Please know our thoughts and continued prayers are with those affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Castle Dreams Travel has been working diligently to help their affected guests reschedule and escape harm’s way.
As a Travel Agency specializing in Disney Destinations, they are experts in the Orlando area, where Hurricane Irma is expected to make landfall within the next few days. Orlando is located 40 miles from the Atlantic coast, which means it is rarely severely impacted by hurricanes. In fact, Orlando’s inland location makes it a primary destination for coastal residents and visitors who are seeking shelter from an approaching storm. The Orlando community puts a tremendous amount of resources into planning and preparing for guest safety in the event of any emergency situation, including severe weather.
That said, in anticipation of inclement weather, Walt Disney World has announced their theme parks will close early tomorrow and remained closed through Monday. Their resorts will remain open and are planning to reopen their theme parks on Tuesday, September 12th. The annual Night of Joy has been canceled on September 9 and Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party has been cancelled on September 10 at Walt Disney World. In addition, Disney’s Blizzard Beach will be closed today and tomorrow, but Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon is scheduled to open. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground will close tomorrow at 2pm.
At Universal Orlando, Rock the Universe event will take place as planned on Friday, September 8. However, due to Hurricane Irma, the Universal theme parks will close Saturday at 7pm and reopen on Tuesday morning. In addition, the Saturday night Rock the Universe event will be cancelled. They are also cancelling the early morning Sunday Worship Service. Guests with tickets for Saturday night are welcome to attend Rock the Universe on Friday night.
At one of our favorite All Inclusive Resorts, Beaches Turks and Caicos, the tourist district down along resort road is flooded right now, not sure if it is storm surge waters or rainfall related. Their primary highway is flooded down towards downtown in sporadic places. That said, the Beaches Resort team was quite prepared and their guests and team members are safe and comfortable on the resort. Although the airport remains closed at this time, the team will work with local authorities to determine a timetable for safe passage home for all guests. As soon as the airport reopens, their team will conduct a full assessment of the resort and announce a reopening date.
The September 9 sailing of the Disney Fantasy is cancelled in addition the September 8 and September 11 sailings of the Disney Dream are cancelled. Refunds will automatically be processed back to the original form of payment used for the cruise booking. Guests are invited to book a future cruise at a 25 percent discount from September 18, 2017, through October 18, 2017. At this time, there are no changes to other sailings on the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. However, Disney Cruise Line will continue to closely monitor Hurricane Irma and assess its impact on the ports of call they visit in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Updates regarding any necessary itinerary changes will be posted beginning September 12.
