Early morning MK in the rain/thunderstorms

[sjb95u]

Good afternoon, my family and I will be arriving on Friday 3/9 for a stay at the Poly. We have Sunday, 3/11 as an MK day and the forecast is calling for 80% rain, thunderstorms especially in the morning (they've stuck with this forecast for several days now). This is also the day we've prepaid for a fireworks dessert party so I certainly hope the rain lets up enough for the fireworks and projection show! (as I know we will not be refunded...they don't "guarantee" fireworks for the fireworks dessert party).

SO. We want to rope drop MK opening at 8am (hoping for lighter crowds due to DST overnight). If the first few hours are going to be in the rain, how might I consider changing my touring plan? What would you do for the first 2-3 hours when it's raining (and possibly storming)?

Thanks in advance, DISers!

 

[sponica]

Indoor attractions, and stalk the lines for the coasters. They'll start back up once they get the all clear....

 

[Mr. Drauer]

First - if you are looking at long range weather forecasts, you can pretty much throw them out until about a day before. Rain forecasts are completely variable here in Orlando. Saying 80% chance of rain means that over the entire greater Orlando area, there is an 80% chance that some will get rain. In the case of winter/spring cold fronts, they often weaken and lose the majority of rain as they pass through Florida, so it will be much more telling closer to the arrival of the front as to if there will be rain and how long. Sometimes they are strong enough, and slow moving enough to rain consistently over all of the area for a long time, and other times it is a quick 2 hour pass through with the rain. The fronts usually move a little slower than anticipated and arrive a half day later than expected. Keep an eye on a local weather source like wftv.com later this week for a more detailed forecast.

as for the MK - the outdoor rides only close in lightning and high winds, so it doesn't close everything. But as PP said, head indoors, like SM or Buzz or PPF then move outdoors.

have a great trip!

 

[kwdw]

Here's how to predict the weather at WDW - look outside. I'm pretty much serious. I've gone to bed expecting one forecast - and the next morning - it's VERY different.

If its raining before and at RD - that increases your chances of having some AWESOME short lines for a couple of hours. Typical advice would be suggest either PP or SM first - then pick things indoors. Everyone is going to do the same thing..... but if its raining enough - some folks will stay in bed longer. Since I don't ride SM and I usually get a FP for PP - I'd probably start my day at POTC and depending on the weather - move next to JC or HM. But others might start with SM, Buzz, PP, Pooh.

I might consider bringing a change of clothes if you are staying the whole day. Or at least wear clothes and shoes that can be soaked all day. And maybe carrying an extra plastic bag or two. It's nice to be able to put wet ponchos into a bag to store them when you are going to be under cover for a while. Rain can also make it cooler - so you might need an extra layer of clothing. And we use umbrellas to get from the bus stop to tapstiles (and put them away in a plastic bag in the backpack we likely carry on rainy days).

I'd also debate about adding a TS lunch if you can still get one. Just be warned that being wet and in the blasting AC don't mix well - so if you do this - have something dry to put on. I say this as its nice to really be out of the weather for an full hour+ when the day is drab/raining.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I know I’m weird and this comment is perhaps more applicable to frequent visitors.... but to me...rope drop + rain (no storms, just rain) + temps not too cold = !!

 

[Stephy811]

Don’t really have any strategy tips but we found ponchos in the camping section at Walmart for less than $1. I would buy a few extras then you can just pitch them if they get soaked or when it clears up. Saved us from having to buy pricey ones in the park and didn’t have to worry about lugging them around wet the rest of the day.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I find pulling ponchos on and off (to back and forth between inside and outside) annoying. If it was a light right, I’d stick to outdoor rides and do Splash and BTMR. Also watch wait times on 7DMT. The day we had all day rain it was a 25 min wait for the first 45 mins of park open.

 

[JessicaW1234]

We had a day like yours- rain in the morning & we all put on ponchos & went about our usual touring plan (except for 7DMT). It let up in an hour and the rest of the day was beautiful!
I agree with the poster about maybe getting a TS - the Plaza would be perfect for that. Our other heavy rain experience, we went into the Plaza & avoided heavy downpours for an hour & 1/2 for a leisurely lunch & it dried out when we finished!

 

[kalynn]

5 years ago when i was last at WDW, we got a decent amount of rain. Being from the west coast (aka the wet coast), it wasn't a problem for us. In fact, we found that people stayed away or stayed indoors which meant the lines were quite a bit smaller. I say bring on the rain.

 

[SA mom]

Hey, sjb95u, we will be there the same day! We've been during rain many times and we just stick to the plan but ready to run onto anything with no wait. Rain usually means lighter crowds so I'm looking forward to it. We are just trying to figure out which shoes to take, sneakers or sport sandals.

 

[pigletgirl]

Believe it or not, rain is your friend. It will drive away many tourists so you can really do a lot. Remember to pack a rain jacket or poncho and enjoy the park! Some of the most fun times on our vacations were rainy days in Disney. Don't let a forecast change your mind. GO, and have a magical time!

