Hurricane Info
Hurricane season is just part of the deal when you live in Florida — but before you stress, here’s the most important thing to know: you’re actually in a pretty great spot. Disney World is smack in the middle of central Florida, nowhere near the coastlines that take the real hits. And, Flamingo Crossings Village is newer construction, built to handle serious storms, and Orlando is genuinely a city that people evacuate to — not from.
That said, being in a good location isn’t an excuse to wing it. As a CP, your safety is on you. Disney and Flamingo will let you know about park closures and schedule changes, but stocking up, staying informed, and knowing what to do when things get serious? That’s your job. This navigator info breaks it all down — what to grab before a storm, what to expect from Flamingo, how to stay in touch with your family when cell service goes sideways, and how you might even get paid to ride out the storm at a resort – or maybe even a park.
Take a few minutes to read through this now, before anything is actually headed your way. Future you — and your parents blowing up your phone — will thank you.
TRIVIA – Hurricane Season in Florida lasts from June through October.
Be Prepared so you DON'T PANIC
DON’T PANIC – Remember where you are.
- Disney World is in central Florida — not on the coast. Orlando is one of the places Floridians evacuate to, not from. So, when you hear people yelling “WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO EVACUATE US?” They’re not. You’re already in the place where people are evacutaing to.
- Flamingo is in Orange County Florida but just for reference, the ALL STAR RESORTS and ESPN are in Osceola County. Evacuation orders and flooding warnings on the news typically refer to Gulf Coast or Atlantic coastal communities — not the Disney/Flamingo area but always listen for the specific location being mentioned.
- Flamingo Crossings Village is new. It was built to withstand storms more severe than are expected to ever impact the area. The campus and parking lots have not experienced significant flooding in past storms. (If you hear someone saying it’s flooding at Flamingo it probably means that the wind is blowing water under their door.
- Hurricanes are never a surprise. You might come from an area where there can be tornadoes, and you know that tornadoes can pop up quickly and almost without warning. Hurricanes are very different. If a hurricane is coming, you’ll know days ahead of time. (That doesn’t mean that you should wait until then to get ready.)
- In 2022, Hurricane Ian hit Florida hard. It was a Category 5 storm, and there was devastation but Flamingo had no power outages, no water outages, and residents were safe.
It's YOUR responsibility.
- Your safety is your responsibility. Disney and Flamingo will not provide weather updates, supplies, or evacuation transportation for CPs. It’s important that you understand that. When there is news of a possible hurriance impacting the area you’ll see social media light up with people asking where Flamingo will be distributing bottled water and other supplies. Guess what. They won’t. It’s your job to prepare.
- Stay informed by monitoring a reliable weather app with notifications turned on. Local TV news is also a good source — see links below.
- If severe weather is approaching and Disney closes the parks that means it’s basically time to camp out in your apartment. It doesn’t mean that they closed the parks to give CP’s time to go shopping for supplies – and then complain that the shelves are empty. If it’s bad enough to close the parks, it’s bad enough to avoid driving around or running errands.
- If you have to get around, and the buses are running. Buses are generally safer than cars if street flooding occurs. If buses are running, take the bus, don’t drive. (If Disney is open, buses will be running.)
- Monitor your Disney work schedule for changes and use the Disney hotline to check on park closures.
- Check your break room for the Disney Hotline numbers and put them in your contact list. If you don’t see them, ask.
Flamingo & Bad Weather
- What Flamingo WILL NOT DO:
- Flamingo will not provide flashlights, food, water, or batteries to residents.
- Flamingo will not send weather updates or tell you what to do step by step. They may provide some instructions or info but don’t wait for it. Stay up to date using local news.
- Flamingo will not evacuate. However, they may advise residents to “shelter in place” during severe weather.
- Flamingo may close their office and send staff — including security — home to shelter with their own families during the storm. This is expected and normal.
- IF THE POWER GOES OUT – That is not a Flamingo issue. That is the local power company. You can check the circuit breakers in your apartment but if everyone in the building or the complex doesn’t have power, it’s not something Flamingo can fix. (If it just your apartment, and you checked the breakers, then you should put in a maintenance request using the Portal.)
- What Flamingo will probably do:
- They will probably respond to actual issues with an apartment as soon as they can, Things like a leak in the ceiling.
In a true emergency during the storm, call 911.
SUPPLIES
- Water: Keep 1–2 gallon jugs of spring water in a closet or under the bathroom sink. You don’t need cases of bottled water. Trust us. You’ll just drink it before any storm ever gets close. Just get some of the gallon jugs of spring water at Publix, Walmart or Target. They’re cheap. Put them under your bathroom sink or the kitchen sink or in your closet.
- Flashlight and batteries: You need at least one and at least one or two sets of batteries. A good option is also a small LED Lantern. If power goes out, a lantern does a much better job of lighting up a room than a flashlight.
- If power goes out, consider putting your cell phone in battery-saving mode ASAP. And don’t use your phone as a flashlight.
- Non-perishable food: Items that don’t require cooking — granola bars, crackers, canned goods, etc.
- Portable phone charger (power bank).
- If you know a storm is coming and you have a car, fill the gas tank. If power is out in the area, gas station will not be pumping gas.
BEWARE OF FAKE NEWS & MISINFORMATION
Just like we’ve already said, Florida is a big place. It happens every year. Someone hears on the news that “Florida is going to take a direct hit…” and someone realizes that Flamingo is in Florida and that means that Flamingo is taking a direct hit… and we’re all doomed. They take to Social Media to post their tearful goodbyes.
Here are the some things that people hear and start sharing without really understanding.
- “We are under an evacuation order”
- “We are supposed to boil our water”
- “Everyone on the third floor should move out because the roof is going to blow off.”
- “Everyone on the first floor should move out because with the flooding is water is going to be 8 to 10 feet deep.”
The funny thing is that the people sharing the misinformation are 100% convinced that they’re right because they heard it from a reliable source. Yeah, somewhere people are being told to move to higher ground or a lower level of their house and somewhere people are being told to boil their water* before drinking it. That doesn’t mean it applies to Flamingo.
*Actually, if after the storm, there is an issue with the water, there may be a “BOIL ORDER” so make sure you’re following the news for Orange County, FL.
