PDA

View Full Version : Grand Californian Hotel Evacuation



Pages : [1] 2

nickbrown2k2
11-11-2007, 08:00 AM
Did anyone else "enjoy" the evacuation at 2:20 a.m. this morning at the Grand Californian? Very early in the morning, the fire alarm went off and then we all filed out of the hotel. It was very orderly and there were many Cast Members handing out blankets, etc to those waiting. After about 20 minutes, we were allowed back in the hotel. Apparently some sort of sprinkler had malfunctioned, it disabled the whole system? Does anyone have any more information?

It was an interesting experience!

oohykitten
11-11-2007, 10:59 AM
Ouch that really sucks. I hope you guys got a room credit for something. But the way I push myself to keep going all day at the parks, I wonder if I would have woken up!

jenpace
11-11-2007, 05:41 PM
I wasn't there for that GCH evacuation but I was there for one a few years ago that sounds a lot like what you just went through.

How about their LOUD alarm system? Now there's an experience I won't ever forget! Actually, the scariest part of the whole ordeal was the fact that my then 5 y/o daughter slept through the noise, alarm and bright strobe light flashing in our room. We had a hard time waking her up to go outside with everyone else.

I hope you guys were able to get back to sleep after returning to your room :)

pisces
11-11-2007, 07:21 PM
On Christmas eve....(2006) in the afternoon, they had a false alarm, or were testing the system. Everyone had to be evacuated.

I was also there for the real fire in 2005.

Usually when they evacuate at that time of the night, you get a free night.

kiki
11-11-2007, 07:36 PM
I was evacuated from the DLH a few years ago for a small fire in a linen closet in the Bonita Tower. We didnt get a free night but we got warm , not hot coffee.

dawnid
11-12-2007, 10:16 AM
I also enjoyed this wonderful experience, AGAIN, at the Grand Californian. I take full responsibility/blame for everyone having to wake up since this is a standard experience for me whenever we stay at DGCH. It has happened at least one night, sometimes two, during every one of our visits to DGCH. I feel like Pigpen from Charlie Brown, Dawn shows up so the alarm must go off.

We closed the park that night and didn't get in bed until about 1:30am and around 2:20 off goes the alarm. It has become so common place for us that my son didn't wake up and we didn't evacuate. I checked the hallways for smoke, scoped out the roof under our balcony and surrounding pine trees to determine if we could escape out the window and went back to bed.

When I went down to request a late check out I told the CM that this happens every time we stay and that we didn't evacuate and they really need to address their system because they have cried wolf too many times, they were sweet and smiled but no comps (I didn't ask and they didn't offer) and no late check out.

janell
11-12-2007, 12:37 PM
Again, wow. I have never been there during one of these fire alarm ordeals.(i was there after the tree caught on fire). DGC really needs to do something with these fire alarms, anyone know if they are addressing it?

biolabetty
11-12-2007, 01:12 PM
I stayed at the GCH by myself on Friday night, and I had even thought to myself "What if the alarm goes off during the night?" since it seems to happen so often. Luckily I missed it by one night, but I had been trying to get a room for Saturday instead of Friday, but there were no AP4 rates for Saturday left, only Friday. Sorry this happened to you.

RockDoc07
11-12-2007, 06:13 PM
The reasons that the strobes are so bright and that the alarms are so loud is really what some people have experienced here with exhausted children or exhausted parkgoing adults. It's also the same reason college dorm alarms are so crazy apocalyptically loud. It's to wake up the absolutely zonked post-all-nighter college students (or the ones that took a ride with Captain Jack-- the Billy Joel kind, not the Gore Vrbinski kind). It really needs to be super loud and super bright to wake some of them up. It is very scary indeed that some people still can sleep through them though. Hope everything was ok and everyone was safe! Sounds like Disney has the protocol down pretty well though.

A good week to all!
Cool Runnings!
Doc

Mrs Mouse
11-12-2007, 07:38 PM
The reasons that the strobes are so bright and that the alarms are so loud is really what some people have experienced here with exhausted children or exhausted parkgoing adults. It's also the same reason college dorm alarms are so crazy apocalyptically loud.

The fire alarms in our condo are the same way - an incredibly loud, annoying beeping noise coupled with strobe lights. Prior to living here I'd never seen this type of alarm in a residential building, I'd only seen them in hotel rooms. Ironically, we have also have a big problem with them going off unnecessarilly all the time.

meghan1
11-12-2007, 09:17 PM
The reasons that the strobes are so bright and that the alarms are so loud is really what some people have experienced here with exhausted children or exhausted parkgoing adults. It's also the same reason college dorm alarms are so crazy apocalyptically loud. It's to wake up the absolutely zonked post-all-nighter college students (or the ones that took a ride with Captain Jack-- the Billy Joel kind, not the Gore Vrbinski kind). It really needs to be super loud and super bright to wake some of them up. It is very scary indeed that some people still can sleep through them though. Hope everything was ok and everyone was safe! Sounds like Disney has the protocol down pretty well though.

