Help! Looks like mostly rain during our vacation

[Couponmommy]

I have a few questions if anyone has any suggestions.This is our first trip and making plans has been confusing enough and now we have rain/thunderstorms in the forecast
Do we just proceed to the parks we wanted to hit anyways? We didn't buy the park hopper to save money so we are stuck in that park for the day. Any parks we should avoid with bad weather?
Will any of the shows/ fireworks be cancelled with bad weather? Wishes, Electrical Parade, Fantasmic?
Thanks for any advice

 

[disneynut11]

Yes they can be cancelled for bad weather. However, during the summer months, Florida is known for the thunderstorms. Almost every day they can be in the forecast If Disney cancelled shows based upon any chance of storms they would never have any shows

I would say all the parks are possible during rain, although animal kingdom might be more limited other than Festival of the Lion King and Nemo the Musical.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Just get ponchos and go. We went in September for years, and every year it said it was going to rain every day with 70-80%, and it never was as bad as they said. One year only had rain one day, so don't panic yet. Rain was forecasted 3 days this last trip and it never once rained. Even if it does, you will find things to do no matter where you are, there are plenty of indoor things. It hardly ever rains all day.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Not sure when your trip is but, any forecast more than about 48 hours is just a guess. More than 7 days out is based more on historical averages than anything else. With that said, rain is normal in FL during the summer, but the area you are looking at the forecast for is large, so while it may indicate rain, it usually is scattred and short lived. Watch the local evening news the night before and plan your next day accordingly, pack ponchos if needed and enjoy. Rain usually cools things down and empties out the park.

 

[Couponmommy]

Not sure when your trip is but, any forecast more than about 48 hours is just a guess. More than 7 days out is based more on historical averages than anything else. With that said, rain is normal in FL during the summer, but the area you are looking at the forecast for is large, so while it may indicate rain, it usually is scattred and short lived. Watch the local evening news the night before and plan your next day accordingly, pack ponchos if needed and enjoy. Rain usually cools things down and empties out the park.

We leave Saturday. Thanks for the tip!

 

[momfeez]

In addition to the ponchos be sure to pack an extra pair of shoes so you can wear one pair while the other pair dries out IF it rains enough to get your shoes wet.

 

[TJDisneymama]

I was just there last month and the forecast was for rain EVERY SINGLE DAY. The last 3 days, according to the forecasts, there was 80-100% chance of rain all day long. I bought umbrellas and ponchos and worried myself sick over it. Check out this link to see how much it actually rained: (scroll down to the bottom to Hourly Observations and look under the "Precip" column).

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KORL/2012/4/20/DailyHistory.html

Fri. April 20 - never rained until 4:53 and only for a couple minutes the started back up at 6:53 p.m.
Sat. April 21 - started raining at 5:58 p.m. Done by 6:13 pm..
Sun - April 22 - rained overnight, done by 4:00 a.m. Nothing rest of the day

Each of these days I checked the forecast throughout the day and it would still say anywhere from 80-100% chance of rain for that day

 

[Couponmommy]

I was just there last month and the forecast was for rain EVERY SINGLE DAY. The last 3 days, according to the forecasts, there was 80-100% chance of rain all day long. I bought umbrellas and ponchos and worried myself sick over it. Check out this link to see how much it actually rained: (scroll down to the bottom to Hourly Observations and look under the "Precip" column).

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KORL/2012/4/20/DailyHistory.html

Fri. April 20 - never rained until 4:53 and only for a couple minutes the started back up at 6:53 p.m.
Sat. April 21 - started raining at 5:58 p.m. Done by 6:13 pm..
Sun - April 22 - rained overnight, done by 4:00 a.m. Nothing rest of the day

Each of these days I checked the forecast throughout the day and it would still say anywhere from 80-100% chance of rain for that day

Thank you so much for that!!!

 

[momto2sweeties]

We check in on Saturday as well and I am worried sick over the weather! I am really hoping it won't be that bad.

 

[mom2att]

Unless there is a hurricane in the area, even a high percent chance of rain does not mean all-day rain during a Florida late spring/summer. Just the other day we had a beautiful, hot sunny morning and early afternoon, followed by less than an hour of thunderstorms/hard rain/even hail. After that the sun came out and it was beautiful once again. So even if the forecast predicts rain for every day of your trip, it will likely only be short-lived and easily avoided by scouting out an indoor attraction.

 

[brymolmom]

Don't stress over it. Rain at WDW is not the end of the World. There are a ton of shows to see indoors and it rarely rains all day or even for hours at a time. In the summer months or when it's hot I actually welcome the rain as it definitely cools things down.

One suggestion though - I like the rain A LOT more since I've been without a stroller at WDW...it was a bit of a pain prior to that. Covering your stroller when going into a show OR coming out to a puddle right in the seat area is a pain. If it does seem like rain try to park your stroller under a roof of some sort and leave it there for awhile (carry child or have them walk to rides near there). Also - you 'stuff' might get wet. I used to carry a big backpack and the stuff would get wet in a downpour - so bring something waterproof if you're carrying a lot OR throw a poncho over yourself AND your backpack so all your stuff isn't soggy all day.

