Disposable Ponchos vs. Disney Ponchos

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Mark me down as a voter of the Disney ponchos. Then again I never have issues with shaking the water off, folding them up tight and putting them back in my bag. They are never soaking wet and I never have to hang them out to dry. They also take up very minimal space in my bag.

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?

Keep for next trip. My last set lasted me over 10 years and I bought new ones just to have something fresh and new.

 

[set1208]

We are here now and we arrived during what people are calling "the rainy season" and we now know why. I bought disney ponchos for my DS8 and I and I am so glad that I did. We bought them and I the CM gave them to me in a nice full sized bag so that if we used them, we could toss them right back into the bag so they wouldn't get any of our other stuff all soaked. I left them on the bottom of my back pack and they came in handy last night. When we got back to the hotel, I shook them out and hung them on the wall hooks in our room. They're nice and dry now so I will fold them up and bring them along with us today.

They were nice and durable and kept us totally dry.

 

[MeanestMomEver]

We always buy the Coleman brand, disposable ponchos from the camping dept at Target. They are about $1.49. We've never had a problem with leaks or hoods.

We do have old Disney ones from a long time ago and some football ones that are heavier but they are too big and cumbersome to carry around for our typical touring. For longer trips we bring them as back ups, in case we run out of disposables.

I just bring a very small bag and the Coleman poncho, which is roughly the size of a deck of cards. That just works better for me. My husband carries his in a pocket. Once my kids were old enough to want to bring their own bags, they became responsible for their own ponchos.

An added bonus on those ponchos, they come in a zip lock style bag that works great for protecting your phone in rain. There are a couple air holes in that little bag, but it's better than nothing if you forgot to bring a ziplock snack bag for your phone.

 

[ktlm]

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?

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We just get one of the plastic WDW shopping bags and throw them all in them, then take them out in the hotel bathroom and hang them over the shower rod to dry.

 

[JZCubed]

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

Both.

We keep the $1 ponchos in the stroller, fanny /pack, backpack, etc. in case of the sudden rain storms that are prevalent in FL.

But we also bring along sturdier ponchos and/or rain gear on the days when, well, it's gonna' rain all day.

I follow this rule(s) of thumb: If we bring ponchos, less chance of rain. If we forget ponchos, it is going to rain.

 

[bumbershoot]

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We just get one of the plastic WDW shopping bags and throw them all in them, then take them out in the hotel bathroom and hang them over the shower rod to dry.

Yep.


We used the disposables on ONE trip. My CA/WA/I've-been-recycling-since-1987 (and even before then we had a compost pile at home for the garden) soul wanted to cry when I threw it out. Never ever again. Not to mention they FEEL utterly disgusting.

Then we bought the Disney ones, then they ripped and we still wore them, ripped more, still wore. Then DH and I got fancypants Rick Steves totally NON disposable ponchos that we adore. DS is still a bit too short for them, but we got him a nice bright one so we don't lose him in a crowd.

 

[Nohal]

Mark me down as a voter of the Disney ponchos. Then again I never have issues with shaking the water off, folding them up tight and putting them back in my bag. They are never soaking wet and I never have to hang them out to dry. They also take up very minimal space in my bag.



Keep for next trip. My last set lasted me over 10 years and I bought new ones just to have something fresh and new.

Disney ponchos are so worth the money in a really long heavy rain. I still have the yellow ones that I bought about 20 years ago. If you dry them out and fold them up you can use them over and over again. The Disney ponchos lasted longer than some of the cheaply made clothing they sell.

 

[SillyFamily]

We travel light 1 bag for all of us.
So I love the disposable ones. I get the coleman ones from target. I havent had them leak or rip. Though they do seem to funnel water onto my pants. I simply throw them out when the storm passes. No huge wet mess in my bag or to dry out in the room. We have both disney and bush gardens ponchos and they stay home.

 

[Disneyaunt4]

We use the disposable ones, there are usually 7 of us so it is just easier to throw them away after using. Never had a problem with them ripping, serve there purpose perfectly.

