AK on a stormy day?

[megs1313]

weather forecast for tomorrow looks dicey. It's supposed to be our AK day, but I've never toured AK in the rain. Should we consider switching parks or is AK decent in the rain? TIA!

 

[Accident]

I don't think any park is good in the rain personally.. but it looks like it's going to be an afternoon thing with the concerning part wiping past the area near 3pmish. do the outdoor things earlier in the morning.

 

[beck00]

I agree with Accident! Outdoors/ safari/ animal trails in the morning and save FOTLK and Nemo, late lunch for afternoon.

 

[BigredNole]

Can't control the weather. Keep the plans, have ponchos, and roll with it.

 

[karly05]

Just personally, I'd be tempted to switch days. I've been in rain (including a downpour) at AK and ended up getting soaked or just getting tired of it and leaving because the park is so spread out and outdoors. At MK things are closer together, there are more indoor attractions/shops/QS places. At Epcot, there are indoor pavilions/attractions where you can spend some time. AK would be my last choice on a rainy day.

BUT- if you don't have hoppers and you have FPs or ADRs you can't reschedule, you may just have to tough it out and hope the weatherman is wrong.

 

[TeresaWen]

We were in AK on a very rainy day. Park was empty and the animals on the safari were very active. It was a great day. It was warm though. Rain & warm are ok for me. Chilly & rain not so much.

 

[maxiesmom]

I say go for it in the rain. Just be careful of your footing--I slipped getting off of the safari in the rain and got a good sized bruise on my leg.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We did AK on an all day drizzle/rain type day and we've done MK on an all day rain/downpour day and I definitely preferred AK. For us, the most exhausting thing about the day at MK was constantly taking ponchos on and off. At AK, we put the poncho on and just did things and when you do take them off (shows) they're off for long enough to not feel like we were constantly wrangling them. I agree with the pps who suggested outdoor stuff in the morning and shows in the afternoon.

 

[mco65]

We spent our last day at AK this past trip. It rained or drizzled all day. But, it kept the crowd level way down and we rode everything multiple times, minus Kali River Rapids.. Honestly, it wasn't that bad.. now if we had not been prepared with rain jackets, purchasing those $20 WDW Ponchos might have spoiled it for me...

 

[disnut8]

We once went to Animal Kingdom when the rains and winds were so hard, the rain was falling sideways (seriously). My then teenage son didn't even have a poncho or rain jacket and got soaked. My in-laws had umbrellas and they all turned inside out at some point during the day. Even with ponchos, my husband and I were drenched from the knees down.

It was one of the best days I've ever spent at Animal Kingdom. Hardly any people so we could relax and enjoy the animals who didn't mind the rain and were out and about. We quickly adapted to the soggy conditions and were comparing it to showering at home. My non Disney brother-in-law loved the day very much even though he was drenched. He even smiled at the end of the day at Disney World!

 

[DisFanJen]

Just one thing to add, if it's actually a thunderstorm rather than just rain they will shut down some rides for safety reasons. We couldn't ride Kali because of the weather which sounds strange at first but lightning and water...

But assuming not a full blown thunderstorm I say hit the park and have fun, it'll be near empty!

Whatever you do don't go do indoor entertainment as it'll be packed. We decided to Disneyquest on a rainy day once, never again!

 

[kmb584]

We actually enjoy AK more in the rain than any other park. A lot of the park is outdoors so we aren't constantly taking off our rain jackets only to put them back on a couple of minutes later and the animals seem to be more active.

 

[bumbershoot]

Whatever you do don't go do indoor entertainment as it'll be packed. We decided to Disneyquest on a rainy day once, never again!

So true. All those damp steamy people...

 

[Sophie_2003]

We hit AK on a rainy day Years ago...was awesome , as all kinds of extra characters came out at rafiki conservation station. My daughter still talks about it, tough I'm not sure they still do that!

 

[Accident]

Just wanted to say, 90% of the guests start to scatter for what they read was a good park in the rain. Basically it makes the parks that peopel told them is bad to be very low crowd and amazing in the rain. you just need to consider what you want to ride if it's going ot be more than a quick afternoon rain as outdoor rides might close and will close for lightning (and coasters in the rain is not fun, the rain stings when hitting you).

 

[GotLabradors]

Our kids happily jumping in every puddle they could find while we toured AK. We bought ponchos and kept right on rolling. The rain caused a lot of people to head out of the park. We rode EE 4 times in a row with no wait.

 

[DisneyDetective]

I would say Animal Kingdom isn't a great day if it's raining as everything is outdoors and the animals won't really want to show themselves plus Everest, Kali River Rapids will close and you'll get soaked doing Maharajah Trek.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Just wanted to say, 90% of the guests start to scatter for what they read was a good park in the rain. Basically it makes the parks that peopel told them is bad to be very low crowd and amazing in the rain. you just need to consider what you want to ride if it's going ot be more than a quick afternoon rain as outdoor rides might close and will close for lightning (and coasters in the rain is not fun, the rain stings when hitting you).

I'm not sure a lot of them are going to other parks (unless the better park is DHS). We've been in the 3 other parks during the rain and all of them cleared out and had walk on attractions during the rain and for a while afterwards. I think people head for home or their resort or somewhere else dry.

 

[GotLabradors]

I'm not sure a lot of them are going to other parks (unless the better park is DHS). We've been in the 3 other parks during the rain and all of them cleared out and had walk on attractions during the rain and for a while afterwards. I think people head for home or their resort or somewhere else dry.

I agree with this. We hopped to DHS the same day took the above photo and it was empty as well. The only ride that had any kind of wait was TSMM. Everything else was walk on or minimal wait in line.

 

[megs1313]

Thanks guys! We went for it and I'm glad we did! As soon as it started drizzling, all the rides became walk ons. We ride the safari without a wait, triceratop spin twice back to back, and Everest FOUR times! We had a blast!