Great day in the park, despite the rain (tons of pics)

[WonkaKid]

It rained at Disneyland today. All day. From open. Till close. From about 10:30 until 6:00 -- the time I left -- I was soaked to the bone. When I came home and changed into dry clothes, even my underwear was drenched. Despite that, I had a great day. Crowds were light and many rides were walk-ons. Some, of course, were not. However, at 4:00, Peter Pan was only a 20-minute wait. Ordinarily, it would be closer to an hour.

I arrived early and was the first one in the park, as below.



Moreover, when the rope dropped at 9:00, no one ran. Not one person. That's the first time in my life that I've ever seen that. I fast-walked to Peter Pan and was the first person in line. This is what the queue looks like when no one else is in it.


The park was reasonably well attended in the morning but by the early afternoon, I think most people had had enough of the rain. Here are some pics of taken throughout the day.

From Tarzan's Treehouse:

Also from Tarzan's Treehouse:






Fantasyland around 4:00.




(Continued below...)

 

[WonkaKid]

When exiting Indiana Jones, there appeared to be a log-jam. I soon learned this was due to a large puddle that caused most people to try to climb around it, with greater or lesser success.


Lastly, I took the high score for Buzz Lightyear today. But being that I did about a dozen walk-ons back-to-back and later a very kind CM allowed me to stay on the ride about five times in a row, this isn't as surprising as it might be otherwise ;-).




I actually beat the score shown here -- 2,089,900 -- at least twice today. However, a recent software change (oversight or intentional? No one seems to know) causes scores that exceed something like 2.1M to be reset. That is, if you actually score 2.3M, your score displayed post-game will be approx 200,000. It's maddening. I did raise the issue with City Hall a few days ago.

Overall, a great day. It's good to be home now as I become reacquainted with dry feet. Was anyone else able to make it today? If so, care to share your experiences?

Rob

P.S. Here are the miles I logged today:

 

[DLfan4]

Cool to see the pics with an empty mainstreet. where those tall pics taken from the treehouse.

 

[Angrose]

Fantastic, fun pics! Thanks for sharing. As much as I hate the rain, I wouldn't mind being in it for a day like that at Disneyland. It would be the "happiest rainy day on Earth!"

 

[WonkaKid]

Cool to see the pics with an empty mainstreet. where those tall pics taken from the treehouse.

Yes, those two are from Tarzan's treepad ;-).

 

[ashley0139]

I was there today as well. Had my rain boots, coat, poncho, and umbrella and managed to stay relatively dry, considering. Loved seeing the parks that empty.

They ended up closing both parks early due to inclement weather - DCA at 7pm and DL at 8pm.

 

[ButterflyKisses77]

Thanks for the pictures! Just looking at them made me feel cold and wet

 

[Robinjay]

Good day in the rain! Walk on for Pirates and Haunted Mansion (yay open again).

Waited under 20 minutes for Peter Pan in the middle of the day. Can't remember the last time I did that. Toad was leaking inside! The Fantasyland lines were short but still spilled out into the rain. Lots of ponchos and umbrellas everywhere.

Toon town was a bit flooded and the area going in under the train was very flooded.

I made the mistake of going on Small World. Even with a hooded jacket, there are no umbrellas allowed after getting in the boat, so my pants got soaked. The boats were flooded as were the seats so my bottom got soaked (up until this point I stayed relatively dry). Since I was already wet, walked through a lake to get to Matterhorn and walked on.

Those lightsaber umbrellas looked pretty awesome out and about until I found out they were $70. Ouch!

Ate fried chicken at the Plaza Inn and it was delicious and the seating was dry!

Any day at Disney is a great day

 

[SnowBelleAlice]

Thanks for sharing you soggy yet very fun day! In January if its raining in S CA it's snowing in my neck of the woods, we're getting buried in the white stuff.

 

[McNs]

So cool seeing those photos, especially Main Street and the castle with no one there! Good on all of you making the most of it.

Also good to see some decent rainfall throughout California - you sure needed it!

 

[ashley0139]

Thanks for the pictures! Just looking at them made me feel cold and wet

Rain boots are a MUST for this kind of weather. Wet socks are the worst.

 

[Pintail]

Thanks for the pictures, it is great to get on rides quick when it is raining.

 

[Frozen2014]

Sorry you had rain from start to end, but seems like the upside were lower crowds. Thanks for sharing your pictures. Looks amazing despite the weather.

 

[Syndrome]

One thing that's hard to "see" in these pictures is that , yes it was raining ALL day long , but it was also a very COLD miserable rain ! We were out in it yesterday , but skipped the parks . Just jumped between stores at DD , and took breaks to eat a bit throuought the day . At least we were able to hop right back to the Grand California , and use the dryer in our villa . We dried our clothes at least 3-4 times yesterday ! Spent sometime relaxing in the villa while looking down at CA Paradise Pier area , and watched the brave guests that went on the Screamer (among other outside rides) in the full on pouring rain !
Also noticed that they closed the parks a little early due to weather as it got pretty windy besides the cold and rain .
I don't think they close the parks all that much before a scheduled closing time . That just puts it into perspective on how bad and miserable it was weather wise yesterday !
Hope today , and this week is better !

 

[WonkaKid]

Rain boots are a MUST for this kind of weather. Wet socks are the worst.

Alas, my rain/snow boots are back in Chicago. I need them more there than I do here. I think this is the first time I've ever had wet feet in SoCal.

 

[Littlelulu01]

We were also there yesterday. We purchased 3 two day park hopper tickets for $705. Saturday was great. A cm told us the rain was predicted to let up in the afternoon so we decided to sleep in and hit parks from afternoon till close and then catch our red eye flight home. I know nobody can predict weather and it certainly isn't Disney's fault that there was flash flood warnings... but wow it was crazy! We certainly didn't have any crowds to speak of but we were unable to ride many of the rides. Specifically that I can remember Indiana Jones, POC, Mr. Toad, all of Tune town shut down. A cm said we could ride it's a small world but warned us that the boats were full of at least 2 inches of water. Our feet were completely submerged in the water but we wanted to get at least one ride in. We had purchased the Disney ponchos and umbrellas. The wind was blowing our umbrellas inside out. One of those situations you had to laugh. Soaked from head to toe, including our jeans, and underwear. Then they closed the park and we slopped back to the hotel gathered our bags, changed into something dry and waited in the lobby of the Grand Ca along with what seemed like half the people who had been in the parks. I'm wondering if in these situations Disney ever gives a credit for a day of the two day park hopper for future use?

 

[LizzyS]

I love your photos! A few years ago we were in the parks for some VERY rainy February days. It was a little yicky as it was really pouring on one day of our trip, but a rainy day at Disneyland is still a day at Disneyland!

 

[WonkaKid]

I was there today as well.

Ashley, I go most Sundays. I'll keep an eye out for you next weekend .

 

[emmybee]

These pictures are pretty terrific! I was checking ride times on the app and was surprised at the short waits, as well as the early park closure. I'm counting down to October!

 

[Robinjay]

hey Rob, I looked through all of your pictures, but I didn't see my umbrella. We weren't at the same place at the same time. Maybe it is because I didn't ride Buzz Great pictures though!

I am glad I had my snow/rain boots on. Finally a reason to wear them in Sunny Southern CA!