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Walt Disney World is not immune from storms, power failures, and the like.
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Disney Parks Close
Walt Disney World closed for the third and fourth times in its history as back to back hurricanes hit the Orlando area. Hurricane Charley came through swiftly on Friday August 13, 2004 while Hurricane Frances, not as strong but larger and slower moving, arrived late on Saturday September 4.
The first unscheduled closure ever was due to Hurricane Floyd which turned away at the last moment. Then came the terrorist attack on New York City on September 11, 2001 which resulted in the closure of all Disney theme parks as it was feared that the parks might be attacked that day.
Hurricane preparations are quite routine at WDW, almost "by the textbook". For both Charley and Frances, the name of the game was securing loose objects that would otherwise blow about in the wind. Guests at the theme parks and resorts saw chandeliers and hanging lights tied up, picnic tables and chairs stacked and roped together and not available for use, and vending carts strapped to the ground using rings embedded in the pavement.
Walt Disney World is a refuge for people evacuating other parts of the state as well as its own guests. Vacant hotel rooms are made available to evacuees at a discount. Disney's own cast members could also opt to stay for free in shelter areas comparable to school gymnasiums. We believe that free gymnasium style shelter was also available to the public but this was not mentioned in news reports. For Frances, Disney stopped accepting new hotel reservations from non-Florida residents a few days before the storm hit.
Food service varied. When the storm arrived, guests had to return to their rooms, or in a few cases choose between remaining in the central buildings with the restaurants or being confined to their rooms. In some resorts, restaurants served most or all of their menus. In other resorts sandwiches were made and sold or in a few cases given out for free. There was at least one instance during Hurricane Charley when a buffet dinner was served free but not everyone who came was served. Some problems with free food is that there is more waste from finicky guests, more unruliness, and guests who didn't get any asking for a perk later.
As it turned out, very little structural damage was sustained and whatever damage occurred was minor. An occasional pole was bent a little, an occasional road sign buckled under the force of the wind, one or two roofs needed some reshingling. We were told that Disney MGM Studios structures (and all structures built afterwards) were built to withstand at least 115 mile per hour wind. Damage to trees and shrubs was more common although not tremendous. We did not notice tree after tree down but rather one or two trees might be uprooted or snapped off among larger numbers of nearby trees still standing straight. As trees grow, they are more likely to succumb to the wind.
There were only isolated power failures, affecting one or a small group of buildings for just a few hours. Most buildings did not lose power at all during either storm. Most of the power lines on site are underground, and power from the electric grid comes directly from high tension lines hung above and away from trees and connected directly to Disney's own substations. Walt Disney World generates some power on site, about enough to supply a third of its needs.
Although there was no compensation for lost vacation time, Disney offered many choices. Guests could check out early or arrive later or cancel outright with a full refund of unused park days and resort room nights. Guests could keep their room reservations (except for the campground where guests were relocated to other resorts). On a case by case basis some guests were allowed to arrive early before the storm or stay through the storm past their original checkout date. Unfortunately some discounts originally booked were not honored when guests chose to cancel and then rebook for future dates.
The parks opened for a half day just before Hurricane Charley. Park guests were refunded their admission charge. For hopper and single day passes, which never expire, the system simply pretended that the passes were not used on that day. Expiring admissions such as length of stay passes were adjusted at the resorts. Charley arrived almost exactly when expected, in the late afternoon and was gone by the wee hours. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and one water park, Blizzard Beach, opened the next day for nearly the full originally scheduled hours.
For Hurricane Frances all parks ended up being closed Saturday and Sunday. Frances slowed down and didn't arrive until late Saturday night but the decision was already made not to open on Saturday. We are not sure but part of the reasoning could have been not desiring to open for what might have been half a day and then not charge for admission. Frances lasted all day on Sunday. Due to anticipated short staffing and long cleanup, just two theme parks, Magic Kingdom and Epcot, together with water park Typhoon Lagoon, opened on Monday. Reports from visitors suggested that Magic Kingdom was less crowded than on a typical way off season day and that Epcot seemed very empty.
Power Outage
Early in the morning on July 2002 a fire in a power station near Epcot resulted in the closure of that park for the entire day. A few resorts including Caribbean Beach also were without power for a few hours.
