Hurricane Charley

[dwelty]

Hi I was just curious if any WDW DVC properties encountered damage when Hurricane Charley rolled thru Orlando in 2004. I read somewhere that some hotels in the Downtown Disney area were affected (Hilton, Royal Palms).

 

[WebmasterDoc]

We were at WDW when Charlie went thru. No resorts sustained any structural damage, but lots of landscaping was affected.

It was interesting watching the preparations made by the CMs for that event.

I can't think of a place I'd rather be during a hurricane after watching the safety efforts made by Disney.

 

[VMS]

It's so funny that this came up. I was just telling someone yesterday about our experience when we were there for Frances which was three weeks later. I was saying exactly what Doc has stated. I was so impressed with how Disney was prepared and handled everything for the hurricane. It did make me realize what a tough thing it is for the people who live in these areas and what they have to go through. There is so much preparation (and when we were landing we could see the tarps still on so many houses from Charley just a few weeks earlier) that these people must go through in case the hurricane does hit them. It is very different when you actually see it rather than a short blurb on the TV.

 

[goofy4tink]

We spent two nights at the CR, the first one being the same night H Charley came through!! Sure was an interesting start to our stay. We then moved over to BWV. It seems that a lot of the resorts had some roof shingles moved off, but pretty much that was all. In fact, for a year or so after that we could still see the same roof areas that sustained minor damage!! Could never figure out why they didn't just get up there and replace 'em.
Have to say though.....the CMs at WDW really know how to take care of both their guests and their resorts in times of hurricanes. I never felt unsafe or threatened, even when Charley passed right over our heads. WDW is built to sustain little damage. Yes, there were bits of debris around, and trees knocked down, but nothing major. It was really incredible to watch the CMs doing their jobs.

 

[Sammie]

We were there too, but not at a DVC resort. I know some resorts such as the Grand Floridian had window breakage, to the main building. As Doc said I believe the DVC resorts only received landscape damage. I know SSR recieved quite a bit because theirs was still new.

As Doc said, after being there and seeing what some of the off property places looked like, I was glad to be staying with Disney.

 

[mbhoxsie]

We stayed at Pop Century the night after Charley hit... Not too much damage to the resort other than some smaller trees being knocked down...

After that one night at Pop Century, we moved over to Fort Wilderness... BIG difference... Fort Wilderness still hadn't opened back up two days after.. Trees were down everywhere, and maintanence stacking them in HUGE piles...

Apparently Disney had all of the campers put their trailers in the parking lot, and then moved everyone to CR (Garden wing).

 

[littlestar]

We were at VWL when Hurricane Jeanne came through (Charlie, Frances, and Jeanne all came through within about a six week period). At VWL we noticed trees down and one tree hit the gutter and dented it real bad on the pool side at VWL. It was a pretty good whack on that gutter, and I couldn't believe the tree missed all the windows. They had to put buckets on the floor in the main lodge because there were a few leaks here and there. Disney knows how to handle a hurricane, though. I was impressed.

 

[jemiaule]

What is surprising is the status of the Holiday Inn that is on property near DTD; it is just behind the Hilton. It got damaged in the hurricanes, they started repairs and renovations on it and it is still closed 3 years later! When we were there in November it looked like no work was being done on it or had been done on it in quite some time.

 

[goofy4tink]

We stayed at Pop Century the night after Charley hit... Not too much damage to the resort other than some smaller trees being knocked down...

After that one night at Pop Century, we moved over to Fort Wilderness... BIG difference... Fort Wilderness still hadn't opened back up two days after.. Trees were down everywhere, and maintanence stacking them in HUGE piles...

Apparently Disney had all of the campers put their trailers in the parking lot, and then moved everyone to CR (Garden wing).

A lot of those folks ended up at Port Orleans. And we had reservations at HDDR that Sat night, the 14th. But, as you said, Ft. W sustained a huge amount of damage....all those trees. We did get to HDDR mid-week, but got stuck in the balcony rather than close to the stage (we had booked about 15 months in advance).
It was really strange at the CR to see the monorail cars just sitting there, in the lobby...the windows at either end were boarded up. You weren't allowed to walk around that area. The restaurants all closed, so they had to feed us in the convention rooms...we packed up styro boxes and took the food back to our rooms. It was sort of fun. The CMs were terrific in fact.

 

[Daddio]

What is surprising is the status of the Holiday Inn that is on property near DTD; it is just behind the Hilton. It got damaged in the hurricanes, they started repairs and renovations on it and it is still closed 3 years later! When we were there in November it looked like no work was being done on it or had been done on it in quite some time.