 

[720L]

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 bring a large ziplok bag in our backpack with us & we roll them up and put them in the bag when we are done with them. When we get back to the room I take them out to dry for the night, then pack them again in the morning. We usually only carry ponchos in the summer because it seems to rain every day.

edited to add:we keep going when it's raining so we need heavier ponchos. If you just need something to keep you dry to walk somewhere and wait the rain out, then the dollar store ponchos would probably be ok. (for 1 use)

 

[Bree]

The ponchos Disney sells now are awful. Sorry to all that love them. My kids have gone through three this weekend. The Disney ones my husband and I have from 2002 (yes, they are that old) are still going strong. It's a much thicker durable plastic and the snaps on the side are a much heavier duty too.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We have used the cheap ponchos for years, dry them out, fold them up and use again. When one finally rips we don't feel too bad about replacing. But in the past couple of years I sometimes I bring a rain jacket. It's generally more comfortable.

What we like better about the cheap ponchos is that they are smaller and lighter weight so very easy to keep in a bag.

 

[kittyab]

We brought poncho's but my DD ripped hers and we wind up buying her a Disney one.

 

[SharonLowe]

The ponchos Disney sells now are awful. Sorry to all that love them. My kids have gone through three this weekend. The Disney ones my husband and I have from 2002 (yes, they are that old) are still going strong. It's a much thicker durable plastic and the snaps on the side are a much heavier duty too.

We still have one or two left from when my DS was 5 - he is now 29! They had a black outlined Mickey on them. We also have a number of yellow ones and a couple of clear ones. The clear ones are the worst.

We don't have any problem folding them up quite small and taking them with us. I don't like the idea of "disposable" ones - we are a throw-away society and that is just one more thing to fill up our landfills. Plus, they are made overseas so it takes a lot of energy to produce and then ship them. I'll keep using our old ones as long as they hold up.

 

[maxiesmom]

We don't have any problem folding them up quite small and taking them with us. I don't like the idea of "disposable" ones - we are a throw-away society and that is just one more thing to fill up our landfills. Plus, they are made overseas so it takes a lot of energy to produce and then ship them. I'll keep using our old ones as long as they hold up.

I'm glad you mentioned that. The number of people talking about taking cheap ones and throwing them out after one use is making me cringe. It doesn't take that much effort to fold up the Disney ones.

 

[BrokeMack]

I use the disposables. My wife and I got a couple hours kid-free on our last trip when we caught a big storm. Grandma and grandpa took the kid back to the room and we rode SM back to back a couple of times, plus HM and POTC I think, donning and doffing the ponchos several times in the process and while we got a little wet around the necks, it wasn't bad and we didn't feel obliged to keep the ponchos and dry them out and fold them back up since we only paid a dollar or two for them in the first place.

 

[bluezy]

We use both.

I always take a supply of the cheap disposable ponchos on our Disney trips. I'm usually the only one in the family who uses these. We go to the parks bagless, so I put one in my pocket each day for those pop-up showers (though most of the time we just stay under cover until those pass) and I always wear one on Kali because I hate walking around in soaking wet clothing. My husband and kids don't mind being wet, so they rarely take a poncho with them on a "normal" day. They also come in handy when you get on a bus and someone who decided to ride Kali right before they left the park and eaves a puddle on the bus seat.

We also take our Disney ponchos with us for every trip. Most of the time, they never even leave the room, but if there is all-day rain or long periods of rain in the forecast, we'll use those. If it's raining when we go to the park we will wear the Disney ponchos and I take a plastic bag as well as a thin draw-string backpack that get folded up and stuck in someone's cargo shorts pocket so we can still enter through the "bag free" entrance. If it stops raining, we just fold up our ponchos and put them in the plastic bag and then stuff that into the drawstring backpack.

I really like the Disney ponchos for the all-day rain events (like Monsoon week in May 2009). They don't stick to your skin like the cheap ponchos and we didn't feel nearly as hot with those on as we did when we tried to wear the cheap ponchos all day one day that week. And if the Disney ponchos ripped, we were able to get them replaced at no charge with no questions asked. We'd just take them to any store that sold them and they'd give us a new one. That was the best $55 we spent that week!