Hurricane Irma?

[akg1128]

Just to add on flight cancellations, we were set to fly AA into MCO (from STL with layover in Charlotte) on Tuesday, with MCO arrival around 2:30 pm. It was cancelled last night and we were told the earliest they could reschedule us to is Friday night.

 

[BattyKoda]

It does strike me to wonder, why is it so far, only Southwest that's cancelling flights? Or does it just happen to be Southwest is the only airlines that folks here are flying and the others have cancelled and we just don't have anyone flying so no one has posted?

We have a late Tuesday night flight, via Jetblue, that has not yet been cancelled.

 

[Irish_Mike]

I have been seeing people posting videos all over FB showing the parties, meet and greets, parades, sing a longs, activities, dance parties etc. at the resorts. Disney is really working hard to make this fun for the guests who are there.

Oh totally. BC has Minnie, Donald and Goofy (last I heard) out and about in the lobby, so it's definitely something that people are going to remember.

 

[Realfoodfans]

I'd imagine thats easier said than done for some people. We're not going this year, but are planning on going next year and were considering not hiring a car for the first time ever. Fly in from UK, magical express to WDW and Uber to get to Universal etc. I'm sure Im not the only person who thought that might be viable in these days of uber. Then this happens - how do you stock up with supplies when you've flown in and no rental car? There's probably quite a few people in that situation.

With all the build up and notice an Uber to a gas station or even a store like Publix would be our priority over Universal.

 

[ShadeDK]

It does strike me to wonder, why is it so far, only Southwest that's cancelling flights? Or does it just happen to be Southwest is the only airlines that folks here are flying and the others have cancelled and we just don't have anyone flying so no one has posted?

Delta, American, Jetblue and United still have flights...I've heard reports that Frontier is now canceling Tue flights.

Per my earlier post, I'm right there with everyone wondering why SW is the only one right now with the cancellations into Tuesday and beyond. Are they being overly cautious? Repositioning planes? Getting their FL staff and families back? Anticipating issues with Jacksonville? All of the above or none of the above? Some of the explanations should affect most airlines, but we haven't seen that yet. If Frontier is starting to cancel, that takes me back to the possible slot allocation issue that might affect the discount airlines more than the legacy airlines. [Edit: others are reporting Tuesday cancellations on other airlines - so it's not just SW. Moral: check your reservations for flights this week].

Regardless of the reason, I don't envy SW or any of the airlines trying to figure out all the logistics and rerouting. It's one more part of the havoc this thing is causing. All we can do is wait, watch and keep up to date with the conditions.

 

[peteykirch]

Jetblue just cancelled our flight for Tuesday. That's disappointing.

 

[DVCTX]

Delta, American, Jetblue and United still have flights...I've heard reports that Frontier is now canceling Tue flights.

American has now cancelled all flights thru Tuesday.

 

[meghanb133]

I am staying at POFQ, checked in yesterday as I live north of Tampa Bay on the coast in Tarpon Springs, where the eye of the storm was heading as of yesterday morning. Our condo is boarded up and we have a ton of sandbags, but our neighborhood is covered in large trees and I didn't want to chance it, I pray our house is safe when we get home. Things are replaceable but our lives are not.

With that being said, the staff here has been amazing, I was appreciative of the last minute availability. They had me one night at CBR and two nights at POFQ. When I tried to check in at CBR yesterday they said I wouldn't be able to leave today due to a possible all day curfew so they switched all three of my nights here. Everyone here is doing the best they can, you can tell Disney staff is pulling it together to make sure everything is taken care of and reassuring guests that things will remain as safe as possible.

I'm praying for my family and friends who are still back home and hoping Irma will weaken before it gets to Tampa Bay.

 

[Travelgrrl]

"Lee Matthews said: ↑
We're staying at the comfort inn at lake buena vista who have decided that today and tomorrow they are not going to serve food. Everywhere else is going to be closed so not sure what we are going to do for food.

First time in a hurricane situation so at a loss what to do."

I also apologize for all of the people who have been a bit harsh. I hope all goes well for you.

The OP is apparently from the UK or somewhere overseas, and a natural disaster which is never seen there, is happening here. For those judging rather than offering helpful suggestions, imagine yourself overseas and facing an emergency. No doubt your level of preparedness would be different than if the emergency was in your own country.

My friend threw his back out while in Italy, once. Even getting him medicine and unguents was 10x more stressful than if we had been in the US. Now multiply that with the current situation, and spare a little empathy for Mr. Matthews and his family, if you can.

 

[StageTek]

I know this is going to anger some of you...