We stayed at that HI in October, right after all three hurricanes had passed through. It was undergoing a change from Courtyard to HI. They were supposed to gut and renovate it in sections. There wasn't enough damage to prevent guests from staying there. I think there has been some legal disputes because, as you say, there has been absolutely no work going on for the past few years.

We were at POP a few years ago when Wilma went through and like all the others have said, the CMs were so great and everything so well organized that you couldn't help but feel comfortable. Every few hours the message light on the phone would flash with an update from the management.

 

[JimMIA]

I'm not sure what OP's question is.

Three hurricanes (two of them major -- Charley and Francis) hit WDW during 2004. The most deadly storm was Jeanne, which killed thousands in Haiti as a tropical storm, but was only a Cat 2 (I think) when it hit Florida. All three passed very close by WDW, but I don't believe any of them were anywhere near Cat 3 when they hit the Orlando area.

In 2005, some have referenced Wilma, which was at one point the strongest hurricane ever recorded (far out in the Gulf, thankfully), but Wilma didn't pass anywhere near WDW. Wilma's "best path" passed well south of Lake Okeechobee and about 125 miles south of WDW. There may have been some rain and wind at WDW, but it was barely on the fringes of Wilma.

If the question was: "Is it safe to be in WDW during a hurricane?," the answer is "Oh YEAH!" In fact, WDW is the refuge of choice of most folks who live in South Florida and might consider relocating in the event of a storm. For one thing, WDW is about as far inland as you can get, and therefore, the storms are going to be a shadow of their former selves when they visit the Mouse. And, not the least of the benefits, when you are onsite at WDW, you are in the hands of a very large organization, with huge resources, and the ability to function very well in a crisis. There is truly no better place to be in a hurricane than WDW.

[NOTE: We don't actually relocate during hurricanes -- that's not the Florida plan. The Florida plan (which works so much better than relocation) is to harden homes and ride it out. That is MUCH safer than relocating.]

If the question was: "Did Charley cause major damage to WDW?" ...No. Charley did not cause any MAJOR damage anywhere except Sanibel/Captiva Islands and Punta Gorda, on Florida's Gulf Coast.

In hurricane assessment, there are two types of damage -- cosmetic damage (trees down, shingles blown off, etc.) and major damage (long-term power outages, large buildings destroyed, bridges collapsed, etc.). Cosmetic damage can be a REAL mess...but that's all it is. Major damage happened in Sanibel/Captive/Punta Gorda in Charley in 2004, Indian River and Martin Counties in Francis and Jeanne in 2004, and also in Flamingo/Everglades City and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale in Wilma in 2005.

NONE of that happened at WDW during any hurricane during this period. I could well be wrong, but I don't think major damage has ever happened in the Orlando/WDW area.

 

[buzz5985]

I was at the BWV during Hurrican Charlie. My poor dog was at a kennel over off of rt 192. The damage over there was extensive. No power for days, etc. Only 10 minutes from WDW. When we picked up my poor old gal, she stunk to high heaven because of the lack of water/power/ac. no phone, no cell phones weren't working. We were delayed from leaving Disney for 2 days due to gas shortages in the area as far north as Georgia.

So even if Disney received minimal damage, areas just 10 minutes away had extensive damage. When we were there - my DH is in contruction - and was chatting with some WDW workers and they were telling him that Disney's minumum construction standards are higher than the state of FL.

Janis

 

[goofy4tink]

I was at the BWV during Hurrican Charlie. My poor dog was at a kennel over off of rt 192. The damage over there was extensive. No power for days, etc. Only 10 minutes from WDW. When we picked up my poor old gal, she stunk to high heaven because of the lack of water/power/ac. no phone, no cell phones weren't working. We were delayed from leaving Disney for 2 days due to gas shortages in the area as far north as Georgia.

So even if Disney received minimal damage, areas just 10 minutes away had extensive damage. When we were there - my DH is in contruction - and was chatting with some WDW workers and they were telling him that Disney's minumum construction standards are higher than the state of FL.

Janis

I would have to agree. I know that the reports were that Charley was going to make landfall in the Tampa area, so there were a ton of Tampa residents that made a beeline (pardon the pun) for Orlando and WDW. And what happened? Charley headed in south of Tampa and passed right over our heads. There were CMs who didn't get to go home for two-three days. There were CMs who couldn't get to work due to damage to their homes, roadways. The schools in Orlando were shut down, by Wednesday after Charley (hit on Friday night), the schools were still closed and the kids were starting to hit the parks!!
When we left WDW for the airport on Sat, we couldn't believe the damage we saw!! It was so completely different than what we had seen at WDW!! The airport was a mess. In fact, when we went back for our next trip, the airport was still making repairs!!
All in all...if you can get to WDW before a hurricane hits, you'll be very safe there..much safer than in Orlando proper!!