Rain and thunderstorms during week of our trip

[horse11]

They are calling for storms starting our arrival day plus the next two days of our trip. We had Epcot and Animal Kingdom planned for those days. What are those parks going to be like in the rain. I am fearful we will not be able to see Rivers of light and that the food booths for flower and garden will not be open. Figures..... Florida has been having drought like weather and then We come to visit it is going to down pour lol!! We can not change our days due to our ADR's fast passes for FOP ECT. Any advice?

 

[AnnMichele]

I just got back and have some advice regarding rain. It actually reduces crowds, so you may have shorter wait times! The booths for Flower and Garden remain open during rain. Here's how to deal with it: Pack a lightweight rain jacket and take it with you to the park on the days where rain is forecast. Not a poncho, a rain jacket. You can find them on Amazon. We were at Epcot on Sunday and it rained lightly for a while. It eventually stopped, but rain was forecast intermittently the rest of the day. We had ponchos but quickly realized we'd need rain protection more than once, so a poncho was not the best for us. Plus, they can be cumbersome and a pain in the rear to wear. My friend and I made a judgement call and purchased the Helly Hansen rain jackets from the Norway pavilion. This was a big purchase at $100 (luckily we only paid $80 with passholder discount). These were wonderful and made the rain much more bearable! We felt much better in those than in ponchos. Take a look at Amazon or your favorite outdoor store and come prepared, so you're not making a $80-100 judgement call during your trip!

 

[AnnMichele]

I've also heard about bringing duct tape and covering mesh parts of your athletic shoes if it's heavy rain to protect your socks and keep your feet dry. Once the rain stops, take the tape off and you're good to go!

 

[DizneyMommy]

Bring a bunch of throwaway ponchos, and when everyone else chickens out, stay and have a blast! That’s what we did last trip and it was so fun. We wouldn’t dare leave (well, until the lightning started. Then we took cover!)
We wear Keens and Crocs, and just keep right on treking!

 

[DizneyMommy]

I’ve also read that as soon as it starts to rain, start loading up on FP’s. As rides close you’ll get anytime FP’s and can keep adding more. But I haven’t tried it myself!

 

[horse11]

I just got back and have some advice regarding rain. It actually reduces crowds, so you may have shorter wait times! The booths for Flower and Garden remain open during rain. Here's how to deal with it: Pack a lightweight rain jacket and take it with you to the park on the days where rain is forecast. Not a poncho, a rain jacket. You can find them on Amazon. We were at Epcot on Sunday and it rained lightly for a while. It eventually stopped, but rain was forecast intermittently the rest of the day. We had ponchos but quickly realized we'd need rain protection more than once, so a poncho was not the best for us. Plus, they can be cumbersome and a pain in the rear to wear. My friend and I made a judgement call and purchased the Helly Hansen rain jackets from the Norway pavilion. This was a big purchase at $100 (luckily we only paid $80 with passholder discount). These were wonderful and made the rain much more bearable! We felt much better in those than in ponchos. Take a look at Amazon or your favorite outdoor store and come prepared, so you're not making a $80-100 judgement call during your trip!

Glad to hear the food booths will still be open!! It is so easy to get disappointed after a year of planning every detail but I have always had it in the back on head to be flexible lol!! This will be a new experience for me since every trip I have had in the past during May has been perfect. Listening to your guys advice and expirences will help make this trip not only doable but hopefully a lot of fun!! Here is to positive thinking....

 

[Christine]

There's a thread on the community board about this. It's a big concern for everyone who was looking forward to nice weather!

 

[horse11]

There's a thread on the community board about this. It's a big concern for everyone who was looking forward to nice weather!

I will look for it. Nothing better than a therapy session lol!!

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

I've also heard about bringing duct tape and covering mesh parts of your athletic shoes if it's heavy rain to protect your socks and keep your feet dry. Once the rain stops, take the tape off and you're good to go!

Duct tape would destroy the mesh pulling it off. Even more so when wet.

I personally wouldn’t do this

I haven’t thought about what to do with rain on my sneakers. Sigh now I gotta figure it out lol

 

[DizneyMommy]

Duct tape would destroy the mesh pulling it off. Even more so when wet.

I personally wouldn’t do this

I haven’t thought about what to do with rain on my sneakers. Sigh now I gotta figure it out lol

Invest in Keens. Seriously!!

 

[AnnMichele]

Duct tape would destroy the mesh pulling it off. Even more so when wet.

I personally wouldn’t do this

I haven’t thought about what to do with rain on my sneakers. Sigh now I gotta figure it out lol

Theresa or Kathy mentioned it on a "Disney tips" show a few years ago. I've never tried it. Maybe just bring extra socks? Or you could put arch supports in rain boots and just wear those for the day. I did that once for a street festival that was a complete washout.

