An Arizona mother reveals what it was like sheltering inside Disney World during Hurricane Milton

A Disney-loving family in Arizona escaped the wrath of Hurricane Milton from the comfort of their Disney World resort room Wednesday as the park offered partial compensation amid the devastating and deadly storm.

Sandra Guadarrama-Baumunk has traveled from Phoenix to Orlando the past three years and thought it would be a good time to visit the theme park after Hurricane Helen pounded the area a week ago.

“Oh, thank God. We missed it by a week,” the married mother of two recalled in her essay for Business Insider.

The family remained committed to their trip to the park after learning of Milton's barreling toward the Sunshine State.

Guadarrama-Baumunk, 53, her husband Brian, 58, their two daughters Sophia, 21, and Mia, 25, and Mia's boyfriend Jeremy, 25, flew to Orlando on Oct. 5 for their vacation.

“I positively thought it was going to miss us,” Guadarrama-Baumunk added. “I also feel that a resort is one of the safest places in a hurricane because they've been through it before and they know what to expect.”

Along with the rest of the country, the family watched for powerful storms in Florida.

They enjoyed all of the parks and their amenities until the park closed at 2 p.m. Wednesday before landfall in Milton on Florida's west-central coast.

After the parks closed, they returned to the resort, where staff prepared activities for guests, including crafts and s'mores, Guadarrama-Baumunk wrote.

The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key in Sarasota County, 125 miles southwest of Disney.

To pass the time, the family played games bought from the gift shop, including UNO card games, and enjoyed the bar, but — like anyone else — being too close to others for long periods of time can cause problems.

“When you live in such a confined space with your family, you sometimes have to dig deep for patience,” he wrote.

To accommodate the unfortunate situation, the hotel offered discounts at restaurants, which have limited menus

Families dined on a barbecue-themed dinner for $26 a person instead of the usual $40, and a breakfast skillet was sold for $14 instead of $26.

Guadarrama-Baumunk had already changed into her pajamas around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday as the storm hit western Florida.

The family then endured the resort's fire alarm which went off during Milton's time.

All guests were evacuated to the lobby, where they were “calm and organized.”

“The Disney staff said the fire station had already arrived, which was reassuring. After only 10 minutes, they said it was some kind of short circuit and we were safe to go back to our room,” she said.

“Besides the wind and rain on our windows that was the only drama we had all night. I know other parts of Florida have been badly affected but, for us, it was fine.”

The family's trip was extended by another day, as their flight from Florida scheduled for Friday was rescheduled for Saturday.

The resort offered 40 percent off two of their rooms for hurricane relief, saving more than $2,000 for the extra night.

Milton is being blamed for at least 17 deaths in eight Florida counties.

Despite the worst-case scenario for the state, the storm caused more than a dozen deaths, with many flattening mobile home parks due to tornado outbreaks.

Winds of more than 100 mph wreaked havoc around the state, including St. Petersburg, where strong gusts tore off much of the roof at Tropicana Field and a crane collapsed onto the Tampa Bay Times building downtown.

About 1,000 people and at least 100 animals have been rescued from the debris and floodwaters, emergency managers said.

About 2.5 million customers remained without power Wednesday morning, according to Poweroutage.us.

Although Disney World is closed Wednesday and Thursday, officials confirmed the park will reopen to guests Friday morning.

With post wire