And what if it rains on a short trip?

[Geomom]

OMG, I was just about to post a thread regarding this. Checking the forecast all the time, it was supposed to be nice, and yesterday they changed it.
So, yes for the next week it is showing POP 80-90 %, which is like almost guaranteed - and 15-20 mm of rain
I am getting really nervous about it, for the same reason as OP. We will be there for 10 days, but planning Disney for 4. I have a little more flexibility there to move our plans around, if it really rains that bad. I remember our trip to Cuba few years ago, out of 7 days it was POURING 4, like you could not even go for a walk, that is how bad it was...in May also.
I know this is a different thing, because you are not stuck in a resort, and you have many options for spending your day.... but still, I am thinking about our kids and a huge disappointment if the weather turns to be like in Cuba
Not to mention money we spent for this trip, coming from Canada... crazy!!! I know, some might say: at least it is not snowing, LOL.
So, my question is - what would be the best park to pick if it is raining a lot? Which one has the most rides that would still be working? Or, should we totally re-arrange our plans and go somewhere else for the first few days (May 21-25) and go to WDW when the weather looks better in the forecast??
Thanks!

I'd pick Magic Kingdom in the rain--lots of indoor rides/shows there, with attractions close together. Epcot/Animal Kingdom have lots of walking in between areas. Hollywood Studios just doesn't have that much right now, and they'll shut down things like the Indiana Jones show during bad weather.

During certain times of year, Florida tends to have daily afternoon showers/thunderstorms. Those tend to blow by in an hour. Disney World itself is so large that you can have 1 park be pouring and another be dry if it's just 'showers' coming through. If you know there is rain in the forecast--good walking sandals/crocs, etc are much better to dry your feet off quickly. We have also been at Disney when it rained for multiple days straight--Columbus Day weekend (years ago), we went for Food and Wine festival--we lasted until around 2PM at Epcot until we were just too wet to enjoy the day (even with ponchos), went back to hotel (Animal Kingdom Villas--Kidani), dried off, then enjoyed all the indoor activities there and got room service for dinner.

You'll all still have fun even if it rains! Wear proper footwear that will dry off quickly, get ponchos/bring packable raincoats--use a trash bag to cover your backpacks/strollers. Some of the parks will start to clear out in the rain, so it'll be less crowded then.

 

[Aurora06]

Thanks everyone!
Well....it is what it is. Cannot influence or change the weather. We will have to live with it, and try not to get too upset.
Like many of you said, crowds might be smaller if it is raining, so we will try to take an advantage of that and still have fun!
Two more sleeps, YES!!!

 

[bigbabyblues]

We don't do short trips, but we have run into tropical storms on our last 3 trips, and plenty of afternoon thunderstorms as well. Bring a poncho or rain jacket (I much prefer the jacket), wear Keens or something similar, and go on. I keep a ziploc baggie in my jacket pocket to put my phone in.

 

[disnut8]

I just have to figure out how to keep my bag and my phone dry!

You put your bag on first and then your poncho. If your phone is in your bag, no problem and you can take a Ziploc bag for extra protection. I would also advise on taking some binder clips to use to secure your poncho hood under your chin.

 

[mommyaof2]

Thanks again! Here's to a great trip regardless of weather! Arrival on Sunday!

 

[notrub98]

It rained all day, every day for my January trip for 3 days straight. It was cold, too. And there were also no crowds! I loved every second of it .

 

[NeuroCindy]

I wear gym shoes in the park, when it rains, they go in a big ziploc (2 gallon) and the flip flops come on and I keep going. It's hot enough that I find it refreshing.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

My DH & I are doing our first short trip next week (May 24-26). We are doing the KTTK tour on May 25 and right now the weather forecast predicts a 50%+ chance of precipitation from 5am-11am (very specific, ha!). I'd prefer to have sunny weather but if it rains, it rains. I'm just glad we'll be in Disney.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

We always carry our ponchos. The first year we took our DS3, it was pouring so we bought ponchos in the gift shop. I put mine and my DS's on and by the time DH bought the tickets, it had stopped raining. Last time we went to MK and it had rained. It was wonderful! We got so much done. It was arrival day and we only planned to meet Tinkerbell, ride the magic carpets, POTC, HM, and Jungle Cruise, and we ended up going over to Fantasyland and getting a lot done there, too. The only time the rain actually was a disappointment was when we booked the Dessert party specifically to see Tinkerbell fly overhead, and she didn't fly. Plus, it was raining hard and people stood in front and we would have had to stand out in the rain to see. Not the best experience. Would I do the Dessert party again? Nope. I understand now that people can't stand in front, but it still wouldn't make a difference to me.

