How wet?

[momtimesone]

This will be our very first time at universal this july and we are very excited but my main question is how wet will we be getting? I have heard there are a couple water type rides and a kids play area should my son be wearing his water shoes at this park just in case? I dont mind getting soaked as it will be july and i dont care what i look like to others as long as im cool LOL. Should i be brininging my water shoes too? Just wanted to get an idea on how wet the park is. Thanks to all that respond to my insane question

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

If you go on Bilge Rat Barges at IOA plan on getting drenched. Soaked to the skin--as in you may need to go into the restroom and wring out your underwear! You do not want to wear shoes that you don't want to get wet.

There are water play areas that you might want to have your son wear his swimsuit and water shoes.

 

[Melanie230]

If you ride Popeye you can put your shoes in the center of the raft and cover them. Jurrasic Park your shoes will be fine. As for the Barge...I dont know...it was closed last year when we were there.

 

[damo]

If you ride Popeye you can put your shoes in the center of the raft and cover them. Jurrasic Park your shoes will be fine. As for the Barge...I dont know...it was closed last year when we were there.

Popeye and the Barge are the same ride. I think you probably meant to type in Dudley Do Right. You can get absolutely drenched on Dudley. Sandals or water shoes are a great idea since there is no place to store shoes on this ride.

 

[BettyBoop.IOA]

On Jurrassic Park, you can sometimes escape getting wet. But unfortunately on Dudley and Barge's, you will GET SOAKED! You are warned in the que, and they are not lieing! You will definately 100% get soaked on Barge's, its impossible to escape. You have to be very lucky to not get that wet on Dudley, but on Barge's it is impossible!
My tips: Do not wear socks on the ride itself, Try not to wear trainers(excuse my english slang!)or "Sneakers" and avoid wearing denim at all costs if you can! As for watershoes, I've never tried it, but if you have them - wear them!
Hope you have a greeeeeat time!

 

[goofy!]

Crocs work great on the wet rides.

And to emphasize how wet you get - there are jumbo fans in the exit of Popeye that can't even touch getting you dry.

Sitting on the rock wall in the center while waiting for your party to exit (after you have been drenched one too many times) and watching the people exit is often a interesting lesson in the physics of the transparency of different wet fabrics. I always wondered why there were always teens there waiting for their "friends" to get off the ride. And be mindful of what you wear (or don't wear) underneath a t-shirt, especially white. It will be seen.

 

[tink606]

Like everyone has mentioned on popeye's and dudley you get soaked. on jurassic park its minimal depending on where ur sitting. On dudley there is a little surprise ending which is the reason why you get soaked.

 

[scammermom]

The attendent told us we weren't allowed to take off our shoes. But she said that she can't help what we did once we started and she smiled. The people that didn't speak English didn't understand though. Too bad.

We wore flip flops knowing what we were in for. About the third time on it, I barely even noticed getting wet since I was soaked to the bone.

It's great in the summer to cool off!

 

[JMCDAD]

momtimesone
We are also going to US for the first time in July
I think from what I have heard my family and I are going to wear sandals and more swimsuit type clothing to IOA as that seems to be the park where you get more wet and sneakers and shorts to the Studio side. It seems the only rides where you would have to remove your sandals on is DD and Hulk and I am not sure we are even going on those yet, but we'll see have brave my kids ( and us) are

 

[TravelinGal]

Personally, we take a disposable rain poncho to wear on the rides where you get soaked. We enjoy the rides, but we don't enjoy being soaked to the bone. (especially since we usually travel when it's cooler out) They're cheap enough to throw away at the end of the ride and move on to the next ride. Realized last year (at WDW AK) that since we were doing the baby swap we didn't need as many ponchos as we brought because we just traded the poncho when we swapped the baby.

 

[Lisa P.]

TravelinGal, just how well does a poncho work on all these rides in January?

If it's above 65ºF out, we don't mind getting wet hair, etc. But I sure don't want to stay damp for the rest of the day (like with wet underthings). Does your seat still get soaked from water runoff?

Any thoughts?