A good week to all!
Cool Runnings!
Doc

eeek!! college dorm fire alarms....I still have trouble sleeping after 4 nights in a row of them one week, and then 5 going off in one night a week later last year. I would really hate for something like that to happen during a vacation.

bloodnswash
11-13-2007, 05:00 AM
Dang, this sure does seem to happen a lot at the Grand. I've only stayed at the Grand twice. I have been very lucky to not experience this. :)

dawnid
11-13-2007, 08:56 AM
It didn't go off during your visit because I wasn't there. LOL I'm the jinx.

rds912
11-13-2007, 08:57 AM
The reasons that the strobes are so bright and that the alarms are so loud is really what some people have experienced here with exhausted children or exhausted parkgoing adults. It's also the same reason college dorm alarms are so crazy apocalyptically loud. It's to wake up the absolutely zonked post-all-nighter college students (or the ones that took a ride with Captain Jack-- the Billy Joel kind, not the Gore Vrbinski kind). It really needs to be super loud and super bright to wake some of them up. It is very scary indeed that some people still can sleep through them though. Hope everything was ok and everyone was safe! Sounds like Disney has the protocol down pretty well though.

A good week to all!
Cool Runnings!
Doc


Actually, the reason for the strobes is for the hearing impared, and the reason for the loud alarm is so you can still hear it during a fire.

Wobble
11-13-2007, 09:18 AM
eeek!! college dorm fire alarms....I still have trouble sleeping after 4 nights in a row of them one week, and then 5 going off in one night a week later last year. I would really hate for something like that to happen during a vacation.

It's always fun when you're in the shower when the college dorm fire alarm starts going off. Standing outside in a towel with shampoo in my hair at 3 AM is horrible.



But I suppose it's good to know that the fire alarm sysyem at GCH works? Even if it is REALlY annoying, it's good to know that in the case of an emergency, you and your family will be able to evacuate safely. However, I can see where it would be an annoyance to people it's happened to more than once. :S

codewoman
11-13-2007, 11:30 AM
I believe another reason for the strobes and loud alarms is to make you want to leave as quickly as possible! It works with me.

HTanner
11-13-2007, 12:40 PM
eeek!! college dorm fire alarms....I still have trouble sleeping after 4 nights in a row of them one week, and then 5 going off in one night a week later last year. I would really hate for something like that to happen during a vacation.

I was a resident assistant in the dorms in long beach - and I had to stay in the dorms and search until everyone was out of the building. My ears rang for days!!

The old man
11-14-2007, 11:59 AM
...the reason for the loud alarm is so you can still hear it during a fire.
:confused:

I guess if the fire is so loud I can hear it I'll figure there's a fire without the alarm.

Toocherie
11-14-2007, 02:29 PM
I was a resident assistant in the dorms in long beach - and I had to stay in the dorms and search until everyone was out of the building. My ears rang for days!!

LOL--I was a resident assistant at UC Riverside and had to do the same--we had to open EVERY door of every room (we had a passkey) and make sure no one was inside. The only real issue I ever had was when I opened a door and looked in and there was a couple in bed doing what couples do--apparently no fire was going to stop them~! I just mumbled, "uhhh, there's a fire alarm" and left them!

codewoman
11-14-2007, 02:37 PM
I'm on the emergency response team at work. We had a problem a couple years ago with an employee who HID during the fire alarm because she didn't want to stop WORKING! What is wrong with people.

Our most recent fire alarm was just a couple weeks ago. One woman in my search area who's been difficult before evacuated this time without incident. I continued to search my area and as I was going down the hall to leave myself, I saw her come out of the bathroom.

We just ask them for the name of their next of kin and move along on the search. I won't hang around to evacuate someone who's too dumb to leave!

barely
11-15-2007, 08:11 AM
I believe the strobe lights are for the benefit of visitors who are deaf.

HTanner
11-15-2007, 08:52 AM
LOL--I was a resident assistant at UC Riverside and had to do the same--we had to open EVERY door of every room (we had a passkey) and make sure no one was inside. The only real issue I ever had was when I opened a door and looked in and there was a couple in bed doing what couples do--apparently no fire was going to stop them~! I just mumbled, "uhhh, there's a fire alarm" and left them!

Yeah - occupational hazard at finding who knows what behind the doors... ;) I told everyone that we would have an alarm in the first couple of weeks and that I would be coming into their room so that when they heard the alarm, that was their warning that I was coming and to get dressed! LOL!!!

rds912
11-15-2007, 03:36 PM
:confused:

I guess if the fire is so loud I can hear it I'll figure there's a fire without the alarm.

no the fire does not get loud, its the smoke that muffles the sound.

dlandnut
11-16-2007, 01:28 PM
I was there a few years ago, downstairs doing the laundry in my pj's. The alarm went off and so I was ushered outside and stood there in my pj's while all these happy little families strolled by on their way into CA. I'll bet they thought they were looking at the real goofy! :)

hofmanns4
11-18-2007, 12:50 PM
This was the first night of our 7 night trip. :eek:

DH and I jumped out of bed and I thought it was the alarm clock. I was frantically trying to shut it off and about to pull out of the wall when DH said, I think it is the fire alarm. I looked out the door and saw everyone leaving. All I could think of was "not again". DD8 did not wake up from the alarm and DS2 just kept asking "What's that noise?". Did not want to say "fire alarm" and scare him so we told him they were checking the building and we could go back to sleep soon.

This happened to us in 2005 on our last night there. DS was only 6 months old and took forever to get back to sleep. False alarm and things did not seem as organized as they were this last time. I think there was a real fire with the tree a few weeks later. It looks like they have had some practice. :rolleyes: