Kristen Bell and her 3,000 new friends are safe and well post Irma

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As Corey mentioned on Monday, Kristen Bell did her best to raise spirits in Florida as she rode out Hurricane Irma. Kristen was not able to leave Orlando, where she’s filming Like Father. She is staying at the Swan and Dolphin resort, which, with the two hotels combined, boasts 2,267 guest rooms and over 330,000 square feet of indoor meeting space. The resort sounds like it made the most of it for everyone. Countless families (and their pets!) found shelter there. Kristen took it upon herself to make everyone’s stay as fun as it could be. And Kristen didn’t limit herself just to the hotel. Early Saturday evening, she put out this call:

Thanks to Corey, we know that that request was met and ended up in sing-along at Meadow Woods Middle School, which served as an evacuation center. But Kristen didn’t stop there. After Atria Senior Living evacuated two large groups of seniors to the property, Kristen decided to play social director:

After a few fiery rounds of Bingo, Kristen and her new roommates replenished their strength:

Dining with all my new friends! #irma #hurricaneirma

A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on

Following dinner there was some more singing, this time a duet with ‘John’:

Honestly, it looks like Kristen was having a great time and I think she made a lot of people’s unfortunate experience that much better:

Guys, Corey cries when she's happy too!!!! #soulmates #hurricaneirma #besthurricaneever #atriaseniorliving

A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on

When Clara nabs your nose, you best be breathin through your mouth for a while. #besthurricaneever #atriaseniorliving

A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on

Now that the storm has past (and the arduous task of cleanup has begun), Jimmy Kimmel checked in with Kristen and crew to see how things were going. Remember that Kristen served as one of Jimmy’s fill-in hosts when he took paternity leave following his son’s surgery. Again, not only were they all safe but in very good spirits, thanks to Kristen:

If you watch the video, you see that Kristen gives a shout out to the man next to her who we now know is Gary from the resort. Gary first appeared in this post from Saturday:

As she said in the clip, Gary has not slept in 72 hours. Kristen mentioned that Gary and his staff have been working tirelessly for everyone in the hotel:

In addition to the fun she posted, Kristen retweeted important tips during the hurricane. Thankfully she and everyone at the Swan and Dolphin are safe. Thankfully the storm is finished. Thankfully Corey’s family is safe and hopefully, you and yours are safe. Of course, the most vital resources needed by the victims of any disaster takes $$$. But if your budget doesn’t allow for that, let’s all take a page from Kristen’s book and donate a smile or a bit of a laugh if we can.

In other news – a sneak peak for season two of The Good Place just came out. MAJOR SPOILERS for Season One:

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39 Responses to “Kristen Bell and her 3,000 new friends are safe and well post Irma”

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  1. claudia says:

    she is helping with her time, all right, and that’s great, but i hope she followed this with a good 9 zero check. not being mean, just realistic. what people need now it’s money

    • Radley says:

      A nine zero check is very unrealistic. As a hurricane veteran, kind and positive volunteers are as valuable as cash. When you’re stressed, the last thing you need is to encounter an a-hole. Kristen seems lovely. She did a good deed.

    • Froggy says:

      Her time & effort are going directly to the people who need it. Pretty valuable imo.

    • PPP says:

      Ned Stark ignored everything before your “but.”

    • Jerusha says:

      Kristen did good on the ground, at the time. I don’t doubt that she has also donated money.

    • Merritt says:

      Kristen likely did donate money. Although I doubt she has the amount that you are suggesting, which is unrealistic.

      • lucy2 says:

        Yes, nine zeros is a billion dollars, right?
        I am sure she donated money as well, she is very involved in a lot of charities.

      • jwoolman says:

        She probably got some good ideas from people there about where to put her own money and raised funds to have the best effect. She was right there in the midst of people who had to evacuate and doesn’t seem shy about talking to new people.

    • Juliaoc says:

      There’s always someone who will take the good that one person does and poop all over it.