I was scheduled to arrive Sept 18 for a four night stay. On Friday (8th) after reading most of the posts on this thread I decided to check availability for 9th to 17th. So many people canceling. Kind of surprised to get a room at POFQ for that week and the JetBlue flight on the 8th was stupid cheap so I booked. Got what I was told was the last flight out of LAX to MCO (?) - about half full. Landed at 8:45AM. There were only a few people boarding DME but kind of typical for such an early trip. I checked out MK and was surprised how many people were there on the 9th. Got to Epcot at around 2PM and it was empty. Parks are closed today but the resort is jumping with people - all a bit nervous but the atmosphere is friendly and hopeful. All the CM's are helpful and encouraging. Disney is really going all out to make people comfortable.

 

[BattyKoda]

Jetblue just cancelled our flight for Tuesday. That's disappointing.

If you don't mind my asking, what time was your flight scheduled for?

 

[tsme]

We're at BWI right now. I agree Disney is doing everything they can to make this experience as pleasant as possible. They've even let people bring their pets. There are dogs everywhere & even a couple of large lizards.

 

[AngiTN]

It appears right now the worse of the conditions in Orlando will be overnight so I believe for the most part, the guests will be entertained and the day will be good for them. Lots of fun and games, even if it's totally different than one in the park. Today will be much like our Matthew day was. Late this evening and on through to tonight is probably going to be pretty scary at times, without question. I'd expect to be asked (told with firmness) to remain in your room. Even in the indoor resorts. Tomorrow? Well, that is all going to depend on if there's any damage to tend to. The weather should be rather pretty, compared to today. I know in the few hurricanes I've had to deal with the day after is surprisingly clear. These storms tend to clear the skies and clean the air almost like they've gone through a filter. If there isn't anything to clear and clean then tomorrow may be a repeat of today with lots of parties and fun from the CM and character and you should be able to move about again.

 

[AngiTN]

We're at BWI right now. I agree Disney is doing everything they can to make this experience as pleasant as possible. They've even let people bring their pets. There are dogs everywhere & even a couple of large lizards.

I saw that somewhere on FB yesterday that they'd opened all resorts to pets. Pretty nice of them indeed. They sure didn't have to do that. Or at least some resorts. Maybe they have some without pets for allergy concerns, no idea.

 

[sherlockmiles]

@meghanb133 we're here at POFQ too

 

[brookmey]

I just want to say that I hope everyone in the path of Irma stays safe. I went through Harvey 2 weeks ago so I feel for all of you and can empathize with what you're going through. So many people here in metro Houston are sending good thoughts and prayers to everyone affected by Irma.

My husband and son are at the Texans game today. Before the game, on the big jumbo screen, all the cities in TX that were affected by Harvey were listed, with the word STRONG after each city's name. Then it went to HoustonStrong, then TexasStrong, then FloridaStrong. DH said huge cheers went up after FloridaStrong. Then they had a moment of silence for the victims of both hurricanes. He said it was really emotional. We're all in this together, doesn't matter if it's Harvey or Irma.

 

[AngiTN]

My best guess related to airlines cancelling is Atlanta on Monday afternoon and overnight in to Tuesday. It may be very bad there. The percentage of flights that go through Atlanta is staggering. Service disruption in Atlanta may well mushroom out and disrupt service well beyond and in ways you'd never imagine, and impact flights that you'd think would never impact, just because they can't get the equipment or people from point A to point B as they need to.

 

[KateP85]

I saw that somewhere on FB yesterday that they'd opened all resorts to pets. Pretty nice of them indeed. They sure didn't have to do that. Or at least some resorts. Maybe they have some without pets for allergy concerns, no idea.

I think that's awesome - we might be showing up tomorrow or Tuesday with a very pissed off cat! I do feel for people with pet allergies, and for how much more time housekeeping will have to spend on cleaning the rooms though!

 

[Aunt Ni Ni]

Spirit just canceled our flight for tomorrow at 6:30pm. When I saw the storm turn west last night I thought we still had a chance. This trip was my husbands idea (and he's not a Disney fan) after I had such an awful summer. I fell the first week of June and broke the bones behind my knee in four places. He said at least at Disney i can throw you in a wheelchair and we can still have fun. He even went out and bought me a wheelchair for the trip. And no before you ask I could not change the dates as I have all my doctor appointments to the following week. I started to write this just to let others know which airline is canceling when.

 

[arminnie]

To the poster without food at the Comfort Inn - the Comfort Inn usually just serves breakfast - sometimes just prepared pastries in cellophane. They may have a storage room with them - just no plans to serve breakfast. I'd ask the front desk if there is anything prepackaged in storage that you could have.

Also check with the other hotels within walking distance of you (but not during the high winds) that do have restaurants/and/or gift shops with snacks.