Special Report: Hurricane Irma at Walt Disney World
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No crowds at Epcot
Two days before Irma hit, and already the crowds are noticably low.
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Epcot storm prep
This was the first storm prep we saw at the parks.
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Foreshadowing?
Our first hurricane watch weather alert. The background picture did not help our nerves.
No admittance
These park entry touchpoints were all wrapped up when we left Epcot for the night.
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Lots of utility vehicles
Literally hundreds of power utility vehicles were staged in the Epcot parking lot.
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Early closure
Animal Kingdom closed early the day before Irma hit. Magic Kingdom was open for another hour or two, so we transferred there midday.
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Hurricane prep markers
We're not sure what these tags were for, but they were all over Animal Kingdom.
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All wrapped up
More storm prep happening at Animal Kingdom
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No facade
24 hours previous, this had a facade wrap on it to hide the construction work.
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No wait for Peter Pan!
A wait time of 20 minutes at the Peter Pan ride at 5PM? Unheard of, unless there's a hurricane coming.
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No crowds at Magic Kingdom
Less than 24 hours before the outskirts of Irma hit Orlando. Skys are darkening, but no rain, and very few people.
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Peoplemover view of an empty park
This video, taken from the Peoplemover, shows just how empty the park was.
All tied up
Making sure the horseless hearse carriage doesn't fly off in the winds.
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DAK Lodge Activities Day 1
Day 1 of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (DAKL) activities to keep us guests entertained.
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Resort update
We were, if nothing else, well cared for.
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So the pool's closed, then?
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Sandbags
At Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (DAKL)
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More sandbags
At Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (DAKL)
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And so it begins
This was captured shortly after the outer edge of Irma reached us. Significant rain, and the wind really picked up.
Big raindrops
The view from our room's lanai. Notice the streaks of very large raindrops.
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Empty hottub
Hottub is drained (it drained while we were in it), and the door ziptied shut.
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Visiting with Rafiki
Disney characters were out to keep guests entertained during the storm.
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Irma arrives
Video taken at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge shortly after the leading edge of Hurricane Irma arrived (Sept 10, 2017, taken at 6:30PM).
Chance of rain?
As the storm progressed, DarkSky predicted 100% chance of rain. You think?
DAK Lodge Common Area
Lots of activities happening here to keep the guests (kids, mostly) entertained.
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For your safety, please do not open these doors
It was, perhaps unsurprisingly, rather windy.
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Zebra Domes!
Boma had a full supply of these lovely desserts, so I knew we weren't incredibly bad off.
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Cheap meals!
Since we were captive audiences, Disney discounted meals at the on-site buffet ("Boma") by about 50%. Stuck in the hotel, sure, but at least we got great food at a fairly cheap rate! Also note that on top of the 50%, we still got our AP discount, too.
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Aftermath outside our room
This is what we woke up to the morning after. Still plenty windy at 7:30AM, but the worst of it was over -- the eye hit us directly somewhere around 1-2AM as a category 1 storm.
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Debris
Not exactly Disney spotless in the morning...
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Take a hint
I'm guessing we're not supposed to go outside yet...
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DAK Lodge Activities Day 1
The hurricane has passed, but we're still stuck in the hotel, so we had another day of in-hotel activities.
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Curfew
Legally, we weren't allowed to leave the hotel until 6PM due to county-wide curfew, but many people were -- they looked mostly like southern Florida locals who wanted to get back home as soon as possible to survey the damage.
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Savanna view
With that tree out of the way, we now have a savanna view room.
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All parks closed
It's not often you see all 4 parks closed in the middle of the day.
Getting back to normal
We received this announcement late afternoon, and were happy to see it.
Downed bamboo
There was bamboo down all over the place.
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Uprooted tree
Found in front of the hotel.
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Savanna damage
Trees were down on the savanna as well.
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Tree down
This tree was near the pool. Unsurprisingly, those rooms were evacuated.
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Surveying the damage
Lots of branches and trees down in this view.
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