ORLANDO -- Some Utah families are stuck in Florida on vacation, waiting to ride out Hurricane Irma.
Jessica Graham was at home in Centerville Saturday, the day her son, Casper, and in-laws, Dani and Scott, were supposed to be home - hoping for the best.
The Grahams left for their vacation to Disneyworld late Friday, September 1. Their flight home was scheduled for Saturday, September 9, but it was cancelled.
They plan to wait out Irma in their Art of Animation Resort hotel room. They said they heard Irma should hit them Monday, which is Casper's third birthday.
Jessica said she is one worried mom.
“The whole time my stress is climbing up," she said.
After they heard news of Florida's Governor declaring a State of Emergency Monday, they looked for a flight out as soon as possible, but everything was booked. The airline they used, Jet Blue, said the earliest they could leave is Wednesday, weather permitting.
Since they could not leave, they decided to prepare the best they can.
“They’re staying on the second floor so hopefully flooding isn’t going to be an issue, but they had to go to the grocery store to get food and they said that was a mad house," Jessica said. "There was no bottled water left. There was no canned food left. So they just got what they could."
The three stocked up on Gatorade and snacks, and told Jessica on the phone Saturday that the resort was helping out with water and some bags of food.
“They’re telling us that we have to get food for two days because we are stuck in our room no matter what," Dani Graham said. "They say if they catch us out of our room they’ll put us back in it."
Despite everything, Casper told his mom and dad he was still having fun, with plenty of Disney movies to watch while stuck in their room.
“He is too busy ‘I saw Mickey and Minnie’ and talking about the princesses," Jessica laughed.
Jessica said she is not thrilled her family is stuck in Florida during the hurricane, but of all places to be there, at least they're in Orlando. She said other people have been pouring into the lobby of her in-law's resort to check in, seeking shelter.
"If people are fleeing to safety and that’s where my son is, then that gives me a huge peace of mind that they’re going to be okay," she said.
