Hurricane Frances Updates September 1-6, 2004 Last update: 11:15 a.m. – 9/6

Animal Kindgom – CLOSED
MGM-Studios – CLOSED
Epcot – Delayed Opening
MK- Delayed Opening

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"Live" Reports from WDW & Orlando
Live Reports from Vero Beach
Orlando Area Updates
Orlando International & Florida Airport Updates
Disney Cruise Line and Port Canaveral
Weather Updates
WDW Operational Updates

A VERY VERY Special Thanks
to everyone who sends updates to help us keep folks informed!
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Weather Updates

Monday, 9/6/04, 8:30am – OrlandoWeather.com Tropical Storm Frances Stalls In Gulf Evacuees Remain In Shelters Tropical Storm Frances is frustrating Central Floridians again as it stalls in the Gulf of Mexico Monday morning. At 8 a.m., Frances was centered at latitude 29.1 north, longitude 83.6 west or about 110 miles east-southeast of Apalachicola.

Frances is drifting northward, and a general track toward the northwest about 12 mph is expected later today.

On this track, the center of Frances should continue moving over the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and make landfall over the central portion of the Florida Panhandle by Monday evening.

Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph, with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible during the next 12 hours, and Frances could become a hurricane again just before landfall occurs.

The storm was blamed for at least two deaths in Florida, including a man who was killed when his car hit a tree near Gainesville. A woman was killed when a tree fell on her mobile home in Alachua County.

There were two earlier deaths in the Bahamas, where thousands were forced from their homes.

Passengers arrived at Orlando International Airport before sunrise Monday, hoping they'll be lucky enough to catch a flight out of Central Florida. Ticket counters at the airport are scheduled to reopen at 10 a.m., with flights resuming at noon.It could take several days to get a huge backlog of passengers to their destinations. Ticketholders should call their airline before heading to OIA.

A handful of airlines said they won't be flying in or out of OIA Monday, and they hope to resume service Tuesday. Those airlines include Southwest Airlines, Aeromexico, Air Jamaica, British Airways, CanJet, Cayman Airways, Condor-Thomas Cook, Copa, Martinair-Holland and Virgin Atlantic.

Sunday, 9/5/04, 5:15pm – OrlandoWeather.com Frances Weakens To Tropical Storm
Storm May Regain Hurricane Status – Frances could regain strength and is expected to target the Florida Panhandle for a second landfall.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect from Jupiter Inlet northward to Flagler Beach.

At 5 p.m., Frances was centered at latitude 28.0 north, longitude 82.2 west or about 20 miles east of Tampa.

Frances is moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph.

Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 70 mph, but Frances could regain hurricane strength over the Gulf of Mexico.

Volusia and Flagler Counties wereslammed by Hurricane Frances. Shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday, about 130 feet of the fishing pier at Flagler Beach was wiped out by crashing waves. High tide had just rolled in and probably contributed to the destruction, said Flagler County spokesman Carl Laundrie.

"We were hoping to hang on to this landmark, but it just succumbed to the waves," he said.

Strong storm cells pounded Volusia County Sunday afternoon, sometimes with 50 mph winds.

The hurricane-force winds have reportedly damaged the roof at the Peabody Auditorium, a landmark in Volusia County.

Along state Road A1A, the highway is littered with debris, including building materials, street lights and traffic signals. A piece of plywood used to protect a beachside building was seen flying through the air.

The Main Street Pier that was heavily damaged during Hurricane Floyd is being slammed by waves more than 10 feet tall, but it's still standing.

Sunday, 9/5/04, NOON – OrlandoWeather.com – CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO WORSEN IN ORANGE COUNTY Orange County can still expect increasing winds over the next several hours. At a noon briefing, Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty said the major issues facing the county is power outages and flooding. So far, 88,000 residents are without electricity.

Crotty warned residents to resist the urge to go outside, and drivers should stay off area roadways. The increasing winds are resulting in more debris on the roads and highways, as well as damaged or inoperable traffic signals. Drivers should treat those intersections as four-way stops.

Despite the damage, Crotty said he hoped to have Orange County operating again by Tuesday.