 

[Planogirl]

On the Bilge Rat Barges, I don't think that a poncho helps much. Your seat still gets drenched and I see no way to avoid that. You could cover your shoes though.

The playland referenced earlier is Fievel's Playland I believe? It's the play area right by Barney and ET. Kids do get soaked to the skin if it's the one I'm thinking of but it's an incredibly fun place to play.

 

[TravelinGal]

TravelinGal, just how well does a poncho work on all these rides in January?

If it's above 65ºF out, we don't mind getting wet hair, etc. But I sure don't want to stay damp for the rest of the day (like with wet underthings). Does your seat still get soaked from water runoff?

Any thoughts?

My experience with this is just at AK - Kali River Rapids, but it's a soaker ride, for sure!

Poncho with hood - put hood on - (or at least be prepared to pull it up fast when you go down a big hill or see a sheet of water you're going towards!) - make sure the poncho is tucked securly under your bottom. Wrap it snugly around your legs. Sit back and have fun while others get drenched to the bone.

No, you won't be 100% dry but it's a ton better to have a few splash spots (usually gets me a bit on the sides through the arm holes - and lower legs get splashes, but not soaked by any means) than to be soaked to the bone when it's grey/chilly etc outside. (we prefer it when it's warm too, we just don't like to be soaked at all) I've never had wet undergarments after wearing a poncho.

DH and are are quite "pooh sized" and we tend to be the ones that get the most soaked on the hills since our side of the raft usually is where it makes impact. So, trust me when I say the ponchos help!

 

[yaytezIOA]

Water shoes are about the best thing you can do. Ponchos will not help on Bluto....not at all. Kali River Rapids? Yeah, a thimble full of water compared to Bluto. If you do not get wet, you need to play lotto, because you will be the luckiest person alive.
Dudley Do Right isnt bad, as long as people dont hit the cannons. Jurassic Park will just get you wet in the face if you're in the third to the 5th rows. The Dr. Suess play area will be super wet as there are standing pools of water. Then you go over to Curious George at USF, and you are guaranteed to get soaked to the bone.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree, Kali is like the Sahara Desert compared to the Barges. I was grateful that I wore light cotton when we rode it. Unfortunately DS was wearing denim so we had to go to the hotel to change. Now we know better.

 

[clm3]

The playland referenced earlier is Fievel's Playland I believe? It's the play area right by Barney and ET. Kids do get soaked to the skin if it's the one I'm thinking of but it's an incredibly fun place to play.

They have big water guns that shoot every direction and a HUGE bucket that dumps water every few minutes. My DD LOVED this place, I couldn't get her to leave. It's has places for parents to sit and just watch the kids run around. She wore her suit under her clothes, it worked out great. She can't wait til we go next year. Thats the only place she really talks about.

 

[Ticky Toria 78]

You can get drenched on the Popeye and Dudley rides, but it's fun!!!!
Happy Holiday !

 

[dandave]

I have never gotten as soaked on any ride as I did on the Barge.

On Ripsaw Falls it was the bridge area where we got drenched. Save up your quarters to "do unto others" there!

 

[musicdude]

The Barge is the most drenching ride we have ever been on! Even the people with rain ponchos got soaked on their bottoms. Went straight to the bathrooms to strip down and ring out the clothes, everyone went comando for the rest of the day, nothing worse than walking around in wet whitie tighties. Next time we will all wear Tevas or Crocs because wet socks and sneakers are no fun either, but forgot all about them from having too much fun. DS rode the hulk about 3 times right after and was pretty dried out.

 

[MouseEars1973]

Short of wearing one of those plastic workout suits from the 70's that have elastic bands on the sleeves and ankles, you will get soaked on the Barge. And even if they do still sell those things, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing one in public. We wore camping panchos and that didn't stop our bottom half from being soaked by the gallons of water that slosh around on the seat. Soggy underwear is a mood killer for me.

I'm thinking next time we will change into our bathing suits before we get on the water rides. Does anyone know if that is allowed? If not, then I guess we'll just have to bring a change of clothes. Or save the water rides for later in the day or right before you leave the parks.