricane Irma Advice and Preparations

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Snack bag distribution:

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Re: Hurricane Irma Advice and Preparations

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Orange Country, FL - which covers almost all of Walt Disney World, including the Port Orleans Resorts - has announced that a mandatory curfew will take place from 7pm tonight (Sunday 10th September) until 6pm on Monday. This will exclude emergency services, medical personnel and critical services staff. See https://newsroom.ocfl.net/2017/09/orang ... -10-7-p-m/ .

This means that guests will be unable to leave Port Orleans for the duration of the curfew, and given the external access nature of the accommodation buildings, people will effectively be confined to their rooms from 7pm tonight. Make sure you have sufficient provisions for you and your family and hunker down!

I've also heard from someone I know at the resort that Port Orleans is hosting about 400 rooms of emergency electrical teams from all over the country, and 110 rooms of nurses and doctors to assist with relief efforts. There are apparently many more at the other resorts too. As noted in previous posts, the main parking lots are packed with emergency and maintenance vehicles too. When you need to accommodate a lot of people in a single geographical area with good access to where they are going to be needed, I guess Disney is the place to be.
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