Frances Maintains 90 MPH Winds
Hurricane Frances is centered over Okeechobee County and forecasters said the worst conditions from the storm should arrive in Central Florida's metro areas in about 2 hours.

Some strong storms are moving into southern Brevard County, and Volusia County has been pounded with whipping winds and heavy rain.

Most Central Florida counties have reported receiving about 1 or 2 inches of rain so far, but some parts of Brevard County have seen as much as 10 inches.

In about 4 hours, Frances should be near Winter Garden and on its way toward Tampa. Most of the Central Florida region will feel tropical storm-force winds all day Sunday.

Millions Without Power
Hurricane Frances is just starting to make her presence felt in Central Florida, but already, millions of residents have lost their power.

It's now a Category 1 hurricane with top sustained winds of 90 mph. Forecasters said some areas have yet to feel the worst the storm has to offer, and even as Frances weakens, forecasters said it could regain intensity when the storm tracks back over the warm water of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

Wind and rain have snapped trees and ripped apart roofs. Officials said the biggest danger is from water — storm surges and torrential rains. Some evacuees had to move a second time when the roof at a school being used as a shelter was partially blown off.

At a morning press conference, Gov. Jeb Bush urged residents to remain in their homes while the storm makes its way across the peninsula.

Florida Power and Light said 4 million people up and down the state have been touched by outages during Hurricane Frances. Power is back on for 1 million people, but crews are just starting to roll to help the other 3 million.

Palm Beach County by far is in the worst shape with outages affecting 1.3 million people. Broward is around 1 million, and Miami-Dade around 650,000.

Progress Energy reports 238,112 of its customers are without power, including 2,418 in Lake County, 12,631 in Marion County, 87,939 in Orange County, 1,802 in Osceola County, 2,700 in Polk County, 46,503 in Seminole County, and 48,185 in Volusia County. Orlando Utilities Commission reports 32,500 customers are in the dark, including 27,000 in Orange County and 5,500 in Osceola County. More than 1.5 million Florida Power and Light customers are without power, including 144,000 in Brevard County, 5,200 in Seminole County, and 29,000 in Volusia County.

Kissimmee Utility Authority, which was hit particularly hard during Hurricane Charley three weeks ago, reports 13,900 of its customers have lost power.

Thursday 9/2/04 7 p.m. – Local News 6 Reports: The Tropical Prediction Center's projected path for Hurricane Frances has the storm making landfall just north of Vero Beach, Fla., with 135 mph winds. The updated storm course shows Frances losing some of its punch as it hits land and moves through the state Saturday. It can make landfall any time from noon to 2 p.m., according to Thursday night's model. The storm is then expected to move south of Orlando and then pass over Osceola County, Fla. It then should move through Brooksville, Fla., and into the Gulf of Mexico.

Thursday 9/2/04 – Gov. Bush urged those who were considering visiting the state for the holiday to consider what's best for their personal and family's safety. "If you decide to spend Labor Day weekend somewhere else, we ask that you reschedule your trip and not cancel it. Florida will always be a hospitable place and we want our visitors to come back with great regularity," Bush said.

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WDW Operational Updates

Monday, SEPTEMBER 6th – Walt Disney World Resort safely withstood Hurricane Frances and maintained power throughout the storm. After a visual inspection of the entire property, we discovered only minor roof damage to a single backstage structure and minimal horticultural damage.

We will open the following theme parks and other locations on Monday, September 6:

Magic Kingdom 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Epcot 10 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Typhoon Lagoon 10 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Downtown Disney 10 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex Open for Events

Disney's Animal Kingdom Closed
Disney-MGM Studios Closed
Blizzard Beach Closed
Pleasure Island Closed

Walt Disney World Resort will return to normal operations in all areas Tuesday, September 7.

Guests who have questions should call 407-WDW-INFO or 407-939-4636.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th – As of noon Sunday, WDW expects to be operational on Monday. Final decisions to be made after the storm passes.

For today:

In view of the size, strength, and possible path of this hurricane, we request that you remain in your Guest room for your safety and also do the following:

Keep away from your windows.

If your party has connecting room doors, keep them open during periods when privacy is not necessary.

So that we may reach you in the event of an emergency, do not double lock your Guest room door.

Leave your Guest room blinds or drapes closed and all patio furniture in the room.

If your resort loses power, we ask that you remain in your room.

After the storm has passed, it will be critical that you remain in your guest room until you have been notified that it is safe.

This is vital because even if severe weather conditions have subsided, it could only be a break in storm activity. Additionally, crews will need to complete an evaluation of the area to ensure the safety of our Cast and Guests.

After the storm

We will complete assessments of the area and initiate recovery as soon as conditions allow. We will provide updates on the operating schedule on Channel 19 of the in-room television as soon as they are available.

If you have any special medical requirements, require further assistance or have additional questions, please contact the Front Desk.

Housekeeping Services – Due to the probable impacts of Hurricane Frances, we anticipate a limited number of Cast Members reporting to work today and tomorrow. Therefore, we will not be able to provide housekeeping services.

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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th – Hess Gas Stations on WDW property are now CLOSED

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th – The Walt Disney World Theme Parks, Water Parks, Recreation Areas, the Boardwalk and all areas of Downtown Disney will not operate on Saturday, September 4 based upon forecasts from the National Weather Service and information from emergency preparedness officials.

Select dining locations will be available at WDW resorts for a period of time prior to the storm for resort guests only, with the exception of Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show and the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue which have been cancelled. For guests with priority seating for Character Dining in a resort location, meal service will be provided, but characters will not appear.

We anticipate resuming limited operations sometime on Sunday, September 5 after the storm has passed.

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Orlando International Airport Updates

Monday, 9/6; 8:00am: Orlando International Airport

Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Orlando Executive Airport (ORL) will close at NOON Friday, September 3 due to the Hurricane. Domestic passengers holding reservations for flights prior to noon on Friday, September 3, 2004, need to arrive 3 hours prior to their departure. For further information on flight schedules up that time, please contact the airline directly. The Hyatt Hotel at Orlando International Airport is booked and sold out. Normal flight operations will resume when weather permits and clean up operations are completed. Orlando International Airport is not an emergency shelter.

For information on all arrivals/departures for Orlando International Airport (MCO), visit:
http://www.orlandoairports.net/goaa/fids/fidsform.htm

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Orlando Area Updates – 8:30am

Utilities –

Progress Energy reports 599,093 customers without power, including Lake County, 36,112; Marion County, 49,343; Orange County, 91,777; Oceola County, 2,154; Polk County, 10,529; Seminole County, 88,589; Volusia County, 67,484

Orlando Utilities Commission reports 57,000 residents without power in Orange County and 2,500 in Osceola County

Kissimmee Utility Authority reports 9,794 customers without power

Sprint reports approximately 14,000 local access lines are down throughout the state

Airports

Orlando International Airport will open at noon Monday. Passengers who do not hold tickets for Monday flights should call their airlines before heading to the airport

Daytona Beach International Airport is closed

Orlando/Sanford International Airport is closed to international arrivals and departures Monday and some domestic flights are expected to operate

Melbourne International Airport is closed

Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority's three airports — Space Coast Regional Airport, Author Dunn Airpark and Merritt Island Airport — closed

Note: Before arriving at the airport, contact your airline directly for further information

Roads, Highways, Transportation

Intersections without traffic signals should be treated as four-way stops

Tolls suspended on all Central Florida toll roads and on the Florida Turnpike

There is a serious gasoline shortage through most of the Interstate 95 corridor, especially in Brevard County. Most gas stations have closed, not only due to the dangerous weather conditions, but because they have no fuel to sell.

Theme Parks And Cruises

SeaWorld will open at noon Monday

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure will inspect their parks Monday and make a decision about opening

Walt Disney World will operate under the following schedule Monday and will return to normal operations Tuesday:
Magic Kingdom 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Epcot 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Typhoon Lagoon 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Downtown Disney 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex Open for Events
Disney's Animal Kingdom Closed
Disney-MGM Studios Closed
Blizzard Beach Closed
Pleasure Island Closed

Gatorland is closed

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday

Disney Magic scheduled to depart Saturday will sail Monday on five-night voyage from Port Canaveral at 7 p.m.

