Fay Report FROM Walt Disney World

Hello from Fort Wilderness! We were able to fly down to Orlando / MCO on Monday, August 18th, and are now safe and sound in a Wilderness Cabin at Fort Wilderness. We were a little apprehensive about being here before the storm, and didn't think we would be going to a park on Tuesday, August 19th. When we checked in, there was a certain feeling of unknown and it was a bit freaky!! It's kind of like the feeling before a great Minnesota Blizzard. The Cast Member (CM) who checked us in said to DEFINITELY go to a park if we could - because they would be so quiet due to Fay. We all looked at each other a little surprised, and said "ok - twist our arms" :)

Well, we got to our cabin about 10 pm, and got everyone settled in. My mother in law stayed with the kids and we did a big Super Wal-Mart run to get some stuff for the cabin (snacks and stuff). We decided to get our water for the park days, and when we got to Wal Mart - it was INSANE! Kind of like what you see on TV before a tropical storm or hurricane. It was a huge mess, and at midnight, there were still lines of about 20 people long! There were pallets of water EVERYWHERE and most of them were right down to the bottom. In the carts, there were cases of water!

So, finally finished the Wal Mart run and headed back to get some MUCH needed sleep after the long travel day. Then on Tuesday Morning, August 19th, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We thought we would at least get a few hours in, but really, all we experienced during most of the day was some spotty drizzle and a few brief showers. About 5 pm or so, it started to rain persistently, so we headed out and went to Giordano's for AWESOME pizza. The average wait time was 5 minutes - yep - you saw that correctly - 5 MINUTES was the average wait time! I was in HEAVEN. The longest wait time we saw was for Peter Pan, of course, which was 50 minutes! Even with a fast pass - we waited 10-15 minutes. What's with that ride??? But for Dumbo, which also seems to have long waits usually, we waited maybe 10 minutes. We could have even went on again for a 5 minute wait, but got distracted by the Disney Vacation Club dude. Still trying to figure it out and we may go for a tour of a property.

Well, we got up this morning, Wednesday, August 20th, and it had stopped raining. It was only in the 70s yesterday (19th), and it felt wonderful. Today we may see a little spotty sunshine, but probably not too much due to the proximity of Fay to central Florida. No rain this morning, and not much on radar.

Heading to Hollywood Studios this morning, and hoping for short wait times today, too. TouringPlans had that park in one of the quieter parks for today, and with the tropical storm/hurricane Fay - will probably be much quieter.

Anyway, will check in later - but so far so good. Lots of frogs outside of our cabin this morning - one even got in our cabin and freaked my wife out when it turned and looked right at her! The frogs were so loud, and we saw an armadillo too.

Anyway, off to the parks! Will check in later!

--- Disney Dean

Comments

[Houston Mom]

Hello Dean -

We are still in our FW cabin as well (My son is obsessed with the frogs - he is 5 and keeps catching them and bringing them into the cabin and announcing that he wants to take this frog back to Houston). We had a nice day at the MK today despite the rain. We are thinking about going to the Studios tonight - I really want to see Fantasmic but I am afraid it might be cancelled due to wind. Weather.com says 21 mph winds for Lake Buena Vista tonight and only 60 percent chance of rain. What do you think? How high do the winds need to be before they cancel Fantasmic?

[The Cockburn Family]

Dean,

We are travelling to Fort Wilderness for our 4th consecutive year in March 09' and are DYING to see any photos of the new pool and sites...any chance of posting some. I think this year the kids are almost as excited as the adults!

Hope your having a great time.

The Cockburn Family in Canada