Disposable Ponchos vs. Disney Ponchos

[6loversofdisney]

I have been thinking about something....

I own all of the Disney ponchos for our family. I have kind of been a snob about them and figured I would only ever use them...

Then I got to thinkin' - all this talk about people packing disposable ponchos from the Dollar Store or whatever - maybe these people have the right idea??

If I take my ponchos and they are soaked, I have to take them back to the room, soaked, hang them to dry, etc. Whereas if I buy these cheap ones (that I may never even need), then we can use and dispose.

What are your thoughts and what do you prefer and why??

Thanks

 

[1025cruise]

If I were better prepared, I would have bought Dollar Store ponchos. This week, got caught in a monsoon on Tuesday, now own both a Disney poncho at 9 bucks and an umbrella at 14. I figure I'll re-use the umbrella.

 

[Priory]

I can never find Ponchos at any of the local dollar stores. Must be a regional thing. My plan is to take a bunch of disposable ones, if I can find them.

 

[Disneylover99]

We bring both.

We always have cheap dollar store ponchos on us when we enter a park (we typically go in August when rain comes and goes quickly) even on a sunny day because you just never know.

If we know it will be a rainy day for sure and/or we are leaving our resort in the rain, we will wear/bring our DW ponchos, because we know we will need superior protection from the rain on these days.

 

[ktlm]

Brought the really cheap ponchos with us, they ripped the minute we got in and out of a ride. Threw them in the trash and bought disney ponchos.

Another trip, bought "better" cheap ponchos from Target (the $5 or $6 kind). Put them on in "monsoon" at Disney. Water immediately started going down the neck of mine. If I pulled the hood down to where it would not, I couldn't see. DD's either got the whole front of her head wet, or was down where she couldn't see. DH just flat didn't like his. Bought Disney ponchos- threw them in the trash.

Bought the more expensive sports team big ponchos for football games instead of taking the usual old Disney ponchos. Again, water ran down the neck unless I pulled it down over my eyes. Got soaked that game, went back to Disney ponchos the next time!

Now, we stick with Disney ponchos. The one exception is that we do bring the cheap throwaway ponchos with us for one time use if we want to ride Kali or Splash, but for some reason don't want to get wet (usually if it is cold outside or we are getting ready to go into a restaurant right after the ride).

 

[BarkingChain4]

For our last trip, we ordered a bunch of the cheap disposable ponchos from Amazon. I can fit a couple of them in my bag, and if I need to use one, I just toss it when I'm done with it. Like you said, I like the fact that I don't have to roll it back up and get everything wet and try to fit it back in my bag (I can never get them to fit quite as well as they did before I used them). We didn't use any on our last trip, but they've come in handy for other things (day trips, other vacations, etc.), so I don't mind having them. If you're looking for the disposable ones and you can't find them at a dollar store, Amazon might be a good option.

 

[Princess_Nikki]

I have been thinking about something....

I own all of the Disney ponchos for our family. I have kind of been a snob about them and figured I would only ever use them...

Then I got to thinkin' - all this talk about people packing disposable ponchos from the Dollar Store or whatever - maybe these people have the right idea??

If I take my ponchos and they are soaked, I have to take them back to the room, soaked, hang them to dry, etc. Whereas if I buy these cheap ones (that I may never even need), then we can use and dispose.

What are your thoughts and what do you prefer and why??

Thanks

The cheap ponchos are terrible.
I had a cheap one for me. My DS5 and DS7 happened to still have their Disney ponchos. Theirs worked great! The cheap one, not so much. The Disney ponchos are definitely thicker and better quality. $9 is a bit much to pay, but my kids stayed dry! I shook them like crazy and had to hang them up in the shower for a bit to dry.

I was thinking of trying one of the Coleman camping ponchos. They look much thicker and for the simple use of the WDW parks might just be effective.

 

[gottagetback]

I agree that the cheap ponchos are more trouble than they are worth. However, what to do with the $9 Disney ponchos when the sun comes back out??? Any tips?

 

[Disneylover99]

I agree that the cheap ponchos are more trouble than they are worth. However, what to do with the $9 Disney ponchos when the sun comes back out??? Any tips?

Pray for more rain. Sorry, that wasn't very helpful.

 

[phtktz3]

I agree that the cheap ponchos are more trouble than they are worth. However, what to do with the $9 Disney ponchos when the sun comes back out??? Any tips?

I don't like ponchos so I always have my umbrella in a gallon size zip lock freezer bag in my back pack, when DH comes ( for NOJ...and it ALWAYS rains for this) he uses a Disney poncho and I just carry an extra freezer bag in my back pack to put it in when the rain stops.
I also always put a wash cloth in my back pack to wipe off the seats on the bus if it is raining.....those ponchos can leave quite a puddle in a seat and who wants to sit in that?

