How to salvage a rainy day

[Danestress]

If you are at WDW on a truly cold rainy day (not an afternoon shower day, but a full fledged rain-all-day day) what do you do? Or more specifically, what should *I* do with two 8 year old boys in December? We are staying at SOG so I don't think hanging out at our resort will feel like we are doing Disney. What resorts can one have lunch at and then kill some time walking around in? Which parks have attractions that are largely indoors? If it rains several days, what does one do?

 

[Twinprincesses]

We got rained out a couple days and it was so cold that my daughters lips turned blue. Unfortunalty all the indoor places at Epcot were jammed back so we just left and went to look around at all the different hotels.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

If the boys like video games, head to Disney Quest (in Downtown Disney). It is 4 or 5 stories high - a gigantic teal building you cannot miss - full of video games. It is extremely crowded on rainy days.

There really isn't any hotel I can think of that could take up a day to look at.

I like Epcot's Future World in the rain. You'll still get wet walking to each thing, but can do everything but Test Track. All the parks have stuff you can do indoors, I guess. That's just my favorite.

Good luck & I hope you don't have to buy any Mickey ponchos!

 

[makinorlando]

It rarely rains for several days in this area unless there is a hurricane. I can't remember too many times in 2 1/2 years that it rained for more than 2 days - all day - rained out type of days. December is "typically" a drier month.

This is not a resort, but as another poster mentioned - Disney Quest, or lunch and a movie at DTD. It's a great movie theater.

if you have transportation and want to venture beyond Disney (I know for some that is unheard of...), Wonderworks is a pretty fun place - my DD loved it, and you can usually find a BOGO coupon in Entertainment Books, and those little flyers. Pointe Orlando is next door, with shops and restaurants.... as well

 

[seashoreCM]

There have been a number of reports here that on rainy days crowding is much less. So you may get a lot more done in a park by going on a rainy day.

There is the tradeoff that some attractions may not be operating.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[valandemmy]

on our last trip, it only rained one day
but, we took in alot of the indoor attractions at MGM...muppet show, Millionaire, Great Movie Ride, ect. it had been SO hot that day, itwas actually a little fun, to walk around in the rain.

 

[dwkwootton]

If you can handle the rain, consider going to the Magic Kingdom. I was there in Jan '05 (it was a Friday, I think the 21st) and I have never, never, never seen anything like it in over 40 trips to WDW. We had the whole place to ourselves! It was bizarre ~ LOL ~ like a ghost town ~ the place was empty and I mean empty! We walked onto whatever atttaction we wanted. Mind you, we were soaked through to the skin and cold but it was so cool to have the park to ourselves! Ordinarily, I wouldn't have gone in that weather but my husband was there for the first time (can you imagine someone in their 40's having never been to Walt Disney World) and it was our last day and there was so much left for him to experience. We have great memories from that rainy day!!

 

[firemanx]

You could always try to wait out a storm if its a MK day going around the hotel loop on the monorail. Stoping @ each hotel arcade, play games walk around shops, and what not

 

[dps17@case.edu]

i think that with two 8 year old boys that disney quest is the best idea of how to spend your day. A second thought is to go to a park, im sure they won't mind the cold and rain, you just have to think if you can take it or not.

 

[Quinn222]

Rainy days are good days in the parks, not so crowded. That said, December is sry season in FL and we hardly ever get rain in December, especially not for two entire days in a row.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

You put on a rain poncho and keep going! Best time to be in the theme parks is when it's raining. It holds back the crowds. So many of the attractions are inside you can have a great time in the rain.
If anyone plans on going to Disney Quest on a rainy day I suggest you get there right at opening. I have read that it gets really jammed when it's raining.

 

[RussH]

One of the best WDW trips I ever had was a few years ago when it rained for 3 days. Luckily it was in May and not cold. Once you realize you are going to be wet all day it gets really easy. Dress for the rain I wore a good poncho not one of the disposable type. A coolmax T shirt that dries quickly and swim trunks. Had to go the first day to the outlet malls and get my girlfriend at the time a couple pairs of Mens swim trunks. They look like shorts but are comfortable wet and dry fast. Put on a pair of water shoes put just a few things in a zip lock bag and go. She put her hair in a ponytail and no makeup (never saw that before) and we were out of our room hours earlier LOL.
Went to MK first rode everything we wanted with zero lines then went over to Epcot. Really weird walking around WS at 2pm and notice that we could not see another person for several minutes at a time it was that empty.
If it is cold carry 1 or 2 sets of dry clothes and a couple towels in ziplocks or space bags and rent a locker 1st thing and dump it all . Then through the day you can go retrive another set change and back you go.

With a little planning big rains can be great fun.

 

[nigel-bigel]

On our very first trip - January '95, we were at MGM (now Disney Studios) on what turned out to be a very rainy day. We were at the perfect place! Almost all of the attractions are indoors, and walking around in our ponchos was fine. It really was a terrific day.

My only suggestion would be to bring ponchos or other rain gear from home. Buying ponchos at WDW is cheap (just about the cheapest thing they sell!) but they all are the same. It's hard to keep an eye on your kids when everyone in the park is wearing the same thing!

Don't let the rain stop you!

 

[Disney Fool]

It always amazes me how much we stress about rain at Disney, when half of the rides we ride will get us WET!!! Once you've figured out that it doesn't matter where the water is coming from, that you're going to have wet sneakers no matter what you do, you'll relax and enjoy it! I think it's sooo funny to see folks trying to keep dry during a rain shower, and then as it lets up, what do they do? They run right onto Kali River Rapids!!! As other posters have said, some of my best memories of Disney have been in the rain. We had a "extra Magic Hours" night at MK a couple of years ago, and it poured. It was great; the atmosphere was so charged with everyone determined to stay and have a good time, that we had an awesome time--I mean not just my party, but everyone in the park! We were all laughing at the situation and our craziness, the CM's were great, the tiny kids who were covered in plastic in their strollers, had big grins on their faces. You could just tell that no one was going to let the rain stop them.

 

[misskrystal]

Avoid WS at Epcot. When it rained on our last trip, everyone crowded into the shops and it wasn't pretty

Like others have said, just get yourself a poncho and carry on. Everyone else will be indoors, avoiding the rain and you'll have the parks to yourself.

If you really don't want to get wet, take the time to sample some of the other resorts. It's something you might not do in warmer weather.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

Disney Quest and the Contemporary Resort are great places to be when it rains. We usually don the ponchos and keep going, but these are two areas that would help if need be. The Contemporary has Chef Mickey's for meals plus many shops and the giant monorail. They also have an arcade.

 

[perdidobay]

Last March our group of 6 (5 adults, one child) decided to brave the cold, all day rain to go to the MK. Cast members were thanking us for coming out to the park, that's how bad it was. We dressed warmly, had our rain ponchos on and rode all the rides we wanted, it wasn't too crowded.
We were soaked ( lower legs and shoes) by the time we left. Would I do it again?

probably not.... go to a movie or Disney quest instead!

 

[MelanieC]

Luckily Dec is a dry month. I've been several times (at least 3) during that time of year and maybe its rained once (maybe twice).

 

[Feralpeg]

On one of those all day rainy days, we'd take advantage of some downtime and see a movie at DTD West Side. It was very relaxing and gave us a chance to recover from our time in the parks.

 

[winniedapooh]

Buy a poncho and have a blast! Wear warm clothes and shoes that do not slip easliy. This happened when I was down the beg. of Feb. and we walked on and off rides all day. The only bad thing was the thunder and lightening did close some rides periodically!