- Sandra Guadarrama-Baumunk and her family holed up at a Disney resort hotel during Hurricane Milton.
- Guests were told to stay in their rooms from 8:30 p.m. before the storm made landfall in Florida.
- The mom said the only drama was a fire alarm, but Disney handled everything smoothly.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sandra Guadarrama-Baumunk, 53, the co-owner of an advertising agency in Phoenix. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I was already in my pajamas when the fire alarm at our Disney Resort hotel went off at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Hurricane Milton was predicted to strike in the early hours of the morning, and guests were instructed to be in their rooms by 8:30 p.m. for safety reasons.
But when the alarm sounded, everyone evacuated to the lobby and gathered in groups. It was calm and well-organized. The only cries were from the little ones waking up from their sleep.
The Disney staff said the fire station had already arrived, which was reassuring. After barely 10 minutes, they said it was some kind of short circuit, and we were safe to return to our rooms.
I felt that a Disney resort was one of the safest places to be
It was the only drama we had all night, apart from the wind and rain lashing at our windows. I know other parts of Florida were badly damaged but, for us, it was fine.
My family and I are huge Disney fans, and this was our fourth visit to Disney World. We'd seen that Hurricane Helene had passed and thought, "Oh, thank goodness. We missed it by a week."
Then, all of a sudden, we heard that Milton was coming. I thought positively that it was going to miss us. I also felt a resort was one of the safest places to be in a hurricane because they'd been through it before and knew what to expect.
We chose not to cancel and arrived on Saturday. Disney was really good about keeping us in the loop through its app.
They were monitoring the situation and giving updates. We never felt uninformed.
The only change we made was extending our stay from Friday to Saturday because our flight back to Phoenix was canceled and rescheduled. Disney offered a 40% discount on our two rooms for hurricane relief. They would have cost over $1,000 each on a typical Friday night.
The hotel has been very accommodating. The park closed at 2 p.m. Wednesday, so we spent the afternoon in the lobby. They had activities for families, such as crafting and making s'mores.
The cost of dining was reduced at our hotel
There was a nice bar. We hung out doing puzzles and playing card games like Uno that we'd bought at the gift store. We get along fine — I'm here with my husband, Brian, 58, daughter, Mia, and her boyfriend, Jeremy, both 25, and our younger daughter, Sofia, 21 — but, when you're with your family in such a confined space, you have to dig deep for patience sometimes.
Some of the hotel's restaurants had a limited menu, but the prices were reduced accordingly. We paid about $26 per person for a barbecue-themed dinner instead of $40 and $14 instead of $26 each for a breakfast skillet.
The park is closed Thursday. It's no longer raining, but it's overcast. I'm planning a walk around the hotel grounds.
We're glad we trusted Disney. Its employees are working hard to keep us safe and ensure we still have a great vacation.
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