Stressing about the weather next week!

[Mcky36]

We were *planning* to surprise the kids on Christmas morning, drive down to Disneyland that afternoon (It's a 7 hour drive) and spend the 26th-29th at the parks. As we get closer, the weather forecast is getting worse and worse.

We don't *HAVE* to go next week, because we're close enough that we can drive another time, but I REALLY wanted to go during the Christmas season and while we all have the time of work and the kids are out of school,and quite frankly I've been counting down the days super excited to surprise them! My problem is we are currently booked at the Disneyland Hotel and I have to cancel by Friday.

I was prepared for crazy crowds and cool/cold weather. I just don't know if it's worth the cost of the trip ($$$$) if it's going to be busy, cold AND wet. I don't know if *I* can do all three and my kids are little enough that they don't like to walk around wet either. Ahhhhhh!

 

[Geemo]

Here's the NOAA report

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Christmas Day Sunny, with a high near 65.
Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Sound pretty good to me.
I've been looking at tons of RAIN and snow showers here at our house.

Geemo

 

[luulu1999]

Here's the NOAA report

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Christmas Day Sunny, with a high near 65.
Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Sound pretty good to me.
I've been looking at tons of RAIN and snow showers here at our house.

Geemo

Is that the best one to use because I have been looking at the weather channel site and it has rain but it also changes everytime I look at it!!

 

[Mcky36]

Here's the NOAA report

Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Christmas Day Sunny, with a high near 65.
Tuesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Wednesday Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.

Sound pretty good to me.
I've been looking at tons of RAIN and snow showers here at our house.

Geemo

I agree, this does look pretty good....but I'm going to be there Wed-Sat. and Thursday/Friday/Sat all forecast rain all day.

 

[Geemo]

For our weather we watch a few different sites. To focus in on a specific location use the zip code.

Here they are...

Scroll down to watch the weather path. You may need to click on the animate button to see the weather motion.
http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Hurricane/PacificSatellite.aspx?animate=true

NOAA website for Anaheim Zip code 92802
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClic...ll&smap=1&searchresult=Anaheim, CA 92802, USA

ABC channel 7
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/channel?section=weather/forecast&id=6650542#forecast

The weather forecast can vary from one site to another. You just have to look and see how you feel about the information.

 

[gunka]

The forecast that far out can change significantly. The 27th - 29th don't look very good > 50% chance of rain, but seriously over the next four days those percentages could go up or down drastically. If you can wait a few days to make a decision.... Another thing to consider - when it rains the parks can get very empty, so if your not worried about getting wet or can deal with it the crowds will be smaller.

 

[*Seanaci*]

We will be there Sat thru Thursday. Every day I check the weather...it changes. One day we were looking at rain...the next day it was taken out. I say go for it. Pack rain coats or ponchos, rain boots, umbrellas and extra clothes for the kids.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

As much as I enjoy going to Disneyland during the Christmas season, if I were going to pay a significant amount of money for hotel, park tickets, and food, I would want to go when I could maximize my visit.

For those of us who live close by, I agree that rainy days are fun. However, with the crowds that come while on holiday break, I really wouldn't want to chance my visit with crowds and rain during that week.

My cousin is planning on coming out from Texas - a group of 15 - on the 27th-29th. I warned her that it will be incredibly crowded, and now with the chance of rain, I want her to really think about their visit. I just don't want them to be overly disappointed about not being able to go on attractions, missing out on parades and fireworks, etc., especially for a first visit for some of them.

 

[gokdog]

We had significant rain during our trip in March 2011, but temps remained in the mid 60s. We kept a positive attitude and were determined to enjoy the parks regardless of the weather.

What happened truly surprised us, as the park emptied out, offering us literally no wait at nearly all of the attractions during a normally busy spring break time. We also wound up doing a lot of things we normally had not done, such as Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and some other inside centric stuff. This wound up being one of our favorite trips.

Now, I would not want to have it rain every day during a trip, but if the temps are still good, and you guys stay positive, I see no reason to avoid the trip.

 

[23bw]

I have the same concerns as the OP. Don't "HAVE" to go but it would sure be nice to see DL on the holidays. I found the most accurate weather sites are the local network TV stations in SoCal.

Check them all and you'll get a sense of what conditions will be like.

Fox
http://www.myfoxla.com/weather

CBS
http://weather.losangeles.cbslocal.com/US/CA/Los_Angeles.html

NBC
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/weather/

ABC
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/channel?section=weather/forecast&id=6650542

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Ok this is my 2 cents...although what other posters are saying about weather forecasts changing is true, I do have to say that this is technically our rainy season and we have been making up for lost time it seems this year....I think chances of it raining is going to be very high as its been the same throughout the state...we go a week or so and then the rain comes and it's been like that for a month now....I personally don't like being out when its raining...they don't do the parade, fireworks, F! Nothing...and like MaryJo said, putting out all that money to be cold and miserable is not my idea of fun lol

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[disneegrl4eva]

We had significant rain during our trip in March 2011, but temps remained in the mid 60s.
.

The problem is you went in March when temps are warmer than they are right now. Currently the highest it's getting during the day is like 61 and once the sun drops its really cold and OP is in CA already so I'm sure that they don't think that's warm any more than I do

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[AnabellaAnaheim]

The good news is that if it rains, it tends to scare people away and the parks are less crowded.

Take a look and plan activities that can be done indoors if it's raining too much to stay outside ... like Tiki Room, Mr. Lincoln, Bug's Life, etc.

 

[luulu1999]

Were coming from MO so we will just have to deal with it and hopefully only Monday will be rain when we are there if any

 

[disneegrl4eva]

The good news is that if it rains, it tends to scare people away and the parks are less crowded.

That is not always true!!! Beginning of the month when it rained ahem I mean POURED, only the first day were crowds scarce...the other days people weren't scared off at all

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[kerickson]

My plan is to bring a backpack with bits of extra clothes/shoes so if we do get soaked, we can change and not have to go all the way back to the hotel or be miserable all day. I also plan on packing ponchos (hate shelling out the $$ for the Disney ones) and drinking lots of hot cocoa!

Do they allow umbrellas in the parks? I can't remember if I've ever seen any...

 

[disneegrl4eva]

Do they allow umbrellas in the parks? I can't remember if I've ever seen any...

Yep

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[dismom22princesses]

We were there the week after Thanksgiving and had it rain two of the four days we were there. The crowds were smaller which was nice...walked on Dumbo! I do wish I would have had waterproof shoes and jackets for all my kids. One of my kids wore converse and they were soaked in minutes! I also bought clear shower curtain liners for our strollers for $2 at Target. They kept everyone and everything in the strollers nice and dry. I will say I was surprised at how well my kids handled the rain. They really did not complain about being cold or wet. If you go, I would make sure you have extra shoes, socks, and sweatshirts for everyone.

 

[kangamama]

I was just about to start the same thread -- we are driving down on Xmas day from the San Francisco area with 2 day park hopers. We can't change our plans. Extended family is coming from NY and this is the big surprise for Xmas this year. I've been watching the forecast obsessively for days and it has just been getting worse and worse. Oh well, I guess we will just be getting wet.

 

[elaw]

... I've been watching the forecast obsessively for days and it has just been getting worse and worse. Oh well, I guess we will just be getting wet.

I have been watching too .... We'll be there Sat, Sun, and Mon. Fortunately for us, we're staying at the GCH and can always go back to the room to dry off/warm up.