My Disney Blog

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

Hurricane Fay Disney Resources

Technically, it's not a hurricane yet, but Fay is expected to become a hurricane at some point. Since I am traveling to MCO - Orlando Airport - on Monday, August 18th, I've been keeping a close eye on Fay. Since I'm a meteorologist, this is the perfect combination for me - the potential to be in a tropical storm or hurricane - and being at Walt Disney World - woohoo! I've been chatting with a mom from Houston that is at the Fort Wilderness cabins right now, and she has provided some great information as well.

First, and foremost - I recommend checking out the National Hurricane Center. For those traveling to the Orlando area that don't usually have to look up information online - this is the country's official source of hurricane and tropical storm information.

National Hurricane Center (staffed 24 hours):
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

National Hurricane Center's Tropical Storm/Hurricane Fay Special Page:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?5day#contents

National Hurricane Center's Forecast Discussion (some technical stuff - but good info!):
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCDAT1+shtml/170902.shtml?

Another good page is the Orlando Sentinel's Homepage (24 hour coverage):
http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Plot of the various computer models:
http://weather.orlandosentinel.com/tropical/tracking/at200806_model.html

Storm- Centered Satellite Image:
http://weather.orlandosentinel.com/tropical/tracking/at200806_sat.html

Interactive Map:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/weather/orl-hurricane-storms-map,0,4692609.htmlpage

Orlando Sentinel's Hurricane Blog - VERY USEFUL INFORMATION HERE:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_weather_hurricane/

Melbourne, Florida National Weather Service - the office responsible for Orlando:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mlb/

Here is a great message board post on DisBoards:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1921596

I started this message board thread on DisBoards (resort policy):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1921807

Walt Disney World Hurricane Policy:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/common/helpFAQ?id=HelpFAQHurricanePage

If you have another great source of Hurricane or Tropical Storm resources for Disney, be sure to let me know and I will append the list, ok? From everything I've heard from locals or people who have been through tropical storms or hurricanes at Walt Disney World, it is no big deal if it is a lower category storm. So far, it's expected to be a Tropical Storm or Category 1, so lots of wind, tons of rain and there will likely be some tornadoes as well. Disney has a 24 hour Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and the National Weather Service in Melbourne will issue tornado warnings and hurricane local statements for the area.

I'll try to update later with more information! Best of luck to everyone!!

--- Hurricane Disney Dean

Kudos to Disney Travel Company - Tropical Storm/Hurricane Fay Change

Just wanted to give a HUGE shoutout to the Walt Disney Travel Company for accommodating our schedule change in light of the Tropical Storm/Hurricane Fay event. We called them this morning after we arranged for an earlier flight on AirTran, and we asked if we could get into the Fort Wilderness Cabins one day earlier than we were planning to. We were slated to arrive on August 19th, but with the schedule change, it put us into Orlando/MCO on Monday, August 18th instead. We have always been blown away by the customer service of Disney, so I guess we should've expected it - but the Cast Members (CM's) went WAY out of their way to help us. The one thing we wanted to be sure we preserved was the discount on the remainder of the vacation, and we hoped to not have to move from one cabin to another after one night. They actually took down our number and called us back. Not only did they get us in the same cabin (just one night longer), they applied our discount code to the first night as well. We couldn't believe it. The first CM was Collette, and I wish I could remember the second!

Thanks again to the Walt Disney Travel Company for helping us add a night due to the possibility of Tropical Storm or Hurricane Fay! You are the best!

--- Hurricane Disney Dean

AirTran - thank you! Hurricane/Tropical Storm Fay Adjustment

If you have been following MyDisneyBlog, you know that I was supposed to fly to Orlando on Tuesday, the day Tropical Storm Fay or Hurricane Fay was slated to move across Florida. Well, darned if I was about to let Fay get in the way of our Walt Disney World Vacation! ;)

So, early this morning, my wife asked me about changing our flight to Monday. Luckily I had Monday off, and we were just planning on driving to MSP, staying over, and flying out early on Tuesday the 19th to MCO (Orlando McCoy). So, she called AirTran, and they said they could switch us to Monday, no problem. We ended up talking to two customer service representatives for AirTran, and they could not have been more helpful. This is the way a company is supposed to treat people, and they have gained new customers (this is our first flight with AirTran). There was no additional charge, and the only change was that we will now have a layover for a few hours at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. So, we will now get into MCO - Orlando - Monday Evening - before Tropical Storm or Hurricane Fay moves across Florida. The official track from the National Hurricane Center still brings Fay across Florida, affecting Walt Disney World - more on that in another post.

