Ahh crud - AKA "how reliable is weather.com" and how do you handle the rain at WDW?

[Momof4girls]

It looks like we're facing rain every day of our trip next week

I've never even been in the rain at WDW.

What do you do when it rains (and you have four small kids) - the stroller has a rainguard that we'll be packing, the kids will be wearing crocs for our trip - and I guess we'll be buying some ponchos.

So, how reliable is weather.com, when it says 60% chance of rain in Orlando, does that mean all day or is this the time of year that it rains a big spurt in the afternoon and then it is sunny the rest of the day (can we plan our trips to the parks around the rain, or will it just be dreary and wet all day) and what can we do AT the parks if it is raining (I know MGM is good since that's mostly indoors, and we can always go to Philharmagic and Pirates and HM).

But, F&WF is going to be wet!! Will they still have it in the rain?
And what about MNSSHP ON Halloween?

 

[jfritz]

As for how reliable weather.com is..........................A few years ago my son was graduating from basic training in San Antonio TX. Weather.com said that day would be 73 degrees. No coat needed in weather like that. So off we go to TX from PA. We woke up the next day and wondered what the noise was. Looked out and saw winds and figured it was a warm wind blowing. NOPE.....the high for the day was 37 degrees and very windy. So windy that my tape of graduation has no sound but wind. And the whole video is shaky since I was shivering!!!! We looked around and almost nobody has coats so I guess they were all relying on Weather.com. No more for me!!!!!

 

[Cinderella94]

When we are in WDW, it always rains on our MGM day. I guess it's like a curse or something. But anyway, we just go about our day as normal, and as long there is no thunder and/or lightning, your fine. Just through on a ponhco, and continue as you would if it was sunny. It is nice when it's raining as the crowds thin out.

 

[CinRell]

It rained everyday I was there in sept.. usually from about 3-4 IT does rain everyday there... especially this time of the year.. but it's not usually an all day thing... We did have about 2 days full of rain but most of disney is inside... and it's so hot sometimes the rain is welcome You just make the most of it! Smile.. splash in puddles, bring ponchos.. and be happy you're at WDW and even rain can't spoil your fun!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Bring ponchos or buy them there.....we have saved our ponchos over the years from WDW.. but it usually does not rain all day.......isn't it just like showers in the afternoon....

I have done Epcot in the rain many times, you just put on the poncho and go for it especially if you have paid all that money to get there. Of course, if it is torrential, than you have to figure something else..

Hope that the weather is not as they have predicted for you with small children..

 

[Ted and Holly]

We are almost done with the summer weather pattern. This means that the typical summer afternoon thunderstorms are not the rule. Winter rains patterns can mean an all day rain event. But it can be isolated and it may be raining in downtown Orlando and sunny at WDW>

Ted

 

[missymagic]

In my experience you just do it!!! Put the smile on and make the best of it. Ponchos (Mickey Ponchos work best) are a must and a baseball hat works great also. When the kids are in the stroller it is covered by their ponchos. When mine got out I covered it with a stroller cover but have seem people us an adult size poncho. Everything in the backpack was in a zip lock baggie. You just get in the rain routine!!! You still see characters mostly in the unusual places in doors but they are still fun!!! Two years ago when we were there it rained for 4 days straight in December!! Not drizzle either. BUt we still made the best of it and had a great time. As mom it just takes a little more out trying to keep everyones spirits up by being creative!!

 

[momsgoofy]

Well, for our June trip this year, it rained every day we were there...all 6 of them. We still had a great time! Unlike you though we are a family of 3, DH, DS13 and myself, so I'm not sure how the rain will affect the enjoyability factor with the younger ones. I do know that the attitude Mom and Dad show will reflect in the kids...learned this recently with my niece (almost 30) and her two daughters...Mom complained the oldest one complained...the youngest one is 2 so she was just happy anyway...total hakunamata!

I would agree that the CROCS will be a big plus. I wore mine the entire trip and yeah, my feet were wet, but they dried quickly. They did not slip on the walkways either, but did notice a bit of slipping inside...manageable though. DH and DS were stubborn and wore the tennis shoes with socks...prune feet for days is not fun!

Also, buy plenty of rain ponchos at your local dollar store. Our Dollar Tree has them 2 in a package for $1. I carried one for each of us daily...if we used it great and when we were done it went in the garbage at the end of the day. The only downside in the summer with ponchos was it gets steamy under them. This time of year you should not have to worry about it. I think I actually took about 12 or so ponchos...so we would have enough for the whole trip. My niece said they worked great as a stroller cover when they had rain during their March trip.

