I didn't know .....

[Jenndoss]

So I feel really stupid, I have never been to Florida before or even anywhere off the west coast. But somehow I am the only one in our group of 13 (other than the kids of course) who didn't know it would likely rain the majority of the time there. So I have a few questions...

1) If you have gone the beginning of August before, how bad is the rain? Is it a torrential downpour? Or more of off and on showers?

2) If its raining are you less hot? I would think with cloud cover and rain pouring down that you wouldn't be near as hot, but maybe I am delusional.

3) Do the crowds really decrease during rain? And do rides continue to operate? What rides (if any) close when there are thunder storms?

We leave in 12 days and now I am getting concerned. We have the heavy duty ponchos to wear but I thought they were just precautionary and/or for water rides. Like I said, I feel really dumb, but now am glad I can get more info to prepare. Thank you again for any info you can give me

 

[mesaboy2]

It won't rain the majority of your time in Florida. There is a chance it will rain for a short while the majority of your days here. There is a big difference between the two.

Pay no mind to any Florida rain forecast more than 2 days out, and have a good time.

 

[danceintherain]

1. From my experience, early July, not August, it rains pretty much every afternoon. Sometimes this is for a few minutes, and sometimes it's a full on electrical storm.

2. Sometimes it's cooler, sometimes it's not. Usually it's cooler while it rains, but once the sun comes out it gets muggy and gross until you dry. I don't usually mind rain, but at Disney I tend to wear a poncho, because then I can be dry when the sun comes out.

3. It varies. There will still be some crowds, but a lot of people take cover from rain even if there isn't any lightening. If there's lightening, you should definitely take cover. Some attractions close. Mostly the ones that are outside. I think some will close only when there's lightening, and others if it rains at all.
Epcot - Test Track
Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest and the Flights of Wonder show (maybe Kilimanjaro Safaris and Kali River Rapids?)
Magic Kingdom - Splash and Thunder Mountain
Hollywood Studios - Some of the shows can't operate during the rain, but I think that's it.

The majority of attractions at WDW are inside buildings, so it's usually not a huge issue. Here are my suggestions for if you get caught in the rain and don't really want to be outside. Most of these only work if you're nearby, since the rain will likely stop by the time you cross the park.
Magic Kingdom - Hall of Presidents, it's long (sit out the rain), inside, and usually the wait isn't too bad. The Carousel of Progress also tends to have a short wait, but the attraction itself is shorter.
Hollywood Studios - Animation Studio - see some characters and do the drawing class
Epcot - If you're close to the front, duck into Innoventions and do some of the stuff in there, such as Storm Struck . If you're halfway around the World Showcase go to the show in the American Pavilion. Again, it's long and air conditioned.
Animal Kingdom - I don't really have any suggestions here. There isn't anything that's a sure escape. If you do Kali River Rapids early in the day, then you'll already be wet. Oh and Rafiki's Planet watch has some stuff inside, but by the time you get back there it may have stopped raining.

Again...if there's lightening, get inside as quickly as possible.

 

[queendisney]

not been in August because we went in June/July (once and never again) and it did rain EVERYDAY but for only a short time. The clouds came, the rain bounced off the ground, the clouds went and the ground was dry again all in the space of about 1 hour!!!! Don't think you need heavy duty ponchos tho, its still very warm to hot, a thin cheap poncho is good and easy and light to put away. As above, most rides just continue but I can tell you now that the monorail will just stop if the electric storm or extremely heavy rain arrives and we were stuck on that for a good half hour with all the other sweaty bodies!!!!!
My main prob with that time of the year, hence not going again, is the humidity, we just felt constantly damp and exhausted from it. But as I said this was end of June early July time not August.

 

[juliebug1997]

Most of the times I've been in FL it's been during the summer months. In '87, it rained every afternoon at 4:30 PM or so. We got very adept at being somewhere inside for that half hour. Last summer, it rained most of one afternoon and into the evening and then the next afternoon for about twenty minutes. After that? No more rain the entire trip and it was very sunny and very hot (97+). Just a few weeks ago, there was a bit more rain for our trip but it helped keep it a little cooler (lower 90s) with the cloud cover and the occasional shower.

If you're worried about the heat, be sure to take an afternoon trip back to your hotel/resort and hop in the pool for a while. If you don't want to go back to your home base, then be sure to know where the nearest show area is (except for maybe some of the places at DHS). They are nice and cool and dark. Also, use the shops as a nice place too cool off as well. Be sure to have water with you at all times and probably having a Powerade will help every now and then too. Hats are a must (at least it became so with me) and some sunglasses.

 

[Brer Shay]

We went last August, going again this August. Last year it rained four times during our 10 days. All but one was a short thunderstorm that came and went in less than an hour. The remaining one was an actual rain that lasted off and on (mostly on) for 3-4 hours. All of them were later in the day, say at/after 4 pm. (Typically also what happens in our September trips)

It is less hot while it's actually raining, but afterwards, the humidity just rises right off the pavement as the rainwater evaporates.

Crowds don't seem to be affected all that much, unless it's one of the long storms.

 

[juliebug1997]

PS: Remember that FL is a humid sub-tropical.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

The weather report had rain everyday for our trip Last August but it only actually rained a torrential downpour once, and it was at night. It was cloudy every day which we appreciated since it kept the heat at bay a little.

 

[Figmificent]

Almost every trip we go on they forecast rain every day. Do not panic. It usually rains for about 30 minutes. Sometimes it does downpour, however that does not stop us from touring. Not much shuts down, we have even been on BTM in the rain. There is still PLENTY to do. Only once did it rain soooo badly we called it a day (well a DTD day!). Lightning in FL is awful but Disney has up more lightning rods than you can imagine, however I would take cover if I saw lightning just because. There's always plenty of shows to do to kill some time (think Ellen's Energy Adventure for 45min of AC and dry!), so don't worry, you'll have a good time.

 

[vicki_c]

It is less hot while it's actually raining, but afterwards, the humidity just rises right off the pavement as the rainwater evaporates.

Definitely this - I think it usually feels much worse in the afternoon after the rain stops. That is a time I hate to be outside in Florida.

 

[Jenndoss]

Ok, thank you very much everyone!!! I am not worried about the heat, and don't think we will want tto get out of the rain unless there is lightning , I just didn't know if there was much to do if its raining. I know its VERY humid and getting more so after the rain makes sense. I have an extra poncho that I can put over the stroller too when its raining. Its good to know that most days it doesn't rain all day at least . Short storms are easier to deal with than 6 days of constant rain. At least I know that we can still ride some things while its raining. All very helpful info!!

 

[goofyernmost]

I cannot speak for all times of the year, but for myself I have been in February, March, April, September and October over a period of 27 years and 28 trips. In that entire time span I have encountered one afternoon downpour (I was in Innovations at the time so never felt a drop) that lasted about 10 minutes and one major evening storm with rain coming in sideways (I was outside for that one and gave up within 10 seconds any thought of staying even a little dry). One other day, that I wasn't planning on touring the parks anyway, a bad storm came in and even had a tornado touch down about 10 miles away, but they always seemed to consult my planning calendar to be sure that I wasn't planning on being out at the time.

I haven't gone in the summer because the heat and humidity would have left me a puddle of melted fat with a Mickey hat floating in the middle, so I cannot speak for that time of year.

I have always felt that I was very lucky. In fact, one trip was beautiful every day and the day we left, as we were in the airport waiting for our flight home, rain started and according to a friend that arrived the day we left, it rained non-stop all the next week. So I guess the answer is be prepared, but don't expect it. I have never, not once, brought a poncho or an umbrella to the park with me. I'm just a risk taker I guess.

 

[BoardWalkBelle]

It depends. it may rain or may not. and if it rains it can be from twenty minutes to two hrs, just depends what is fueling the rain.

 

[ajh88]

All of the information that has been posted is consistent with what I was going to say....EXCEPT, we were there in a torrential rain last year (it was late May/early June) and even after the rain let up a bit, several outside rides were closed. We had gone to MK just to do Adventureland and found Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, BTMRR, Splash Mtn, and pretty much every other outdoor ride was closed. That in turn made the lines for the indoor rides tremendously long. So we ate a funnel cake at Sleepy Hollow instead.

My point is just that I think probably sometimes just a couple of rides shut down while other times (depending on storm severity), you may find most (or all) outdoor attractions shut down. In our experience, in August, the rain is usually short-lived.

 

[nessz79]

Ok, thank you very much everyone!!! I am not worried about the heat, and don't think we will want tto get out of the rain unless there is lightning , I just didn't know if there was much to do if its raining. I know its VERY humid and getting more so after the rain makes sense. I have an extra poncho that I can put over the stroller too when its raining. Its good to know that most days it doesn't rain all day at least . Short storms are easier to deal with than 6 days of constant rain. At least I know that we can still ride some things while its raining. All very helpful info!!

Yes, don't worry. It does not rain the majority of the time in the summer. The majority of days it rains but not the majority of the time due to the rain usually being short-lived.

 

[Florida Dreamin']

Just be prepared for it to rain. If it rains at all it is generally after 4PM and before 8PM. It may seem like it would be cooler but once it stops it WILL be humid.

 

[onestepcloser]

This month there's been some pretty good almost day-long thunderstorms, but in general you're looking at maybe an hour or two of rain that's like the heavens are opening up, and then it's gone.

Outdoor attractions will close if it's raining or even before rain when lightening is reported.

Some other things that are great to know: at MK, the electrical parade will go on if it's drizzling and it usually takes an act of God to cancel Wishes.

 

[RivaLJ]

I would say to bring some of the dollar store ponchos to toss after using.
I usually travel in mid August and it varies from a quick downpour lasting 20 minutes to ones lasting a few hours. We've also been there during Tropical Storm Faye a few years ago. The only good thing about that was the temperature dropped to the 70s.
Don't let the rain stop you from enjoying yourselves.

 

[Jenndoss]

This month there's been some pretty good almost day-long thunderstorms, but in general you're looking at maybe an hour or two of rain that's like the heavens are opening up, and then it's gone.

Outdoor attractions will close if it's raining or even before rain when lightening is reported.

Some other things that are great to know: at MK, the electrical parade will go on if it's drizzling and it usually takes an act of God to cancel Wishes.

That IS good information to know!! Thank you for that. What about fantasmic? And which one does Tink fly in? I have heard that she can't fly in certain conditions.

 

[Sammie]

Tink flies at the Magic Kingdom as part of Wishes.

Definitely take the lightning very serious.