Oh, also - be sure to check out a thread I started at DisBoards, asking about the AirTran policy for changes. We may have just lucked out and they had availability, but we still appreciate the change.

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you to AirTran, for being so flexible and for the terrific customer service. You should be very proud of the two agents that helped us so extensively.

--- Disney Dean

Hurricane Fay AT Walt Disney World?

Boy, oh boy - do I ever do things up right! I must have the worst timing, because I am slated to return to Disney World for the first time in two years starting Tuesday, August 19th. While that alone says nothing about poor timing, the National Hurricane Center has something else to say about it. As a meteorologist, I am enthralled at the opportunity to be somewhere during a hurricane, but never really thought it would happen to me. We are set to fly into MCO (Orlando McCoy Airport) by early afternoon on Tuesday. At this point, the National Hurricane Center has classified Fay as Tropical Storm Fay. Analysis of the discussions indicates there is still plenty of time for Fay to strengthen into a Hurricane before reaching Florida. No tropical storm or hurricane warnings had been issued for Florida as of 7 pm August 15th, but they are certainly possible as the tropical storm/hurricane gets closer. The 5 day track indicates a possible track along the west coast of Florida, reaching the Fort Myers area by 2 pm Tuesday. Will definitely be keeping an eye on the forecast over the next few days. If our plane was allowed to land, it would be just before the strongest winds, and there would likely be torrential rainfall. Looks like we should have got the Dodge Caravan with floats ;)

If we were able to get to Walt Disney World (Fort Wilderness cabins), I feel comfortable that the resorts would ensure our safety, but we would be traveling during this time - if we are able to land. Anyone else in the same boat? Anyone else out there that will be keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Fay or Hurricane Fay? Would love to talk to others to see what your thoughts are! Or, have you ever been through a Tropical Storm or Hurricane while at the parks, or in the FW Cabins? Just put a note in the comments section to get the party started.

--- Hurricane Disney Dean

Weight Watchers and the Mouse

On May 6, 2008, I finally made the decision to attend my first Weight Watchers meeting. You have NO idea what was going through my mind when I went to that first meeting. I was downright freaked out to be going to Weight Watchers. Not that I had any reason to be nervous - I just didn't know if it was going to be right for me. Well, on that first day, I weighed in at a whopping 262.2 pounds (of course, I'm 6'5" tall, but still). I really wanted to completely change my lifestyle, be able to chase the kids easier, and lose weight for our trip to Disney on August 19th. I knew the heat was going to kill me if I didn't, so I took the plunge. Well, as of this past Tuesday, I was down to 219.8 pounds, which is a loss of 42.4 pounds! I feel like a new person, and it is all due to Weight Watchers. I've gone through my 10% goal, and am within striking distance of my goal/lifetime weight of 211 pounds. Woohoo!!

The only thing I've noticed is that I have a really easy time following it when I am in my normal daily routine, but when I am "out of my element", I have a bit harder time. I've already decided that I will not be counting my points while at the World, but I also don't want to go crazy since I am out of my element. So, I was wondering if anyone has any strategies for making it through Disney World without "pigging out". Or, do you know of a link to a great resource for this? I would LOVE to find some techniques to help me out. When I get back - I'll be sure to post my tips for watching your weight at the Mouse.

AND, if you'd just like to chat about WW, just leave me a comment! Would love to meet others on WW.

--- Disney Dean

Best Disney PhotoPass Review

I've been thinking about signing up for Disney's PhotoPass (doing the pre-order), and I was doing a little bit of research. Well, lo and behold, I found a terrific review on the service on the Harp's Disney Adventure website. It is very comprehensive and I strongly believe anyone looking to do this should check out this review. So, head on over to the Harp's blog, and start researching!

--- Disney Dean

The Princess and The Frog YouTube Teaser Trailer

I'm so excited about the upcoming Princess and the Frog movie, slated to be released on Christmas Day, 2009. It looks like a classic, for sure!

The YouTube version is a bit grainy, but if you'd like to see it in TOTALLY CLEAR HD format, check it out at the Princess and the Frog Disney Website.

So what do you think about the new Disney movie? I realize it has a release date of December 25, 2009, but I'm already excited!! It is from the creators of "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin"!! Share your thoughts in the comments section, if ya would.

--- Disney Dean