I did wear my normal running shoes on Sunday and did not have a problem with wet socks.

 

[goldie09]

For footwear, I can understand wanting to wear running shoes especially if you're afraid of blisters from any sort of supportive sandal. if you are bringing a park bag, I always throw in a pair of lightweight flip flops - if it starts to rain, I put them on and keep my running shoes and socks dry in my backpack! I also like to wear flip flops on water rides...same idea. Any good backpack that I bring is definitely waterproof enough to keep contents dry even if the outside of the bag gets wet.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

It does stink to plan for so long and when it finally gets here to have rain predicted every day.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst is the best you can do.

I have packed up my keens and my tevas along with mole skin, scissors, bandaids, band aid's version of body glide, and my Disney ponchos that we had last year. Both have rips in them so I'm hoping that what I've read is true and Disney will swap them out. We will grab a newspaper or two to stuff the guys' shoes for drying at night since neither will wear sandals.

My biggest fear is about my DH if we have downpours and complete washouts-the rest of us will go, but he'll stay in the room. Just puts a damper on everyone's mood when that happens.

We cannot control weather or crowds-but we can control our outlooks about those things. Think Happy Thoughts-it's still Disney!

 

[Randomsoulshine]

For footwear, I can understand wanting to wear running shoes especially if you're afraid of blisters from any sort of supportive sandal. if you are bringing a park bag, I always throw in a pair of lightweight flip flops - if it starts to rain, I put them on and keep my running shoes and socks dry in my backpack! I also like to wear flip flops on water rides...same idea. Any good backpack that I bring is definitely waterproof enough to keep contents dry even if the outside of the bag gets wet.

We do this too! Each of us has a drawstring bag that holds a water bottle, poncho, and change of shoes. If it starts to rain or we are going on a water ride we take off tennis shoes and socks and put them in a large ziplock bag and put on the poncho and flip flops/sandals. It rained on us in Epcot and it didn't mess anything up. Many of the rides are inside such as in the land pavilion. When outside we were happy in a poncho and flip flop /sandals. Ponchos worked for us as they also kept our bags dry on our backs. On another note it didn't rain nearly as much as was forecasted. I cannot speak to AK in the rain as I haven't experience that.

 

[DizneyMommy]

It does stink to plan for so long and when it finally gets here to have rain predicted every day.

Hope for the best, plan for the worst is the best you can do.

I have packed up my keens and my tevas along with mole skin, scissors, bandaids, band aid's version of body glide, and my Disney ponchos that we had last year. Both have rips in them so I'm hoping that what I've read is true and Disney will swap them out. We will grab a newspaper or two to stuff the guys' shoes for drying at night since neither will wear sandals.

My biggest fear is about my DH if we have downpours and complete washouts-the rest of us will go, but he'll stay in the room. Just puts a damper on everyone's mood when that happens.

We cannot control weather or crowds-but we can control our outlooks about those things. Think Happy Thoughts-it's still Disney!

They let you bring scissors in the park?

 

[AnnMichele]

The Safari ride at Animal Kingdom is actually better in the rain. I've ridden it a few times while it's raining and have seen a BUNCH of animals! They move more in the rain.

 

[Wdw1015]

Has anyone ever used something like these plastic rain covers for your tennis shoes? I personally think they are genius but my husband gave me the “are you serious” look when I showed him! Just wondering if they work and if people actually use them?

 

[bigbabyblues]

It always rains on our trips. I second whoever said rain jackets instead of ponchos, and keep a ziploc baggie in the pocket to put your phone in. A ball cap if you wear glasses, to keep the rain off, and Keen or Teva sandals, no sneakers. There is nothing worse than wet sneakers and nasty wet socks!

 

[gharter]

Rain is a great way to reduce crowds.
As mentioned above, do NOT use a cheap poncho. Have a decent rain jacket.
The ziplock for the phone and camera if you bring one and sandals instead of tennis shoes are all good suggestions.
Some of the outdoor rides may be closed, but the indoor ones will be going.
The food kiosks will still be open.

 

[DizneyMommy]

We’ve used cheap ponchos in summer rain storms at WDW, on water rides all different places, and on other travels when caught in the rain. We’ve never had a problem. We get the disposable ones and throw a couple in the backpack for each of us each day. They end up cheaper than good ponchos even though we buy a bunch of them, way less bulky than jackets, and we can throw them away when the rain stops. We’ve always stayed perfectly dry under them. With kids and all their stuff, carrying 5 jackets would be total pain. Plus then storing them wet in the backpack with a camera and whatever else that I don’t want wet.
On top of that, who wants to wear a waterproof jacket when it is 95 degrees outside? Ponchos never feel as hot because they are so open at the bottom.