Poll: When it rains at WDW...

[novafan]

Do you drive on with your touring plans or head for cover or leave the parks?

Just wondering what most people do?

My DH and I are definitely "drive on" type of people and we think that we will apply this to WDW, but, no BIG BUT, we have a 1 and 3 year old plus MIL and FIL will be on the trip with us. I have a sneaky suspicion that MIL will not want to "drive on." As for the kids, I was thinking about getting those stroller rain covers, but I keep wondering if that will be too much of a pain. I keep thinking how hot it would get underneath that plastic in the heat of September, not to mention humidity.

Any rain survival tips are welcome. I am bound and determined not to let the highly probably Florida rain stop us.

 

[goofyernmost]

I can't honestly say because in my dozen or so visits it has never rained for over a minute. Yes, I am truly blessed.

 

[Pooh67_68]

If it is just a light rain, we put on the ponchos and keep moving. However if it starts to rain heavy then we seek shelter inside the stores and just do a little shopping. Problem with that is a lot of other people do the same thing, so the shops can get quite crowed. Whatever you choose good luck.
And remember to have fun.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Well-we never just leave the parks. In 26 trips to WDW it's never rained that much!! Most times we just head for cover (if it'swindy and raining) or if it's just a sprinkle, we move right along. Most times it rains, it's usually just a passing T. Storm, which clears away in short order.

 

[Shooby doo]

Our first trip it rained every day for about 30/45 mins but whilst everyone was running for cover we were going out in it!But we've had a couple of trips where the rain was horrendous-we have one picture of a day at Epcot that youwould think a hurricane had hit!But we always stay,even with the rain running out your shoes!!
Every time we have a family get to together we have a laugh about " WE've paid our money so we're staying!"
SD

 

[cinmell]

We've never left a park due to rain. We just keep on going and usually the rain doesn't last long at all anyways.

 

[goofy4tink]

We just got back from WDW and the horrendous rain storms they had on a daily basis. I knew when I decided to go in August that there would be daily showers. I planned around them. Well!! The sideways rain would start around 2ish and keep up for hours. If it was a light rain then we stayed in the parks. But there were several times when it was monsoonal in it's intensity. Everyone was in the shops, buying ponchos. You couldn't move in the shops! We did stay in the parks if it was light but as soon as it started going up our ponchos we figured it was time to call it a day. On our last night, it was an E-night. We got really soaked but figured..hey, we're wet now and can't get much wetter and it's warm out so what the heck. With your little ones it might be more of a problem tho. And I'm sure, if your in-laws are anything like mine, they probably won't be thrilled about being in that kind of weather.

 

[psu1978]

We were there last December and it rained quite a bit. The day we went to MK it rained all day, but wasn't cold. We donned our ponchos and did everything we had planned (and more) by 4:00 in the afternoon because we didn't have to wait in any lines anywhere! Later in the week it rained very hard when we were at the Animal Kingdom. It was colder and there is a lot less shelter there for the rides and exhibits...so that day we did quit early. I think MK is a great rainy day park because everything is so close together and you can move from one ride to the next fairly quickly.

Bottom line (in my humble opinion) is even if it is raining....you're still at the best place on earth!

 

[puffkin]

Epcot is a great place to go in the rain. Most of the attractions are in the pavillions, so you can stay dry for long periods of time and still experience most of the attractions.

 

[ktglads]

No matter how bad it is raining, we just put on the ponchos and head forward. Rain after 5:00 or so is really good since it will most of the times clear out the park pretty well. If you stop to do something that you would normally do anyways (eat dinner, see a show, shop), when you are done, the parks are definitely less crowded. Its rather nice and worth it to put up with being wet.

 

[Horizons16]

Originally posted by goofyernmost
I can't honestly say because in my dozen or so visits it has never rained for over a minute. Yes, I am truly blessed.

This has happened to us all but once. That one time we just went back to the hotel and got dry stuff.

 

[FFerret]

Let's say it's park opening time and everyone's deciding where to go when it starts raining--does everybody head to EPCOT?

 

[jiminyfan]

Last September we had rain almost every day and some were not your passing shower variety. And we carried on for the most part. One day at AK we had so much rain our 3 year old son was complaining about being wet. WE told him how can you be wet you are wearing a poncho. well, when he stood up we realized that the stroller caught a lot of rain, in fact, the entire seat area was one BIG puddle. We got a good laugh out of it as he said - "SEE TOLD YOU!".

Even though we go to WDW a few times a year, we usually keep going unless the rains are like that one 2-3 hours of continuous down pour.


You are in and out of buildings nd attractions, so to us it is a minor inconvience.

The AC can make it a bit chilly though.

Good luck buy your ponchos and have fun.

 

[HappyMommy2]

If it were just DH and me at WDW, we'd be happy to press on through the rain. However, we went with DSs 1 and 3 this summer and on the couple days it rained, the rain was a hassle. We had a double stroller and had purchased a rain cover that claimed to "fit all tandem strollers with canopies" but it didn't fit at all! So we were stuck trying to drape ponchos over the stroller, but the kids just pulled the ponchos off. Besides (and I'm sure this would have been true with the plastic rain cover, too), it was terribly hot in the stroller with anything covering it.

The kids didn't really mind getting wet themselves, and we had extra dry clothes for them in the bag, but we really just tried to avoid the rain because we didn't want the stroller to get wet, knowing that once it did it would NEVER dry off, and I know my kids would hate riding in a wet stroller. When it rained we tried to park the stroller under an overhang, and then we draped ourselves and the kids in ponchos as best we could, and each of us carried a kid as we ran to and from nearby attractions. Not too pleasant! Of course the kids thought that was fun. Fortunately we only had one day when it rained and rained and rained.

I wonder if having one of the big rented plastic strollers would be an advantage on a rainy day, since you could just wipe it off?

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I never, EVER, change my plans because of the rain. I just wear the poncho........and GO !

 

[Badger Brent]

We've gone to WDW the past 2 times in Aug. The first year we kind of avoided parks at times, and we felt afterwards we missed out a lot on that vacation. This past trip 2 weeks ago, we had a great time even in the rain. If weather is warm, wear sandals and have the ponchos ready. For us, we didn't wait a year to let the rain deter our vacation!! But, with in-laws you will need to be attentive to their needs as well. I know you will have fun either way..

 

[Jay Since 72]

Originally posted by ktglads
No matter how bad it is raining, we just put on the ponchos and head forward. Rain after 5:00 or so is really good since it will most of the times clear out the park pretty well. If you stop to do something that you would normally do anyways (eat dinner, see a show, shop), when you are done, the parks are definitely less crowded. Its rather nice and worth it to put up with being wet.

Couldn't agree more. Rained one evening we were there, and the Magic Kingdom was completely empty. My Mom, who's not a big roller coaster fan, rode Space Mountain 4 or 5 times in a row. No line! Woohoo!