What do they do at Fort Wilderness in the case of a hurricane?

[HsvScrapGirl]

We are scheduled to arrive at Fort Wilderness on this Sunday. We will be hauling our travel trailer. With Dorian threatening the area, I am curious what precautions do they take at Fort Wilderness in the case of a hurricane? We are weighing our options to decide do we reschedule or push on.

 

[John VN]

We are scheduled to arrive at Fort Wilderness on this Sunday. We will be hauling our travel trailer. With Dorian threatening the area, I am curious what precautions do they take at Fort Wilderness in the case of a hurricane? We are weighing our options to decide do we reschedule or push on.

YEARS ago we were sent to PO. DW's birthday FW trip next week so we shall wait and see. European Model is showing it close to going over our house with AEMN directly overhead.

 

[Lizziemom]

Years ago we got sent to PO Riverside. Trailers everywhere in the parking lot. We were give a room to sleep, but my husband slept in the trailer with the dog! Spent a few days there then the campground opened for the last 4 days of our 7 day stay.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

For Irma they evacuated FW and at least some people were storing their trailers/5th wheels/etc in MK parking lot

This was a photo we took the day before Irma hit at MK's parking lot:



That said each hurricane may be a different situation and thus handled differently.

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

Thanks for the info. We are watching and praying while we try to decide what to do. We will probably make a decision by Friday morning.

 

[Lehuaann]

Matthew, we were evacuated. Cabins and campsite guests to values; campers/rvs parked in MK lot.

Irma, the back office called and advised that we could not check-in (fort was evacuating). We had no choice but to move dates.

 

[michelb]

For Irma (2017), FW was closed for almost 2 weeks in anticipation of the hurricane and then for cleanup.

As is well known, hurricane models and projected paths are just best estimates and can and usually do change but current computer models are forecasting that Dorian would be near FW overnight Monday-Tuesday as a category 2 hurricane. Given past responses, it's foreseeable that if the path doesn't change Disney will likely evacuate and close FW at some point over the weekend.

If you've got plans, best you can do is monitor the storm but it's foreseeable that you may have to change your plans.

If Dorian keeps to current predictions, it's likely that Disney parks will also be closing for a few days next week.

-- Update --

Based on latest forecast, Hurricane Dorian is still projected to go over Orlando / Kissimmee (but there's a lot of variables and it could be as far South as Miami or as far North as Jacksonville or higher and might avoid Orlando altogether) but the good news is that it does look like it might "only" be a category 1 by the time it reaches the Orlando / Kissimmee area.

 

[Breezy2]

Best advice - reschedule now before everyone else-don't wait. The threat is real! Florida's Governor has declared a State of Emergency. https://www.floridadisaster.org/new...s-floridians-to-prepare-for-hurricane-dorian/There are too many variables you have no control over such as path of the storm, intensity, and massive evacuations on interstates that become one way roads out of the state. Fuel and food on the road and in Orlando will be scarce. Disney does a great job assisting and sheltering their guests but you won't be at The Fort and the parks will close. The Fort is a very dangerous place to be in a hurricane. Stay safe and reschedule now while you still have options.

 

[Teamubr]

We came down a few days after Irma. The Fort was evacuated and was still closed when we left from home. Many, many people had rescheduled. It was VERY difficult to get through (too many people calling and the local CM's were dealing with their own families and problems.) We didn't have an opportunity to reschedule, even if we could have gotten through. So off we headed, knowing there wasn't any place to stay.

On the drive down, we were able to get through to guest services. They said they didn't know when the Fort would reopen, but they would honor the reservation and find something for us.

We spent the first 4 nights at Old Key West in a 2 BR condo. It was amazing. I was one of the first in line when the Fort reopened, mid-week. They had a little party/celebration with speeches, horses and characters. It was fantastic.

j

 

[Stork]

YEARS ago we were sent to PO.... European Model is showing it close to going over our house with AEMN directly overhead.

Okay, I thought I knew every abbreviation & acronym. Apparently not.
What is PO?
What is AEMN?
Thanks.

 

[Lehuaann]

We are scheduled to arrive at Fort Wilderness on this Sunday. We will be hauling our travel trailer. With Dorian threatening the area, I am curious what precautions do they take at Fort Wilderness in the case of a hurricane? We are weighing our options to decide do we reschedule or push on.