 

[Nicoleinwi]

For those of you that can't find at the Dollar Store, you could get the cheap ponchos at Walmart. Their brand, Ozark or something like that for a dollar.

I use the disposable and they suck. they are like wearing a garbage bag, they stick to yours legs. But they are convenient. I don't carry a big bag in the park. Sometimes just a small bag (Vera Bradley Mini Hipster) and I can't fit nice ones in my bag. Or I don't take a bag and DH can fit the disposable in his cargo short pockets. I will continue using disposable for that convenience.

 

[nan214]

I brought dollar store ponchos 2 years to WDW. Absolutely useless. They actually did NOTHING and as other posted, they rip as you put them on. Spend the the $9 at disney or buy a decent one from a sports store/target/walmart. Spend the extra money.

 

[pipe36]

I'm a fan of the cheapos.

A. Always packed small.

B. Disposable

C. I'm only using a poncho for a passing showers anyways. If it looks like rain for a significant stretch, I don't want to wear a poncho that long anyways.

Another bonues is the sheap ones fit nicely over a stroller to keep your kid and belongings dry.

I spend 10 bucks at Wal-Mart the week before we go.

 

[maxiesmom]

A few trips back I packed dollar store ponchos after reading that tip here. They were all but worthless in anything more than a drizzle. I tossed them and ended up buying more Disney ponchos.

 

[dpswift]

For those of you that can't find at the Dollar Store, you could get the cheap ponchos at Walmart. Their brand, Ozark or something like that for a dollar.

I use the disposable and they suck. they are like wearing a garbage bag, they stick to yours legs. But they are convenient. I don't carry a big bag in the park. Sometimes just a small bag (Vera Bradley Mini Hipster) and I can't fit nice ones in my bag. Or I don't take a bag and DH can fit the disposable in his cargo short pockets. I will continue using disposable for that convenience.

Good point. Now that my kids are older I have tried to cut back on how much stuff I bring. DH still brings a lot. I still get stuck carrying it.

I had Disney ponchos that I bought during a MNSSHP a few years back when the weather was just as bad as this years. They only had kids sizes left so DSs worked well mine worked ok. However as others have said after one use they become cumbersome.

 

[LSUfan4444]

I prefer a light rain jacket I own and my daughter does as well. My wife, well, she prefers disposable ponchos. It would have to be a dire emergency for me to buy a Disney poncho.

Even for our stroller, we use shower curtains as a cover (secured with binder clips) from the dollar store and throw them away when we're done.

 

[kathy884]

I bring inexpensive ponchos in a back pack and have been able to reuse those too, year after year. I just stick them back in a zip lock bag when they are wet (keep one of those big giant zip locks in my back pack specifically for that in case it rains and lay them out to dry on the balcony when we get back to the condo). I could throw them away, but haven't had to. My cheap ponchos come from a variety of sources: I still have some from the St. Louis zoo with animal prints that I bought back in 2002 when it poured down rain there and we weren't prepared (amazing how well they have held up). I also have a bunch from Menards that are often given out for free, and one that my son got at SeaWorld camp. So maybe my cheap ones are better quality than the ones others are buying. I haven't had any problems with tears, but have gotten rid of a few here and there over the years, just keep a supply of six or so, so as I get free new ones I dispose older ones. The new are kind of nice as they are packaged so flat. The old hardly take up any space either, though. I fold them up and they fit in a quart sized zip lock. // I tend to use the plainer ones and just pull out the animal print ones when all the others have been used and tell whoever uses them that they are special that not everyone can get away wearing one of those. We laugh and have a great time. I'm usually an animal print wearer, letting others who might be embarrassed have something plainer and keeping others wearing the animal prints in good company with me.

 

[DisneyFan2013]

I can never find Ponchos at any of the local dollar stores. Must be a regional thing. My plan is to take a bunch of disposable ones, if I can find them.

I couldn't find any cheap ones either so I have a $7 one from Walmart. It's not all that lightweight so it's kind of a pain to carry around and wear, but it's keeping me dry.

 

[nooneshome]

We bring plenty of the cheap Dollar Tree ponchos. They aren't that good but they serve our purpose. We use them for Kali and sometimes Splash. After riding Kali we give them to people in line. As for touring the parks in the rain, we really don't want to do this wearing any poncho. In all our trips (15+) we have never had a day that it rained more than 30 minutes.

 

[tndisneyfan]

If it's just a typical Florida afternoon thunder shower, I think the disposable ponchos are fine. If it's going to be raining for a larger portion of the day then I prefer the disney ponchos. The disposable ones are very lightweight, like a thin trash bag. The ones we had were also shorter and didn't cover as much of your arms. I also find the disposable are hard to put back on after a ride. To me they really are one time use.