Carnival Glory scheduled to depart Saturday will sail Tuesday on four-day cruise from Port Canaveral
Carnival Fantasy scheduled to depart Sunday will sail Tuesday on two-day cruise from Port Canaveral

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"Live" Reports from Orlando

Laura from Orlando – 10:30 pm Sunday 9/5 – This storm that will *not* end. We're getting rain and gusts now that rival the biggest stuff we've seen all day. We're getting the back side of the storm which is now moving off Tampa. The reason we're getting another dose of this is because she's feeding off warm water again…only this time the water is in the Gulf of Mexico!

Cindy Kerns from Saratoga Springs – 9:30 pm Sunday 9/5 Well we thought we were being smart on Friday. We changed our flight out from Sunday to Monday, thinking that by then the airports will be open and we would have confirmed seats on a flight to go home.

We were wrong. Southwest is not flying out of MCO until Tuesday, and the first flight I could change to that wasn't full is Wednesday.

So two more days at Disney for us. Glad we had DVC points we could borrow and an extra day on our park hoppers. My son is actually going to miss his first day of school. He's happy.

Other than that we just came back from Artist Palette (the Fast food court) at Saratoga Springs Resort. They had Mickey, Stitch, Pooh and Eyeore running around interacting with the kids and guests. The CM's started a game of Goofy Bingo and Disney Trivia to entertain everyone. We spent 2 1/2 hours over there having a good time.

There are little trees down here and there all over the resort and the roof in the lobby of SSR is leaking. Other than that I didn't see any damage.

Craig, Orlando, 4:20pm Sunday 9/5: The weather has calmed down for the moment. Looking at Doppler radar it appears we are in a large lull. But maybe, the storms to our east will follow the hurricane’s rotation and go around us to the north. But so far, so good.

Cindy Kerns from Saratoga Springs – 3:00 pm Sunday 9/5: Just thought I would send you an update. From my window its just been a lot of wind and rain and some ducks. I haven't seen any damage here, but I haven't been out of the room all day either. At 1:00pm Disney gave us some more movies to watch. We now have Mulan, Rookie, Atlantis, Peter Pan, Its a Bugs Life, Tower of Terror, Lilo & Stitch, Lion King 2, Three Musketeers, Roger Rabbit and some others that I didn't write down. These are playing on the same three channels, one right after the other. We are hoping the storm goes away this evening so we can go to the food court for dinner, just to get out of the room for a while.

Chris , WDW Contemporary, 2:30pm Sunday 9/5: We've been watching/hearing Frances from a tower room in the Contemporary. The winds are really howling up here. They started last night around 10 pretty heavy and haven't stopped since. It was odd to look out and not see the castle lights. They are sustained at 30-40 mph with gusts upwards of 56 mph. It's interesting to look out over the Seven Seas Lagoon and see waves. If we wander down to the 4th floor and look at the storm from there it *looks* worse on the Bay Lake side, but that's probably because there are more trees to see bending over there. We haven't recieved an update from the staff since about 10 this am. That update requested us to stay in our room unless absolutly necesary. All of the restaurants and the 4th floor concourse are closed. The Food N Fun center is open only to purchase box lunch/dinners and refill drinks. An earlier update gave the locations of rooms in the wings that guests staying in each wing could purchase the meals w/o having to leave the wings. The eye of the storm is about 30-40 miles south of Orlando at the moment so we're right in the worst of it and it should slow some soon. Yesterday the resort had a lot of activities for the children, coloring, pin trading, characters, a magician and movies on every tv around. Today, for the safety of guests and cast members there is nothing going on so cabin fever sets in quicker.

Craig, Orlando, 10am Sunday 9/5: The winds are strong enough that it’s scary. But not raining too much yet. I hate to think both are getting worse. We took one power hit shortly after 9 AM, but it came right back on.

Craig, Orlando, 8am Sunday 9/5: The weather continues to be wind and rain, with short moments of quiet. We’ve had 3 inches of rain in the last 12 hours. We don’t expect to see the worst of it for another four to six hours. The projected path show Orlando and Walt Disney World are in areas that expect sustained winds of tropical storm strength (under 74 MPH) rather than hurricane strength.

