How to handle the rain

[disney world dreamer]

I can remember one day in the 20 years or so I have gone regularly that it rained all day or even half. Last July just about every day it rained for a short time

i was there last july.
it rained for a good 1/2-3/4 of the day the majority of the days i was there (i was there several days prior to and several days after the monorail was struck by lighting).
central flroida hit their average july rainfall before half the month was even over.
don't get me wrong i did not let it "ruin" my plans but just saying you cannot rule out an all day rain event.

 

[GatorMama]

Take a good atroller cover. Take it every single day. If you leave it back one day, be assured that's the day the rain won't stop.

2012 that was us. They closed AK that day. I apologized to everyone on the way out "I'm sorry. It's our fault. We left the rain cover in the car today..."

 

[Accident]

I didn't used to care about the rain but last october we never saw it stop raining and it was annoying but not ruin the trip annoying.

Now we:
1: pack anything we can't or don't want wet in plastic bags
2: bring an extra pair of socks, we chewed up our feet one trip when it was raining 3-4 times a day/night and then walking a couple miles. even if the walk is to try to get back to the hotel to change, your going to chew your feet up.
3: ponchos are useless, we go full new yorker with a couple umbrellas (and a great way to spot other new yorkers). yes they are allowed in the parks but be prepared to close them before your under anything to keep dry for other guest safety.
4: Wait near the buses if it's raining when we get to MK. It's a river and extra water park to get around the bend and into MK.
5: Sometimes complain. Disney uses room and fastpasses as credits. If there is no other option for us (like a special event with different ticket) and we had to leave it, then we speak up as we did pay extra. It's really rare and we've only complained once during the halloween party in all our trips. It was really ruined with most rides not opened, fireworks and parade canceled, no characters out. Once everything about the special extra cost event wasn't an option we gave up and wanted a refund but got an extra night stay + a ticket for the next one out of it.

 

[Tomh]

One of the BEST days we have ever had in Disney was when Hurricane Faye was coming through. It was cool, and breezy, with a light rain all day, and the crowds were the lowest I have ever seen, with short to no lines for almost everything. We rode Buzz Lightyear probably 12 or more times that day, haunted mansion more times than I can remember, small world, Pirates of the Caribbean, and some other stuff. It was a great day to be in MK.

Now then, as others have said, while there is no hard and fast rule, in general:

1) don't let the forecast get you too worried\
2) usually, while it does indeed rain every day, it does NOT rain all day long
3) Most days, there will be an afternoon storm
4) while short lived, these storms are often quite intense
5) if there is lighting, seek shelter, it is serious
6) as long as there isn't lightning, and it isn't down pouring, carry on
7) if you don't like the current weather, hold tight, wait ten minutes, and it will probably change.
8) finally, in the event that you do get a full day of rain, and it is honestly hard enough to keep you from enjoying the parks, well, find something inside to do, but
9) most days the rain will not ruin your day, it will just be a small nuisance.


AND . . . MOST IMPORTANTLY

10) ENJOY YOUR TRIP!!!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I always see the comments about , oh, it's Florida, they're short storms, they will pass.

And up until our last trip, I would have agreed. However, we had a day on our last trip where it rained non-stop from 8:00 am when they let us into MK until after midnight when they finally shot off the fireworks (after hours of delays).

If it's one of those days, I don't know what to tell you. We spent a good chunk of the day under Astro Orbiter, riding the stuff in Tomorrowland where the lines were manageable. We ate lunch, shopped and gave up until Wishes Dessert Party time, where we had lackluster desserts and never saw the fireworks. It was a bummer of a day.

Strategies? Ponchos for sure - the Disney variety are my favorite. Resign yourself to getting wet, especially your feet. If it keeps raining, take a break. Seek out the indoor activities for sure.

To make you mentally feel better, Florida forecasts are very unpredictable. You may have amazing weather!

Very true. Even some of the storms that start later in the day don't necessarily pass quickly, they can go for much of the evening. One year we had to move swimming into the morning during one of the days because the kids kept getting rained out of the pool (I should say lightning-ed out since that was the real problem)

But that's not the usual case thank goodness.

 

[itchin2go]

Very true. Even some of the storms that start later in the day don't necessarily pass quickly, they can go for much of the evening. One year we had to move swimming into the morning during one of the days because the kids kept getting rained out of the pool (I should say lightning-ed out since that was the real problem)

But that's not the usual case thank goodness.

Yes, after I posted that, I thought - you know that has only happened one day in all our trips. Now, it was miserable enough to be memorable, but you're right - it's not the norm.

I will also add that sometimes the rain really cools things off, so look at that as a bonus.

