Rain concerns...

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

A group of four (DH and I, and two friends, all early-mid 20s) are going to be at WDW for a week starting next Saturday. DH and I have been a few times but the other two are treating this as their “once in a lifetime” trip. We’re from Southern California and are not at all accustomed to rain. Of all the times DH and I have been, we’ve been lucky enough to only have it rain one day. As the date approaches, I’m getting really nervous about the forecasts showing thunderstorms every day. What does this actually mean for us and how do we still make this trip as enjoyable as possible??

 

[CAS239]

You'll see more sun than rain. Typical Florida forecast for about 8 months out of the year. Anticipate brief afternoon showers somewhere in the general area. It can be raining in the MK parking lot and not have a drop of water in the actual park.

An 80% chance of rain doesn't mean it's raining for 80% of the day. It means that there's an 80% chance that somewhere within the surrounding area that rain will fall at some point. And look for those percentages to go down as the day approaches

 

[FCDub]

There’s not a single weather forecast in the world that’s reliable a week out. Don’t look again until a couple days before.

That said, you’ll get good advice here for what to do should it actually rain a lot.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

You'll see more sun than rain. Typical Florida forecast for about 8 months out of the year. Anticipate brief afternoon showers somewhere in the general area. It can be raining in the MK parking lot and not have a drop of water in the actual park.

An 80% chance of rain doesn't mean it's raining for 80% of the day. It means that there's an 80% chance that somewhere within the surrounding area that rain will fall at some point. And look for those percentages to go down as the day approaches

Oh wow, okay that’s good to know. We actually do like the rain and don’t mind it in spurts, it’s just the concept of them not seeing WDW in the sunshine that is breaking my heart. I really hope you’re right and we see sun! Thanks for this!

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

If you wanted to avoid rain you should not have picked the start of the rainy season to go.

It generally means pop up thunderstorms that bring a heavy amount of rain in a short amount of time and then its sunny again however it could mean rain all day.
You just never know.
Unlike Disneyland there are many fully indoor attractions at Disney World.
Just toss on a poncho to get from point A to point B and continue on with your day.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

If you wanted to avoid rain you should not have picked the start of the rainy season to go.

It generally means pop up thunderstorms that bring a heavy amount of rain in a short amount of time and then its sunny again however it could mean rain all day.
You just never know.
Unlike Disneyland there are many fully indoor attractions at Disney World.
Just toss on a poncho to get from point A to point B and continue on with your day.

Well, I don’t feel your first comment was entirely fair/helpful - we’ve gone in May and late August before and had hardly a drop of rain and tons of sun both times. Our one trip in early April was overcast the whole time and absolutely poured one of those days. I don’t think picking a time to avoid the rain is an effective strategy.

The point about there being more indoor attractions, however, is a good point. We’ll probably rethink our touring plans to stay in covered areas in chunks of time, minimizing the amount of cross-crossing to stay drier. This works well for MK I think, but AK will be more of a struggle. I’ve already told my friends to buy rain jackets so as long as we’re prepared and have contingency plans I’m sure we’ll have a blast, just trying to get as much advice as possible to how to make the most of it!

 

[mousehockey37]

Oh wow, okay that’s good to know. We actually do like the rain and don’t mind it in spurts, it’s just the concept of them not seeing WDW in the sunshine that is breaking my heart. I really hope you’re right and we see sun! Thanks for this!

Who cares, you're in Disney World. A rainy day in Disney is better than a sunny day most everywhere else.

 

[WB1971]

Just back today from the wettest week we've ever spent there in 25 years. Not what I expected for mid-may. Not just the usual pop up stuff, it rained for hours or the better part of a day every day. That being said, we of course still had a great time. Touring was difficult though as it wears on you for days on end. When the sun did come out it was bananas busy. Hope this system moves out for you, Orlando weather thinking it would be unstable this week. Eventually you'd think it would normalize.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

Who cares, you're in Disney World. A rainy day in Disney is better than a sunny day most everywhere else.

Oh for goodness sakes, seriously? afraid to get wet? No. Used to it and knowing what to expect/how to make the best of it? Also no! What are these boards for if not to ask advice for situations people don’t know about themselves?

 

[mousehockey37]

Oh for goodness sakes, seriously? afraid to get wet? No. Used to it and knowing what to expect/how to make the best of it? Also no! What are these boards for if not to ask advice for situations people don’t know about themselves?

Your backstory prompted a lot my response. Also, using the search function, you'd see countless threads of others that ask the same question about Disney weather. Pack a poncho and get on with your day, really.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

Just back today from the wettest week we've ever spent there in 25 years. Not what I expected for mid-may. Not just the usual pop up stuff, it rained for hours or the better part of a day every day. That being said, we of course still had a great time. Touring was difficult though as it wears on you for days on end. When the sun did come out it was bananas busy. Hope this system moves out for you, Orlando weather thinking it would be unstable this week. Eventually you'd think it would normalize.

