Originally Posted By TDLFAN So.. today July 10th, we had for the most part a very sunny and hot day here in Orlando.. and I of course went out to my favorite Super Target for some shopping... But, as fate may have it... I ended up going to EPCOT Center on a whim.. As soon as I entered the parking lot.. thunderstorms started brewing out of nowhere... But I safely made it to the front of the park, where they only had three (out of how many?) turnstyles opened, each with a very long line to enter. This was about 7pm. Once inside the park... I noticed the Leave a Legacy kiosk has literally left the building and it's closed for good! I also noticed Spaceship Earth has been entirely closed off for it's 3-4 month's refurbishment. But even more joyful for me was the beginning of the end for that silly wand over Spaceship Earth. "Mr. President! Tear that wand down NOW!" Then the skies opened and it rained for a bit while... but the rain stopped soon enough and we were all rewarded with a lovely rainbow that reached from one cloud to the next. I did some minor window shopping, being stopped by several CMs whose attention I got with my "HKDL: Where Dreams Come True" tee shirt version of the same WDW tee they sell all over the property. Then... took a short walk around the lagoon as the clouds were still semi-grey and menacing, and stopped briefly at the American Gardens Theater...where "BJorn Again: A Tribute to Bloody ABBA" was playing a show as part of the Sounds of Summer music program at EPCOT Center. Does anyone miss the days of the All-American College band, with guest artists such as Rita Moreno, and the Rockettes?? Or better yet, are any of you old enough to even remember that and the All-American College Marching Band at the MK...??? Oh never mind. As the Bjorn Again show ended... about 15 mins before Illuminations was to start, the skies opened up again, and few raindrops started coming down.. with some approaching lighting in the distance... I picked up the pace and opened my umbrella (now I have that dreaded Rihanna (sp?) song in my head...eh! eh! eh! My umbrella eh! eh! eh!..). As I am crossing the bridge in between France and the UK... I look over to my right and see a wall of water cutting accross the World Showcase lagoon, so thick in fact that I could hardly see the China and Germany pavillions across the lagoon! I go ..."OMG!" ...and within 30 secs..the rain started to come down furiously, coincidentally at the same time the "10 mins to Illuminations" announcement comes on. Other guests start running and screaming as the furious downpour moves over head. It was the closest I have ever experienced to a Godzilla movie scene, where people are running and screaming for dear life. I thought..."we need a Sodom and Gomorrah pavilion here"... The crowd's reaction was just too comical. As I walk down next to Canada, with few souls drenched and running in vain... a HUGE lighting strike hits, like way too close to us... and the thunder was like a loud and terrifying BOOM! Everyone again screamed.. and now I get concerned I walking walking with an open umbrella in a very severe thunderstorm. But fear NOT! I made it to the front of the park, partially dry from the waist up, with drenched tennis shoes and socks! As I seek shelter under Spaceship Earth... I look back and see the wall of water painted in colors from the geosphere lighting equipment. Undaunted, I press on, opening my umbrella eh!eh! and coming to a stop under the turstyles at the front of the park. I look back and bloody Illuminations is going ON as scheduled. Freaky! You could see the fire barge's brightness reflected on the rain behind Spaceship Earth! I then opened my umbrella again and headed to the parking lot with about another 5,000 guests who were way underway to their cars as well... while overhearing a CM telling another... "I can't believe they are doing the fireworks with this weather!!" INDEED! While I understand Disney's desire to NOT disappoint the guests who visit the park, I do wonder why on God's Earth do they choose to perform Illuminations under the worst of possible conditions, and with multiple lighting strikes going on all around us! I would believe there were some guests who braved the weather to enjoy the show, but frankly... is this safe? I mean.. Why not delay the show or cancel due to the severity of the weather over the park at that particular time? I feel it would have been in the best interest of safety to delay or cancel this show tonight. The show should definitely NOT go on when safety comes into play. Add to the bad weather, the other safety issues I witnessed as I walked to the front of the park during the downpour... I never realized how bad the water accumulates in most areas of the park and the parking lot when it rains as hard as it did tonight. There are spots where the water reached approx. 4" in height and at least 10'-15' in diameter. Those floods, along with running guests and what-have-you could very much cause unnecesary accidents in the park. Add insult to injury, when I reached the Innoventions area, to find that most exhibits were already closed and doors locked, taking away much needed shelter space from guests who had to pack the few sheltered areas available in the Innovention buildings (meaning the walking spaces between buildings that lead to either Future World East or West.) It left a bad feeling for me that guest safety is not an item of importance for management when severe weather hits the park out of nowhere. I feel that 1) Illuminations should have been delayed of cancelled due to the extreme rainy conditions, and 2) doors to the Innovention exhibit should have been re-opened for guests to shelter themselves from the severe weather. Way too many people soaked to the bone tonight, which coincidentally... was an Extra Magic Hours night at EPCOT. Enjoy your perks Disney hotel guests!! Anyways... it was a most unusual evening at EPCOT Center.
Originally Posted By Mr X Gotta love those Florida storms! Nothin like it. I, too, have been surprised to see Illuminations performed in VERY bad weather conditions...I suppose it's safe enough to DO the show (no live performers or anything)...but the weird thing is that would seem to be encouraging people to stay outside in dangerous conditions wouldn't it?
Originally Posted By MPierce I've often wonder the same thing about some of the schedule shows. Some will go on as planned in the weather, while others will be canceled. I'm sure they have a standard that they go by. I experienced a similar evening like yours, however I was not in a park. I was on the balcony of my room at WL, and it was pouring just like you described. At the normal time here comes the ELP, I couldn't believe it. While I still find the little show charming in it's own way, I sure felt sorry for those CM putting it on that night. I agree there was a safety issue in your case, I don't know the effects strong rain will have on the trajectory of fireworks, but I think the guest safety, and comfort were overlooked in this case. at least they should have postponed the show. Especially when it was EMH.
Originally Posted By twirlnhurl The only dangerous aspect I know of relating to the fireworks is loading the shells, which is done in the hours before the show. Once they are all loaded, I see no reason (from a technical perspective) to cancel the show (as the shells are already exposed to lightning... it is better to have them explode in a controlled manner, no?) The other thing about instances like this is the chances of getting struck by lightning are rather low in a theme park environment, because one is usually surrounded by taller objects. The rain isn't a danger, except for those running out of it, so the only real threat was people getting wet or slipping. Was the Airport/hallway on the southwest side of the communicore open? If not then I do think that should be changed for future storms, because of the large area under cover in an area with lots of open spaces.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>The only dangerous aspect I know of relating to the fireworks is loading the shells, which is done in the hours before the show. Once they are all loaded, I see no reason (from a technical perspective) to cancel the show (as the shells are already exposed to lightning... it is better to have them explode in a controlled manner, no?)<< That was the least of my concerns... My real concern was about the MANY LIGHTING STRIKES in the EPCOT Center area as the show went on... We experienced a very close lighting strike near Canada, as I explained in my report above. THAT was my concern in regards to guests' safety. It was simply NOT SAFE to be out and about in the open, where guests were seeking shelter under trees as lighting hit all around. I felt Disney was negligent in putting this show under such conditions. No concern for guests' safety whatsoever.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN ...add to that the many flooded areas in the park. Do you really want to be standing in water when a lighting strikes close by???
