Ever booked a trip to Disney World and there's a hurricane?

Yes!

I was in Disney World during Hurricane Charlie and I was so impressed by how they handled it.

The day of the hurricane the parks were closed except to resort guests. We got to do a ton of stuff because there were no crowds and Disney put extra characters in all the parks so we met some very rare ones that aren't usually out. Disney transportation got everyone back to their resort about two hours before the storm was due to pass through. They brought everyone a meal in their rooms and put printed instructions in each room for what to do in case of different scenarios. They made all the pay per view channels free for the night.

The next morning after the storm had passed through the parks were open again as usual. Crews had started working to clean them up as soon as the storm passed through and worked all night to have it ready for the morning. We ended up only losing half a day of our vacation.

But I was SO BEYOND IMPRESSED at the way the park handled everything perfectly.

One of the many, many reasons I will never not stay on Disney property.

You might want to consider trip insurance. Even if you didn't book it when you booked the trip, there are 3rd party companies that offer it. Just be sure to know what it includes.

That said, I grew up where hurricanes are just part of life. Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, but you can't plan around something that could happen half the year (and I guess it COULD happen the other half of the year, too). Hurricane season predictions are often notoriously wrong - even predictions a week or two out are pretty bad. Florida's location makes it a bad one for pretty much any hurricane having some impact on the State, but Orlando is pretty far inland. Plus, Disney is known for handling storm response well.

I've been in October twice, for the record, and it was a nice time to go. It isn't hot, it isn't cold. The crowds are relatively low (there is no such time as a low period anymore), the decorations are great, and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is pretty fun if you want to see the characters in costume.

I love this! 

Charlie was an extremely rare hurricane. They very almost never take that path. Even at that, Orlando is far enough inland that they just don't get the kind of damage you get on the coast. I looked it up, and WDW has only been affected by a hurricane 5 times, and the longest park closure was two days (Hurricane Floyd in 1999). 

I've been multiple times in October, and consider it a very good time to go. I've never considered hurricane season to be a factor when planning my trips. I consider crowds and heat. Hurricanes are too unpredictable.

nope but we unknowingly booked a cruise to the Bahamas at the tail end of hurricane season. our original cruise was cancelled because of 9/11 so rather than lose our money, Carnival let us re-book to the Bahamas a couple of months later. things were fine for a few hours after we left Miami. then we ran into a hurricane coming up from the south and 1/2 the crew and most of the ship was sick for a good couple of days until it passed us. I hope there isn't a hurricane for you but if there is, I hope you are able to minimize the financial inconvenience.

Like someone else mentioned, the year of Charlie was weird weird weird. So weird that we still talk about it.

Something else to consider is that while it may be a more active year, that doesn't mean the active is necessarily a strong hurricane. A category one or two hurricane is a gusty rainy day. For comparison, if you have ever been in central Florida in the summer time and experienced one of our crazy (daily) afternoon storms then you have experienced weather that is similar to a category one/low two hurricane. When they predict an active season, that prediction encompasses everything from a tropical storm to a category five hurricane (which are really rare.)

I say this so that you won't be afraid of the idea of a hurricane, the likelihood of one hitting while you are here is slim. And if it did, Disney will do it's thing and you will be safe as can be. AND just keep in mind that just because the news says that it is a category one hurricane-doesn't necessarily mean you can't go outside and play.

I had never seen waves that high in my life! The ship would rise, fall,and rock so much. I have never been that seasick....ever.  Every time I took seasick pills, I vomited them up. I think I vomited myself to within an inch of my life during all that (not that there was much to vomit since I couldn't eat either). 

Some of our best trips to Disney involved stormy days. Not hurricanes, but heavy rain and high winds. We still had a fabulous time. We bought rain ponchos and flip flops and walked around in the rain like a family of ducks. When the wind would get bad, we'd duck into an exhibit or ride or restaurant that we might not normally have gone into and get to experience something new. There were no lines on those days as everyone seemed to want to stay away. My kids are grown now, but they both still have their yellow ponchos and they ALWAYS mention our duck days when they talk about our many trips to Disney.

One of our cruises was in early December, after hurricane season had officially ended. Not long after we left port, we found out that a storm had become a hurricane and was headed our way. Our captain poured on some speed and managed to position us so we were on the very edge of the hurricane. The crew closed off the open deck and any doors that opened to the outside. Because of the timing of the cruise, there weren't a lot of young people or kids on board and the older cruisers seemed to prefer to remain in their cabins. The crew stayed busy with room service and vomit clean ups, but there were a lot of crew members with time on their hands. They were so glad to see our homeschool group with happy kids. They could not do enough for us! When we expressed some interest in learning what precautions the crew and staff had taken, they gave us a tour. One of the mates came down from the bridge to explain our course changes and the impact the varying speeds had on our fuel supply. My kids were so impressed.

Two days after the hurricane, we made port in St Martin, where we had a private excursion on a tall ship booked. The tall ship's crew weren't sure we'd want to go out since the waters were still a little rough and their guests the previous day had apparently been very rude and disappointed that they hadn't been able to command the water to be calm. We had a blast! I taught the kids how to go out on the prow of the ship and hold on as it went up and down the waves. It was better than a roller coaster! When the crew saw how much fun we were having, they turned the ship into the waves and things got really crazy. BEST EXCURSION EVER! ( except for DH who doesn't swim or like boats and who spent most of the trip hanging onto the center mast.)

So, what I'm saying is, no matter what the weather, you can have a great time, if you want to. You may not have the adventure you planned, but you could end up with an even better one.

That said, I'd get trip insurance that covered weather events. If you can't get there, you can't have an adventure, right?

Marcy