Some tourists head to parks -- others head home

Central Florida’s tourism economy was nearly back on track Sunday, with the major attractions up and running and only scattered cancellations at the airport.

Animal Kingdom, the only Walt Disney World theme park that didn’t open Saturday, was back in business Sunday with the rest, showing few scars from the ferocious winds that ripped through the region late Friday.

Kali River Rapids, a water ride, was closed, and a couple of trees were uprooted on the plaza in front of the park’s ticket booths, but there was practically no debris along the many paved pathways.

Employees said one reason the lushly landscaped park didn’t open Saturday was because there were so many downed tree limbs. One said that, before the cleanup, it looked as if the sidewalks had been covered with mulch.

Discovery Cove was closed Saturday for similar reasons, but it reopened to a full house Sunday, said Jim Atchison, who oversees the high-end day resort as well as its sibling theme park, SeaWorld Orlando.

Orlando International Airport officials said most carriers were operating at or near capacity Sunday. Some, they said, had added flights to help make up for those canceled Friday and Saturday.

Delta Air Lines, OIA’s busiest carrier, didn’t add capacity, but “there are no empty seats coming out of Orlando,” spokesman Todd Clay said. “We’re putting everybody we can on those flights.”

Still, Hurricane Charley continued to interfere with some travel plans Sunday.

Anne McKeon, a tourist from Ireland, said she spent two weeks in a rental house in Kissimmee with her husband and four children. The family rode out the hurricane in the utility room and then spent the last two days of their vacation without electricity.

They had hoped to fly home Sunday, but McKeon said they missed their flight because they didn’t allow enough time for a long detour around storm damage on their way to the airport.

Standing with her family in front of the Delta ticket counter, a tired-looking McKeon said the airline had agreed to let them catch a later flight to Atlanta. Rather than spend the money on a hotel, she said, they would nap in the terminal and then fly to Dublin today.

Her husband, Philip, who works for a construction company, said that, if nothing else, he has a good story to tell his friends at work. “It’s been some experience,” he said.

Todd Pack can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5407.