 

[AngiTN]

We'll be there too. It's DGD's 10th birthday (she doesn't know we'll be there yet, telling her on the way to the airport on Friday)
What I'm seeing on my hourly app is rain is overnight and ending by morning.
I know the forecast has kept it in for several days but honestly, it's still just a shot in the dark guess. It's still too far out for them to know. Same for our weather here quite honestly, so I'm used to it. Need at least 24 more hours to really get a better idea.

ETA - Anyway, currently no thunderstorms and nothing for evening so you are in the clear for HEA. Besides, it takes a lot for them to cancel HEA. Probably count on 1 hand the number of times they cancel. They postpone

 

[sjb95u]

We've got ponchos and I've thrown in rain jackets today (had to run to Target and buy one for DD). At this point my ONLY concern is that we've prepaid for the MK Fireworks dessert party and I know we'll lose the money even if there are no fireworks. I just hate wasting money like that so I'm still praying there's no thunder around 9pm on Sunday evening. Otherwise we'll do our best to go with the flow.

 

[AngiTN]

I'm not seeing any significant chance of plain rain much less thunderstorms. The chance of rain shown above is gone on the forecast I have.

At any rate, as mentioned already, it's very rare, for HEA to be cancelled. Late maybe but they have them every night. You really have nothing to worry about

 

[dreiwhit]

We always carried disposable ponchos, but never had to use them until our last trip.

We were at MK on Sunday when it rained and then thunderstorms came in. When we carry our ponchos, we place the sealed pack in a ziploc sandwich bag. That way, when they are wet we can put them in there inside out when we go inside. I also wear a boonie hat with a brim, and that kept the rain off my face.

We got all the outdoor attractions done first that day, and used the time when it rained to do the indoor attractions. We did go on Aladdin when it was sprinkling, though.

My kids hated the rain, but it didn't bother my wife and I. One of my best memories is my wife and I walking in the rain through Adventureland, holding hands.

I did see one CM with plastic booties on to keep his shoes from getting wet. I didn't know they made those, and i'll have to look for them.

Although the disposable ponchos worked fine, my wife wants to upgrade to rain jackets and rain pants the next time we go to WDW.

Edit: We had been told that when thunderstorms start, the crowds leave MK. That didn't happen for us. Some may have left, but I didn't notice a huge drop in the crowd levels.

 

[goofygal531]

We'll be there too. It's DGD's 10th birthday (she doesn't know we'll be there yet, telling her on the way to the airport on Friday)
What I'm seeing on my hourly app is rain is overnight and ending by morning.
I know the forecast has kept it in for several days but honestly, it's still just a shot in the dark guess. It's still too far out for them to know. Same for our weather here quite honestly, so I'm used to it. Need at least 24 more hours to really get a better idea.

ETA - Anyway, currently no thunderstorms and nothing for evening so you are in the clear for HEA. Besides, it takes a lot for them to cancel HEA. Probably count on 1 hand the number of times they cancel. They postpone

I agree. For ten days, rain was predicted for our MK Early Magic Morning. I was considering canceling. Turns out, that morning was sunny and gorgeous. The rain came in the evening and it rained all night. But our day in the park was fine. Florida weather is unpredictable. You won't know until 12-24 hours before.

Ang, mind sharing the name of the App? I've realized "hourly" is the way to go for FL weather!

Have a wonderful time this weekend with your granddaughter!

 

[AngiTN]

I agree. For ten days, rain was predicted for our MK Early Magic Morning. I was considering canceling. Turns out, that morning was sunny and gorgeous. The rain came in the evening and it rained all night. But our day in the park was fine. Florida weather is unpredictable. You won't know until 12-24 hours before.

Ang, mind sharing the name of the App? I've realized "hourly" is the way to go for FL weather!

Have a wonderful time this weekend with your granddaughter!

Dark Sky, wonderful app, as long as you are willing to turn on location services. I've tried using it with location turned off and it is woefully inaccurate at updating when rain is expected. Forecasting still works fine
I do pay for the premium version, but it's cheap, like $1.99 or something. Forget now

And thank you! Can't wait to surprise her in the morning. We had horrible news from the other family we were meeting up with down there and they aren't going to get to go but we are going as planned. We'll do our trip with them at a later time.

 

[scrappingbuckeye]

We've got ponchos and I've thrown in rain jackets today (had to run to Target and buy one for DD). At this point my ONLY concern is that we've prepaid for the MK Fireworks dessert party and I know we'll lose the money even if there are no fireworks. I just hate wasting money like that so I'm still praying there's no thunder around 9pm on Sunday evening. Otherwise we'll do our best to go with the flow.

I have reservations to the same party - I can tell you from experience that fireworks are rarely cancelled, sometimes they are delayed though. I think we'll be okay. We've done the party in a downpour before, it's still fun lol. The only thing that may not happen if it's raining is Tink flying.

 

[AngiTN]

I have reservations to the same party - I can tell you from experience that fireworks are rarely cancelled, sometimes they are delayed though. I think we'll be okay. We've done the party in a downpour before, it's still fun lol. The only thing that may not happen if it's raining is Tink flying.

And/or high winds. If it's too windy Tink is grounded even when it's dry