As for what to do...the same thing you would do anyway...except that some rides may not be operational. We tried to do something inside when it really poured...like Beauty and the Beast at MGM, Country Bears at MK, and just about any place at Epcot. If you get caught in a shower and want to head inside go for the places that will hold the most people because everyone will be running inside. Also, if getting wet is somehing that makes you cringe, well then it may not be fun, but if you think...oh, it's just rain, let's play...splash a few puddles (just not people). I mean, really how often do we do that?

As for weather.com...I think it's pretty accurate or at least it was for our trip.

As for F&W at Epcot and MNSSHP...not sure how those are handled since I've not been there for either. I hope someone can reply and give you some kind of an idea.

Just keep a positive attitude...you're on vacation and you're at the most magical place on Earth...be a kid and have fun even in the rain!

 

[ReggieB]

Don't get me started on weather.com This May I was checking the weather every day, and it had forcast great days. Until two days before then suddenly it was rain every day, big old thunderstorms too. It rained exactly 0 times while we were away. So I think Mother Nature likes to keep us all on our toes, including weather.com. They can't tell you what the weather is going to be, only predict what it might be.

Thunderstorms are funny things. Two miles down the road it can be raining cats and dogs, and completely bone dry where you are sat thinking, well where is this stupid thunderstorm then? I think that pretty much applies to Florida. I would plan for rain, ponchos at the ready. But take it a day at a time. Check the forecast for the day, each morning, so you don't have to carry about extra stuff you don't need. The actually day forecast you get on the weather channel and also on the Disney resort tv station is pretty good.

 

[Momof4girls]

Thanks for the replies - I'm definitely bummed about all the rain, but optimistic that things can change and that in the worst possible case scenario, we are still at Disney, so it can't be that bad

I'm packing shorts and capris for us - so our legs won't be all stuck to wet jeans - I hope it doesn't get too cool (and if it does, we'll buy sweats there - it's not like they don't SELL clothes at Disneyworld! LOL). We'll probably hold off and buy the Mickey ponchos onsite, since that's part of the fun of it - and I"ll pack the stroller rainguard, which fits perfectly and will keep the rain of the babies.

Still hoping to hear what happens at F&WF and MNSSHP from someone in the know, but definitely not going to let a little rain spoil my trip. Sometimes you just have to say "bah - what's a little rain? No different than splash mountain"

 

[meghan74]

Sounds like you have the right attitude about the rain!

The last time we experienced a real downpour, our biggest problem was that the wind kept blowing down our hoods. We fixed this problem by clipping the hoods to baseball hats with clothespins - courtesy of a very prepared Mom who was willing to share her supply. (We saw many, many people doing the clothespin thing.) Did we look silly? Yep, but we were dry and silly!

 

[CBear]

Well, it could be worse. All the Disney World parks are closed today due to Wilma. http://www.intercot.com

 

[pennst8r]

momof4girls, we'll be there next week, too!
Let's hope for a sprinkle of pixie dust, and if not--we'll be the ones with the 3 little boys who are jumping in all the puddles!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Momof4girls,
We will be there next week as well. Accuweather has a foreast with no rain!

 

[Sollenberger]

During our trip this past June it rained some each day - never the whole day, unfortunately the waterpark day it rained the most - ugh, but it comes and goes...one evening it was clear, went into CP for our dinner PS, poured while in there, and unfortunately did not cover our stroller - everything on it was soaked! - so prepare just in case, even if it does not look like rain...also the dollar store has great ponchos, dont take up much room in bags...lots to do even in the rain, I would never let that deter you, now thunderstorms are another thing...that will keep you in a shop or undercover somehwere for awhile.

 

[Snow_White]

My wedding is at WDW next week and for my own piece of mind, I've only been checking accuweather.com lately....they forecast much less rain which makes me very happy

 

[TammyC]

Silly question about the ponchos.. do people keep their wet ponchos on when going inside for a ride or show? I can't imagine taking them off, then putting them back on every time, but if not it seems like a lot of things inside will get very wet.

 

[Snow_White]

Silly question about the ponchos.. do people keep their wet ponchos on when going inside for a ride or show? I can't imagine taking them off, then putting them back on every time, but if not it seems like a lot of things inside will get very wet.

For a quick ride, everyone usually just leaves them on.

 

[Fantasmic303]

LOL to all the folks using Accuweather.com, because that was going to be my advice!!

When you don't like the forecast at Weather.com, just find one that looks a little clearer!!

We're heading down on Friday too, so I've been watching pretty closely. It looks like it'll be pleasant weather (as of today), but it's changed so much since I started watching the 15 day forecast that I usually just say, "well, they don't know what they're talking about" if I don't like what they say.


To all my DIS friends - see you next week, RAIN OR SHINE!!

 

[Momof4girls]

Woo hoo!!! I'm going with accuweather!!

I also have been checking www.orlandosentinel.com which has local media reports, and I think are a bit more accurate (but I could be wrong).

According to Accuweather, we'll see Thunderstorms on our way back home - aw shucks