 

[gap2368]

[QUOTE="mommyaof2, post: 57612733, member: 104981" I just have to figure out how to keep my bag and my phone dry! This is so frustrating though. Looks like Florida needs the rain though.[/QUOTE]

ask for extra bags when you buy your rain poncho put your wet ponchos in one bag and and your phone in the other one. I also use a bag to put my bag in if it is raining very hard.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

OMG,
So, my question is - what would be the best park to pick if it is raining a lot?

I would pick MK or Epcot Future World. If you're wanting to do WS the same day that doesn't work out so well but there are a lot of areas to explore after the rides that we typically skip but did this year because of the rain.

Also, take the reports of walk on rides with a little bit of a grain of salt. We have had parks clear out and walk on rides with all day heavy rains (Splash was literally walk on at 2:30) or late afternoon rain but we had about two hours of on and off downpours at Epcot in the late morning and people stuck it out. The lines weren't particularly short.

 

[DLM1980]

I will say if you head to Epcot on a rainy day goto China and buy yourself a nice umbrella. I'm not a poncho fan myself and the Disney parks umbrellas are expensive and cheaply made and are kid sized. If I hold on over me my back is usually wet because they are so tiny. But China has large non Disney branded golf umbrellas that two people can stand under and relatively inexpensive.

Only place on property that I know that carries big umbrellas!

 

[bumbershoot]

So, yes for the next week it is showing POP 80-90 %, which is like almost guaranteed - and 15-20 mm of rain

That's not like almost guaranteed at all. And it's definitely not anywhere near guaranteed that the 90% rain cloud will be over YOU. And if it rains it'll most likely rain heavily for a short period of time then stop.

A torrential downpour can happen over AK while MK is bone dry.

So, I have a pair of crocs, I never wear them but looks like they will make good rain shoes.

I have had good luck with crocs when it's wet, but other people have fallen quite badly while wearing them in the rain or on wet concrete. Be careful. Also, if they have the nubby inside, once that's wet it is going to wear out the skin on the soles of your feet. Get BodyGlide and put it on your feet to help reduce friction that will cause nasty blisters.

And I also have plenty of quick dry material clothes.

Make sure you have quickdry underwear as well. And a nonpadded bra. Nothing like a still-wet bra under an already dry shirt!

I just have to figure out how to keep my bag and my phone dry!

Ziptop baggie for the phone. Poncho over the bag and you.

I will say if you head to Epcot on a rainy day goto China and buy yourself a nice umbrella. I'm not a poncho fan myself and the Disney parks umbrellas are expensive and cheaply made and are kid sized. If I hold on over me my back is usually wet because they are so tiny. But China has large non Disney branded golf umbrellas that two people can stand under and relatively inexpensive.

Only place on property that I know that carries big umbrellas!

And then you rain on the people passing by who are shorter than you.

 

[pwdebbie]

Our best AK day ever was in the rain. We put on our ponchos and felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. And the animals were so happy in the rain, not hiding like I expected.

 

[KimBean]

I didn't read all the posts but I really like minutecast by accuweather. Very accurate and will tell you how many more minutes to expect rain. Helpful in deciding what to do next.

 

[ArwenMarie]

The rain is one thing but the lightning storms are scary (to me anyway lol) If you hear thunder, you're close enough to be hit by lightning. When thunder roars, head indoors!

 

[halssister]

On our last trip, we were worried about going in July due to the heat. It rained every day, and not just a little bit - we are talking hours of rain, almost every morning. We still did rope drop at each park, and it was delightful! The early rain scared off the crowds, and we had Epcot future world mainly to ourselves. Nice, because we Just had to dash between the buildings, not a lot of outside stuff there! Then it dried out some by the time we hit World showcase. Same thing with AK, the rain hit early and drove away the crowds so we rode the train to Rafiki's a couple times, and just wore ponchos and watched animals in the rain. We were happy to have the rain rather than the extreme heat! I'm actually worried that our trip this July may be disappointing if it DOESN'T rain and it's just hot and dry the whole time

 

[disnut8]

Oh - one big note. Do not ever try and stuff your now wet ponchos back into their original wrapping. Just not going to work. So, take a couple of gallon Ziploc bags and use those. Trust me on that. Back in the room, put the still wet ponchos over the shower curtain and let dry over night. Toss the original bags they came in and use your Ziplocs for the rest of your poncho's life.

 

[mommyaof2]

Ok, so more things I've learned here. I need ziploc bags for wet ponchos, I'm not going to wear crocs, I'm afraid I'll bust it on the concrete. And I'm more concerned about the thunderstorms they are calling for than the rain! Can't do much if it's lightening. Not much we can do about it at this point. I am worried about it, but we are celebrating our 20th anniversary and going to Disney, so I can't be that upset, lol! Thanks so much for all the comments though. So many things I haven't even thought about and have been super helpful! I also made a couple more adrs in case we need to have a place to go inside. So we will eat good!

 

[minniegirl19]

Hope the trip is going well! Even if it's raining