Rain Contingency Plan

[Dopey24]

So, I'm headed to WDW next week, Monday - Saturday, and The Weather Channel is predicting rain for every single day What's the best contingency plan for a completely rained-out vacation? Do we basically just have to put on ponchos and deal with it? Do people carry umbrellas? (Seems like that might get annoying and unsafe, in crowds.) Is my vacation going to be terrible because of this?

 

[Robo]

So, I'm headed to WDW next week, Monday - Saturday, and

1- The Weather Channel is predicting rain for every single day

2- What's the best contingency plan for a completely rained-out vacation? Do we basically just have to put on ponchos and deal with it?
3- Do people carry umbrellas? (Seems like that might get annoying and unsafe, in crowds.)

4- Is my vacation going to be terrible because of this?

1- That's pretty normal. Don't put too much stock in that forecast.
The weather is entirely unpredictable, and can be rainy at say, Epcot, and sunny in MK at the same time.

2- We love to go to the parks in rainy weather.
Keeps the crowds down. We wear our ponchos and off we go!

3- Do not use umbrellas.
Very dangerous to other guests' eyes and they attract LIGHTNING.

4- See answer #2.

 

[live4christp1]

The rain might be just a passing shower. We got rained on almost every day our last trip but not all day. We'd just pop into a shop or grab a bite to eat while we waited for the rain to pass. Bring your ponchos and have fun. It sometimes thins out the crowd a bit.

 

[CarolAnnB]

No way, you're at Disney!! So what if it rains! It will be less crowded cuz the wimpy people will stay home. Maybe bring some extra shoes so they can dry out overnight (put some newspaper or paper towels in them), maybe invest in the good ponchos, and have a great time. I don't like umbrellas because people just put their heads down and plow thru, which always ends up with someone getting poked in the eye. I doubt it will rain all day every day anyway. You will have a great time!

 

[wmharley]

So, I'm headed to WDW next week, Monday - Saturday, and The Weather Channel is predicting rain for every single day What's the best contingency plan for a completely rained-out vacation? Do we basically just have to put on ponchos and deal with it? Do people carry umbrellas? (Seems like that might get annoying and unsafe, in crowds.) Is my vacation going to be terrible because of this?

have to put on ponchos and deal with it

 

[faneuil]

I love it when it rains at Disney. Crowds dwindle and you can get a ton done.

Few Christmases ago, it rained - well, poured - all day on Christmas Day. We were in the Studios and I rode ToT 24 times. I literally got on and got off with zero wait.

The CMs got to know my name, and even my favorite seat on the ride.

Grab the ponchos and go.

 

[LMO429]

we were in disney this past May when it rained for the last 5 days of our vacation ...STRAIGHT!

the first couple of days we sucked it up and the crowds were super low we were walking onto everything. wishes got canceled one night...and one afternoon it rained in the magic kingdom a poncho just did no good. we did the best we could we dealing with the weather and tried to have the best time as possible.

I would not stress the weather there is nothing you can do about it. just make the most of it. i rather be in a wet disney than at work anyday.

also even though it says rain it could be a passing storm that only last for a couple of minutes or so.

 

[luvgoing2disney]

Yep, just put on those ponchos and go to the parks. Nothing you can do about it anway, just don't let it ruin your trip. You'll be at DISNEY! Have a magical trip!

 

[LMO429]

i just looked at the 10 day forecast for orlando it says 30 to 40% chance of a thunderstorm..that means there "might" be a thunderstorm...these storms usually only last about a couple of minutes to a half hour.

i would not be stressing over this..just bring a poncho and enjoy!

 

[Rainkiss]

Ewg... Here's hoping it gets it out of its system...

 

[dfmalone]

We went in May, if anybody was at DW around the week of the 19th they know how much rain Florida got that week . We basically bought ponchos and dealt with the rain, it was fun, but not AS fun as if there would have been sunshine

 

[Mary2e]

I was there in May - it started raining the evening of May 17 and continued to do so for the entire week. Orlando had a foot of rain and Daytona got 2 feet.

We enjoyed ourselves anyway. The only thing we missed was the EC fireworks cruise because it was cancelled due to lightening. The fireworks went on, they just wouldn't take the boat out.

The rain they're talking about in the forecast, I would bet, is the 4pm afternoon shower that usually hits at this time of year.

But, keep in mind that in May, we were there for 8 nights, and right up until I left for the airport, the forecast was showing perfectly normal May weather for the entire week. It changed sometime over the weekend and a front stalled over the area causing all that rain.

 

[AngVT]

Just get a few ponchos and have an extra one for each person (just in case they rip), and make sure you take 2 pairs of sneakers (or whatever shoe you're comfy walking in) and don't sweat it! We've been in complete downpours, just take extra breaks, under an awning or something... and bring a change of clothes if other people in your party are annoyed when wet.

We're going in 2 weeks, and I'll be checking too... And following my own advice. Last year we went, same time, and had rain 1.5 days of the 5 we were in town... no biggie... brought ponchos just in case!

 

[banks37]

I'm going next week also. This whole week was basically the same forecast as next week with 30 and 40% chances of rain everyday. I checked the radar several times a day and I don't know if it rained at all. We should be fine. Have a good time.

 

[MarieS]

It rained for 2 days of our last trip. We put ponchos on and kept going. On the plus side, lines were down and we were able to see lots of characters.

Have a good trip!

 

[wmharley]

I was there in May - it started raining the evening of May 17 and continued to do so for the entire week. Orlando had a foot of rain and Daytona got 2 feet.

i was there then too..

We went in May, if anybody was at DW around the week of the 19th they know how much rain Florida got that week . We basically bought ponchos and dealt with the rain, it was fun, but not AS fun as if there would have been sunshine

this past may was record rain...

 

[3floridarays]

Our first WDW trip was in 1995 when Hurricane Erin hit Florida in the early morning hours of August 2nd (on my birthday). It passed directly over Orlando as a tropical storm. Needless to say, it DUMPED! But did we let a little thing like a hurricane deter us from our fantasy trip? Nooooo...the next morning we put on those bright yellow ponchos with a picture of a certain mouse on them and went sloshing into the park (albeit a little late, since the park opening was delayed a couple of hours...something about trees blown down, blocked roads, blah, blah, blah...).

Take an extra pair of shoes and don't worry about the rain. Down here in Florida we just consider it "liquid sunshine".

 

[Amy162]

I, too, was there in May. It was CRAZY rain every day (except for our last day, of course!!) There's nothing you can do except for put on the poncho and make the best of it!! We spent more time at Epcot than we had originally planned, there was a lot more to do indoors there. There were a few times that the rain was so hard that we did have to just stay inside or at a restaurant (got to see it flood right outside of Pecos Bills!) I would recommend finding sturdy ponchos to bring with you, a good pair or two of shoes (I loved my croc flip flops and my keens for the rain), and travel light, don't try to carry too much with you because it gets annoying carrying wet bags around. It ended up being a great trip, even with the rain!

0h, and if you have a stroller, make sure to have a rain cover or an extra poncho to put over it while you are on rides or in shows - the kids don't like riding in soaking wet strollers!!!