Tom Balint, Jr. Home in New Jersey – 8am Sunday 9/5:

Safe and sound back in New Jersey. First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers to those in Florida. From what the airline personnel were saying, our 2:45 flight out was one of the last from Tampa. They were not allowing any more inbound flights to land and were getting as many out as they could. As I was wandering about the world this past week, I could see the effects of Charlie clearly evident through out the parks and resorts. There were trees down on the old disney institiute villas, uprooted trees and cut off stumps throughout (although you did need to look to see many, they did a good job cleaning up).

There were also many signs broken, etc. in the surrounding area. Comparing Charlie and Frances is difficult… Charlie was a fast moving small but extremely powerful storm. As I read it, he was about a category 2 storm when it passed through Orlando and was gone in under six hours. Frances is a huge storm (the size of Texas) that may only be a weak 2 or category 1 over orlando, but will take 24 hours or more to pass and will have a lot more rain. I pray and hope that Frances will not wreak the havoc she has the potential to.

Cindy Kerns from Saratoga Springs – 4:00 pm Saturday 9/4: We just received another letter from Disney (3:30p). The big change is that the theme parks will NOT be open tomorrow (Sunday) because of the storm. Also No WDW transportation will be available tomorrow. Other than that it is a repetition of the earlier warnings about staying in your room until told it is safe to go out. Storm bands have been coming through all afternoon with winds and rains. No damage yet that I can see but this is just the outer bands of the storm.

Cindy Kerns from Saratoga Springs – 11:30am Saturday 9/4:

My family and I are also staying at Saratoga Springs this weekend. It has just started raining here at 11:30am. We just came back from the Community Hall where we were able to borrow a couple of board games and Artist Palette where we bought a couple more snacks. We are all set to ride out the storm now.

Did I say it was raining.. well now it is RAINING!

At the community hall, I found out that the ride out crew was allowed to bring their families here to stay including their pets. I have seen a couple dogs walking their owners around earlier. I think its really nice of Disney to allow that.

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Live Reports from VERO BEACH

Saturday 9/4 10:30 am VERO BEACH I just had the lights flicker off so I just lost all I wrote back to you. The winds are picking up here and the rain is becomeing heavy. We are worried about flooding. We are on the main land in a 3 story house. We have carried our suitcases downstairs and all the important paperwork and photos are downstairs. Our house looks like we are remodeling with all off the walls. I hope to be able to write again, if we lose power it may take me a while but I will do it no matter what. West Palm Beach has lost power in some areas. My sister in law in Sebastain has as well. The storm surge is getting bigger and bigger. I know it won't get better till it gets worse. Thank you for keeping us in our thoughts. We have a friend from who lives in a mobile home park who is with us. She's 87 and my step father has early onset Alzyhimers so he is a challenge in this. My Mother and I are doing the best we can in this time. I am glad I am in town to be able to help her. Vero Beach is my home town and I was home for labor day. Talk to you soon(I hope_) with more concise hurricane news. KW

Saturday 9/4 2:30am VERO BEACH – Here in Vero Beach, it is the calm before the storm. We have had hard rain but for very short time spans_maybe 5 minutes. But, the wind/rain was blowing right and left at the same time. The wind is starting to pick up now. We are expecting landfall, from all news reports, pretty close to Vero Beach. All the stores closed yesterday and a few stayed open and are, of course, now all closed. We anticipate category 2 hurricane now and are thankful it (we hope) won't become a cat 4 again. The debris has begun to fall from the trees as earlier today the winds were a minimal 55 mph. I am sure when the winds beoome 105 as predicted that will become more intense. Everyone who is going to get off is off the barrier island and the bridges are closed from the main land of Vero Beach to the barrier island. That means, of course, Disney Vero Beach is closed and well. A few people have chosen to stay in mobile homes and I fear they may drown especially the ones close to the water and river. Many shelters are full. We are staying in our home and are prepared as we can be. It is in out of our control now. The waiting is the worst now. KW

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