On September 11, 2001, all Disney parks and facilities except resorts closed in the middle of the day in response to the World Trade Center disaster. Somehow I do not think closing of the parks as a gesture of deference was desirable. All it did was create chaos and confusion, and massive crowds at the bus stops.
This closure was less complicated than closures due to weather. No equipment had to be put away.
On September 14 and 15, 1999 all four Florida Disney theme parks were closed. I am told this was the first weather closure in Walt Disney World's history. On Tuesday morning the 14'th, Hurricane Floyd was still over 300 miles from Miami.
But Floyd was one of the biggest storms ever measured, winds over 60 miles per hour in a space 600 miles in diameter, bigger than the state of Texas. Disney, which can serve as an evacuation haven for most hurricanes, would have experienced the full fury of the storm had it come ashore at that latitude.
As it turned out the storm missed Walt Disney World, delivering only a few strong wind gusts. Yet Disney had served the public interest better by not opening its parks.
The news reports did not say whether resort guests stayed in their rooms.
Fortunately complications such as the following did not occur.
Walt Disney World has become so large and complex and serves so many people that it takes "a hell of a long time" to shut down from a full operating condition. Once the theme parks go into emergency mode, all the guests have to be bused back to the resort hotels. For each park, rides and attractions have to close immediately since the guests won't leave until this happens. Then everyone leaves at the last minute. No matter what you do, the bus stations and parking lot exits will be jammed for hours. Buses will be mired down in traffic. The earlier the parks close completely, the earlier the evacuation and busing will effectively begin.
Meanwhile back at the resorts, the check out desks will be jammed. We estimate that some of the resorts (at least three) will take upwards of six hours to check everyone out not counting "frictional" delays such as guests' asking for refunds and complaining.
Then throngs of people would be waiting for shuttle buses to the airport. For them the choices are three, find shelter in a Disney building, at the closed airport, or at some shelter in between. Shortage of bus transportation would probably force the first choice on many. I am told that most Walt Disney World buildings are constructed to withstand hurricane force winds, but the hotel rooms and resort common areas have large expanses of glass that could be shattered by tree branches torn off and flung about.
With the theme parks closed on Tuesday, people could leisurely pack up and check out.Whether they do so at 8 AM or at 1 PM, everyone would be treated equally. They could loll around the pool while waiting to check out. With the theme parks closed, the departure of guests from the resorts can be expected to be quite evenly distributed without undue traffic jams.
Many guests for whom the storm hits in the middle of their vacation will want to check back in after the storm. I am not sure whether this happens but it makes sense for Disney to delete the nights the rooms are closed from guests' folios but not actually check the guests out.
In the theme parks the employees would have time to put away tables and chairs and take down hanging signs and banners tied to lamp posts.
Late Wednesday all danger from the storm had passed and Disney announced that the parks would re-open on time on Thursday.
It is reasonable to expect guests to pay at least half their room rate if the storm is not too severe and they stay in their rooms. But all "food 'n fun (R)" passes and "unlimited magic" passes should be recomputed to exclude the days the parks are closed, and appropriate refunds made.
Usually resorts guests stay in the resorts during storms. Otherwise we suggest that guests accept free transportation to Civil Defense shelters and not hire limos nor consume their return trip tickets if they don't really want to go home yet.
If the park is evacuated, don't feel pressured to walk "bumper to bumper" with the crowd. Slow down and admire the scenery, even if the ice cream stands are all closed. Also don't forget to ask for a free pass to come back some other day.
We do not recommend that people pack up and go home early unless absolutely necessary. We do not recommend that people use much more expensive means of getting home if airplane flights are cancelled. Around Sept. 11, 2001, a few Orlando car rental companies offered one way rentals home with no charge other than the same daily rate, which was a good deal for Disney guests.
One night (December 2000) while I was at Walt Disney World, the temperature dropped below freezing. The next day I saw gardening crews digging up frostbitten flowers and replacing them with new ones.
According to press releases, if parks are closing due to weather, guests will be hustled out quickly so most employees will have time to do their own preparations for the storm (go home reasonably early).
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