Two trips ago, we started the trip our with a dreary, drizzly day that continued on and off. It wasn't a downpour, but it was enough to make us seek out indoor spots and put on our ponchos. We just crossed our fingers that the rest of the trip wouldn't be like that. Well, it wasn't, but it was miserably hot. We soon realized that we preferred drizzle and overcast to blazing hot!

 

[ArwenMarie]

Yes, after I posted that, I thought - you know that has only happened one day in all our trips. Now, it was miserable enough to be memorable, but you're right - it's not the norm.

I will also add that sometimes the rain really cools things off, so look at that as a bonus.

Two trips ago, we started the trip our with a dreary, drizzly day that continued on and off. It wasn't a downpour, but it was enough to make us seek out indoor spots and put on our ponchos. We just crossed our fingers that the rest of the trip wouldn't be like that. Well, it wasn't, but it was miserably hot. We soon realized that we preferred drizzle and overcast to blazing hot!

Orlando weather is so crazy for six months of the year

 

[Batgirl67]

We will be there almost the same time as the OP- July 9-20. We have our ponchos packed and we have plastic storage bags packed for the electronics we might be carrying in the parks, phones and cameras, primarily. This way they are extra protected in our backpack and under the poncho. We may bring flip flops or sandals to change into if it starts raining so we can change out of tennis shoes and socks. We are also bringing at least one extra pair of tennis shoes, so if one pair gets wet and is not dried by next morning, we have a back-up pair that is dry. Besides, being mindful and cautious with the lightning, we still agree a rainy day at Disney is still better than not being at Disney.

 

[Kalliope]

Keep in mind when it pours in the afternoons, drainage in the MK isn't that great and water pools in a lot of places. You may be walking through ankle deep water in spots.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Poncho = $1
Rainy day = $0
Crowd levels low = priceless

 

[TwoCortWort]

We are 10 days away from our first trip to WDW. We will be in the parks from July9-July 14. I just checked the 14 day forecast and it is calling for major thunderstorms with a 90-100% chance of rain. One of the days is calling for 50+mm of rain!! I am really hoping that the rain does not ruin a big chunk of our trip so I am hoping that I can get a lot of feedback on how people have handled large amounts of rain before? Are there any tips or things I should plan for because of so much rain? I will be there with my DW, DS5, and DS1. We are from Vancouver so we are well versed in rain but here its usually cold out when it rains and we stay indoors a lot.

Thanks in advance

It's Florida, give it 5-10 minutes and the weather changes. The summer months bring rain and storms daily down there. Last year there was 50-80% chance daily and we never had a rain-out, we made the most of it and kept trucking basically.

 

[Fantabulously Cherry]

Buy 98 cent poncho packs at Walmart and keep the in your bag. If it rains, put them on and enjoy your day. For the most part, the rain doesn't last long. Or you could go into an indoor attraction during the rain, especially if you are in World Showcase.

 

[tndisney5]

We were there these dates last summer. We had good weather until about lunch and then nonstop rain until dinner. We never encountered a thunderstorm, it was heavy rain at times. My suggestions are to pack ponchos and book dining reservations for dinner. That helped us stay in the parks a little longer but out of the rain so we didn't feel our day was a total bust. Also, enjoy some indoor things at the parks. We got stuck at Epcot last year in a big downpour and spent time doing all the Nemo stuff and our kids enjoyed Figment about 5x. There are still things you can do in the rain!

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Ziploc bags are your best friend when it comes to keeping wallets and cell phones dry in a downpour or on water rides.

 

[ktlm]

We've been there in what we refer to as "monsoon" day. We have also been there when it has stormed or rained. In the summer, it is very common for storms or rain to come through in the afternoon. Typically, they are pretty short lived. Even if the rain is not short lived, the storm portion with lightening is typically pretty short lived. If it is a storm with lightening, you go in a building, until it passes. If it is just rain, you throw on a poncho on and keep going. The poncho can get pretty steamy in the summer months when the temperature is hot, but that is probably better than a really cold rain in the winter. If you are at AK, ride Kali- you are going to get soaked on that ride anyway. We also rode Safari in the pouring down rain- it was one of our best rides. The animals seemed to really enjoy the rain and were out playing in it. At EPCOT, Test Track will close, but pretty much everything else stays open. A lot of things are in buildings there, so aside from getting from place to place that isn't much of an issue. Most of the WS characters move inside for pictures, so you can get some photos in different places than usual. We enjoyed that. At MK, my only tip is don't ride Big Thunder- it hurts in the rain! As for DHS, I can recall being there for short rains of an hour or less, but not for rains that went on for several hours like we have done in all the other parks. DHS has indoor attractions like Star Tours, Little Mermaid, Great Movie ride, Muppets, Disney Jr., Frozen Sing Along, TOT, RNRC that would all be fine in the rain. I think you will see some of the outdoor shows cancelled. I think Beauty and the Beast will still go on if there is a little rain as the stage is covered, but I have heard of it being cancelled if a heavy rain is blowing in on the stage. I know I have heard of Fantasmic and Indiana Jones being cancelled due to rain.