 

[sandy0904]

We are leaving on saturday also and not happy with the forecast. We've been a couple of times in late April - mid May and never had it rain more than a few minutes. I'm hoping we are lucky again this time. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[Missy29]

I would not worry to much, we just got back yesterday and it said rain almost everyday and did not rain at all except for once at night.

 

[fitgirl36]

I'm right there with you guys! We check in Saturday too. I've been in WDW a few times in previous Mays and even though it states rain in the forecast, it was minimal. The forecast I was looking at says scattered and isolated so that's a plus too! Even though I'm pretty certain our week at Disney won't be a washout, I am still obsessed with checking the forecast every hour!! Agony!!

 

[tzolkin]

I know usually rain in FL is just a quick passing thing (grew up there), but I also wanted to also reassure you on the slight chance that the weather is actually really bad.

A few years ago for our second trip, they had record rains (flooding and tornadoes in the area) every day the 12 days we were there. I will admit, the first night I actually went into the bathroom and cried because I was convinced the trip was "ruined" It actually wound up being a great trip with some of our best memories.

A few tips if it is going to really rain non-stop:
- stroller covers: I was so glad that our Volos came with clear covers. Most people had a poncho tossed over them, but the kids couldn't see anything while moving around the parks. We actually never took them off the strollers, just flipped them up and down. We were even able to fold the strollers with them still in place.
- decent pochos: The $1 ones will work for a passing summer storm, but we got nice ones at Target with snaps and drawstrings around the hoods that kept us much drier. They were worth the $8-10 since we basically lived in them for two weeks.
- baseball caps: A hat under your poncho will keep your face dry and keep the water from pouring into the neck opening and down your shirt.
- Fortunately, I had purchased a waterproof digital camera the week before we left. We were planning to use it in the pool, but it wound up allowing us to take pictures in the parks without worrying about it being ruined in the rain.

As for cancellations of shows, it really depends. One night we watched Illuminations in Epcot in a major downpour. But on our last night we sat in the rain for an hour while Wishes was delayed and eventually cancelled.

 

[blueferral]

It does not rain at Disney World! That is happiness falling from the sky. All those people who didn't bring ponchos are running for cover and you can stroll about with out people getting in the way.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Just another small tip that I don't think I saw mentioned. Pack a large ziploc bag or bags in your backpack. If they weather is rainy, you can put your cell phone, autograph book, camera, maps etc... in it and you won't have to worry about them getting wet in case you get caught in a downpour.

 

[SFreelove]

We had a forecast of rain all week also. Florida weather is a little different though by when it says 'rain', even if it does.. it's for a short period of time, if you've ever been on a tropical vacation where it rains for like 10 minutes.. it can be something like that. On our trip we got rain at night ONCE and it was for less than an hour. Its nothing to worry about, and nothing you can change if it does happen. I can assure you, you most likely will not see rain everyday though.. don't stress that because the likely of that happening is VERY VERY VERY slim.

As for cancelled shows, yes that does happen. I have been once in 2007 and our fantasmic show we were attending got cancelled because there was lightening but no rain. This does happen and because it is a risk for performers they must. The park you will see with the most cancelled things would be Hollywood studios because that park consists of alot of movie style shows and rides and the rain and storm creates a high risk for those things. The next would be animal kingdom because they won't bring people around those exhibits in that type of weather. I have never seen wishes or any of the firework shows or parades get cancelled, ever. But I have heard of it, but its not done regularly, let me tell you, disney knows what everyones looking forward to so they do not want to upset guests and will not cancel a thing unless they are pushed and have no choice due to how bad the weather can be, but again that is common! Also if you do come across a cancelled event you wanted to see.. I know you said you dont have park hoppers BUT each event is usually happening serveral times through a week, for the purpose of exactly that, so when your there, you have many chances to catch exactly what you want to see. So if one day if going to be bad and you wake up and it is.. just switch that day with a different park. Its not the end of the world, and the lobbys of the hotels list each park its hours and events for you.

Bring ponchos, because there you'll pay double the price. We did and didn't even use ours.. but its safe to plan incase

 

[Random Ninja]

I'm right there with you guys! We check in Saturday too. I've been in WDW a few times in previous Mays and even though it states rain in the forecast, it was minimal. The forecast I was looking at says scattered and isolated so that's a plus too! Even though I'm pretty certain our week at Disney won't be a washout, I am still obsessed with checking the forecast every hour!! Agony!!

With my job, I'm required to check the weather every hour. Don't believe it for a second. The aviation weather I pull up is much more accurate then you'll find on most websites and we still call them "weather guessers." Our report this morning predicted rain right now. (There's no rain. )

Bring a disposable poncho for the afternoon. As soon as it looks like it'll rain, get in line for a show or a long ride. The rain will probably be over by the time you get out. Rain usually pops in between 3-5pm and is over in less than an hour. Some rides will close if there's lightning but there will be plenty open.

I'll be there Sat/Sun and am not even going to bother with a poncho. There's a cold front coming that should stop these afternoon thunderstorms for the weekend. Most of the summer thunderstorms are caused by conduction, rising heat; that's why they are so short. They burn themselves off quickly as the sun starts going down....

I've been staring at the radar too long