Croxley Green family in Orlando hotel amid Hurricane Milton

The Category 3 storm has battered Florida, pounding cities with winds of over 100 mph after producing a barrage of tornadoes.

Helena Flynn and her family flew out to Orlando to visit Disney World on Sunday (October 6) and are currently inside the hotel Endless Summer Resort, where rooms were “shaking” overnight.

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(Image: Helena Flynn) Power went out during the night and anything loose was tossed around, including the hotel's sunbeds which flew into the pool.

“It’s been quite constant, it’s been a bad hurricane,” she said. “You are worried, of course you are, but we know we are safe in the hotel.

“We’ve been really well looked after. It’s just a case of staying in the hotel now.”

The family, which includes Helena and her partner Tony Oldfield as well as their daughter and her fiancé, knew a hurricane was coming when they flew out on Sunday but decided against cancelling the trip.

“We’ve been planning this holiday for a long time, and it’s a lot of money, so we just thought we’d go,” Helena, 53, added.

“I always said I’d take my daughter to Disneyland and now I have. It’s our family once in a lifetime holiday.”

Both Helena and her daughter had been to the destination before, but never together. They enjoyed a visit to Universal Studios from 9am to 2pm yesterday, despite getting soaked in torrential rain at times, before heading back to the hotel before the 7pm to 8am curfew.

Helena has no regrets about taking the trip despite the storm and hopes to make the most of the rest of the holiday before heading back on October 21.

Stacey and Tony. (Image: Helena Flynn)

Although today (October 10) will be spent playing cards inside, Helena hopes they will be able to start enjoying the rest of their activities from tomorrow.

The Arco Watford worker added: “As far as I know, we are through the worst of it, its just a case of the rain.

“The next worry is how much flooding there is going to be.”