You can still have plenty of fun in the rain at all the parks! A lot of people do leave if it is raining- we won't melt so for us that means shorter lines! We have had some really fun rain days at WDW.

 

[ktlm]

Ziploc bags are your best friend when it comes to keeping wallets and cell phones dry in a downpour or on water rides.

This is very true! If you are carrying a purse in the parks that is not very water resistant or that you don't want to get wet, you can keep one of the really large ziplock bags in your purse and pull it out and put your purse in it for the rain or water rides. You can get those oversized ziplock bags at Walmart. DD always takes her stuffed Duffy into the parks -he came from WDW so he likes to visit- and I keep a large ziplock bag to put him in if it starts raining too.

For shoes DD and I wear Bernie Mevs. We usually do either the Comfi or Cuddly style, but they have a bunch of different styles. They are extremely comfortable for walking in the parks from open to close. My legs and feet don't even hurt at the end of the day. They dry really fast when they get wet. If you get a pair, you do want to wear them for at least a couple of hours on a day before wearing them on an open to close Disney day-that will get them broken in and formed to your feet so they won't feel tight at all on a 12 hour day of walking. I have wide feet and for me they seem to run a bit small, so I get a size up in most styles. I typically wear a 7 1/2 which would be a 38, but I get a 39 in a lot of their styles.

 

[Disnsyncey]

I will stress as well as others.....think ahead about your shoes, that will be very important.....I was in school in Orlando and it was raining for about 2 weeks straight and we were tired of being indoors.....we put on our reefs (rubber flip flops) put a hat on, and said to heck with the rain! Really, if the water is out of my face, and my feet aren't soggy, I can survive a lot.....

so in conclusion...

shoes and hat

 

[ThumpersMommy]

i was there last july.
it rained for a good 1/2-3/4 of the day the majority of the days i was there (i was there several days prior to and several days after the monorail was struck by lighting).
central flroida hit their average july rainfall before half the month was even over.
don't get me wrong i did not let it "ruin" my plans but just saying you cannot rule out an all day rain event.

We were also there last July and it rained 6/7 days of our trip. We always go in July so we expect daily rain, but last year it seemed to last longer than just a brief shower. We brought our usual cheap ponchos which did not hold up to that kind of rain and ended up getting the WDW heavier ponchos instead. Those really helped us stay much drier. Despite the more than usual rain, our trip was great and we had a good time. Two upsides were that the heat was not as bad because we were always wet and sometimes the parks were less crowded. You will still have a great time!

 

[disney world dreamer]

We were also there last July and it rained 6/7 days of our trip. We always go in July so we expect daily rain, but last year it seemed to last monger than just a brief shower. We brought our usual cheap ponchos which did not hold up to that kind of rain and ended up getting the WDW heavier ponchos instead. Those really helped us stay much drier. Despite the more than usual rain, our trip was great and we had a good time. Two upsides were that the heat was not as bad because we were always wet and sometimes the parks were less crowded. You will still have a great time!

yep i always recommend using the disney ponchos especially for the summer months.
the day we went to epcot is started raining about noon while we were in mexico.
we stood under cover waiting for it to let up but after 30 minutes it didn't.
i've never seen the bottom of the stairs outside mexico flood quite that much.
as we ran for norway i swear a lightning bolt hit just behind me!
it then rained again late afternoon and then again around 8:30pm but my sister and i watched illuminations in the pouring rain anyways.

the next day was HS and we only stay there until about 2pm usually and just as we were leaving it started thundering.
it rained for several hours after that.

then the next day we had brunch at 1900PF and it started pouring as soon as we got there and did not stop for several hours.

luckily on both of our MK days it only rained for the regular short periods of time.

it was a road trip and we also went to universal studios, seaworld, homosassa springs, weeki wachee springs...
it rained for hours each of those days as well but luckily it started in the late afternoon when we were done with the parks.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

If you go down in the summer months, be prepared for part of the day to be rainy or at least threatening to where you are thinking about it. I invested in a good radar app on my phone so if something looks ominious I will look to see if something is on the way. Occasionally you may get an all day soaker but like I said in an earlier post, often times it is a short downpour. It will rain like crazy but 20 minutes later the sun is out again. I was down 9 days last July and I think it rained every day but just for a little bit. Worst day was the Monday at HS, it was raining so hard the main road to the entrance was under water. Wear water proof shoes if practiical and invest in a $1 poncho at home.