Hurricane Frances Updates WDW

Arrivals of both the Disney Magic, which departed on Saturday, August 28th and the Disney Wonder, which departed on Thursday, September 2, have been delayed to the late evening of Monday September 6th at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale. Guests will be able to disembark Tuesday morning. Transportation will provided back to Orlando International Airport, The Walt Disney World Resort and Port Canaveral for guests to pick up their personal vehicles. A shuttle will also be available to transport guests to Ft. Lauderdale airport, or other south Florida airports, if necessary.

*****

Cheryl Dionne 7pm 9/5:
Update on Disney Wonder. We're slowly cruising back towards Florida. Seas are picking up a little but it's still sunny and warm. The captain announced earlier that the plan is to dock in Port Canaveral at noon Monday if the port is reopened by the Coast Guard. We're all just waiting to see what happens as Frances moves through Florida and what damage is done to the port and airports. We all hope that everyone is safe and unharmed!

Cheryl Dionne 6pm 9/4: We're on board the DCL in Cozumel. Everything is going smoothly on the cruise. Of course, we are concerned about everyone on shore in Florida. The Captain has just made an announcement on the intercom, nothing new, still planning on returning to Cape Canaveral on Monday, Sept. 6. Disney Cruise Line has certainly done everything possible to make us comfortable. We already booked new return tickets but Disney Cruise Line is helping with booking new tickets for those that are missing their flights tomorrow. The seas are quiet here and it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day. Our thoughts are with those in the path of the storm.

9/4 10:00am - Gail Robinson is onboard the Disney Magic: We're in Galveston! and in port until 1pm taking on more food, fuel and new entertainment.

abarrall was on the Disney Wonder that returned to Port on Thursday, 9/3 and files this report: We just returned from the Wonder (4 day) and arrived in Port Canaveral on Thursday morning. Everything went smooth. The Captain kept us very well informed the whole cruise.

We did have a few slight modifications to our cruise which in no way effected the passengers enjoyment. This was due to us being the last ship to visit Castaway Cay before the storm. We were scheduled to leave Castaway Cay and be at sea for a day before returning to port. We left the island about 2 hours later than normal so the ship's crew members could help tie down everything. There are about 41 employees who reside on the island and the ships maintenance staff needed to help them. We then left the island and went to Freeport where we were met by a fuel tanker and took on more fuel for about 3 hours (midnight to 3am). There were reports that the dropping of the anchor was quite loud. We arrived back at Castaway Cay about 1pm the next day so the ships crew could help them make final preperations. We stayed about 3 hours then they evacuated the island. All of this was explained to us by the Captain in advance.

From the view from the ship, the island was stripped and boarded up. You could see a few buildings but nothing else. Even the ropes for the snorkeling lanes were taken out. I'm sure is was a job just to deflate all the inner tubes and move the watercraft. I have no idea where they put everything.

When we left the ship the rumor was the 3 day cruise starting on Thursday (9/2) would be all at sea. They tried to get into Key West but it was full. They now have changed that to make it a 4 day cruise and stop at Cozamel. I like that itinerary.

After we docked we went to the Disney Marketplace since our flight was not until 6pm. We had a smooth ride to WDW with no traffic (tolls were also free to keep traffic moving). We stay until 2pm since there were reports of bad traffic. However, we had a smooth ride to the airport since we were going east. The westbound lanes were packed. Again no tolls. The BP gas station near the Marketplace was out of gas so the rental car company made out well.

They airport was crowded but calm. Lines moved very fast. About 25% of the flights were delayed but everything went smooth. we made it home about on time.

*****

Disney Cruise Line - September 3, 2004 - 12:15 p.m.

Disney Cruise Line has made the following changes to normal procedures:

-- Castaway Cay has been evacuated, and its crew is temporarily residing at the All-Star resort.

--The Disney Wonder left Port Canaveral yesterday with a revised itinerary:

--9/2: Embarkation
--9/3: Day at Sea
--9/4: Cozumel
--9/5: Day at Sea
--9/6: Return to Port Canaveral

The 9/5 Disney Wonder sailing will be shortened to a 3-day voyage, leaving on 9/6.

The Disney Magic continues its 8/28 cruise and is out of harm's way:

--9/3: Day at Sea
--9/4: Galveston, Texas
--9/5: Day at Sea
--9/6: Return to Port Canaveral

The 9/5 Disney Magic sailing will be shortened to a 5-day cruise also embarking on 9/6.

Disney Cruise Line - September 2, 2004 - 5:30 p.m.

Disney Cruise Line continues to monitor Hurricane Frances very closely. At this time, it is probable that the storm will impact air travel into the Central Florida area through Sunday. Given this information, the schedules for the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder are being modified.

The Disney Magic scheduled to depart Saturday, Sept. 4 will now sail on Monday, Sept. 6 on a five-night voyage from Port Canaveral at 7 p.m.

The Disney Wonder sailing scheduled to begin on Sunday, Sept. 5 will now sail on Monday, Sept. 6 on a three-night voyage from Port Canaveral at 6 p.m.

Guests sailing the modified five-night voyage on the Disney Magic will automatically receive a 40 percent refund off their current voyage fare, plus a $200 shipboard credit to utilize during the voyage. In addition, they will receive a 25 percent discount off a future sailing with Disney Cruise Line. The discount can be applied toward any three-, four-, or seven-night Disney Cruise Line cruise only vacation (excluding holiday sailings) booked by Dec. 31, 2004 and commencing prior to Oct. 1, 2005.

Guests sailing on the modified Disney Wonder three-night voyage will automatically receive a 30 percent refund off their current voyage fare, plus a $100 shipboard credit to utilize during the voyage. In addition, they will receive a 25 percent discount off a future sailing with Disney Cruise Line. The discount can be applied toward any three-, four-, or seven-night Disney Cruise Line cruise only vacation (excluding holiday sailings) booked by Dec. 31, 2004 and commencing prior to Oct. 1, 2005.

The Disney Cruise Line Reservations Center is currently being inundated with calls from travel agents and their clients regarding the status of the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder itineraries for this weekend.

PORT CANAVERAL - Due to the approach of Hurricane Frances, the Canaveral Port Authority administrative office will be closed Thursday and Friday, September 2 and 3. The Port Authority administrative office is scheduled to re-open on Tuesday, September 7. This date could change depending on the severity of the storm. The evacuation of the Canaveral Harbor must be completed and all vessels must be out of the Harbor no later than 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 3rd at which time the harbor will be closed. For the most current information on Port operations, please call the public advisory information line at 321-783-7831 and listen for the prompts. http://www.portcanaveral.org/