Thanks for this, that’s kind of what I’m expecting... my new plan is to try and push through as many rides as possible in the rain so that when the sun is out we can enjoy walking around and taking it all in. I’m just trying to set everyone’s expectations so that we’re all able to be flexible, come rain or shine!

 

[greentea]

We also just got back and it did rain quite a lot. There were sunny periods, but we never did make it to Test Track because our FPs were rained out each time and the rain never really let up on our Epcot days. My favorite park in the rain is Animal Kingdom because many of the animals are more active. The lions were awake and roaring, so that was cool.

The air conditioning can be pretty chilly once you've been caught in the rain, so keep that in mind. We brought our ponchos along every day, which I haven't done on previous trips (I don't mind being caught in a short afternoon rain but the all day stuff is too soggy without a poncho.) If you have Disney ponchos and they rip, you can get them replaced for free at any of the shops. We had to do that a few times just because of how much we wore them.

Still had fun! Just had to be flexible with plans a few times.

 

[North of Mouse]

The worse part for us when we had lots of rain in summer was the high humidity combined, that made us feel like broiled lobsters.

And sorry, @mousehockey37, disagree completely, you can enjoy your wet days at Disney, I'll take my wet days at home any day. If rains 'set' in, we leave - occasional showers/thunderstorms we handle.

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

We also just got back and it did rain quite a lot. There were sunny periods, but we never did make it to Test Track because our FPs were rained out each time and the rain never really let up on our Epcot days. My favorite park in the rain is Animal Kingdom because many of the animals are more active. The lions were awake and roaring, so that was cool.

The air conditioning can be pretty chilly once you've been caught in the rain, so keep that in mind. We brought our ponchos along every day, which I haven't done on previous trips (I don't mind being caught in a short afternoon rain but the all day stuff is too soggy without a poncho.) If you have Disney ponchos and they rip, you can get them replaced for free at any of the shops. We had to do that a few times just because of how much we wore them.

Still had fun! Just had to be flexible with plans a few times.

Thanks, and good tip about Disney ponchos! You said the AC can be chilly after being in the rain, which makes sense. Is it actually chilly during the rain itself? Or is it tropical enough that it’s a warm rain? I’ve mainly planned to pack shorts/lightweight clothes but if it’s a cold, dreary rain, maybe we’ll throw in warmer clothes too

 

[PaintsWithAllTheColors]

The worse part for us when we had lots of rain in summer was the high humidity combined, that made us feel like broiled lobsters.

And sorry, @mousehockey37, disagree completely, you can enjoy your wet days at Disney, I'll take my wet days at home any day. If rains 'set' in, we leave - occasional showers/thunderstorms we handle.

Saw this after I posted my last reply, but I think it answers my question about the rain being warm then. The one day we’ve experienced rain at Disney it was in April and it was pretty cold (60s), but it looked like it’ll be in the 80s this trip.

 

[mousehockey37]

And sorry, @mousehockey37, disagree completely, you can enjoy your wet days at Disney, I'll take my wet days at home any day. If rains 'set' in, we leave - occasional showers/thunderstorms we handle.

Run from the rain, more space in the parks for me!

 

[greentea]

Thanks, and good tip about Disney ponchos! You said the AC can be chilly after being in the rain, which makes sense. Is it actually chilly during the rain itself? Or is it tropical enough that it’s a warm rain? I’ve mainly planned to pack shorts/lightweight clothes but if it’s a cold, dreary rain, maybe we’ll throw in warmer clothes too

The day of constant rain felt a little chilly, but with the ponchos on we were mostly okay. Shorts are probably fine still, since I had capri-length pants on, and when the bottoms got wet it just started to seep higher up my legs! Luckily I packed quick-drying fabrics, so it wasn't too bad. Maybe pack a light cardigan or something, but I didn't feel like I needed more than that.

 

[North of Mouse]

Run from the rain, more space in the parks for me!

Yep! We've done it more than once when the rains have set in. You can have the parks gladly! We'll wait for more settled weather. We had a wonderful 10 days middle of April. We had storms one evening, otherwise gorgeous temps, etc.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We go once or twice every year and maybe twice out of all these trips where it rained all day. It does rain often but just for a little bit and then it is over. I will say that when it rains we put on our ponchos and keep going. I have to say many people leave and the park is not as crowded. We don't mind the rain at all.

 

[Maleficent53]

I hate wearing ponchos because they are sooooo hot. If it looks to be a short downpour I would rather get wet and dry when the sun comes back out. Or maybe head to Splash Mountain and get wetter lol. But that said, we do bring them if the forecast is predicting all day rain and hit the park. Some of our best days have been in the rain with lower crowds.