CREENAN: Disney World vacation takes a hit from Hurricane Milton

Oct. 15—In all the years my family has gone vacationing in Florida, not once has a hurricane gotten in the way of our plans.

My parents have been part of Disney's timeshare program since it started back in the early 1990s, so that meant plenty of trips there over the years. And plenty more for my parents these days with all the kids out of the house.

For one of those trips, planned for this October, the nine people now making up my immediate family decided to go, all of us together for the first time including my 20-month-old nephew. As an adult going to Disney, it would be more about finding good food and making sure the niece and nephew were having their best time.

It didn't bode well for me before the trip began as I caught a cold or some other bug the Friday before, spending most of Saturday sleeping when I was not doing any preparations. With my flight early Sunday morning necessitating I get up at 3:30 a.m., even then my body acted like, "No, you need more sleep."

With all nine of us now in central Florida, our day was mostly spent at Kitty O'Sheas, a self-billed "Buffalo Bar" in one of the many plazas surrounding Disney World. It's also the official bar for Orlando Bills fans, with former Bills tight end Butch Rolle in attendance for the Texans game. That did not make for any better watching, and the wings were not up to snuff either.

I was aware it was going to be rainy most of our time there, that is just regular Florida weather. It was not until I arrived I kept hearing and seeing that it was a full-blown hurricane, one quickly gaining strength across the Gulf of Mexico.

And the hurricane had to be called Milton. I know it was one of the fastest storms to get to Category 5 status, but that is not a name that really puts fear in someone's heart. It's the name of a depressed co-worker you have to comfort.

We stayed at the Grand Floridan resort, a first for us, and its four-bedroom suite that could hold the nine of us. As my family continued their regularly planned activities that Sunday and at Epcot the following day, I was either getting my body temperature up, puking up anything that caused an upset stomach, and conserving enough energy for whatever the next day had to offer.

The TV news junkies my parents are just had to watch all the Weather Channel people do their routine, subjecting themselves to rising tides and high-force winds. All the local news channels showed were their meteorologists and footage of gas stations whose signs simply said "Out."

Tampa was the hardest hit, with the Tampa Bay Times website showing over a million people in its three-county area losing power on Wednesday, while Orange County housing Orlando only had around 96,000 people lose power. Millions more fled the oncoming disasters, including my sister-in-law's brother who happened to live in St. Petersburg.

But what happens in the rest of Florida does not apply to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Everything across the various properties is meant to withstand all kinds of disaster. So unlike the locals on the coasts bearing the brunt of storm surges and even tornadoes, it felt like more of an inconvenience, the most we got was howling winds and water puddles by some of the windows.

With all resort activities closed down after 1 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday, our hunkering down was a little different than a Western New York blizzard. Eating leftovers, trying to complete a 500-piece puzzle, playing chess and solitaire, and watching "Mary Poppins."

It was easily the most boring way to experience a hurricane, but no one valuing their own safety should try it any other way.

The following morning, you could walk around and not have that sense that a hurricane passed by. The only signs of damage were some shingles and palm leaf branches blown over and wooden poles by a dock bent over. The neighboring Polynesian Resort had a roof collapse, the biggest damage I could see.

With at least 26 people reported dead, thousands still without power, and billions in damages statewide, it was just business as usual as the resort reopened properly on Friday. All trips will resume as scheduled.

Like that, the trip was over, whisked off to the airport like one of the most hyped-up hurricanes did not happen. The locals already dealing with Helene's aftermath now have to put up with this damage, with President Biden announcing $600 million in federal aid for the recovery. But I still would have liked to see any tangible damage, rather than being hidden away from it all.

Rob Creenan is a reporter for the Niagara Gazette.