If you decide to head that way just keep an eye on your fuel and the gas stations.

Okay, I thought I knew every abbreviation & acronym. Apparently not.
What is PO?
What is AEMN?
Thanks.

PO is Port Orleans. Not sure about the other

 

[John VN]

Okay, I thought I knew every abbreviation & acronym. Apparently not.
What is PO?
What is AEMN?
Thanks.

AEMN is another "spaghetti model" for predicted path. ALWAYS changing and since my post --- IT HAS --- as well as all others.

 

[Gino USMC]

I was at Kidani Village for Irma and there was a travel trailer in the parking lot. They even let pets stay there during the hurricane.

 

[BeachMama13]

Best advice - reschedule now before everyone else-don't wait. The threat is real! Florida's Governor has declared a State of Emergency. https://www.floridadisaster.org/new...s-floridians-to-prepare-for-hurricane-dorian/There are too many variables you have no control over such as path of the storm, intensity, and massive evacuations on interstates that become one way roads out of the state. Fuel and food on the road and in Orlando will be scarce. Disney does a great job assisting and sheltering their guests but you won't be at The Fort and the parks will close. The Fort is a very dangerous place to be in a hurricane. Stay safe and reschedule now while you still have options.

I completely agree, reschedule now. If you've never been through a hurricane then you may not understand what a mess it can be before, during, & afterwards. Besides the potential damage to your RV, there can be food, gas, water shortages. If you need to evacuate when the storm is approaching, you can end up stuck on the highway. I have personal experience with that. I was on I-10/Hwy 90 as Hurricane Opal was heading our way, many years ago. Went to bed the night before not expecting to have a storm and then it turned. A 2 hour trip turned into almost 11 hours with winds and rain.

I understand that you don't want to miss out on your time at Disney, I just cancelled my trip, too. We are really bummed about it but that's life, unfortunately.

Best of luck in your decision!

 

[team bradfield]

Hurricane Tammy - 2005- Disney called us and said the fort would be closed on our arrival day, but it turned out to be very weak and they delayed our arrival by 1 day. we were lucky, we just stayed an extra day in Georgia on the drive down. the KOA at Cordele was packed with people evacuating.

 

[North of Mouse]

I completely agree, reschedule now. If you've never been through a hurricane then you may not understand what a mess it can be before, during, & afterwards. Besides the potential damage to your RV, there can be food, gas, water shortages. If you need to evacuate when the storm is approaching, you can end up stuck on the highway. I have personal experience with that. I was on I-10/Hwy 90 as Hurricane Opal was heading our way, many years ago. Went to bed the night before not expecting to have a storm and then it turned. A 2 hour trip turned into almost 11 hours with winds and rain.

I understand that you don't want to miss out on your time at Disney, I just cancelled my trip, too. We are really bummed about it but that's life, unfortunately.

Best of luck in your decision!

Agree completely! Can't understand people that 'want' to head toward where a hurricane is predicted to land. I can only think they have never been through large hurricanes like we have. There's no way I'd head down to FL now - vacation plans, or no!

Could be the previous people that rode out some hurricanes at Disney and made it sound exciting - and it's true, some of the hurricanes weren't that destructive, but hind sight is great!

 

[tiggerdad]

AEMN is another "spaghetti model" for predicted path. ALWAYS changing and since my post --- IT HAS --- as well as all others.

AEMN - Automated Environmental Monitoring Network

Only because I been watching them hot chics on The Weather Channel.

 

[kcp1377]

Would they put you up for the entire trip or just while the fort is closed? The storm path is so unpredictable right now that I hate to cancel based on it, but can’t see dragging a TT the whole way not to use it. Hmmm... I’m sure it will be clearer as it gets closer.

 

[HsvScrapGirl]

On hold this morning. We are going to try to get our Disney trip rescheduled for March. Our 20th wedding anniversary, which is this coming Wednesday, was going to be celebrated at Whispering Canyon Cafe. Now we will be visiting Dollywood that day. We are going north and going to enjoy the week in Townsend Tennessee.
Thank you to everyone who weighed in. You were a great help in our decision making about this.

 

[cinderellagirl2280]

AEMN - Automated Environmental Monitoring Network

Only because I been watching them hot chics on The Weather Channel.

I’ve been watching to see where Jim Cantore ends up. Im still holding out hope that I’ll be able to get in on the 7th.