      • nica says:

        I don’t think it’s doing that to comment that her shout out to Gary fell flat to me. When she summed up his hard work and lack of sleep as “running toilet paper to people at 2am.” Sure, that’s valuable. But it would have been more valuable a thank you if she had just said something like: “Gary, the guy keeping things running here and getting us through this storm comfortably” and left it at that.

        It’s great Kristen is helping to keep people smiling. Of course.

      • Juliaoc says:

        @nica
        You make a really good point! I hadn’t thought about the Gary shout-out.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      You think she has a billion dollars to give? That’s not close to reality.

  2. Liberty says:

    This made my day. Pretty fantastic of her to go the extra mile and help people stay calm and keep their minds off the storm.

    (Pours popcorn in bowl, awaits the naysayers)

  3. Lucy2 says:

    Love this! Glad everyone there was safe, that’s nice the hotel employees went above and beyond for everyone.
    The Good Place is so good, but don’t watch the video until you’ve seen the whole first season or it will ruin the best moment.

    • Esmom says:

      Ooh, I was going to ask if anyone watched The Good Place. It came up in my book club on Sunday and among the people who’ve watched it, the reviews were split between it’s great and it’s not. I think I’ll check it out — this post really made me warm up to Kristen.

  4. Enough Already says:

    You hear that, Joel Osteen?

  5. Astrid says:

    Great post, thanks!

  6. lightpurple says:

    Frail elders can suffer transfer trauma when moved abruptly and transfer trauma can be deadly. Those hotels have done a great thing in helping those seniors as has Kristen in making their move easier and in spending time entertaining them.

  7. Snowflake says:

    That was really sweet.

  8. White drake says:

    Nothing happened in Orlando. The keys need help. Immokalee and Bonita Springs need help. Naples needs help.

    • paranormalgirl says:

      Really? Tell that the people who experienced flooding and wind damage as the eye passed over the city. http://www.bbc.com/news/av/41233516/aerials-show-hurricane-irma-damage-in-orlando-florida

      Disney was spared any major damage. How does a statement like this lessen the good that Kristin Bell did to raise the spirits of those around her?

    • Ange says:

      So what, shit all over Kristen because she was stuck where she was and tried to help? What do you want to achieve by that?

      • White drake says:

        Orlando wasn’t under curfew. She had time to leave. My county is a declared disaster zone. I wish I could have gone to Orlando!

      • White drake says:

        And how did I sh!t on her? By saying my area needs help? How is that rude of me to say? I’m not allowed to advocate for people who need help?

      • Ange says:

        “Nothing happened in Orlando”

        Sounds like shade to me. Not to mention your first reply there. You have no idea why she had to stay but at least she tried to help while staying there. Everyone is quite aware of the damage done, there’s nothing to be gained by diminishing the goodwill shown by Kristen.

  9. Lindy says:

    What a sweet and kind person. Honestly, I know some people think she’s kind of extra but she seems sincere. I have liked her ever since Veronica Mars (yes I’m old).

  10. Reef says:

    She’s just..I just love her. I know some folks find her and Dax annoying, but she’s so great.

  11. thaisajs says:

    I followed her on Insta after that post about bingo and she was just like the Energizer Bunny down there with those seniors. It was really sweet.

  12. nicegirl says:

    This is wonderful. Seeing/hearing of people spreading joy to those in need never gets old for me – – voting with my dollars, I am going to finish The Good Place on netflix now and get ready for the next. Thank you, Kristen. it is cool when the girls who play princesses act like they actually care about the folks in their kingdoms.

  13. Jeanne says:

    That article made my day. It’s so good to see that there are still nice people out there.

  14. holly hobby says:

    This warms my cold cold heart. I don’t want to hear people talking smack about her because she was great. She could be major movie star and stay in the hotel room but she got out and helped. That’s what counts.

  15. adastraperaspera says:

    What I really like seeing is her spending time with elders in a very natural and loving way. I hardly ever see positive images of seniors in media, or images of people interacting with them and having some fun. Once they go into homes or hospice it’s like they don’t exist. Kristin really did something important here.

  16. magnoliarose says:

    Very cool and she went up several notches for me.

  17. phlyfiremama says:

    She is most definitely on my radar now. Can we talk about just how cute Gary is???!!!