rain gear

[vfb2girls]

Was just wondering what type of rain gear to purshase for our trip to Disney world. Would it make more sense to buy the cheaper $1.00 ones at the discount stores or should I spend the money on heavier ones that have to be folded up and reused? I have never used the cheaper ones, so do they do the job just as well as the others? This is probably a strange question but if there isn't really any difference then I will buy several of the cheaper ones. Thanks to all for the info.

 

[Mrs. Snowgod]

We had cheap $1 ones from Walmart and also had to buy a couple of Mickey ones in Epcot. Both kept the wearers equally dry, but the cheap ones didn't hold up as well with repeated use. I'd go with the cheapo ones again, since by the time I want to use them again, either I can't find them or they have holes in them by the time I do find them!

 

[ceecee]

We get the 2 for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree. We just threw them away after using them, they were quite thin. But we didn't want to fold them and put them in the backpack wet. It was just easier that way.

 

[coachv]

Just back from a wet week at WDW and I would go with better quality coats. We had the cheap throwaway ones the first day and I was not happy with them. If you go into a restaurant or anywhere else, it was hard to take them off and put back on. We ended up buying the Mickey raincoats and they worked great. It was the best $20 I spent! If it is a brief shower, the throwaways are best but for heavy rains get a better quality one. Just my honest opinion!!!

 

[tink2dw]

While at WDW I saw the best cheap rain COATS they snapped up the front and had a real good hood. They were clear plastic and knee length. They would be great in the rain!!

 

[always quiet]

Here's another "perK" that goes along with buying the ones at WDW. We were there this past Dec and I forgot the umbrellas. Didn't think it was a big deal...until the 7" of rain came!! (they tell me Dec is the driest month....yeah, right! ) Anway, we had to buy 5 Mickey ponchos. I discover later, as I was giving my son a hard time since he ripped his , that WDW will REPLACE any torn or ripped poncho FOR FREE!! All you need to do is take it to ANY store that sells them....no questions asked. My DH ripped his on our last day....it was replaced just as easy! (Believe me, we wore them for at least part of the day for 4 out of our 5 day!)

 

[Letsbgoofy]

We buy the cheap ones and throw them away after using them for 2 reasons:

They are small and easy to carry in our fanny packs.

We go to WDW in August. It's hot, and the cheap ones are not as hot to wear as the Mickey rain coats.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

WDW will REPLACE any torn or ripped poncho FOR FREE!!

- Wow! I didn't know that. Thanks for that info.

Another thought, no matter what kind of poncho you get - we were there in the week long downpour last June & used our ponchos every day for most of the day. It helped to have a ziplock bag to put them in when we went inside. That way, the other stuff in our fanny packs didn't get soaked.

 

[Meagansmom]

Just another thought! We just returned and we found that umbrellas worked better than the ponchos. When not in use, we put them in our backpack. The reason I mentioned this is while in Florida you all know how hot it gets. It seemed for us that the ponchos were even hotter wearing them, they stuck to us. We bought two and only wore them once. Just easier to handle the umbrellas. And cooler!!!!

 

[donnsuz]

Just got back from WDW! Had a blast but it was definately wet...between rides (beware the Kali River Rapids!) and rain we were soaked the first three days at the parks. We traveled with 6 adults. Some of us chose to just get soaked, some used a heavy, reusable raincoat, some used and umbrella and some used cheapy throwaways. Overall, I think a combo of umbrella and cheapy throwaways worked best. The problem with using disney's rain gear is that everyone looks the same after awhile and it's hard to keep track of your crew. If you don't bring an umbrella WDW sells them everywhere for $9.50 and then just BYO cheap poncho and throw the poncho away at the end of the day. The plus of the poncho is that they're disposable, small, and long enough to keep the parts of you warm that did get wet when you go inside where it's air conditioned. You look dorky and drippy but so does everyone else so don't worry about it. One more rain problem is your feet. After three days of walking around with squishy wet feet several of us had blisters. I used band aid blister block patches and my feet survived fairly well (I was wearing sandals). I've also heard that spraying antipersperant on your feet also helps the rubbing.

 

[Janell Ebert]

We use nylon type rain jackets and pants they aren't to heavy and are nice if wind comes up. Keeps you warm. Also nice for wet rides. We come from Oregon so we're use to rain.

 

[beccasmom]

We bring our Disney ponchos ("collected" over the years! ) and they are either yellow or clear. They are heavy, though and if the weather is humid, they are uncomfortable. I found using an umbrella last week worked best for me. I brought my own. I did hear some comments from people that they were getting poked by careless "umbrella-users", but MGM was not crowded when I was there, so I didn't have any problems. In a really torrential rain, though, the ponchos would be a good bet because they provide pretty good coverage.....except for your feet!

 

[Ohanamom]

Saw Mickey rain ponchos (adult and youth) for $3.99 at Kmart today.

 

[YesDear]

The ones you buy at the park will hold up and last. The $1 ones you get are good for Kali River Rapids if you do not want to get wet but a pain otherwise.