Rain Gear Recommendation?

[paintnolish]

We usually go in summer and are prepared with our Dollar Tree ponchos. Last June, however, was particularly rainy, and during our trip we encountered several days of all day rain, as opposed to the usual afternoon downpours. Our ponchos (garbage bags with hoods, practically) failed miserably. I'm thinking of purchasing real, reusable ponchos. What do you recommend? Also, what about for a toddler? How do you prepare for and deal with downpours? Thanks!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hey Tracy!! The Disney ponchos sold there at WDW are very good, yellow in the past, now more clear. Heavier duty, can be used over and over. Also, I have always heard, if they wind up getting ripped over time, they will replace them (that is what I have heard over the years).

 

[ibcrazie4dizney]

we don't take any with us, but buy the Disney ones if needed. can reuse and they come in kids size too.

 

[siskaren]

we don't take any with us, but buy the Disney ones if needed. can reuse and they come in kids size too.

The kids size one is going to be much too big for a toddler though.

 

[Lorilais_mommie]

For a toddler I would look into a long rain coat.

http://www.polyvore.com/ariel_rain_jacket_for_girls/thing?id=48332671

I bought this one for my kids, worked GREAT!
You can slo check out ebay..
I also HIGHLY recommend Disney poncho.. For the adults and also makes a good stroller cover!

 

[ZoeisMommy]

I just bought a Disney princess rain poncho for my toddler at target. Its the thick material like the ones at WDW. found it by accident on a clearance shelf e best $4.99 ever spent.

 

[ducky_love]

Another thought: we went to the outlet here and purchased Columbia rain coats. (We caught them around $30). They were a little more expensive but we use them just about every time it rains. Paired with some crocs I can tour all day in the pouring rain with no trouble. We've been stopped several times in the parks to ask where we got them by folks who are miserable wearing ponchos.

However, if you would really like ponchos they sell them locally at any of the Walmarts, Targets, ect. They are yellow, have a character on them, and normally say Florida. They are the same quality as ponchos sold at Disney but half the price.

 

[cleophus12]

I fully agree with the PPs that the Disney poncho is a worthwhile investment. We've had ours for years and carry them to other theme parks throughout the year. Heavier material doesn't stick to you like the cheaper ones. Now if I could just wear crocs.

 

[vicb]

the last trip we did that had significant rain (3 years back) we tried something new.... umbrellas! My kids were teens. We all carried a small totes umbrella and DH carried a plastic shopping bag with handles that we slipped all 4 umbrellas into when we went into an attraction. We wore our regular rain coats from home.

We spent that day at the Studios and used our umbrellas to zip from indoor attraction to indoor attraction.

The thing I hate about ponchos is the rain beating on my head so the umbrellas eliminated that.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We take sposie ponchos, but all of us also have nice Columbia, Marmot or North Face rain coats and the guys all have rain pants. Dick's sporting goods usually has kid sized ones for about $30; adult sizes are more. Dh frequently keeps watch at geartrade.com for adult sizes. Gear Trade sells returns from a major online outdoor store for as much as 75% off regular price. Most items have never been worn or worn only a time or two before being returned, so the deals can be excellent.

When my boys were little, we used Lands End raincoats, which can often be purchased for under $20 on eBay. I have several of their packable raincoats in various women's sizes as I've grown / shrunk in size myself.

 

[paintnolish]

Thanks, all. I've contemplated raincoats. We ended up drenched to the bone several times last year! Although we still had a good time, the rain put a damper on our trip. Pun intended. I think I'll look for one for the little guy for sure!
The big kids are in need of sandals, so maybe we will go with Crocs. We ended up running shoeless through 6" deep water in Frontierland last year. I don't care to repeat that!
We did get an umbrella, but it's hard to use when crowded. I carried it as I had the baby strapped to me in a carrier.
Hello, Dan!

 

[labdogs42]

We have REI Gore-Tex jackets that we take for really rainy days. They are great! Especially if you have a toddler in a stroller, I say take along the real rain jackets. As for the toddler, get them their own rain jacket and also get a stroller rain cover.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Columbia is a good brand, but Timber Creek is sold at Academy and is a little cheaper and is sufficient for a park rain jacket. They have 2 piece rain suits starting at $9.99.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Catalog_10151_10051_-1_874091557

Unless you plan on standing directly in the rain for an extended period of time, it's more than enough.

Another suggestion I may make is if you are traveling with a stroller, go buy and bring with you a couple of inexpensive shower curtains. Alot of stroller parking is not covered and if it looks like rain is coming, a shower curtain makes for a great stroller raincoat.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

The big kids are in need of sandals, so maybe we will go with Crocs. We ended up running shoeless through 6" deep water in Frontierland last year. I don't care to repeat that!
We did get an umbrella, but it's hard to use when crowded. I carried it as I had the baby strapped to me in a carrier.
Hello, Dan!

We all have sport sandals or mesh hikers for summer theme park time. Keen sandals are awesome, and they are well made enough to hand down from kid to kid (or dad to kid as happened for mine last year). Right now, Amazon has last year's colors for 40-50% off, and they are definitely worth a look. My guys all have the Keen Newport H2 (make sure you get H2, not the leather ones), and I have a variety of Keen sandals, with the Whisper being the cutest. They are all closed toe, comfortable when wet, and dry quickly.

 

[belle912]

We were there last June during the Tropical storm where it rained for days (sometimes sideways) Our kids are older but we survived with minimal wetness using just umbrellas. Most of the people in ponchos had them dripping down their necks/backs and were miserable. The closest people to being as dry as we were had the Columbia type rain jackets and used the umbrellas to keep the water off of their heads as well. I'd slap a giant rain cover over a stroller for the toddler - you can get some inexpensive double stroller covers at amazon.

 

[dadddio]

We own two sets of Disney rain gear from years gone by. We never take them any more because I hate to lug them around. I hate to carry them dry on the chance that it will rain and I hate to carry them wet after it's stopped raining. Instead, we pack enough disposable cheapos so each person has one for each day. If it rains, we toss them on. When it stops, we throw them away. Wearing a baseball hat with the poncho keeps the hood from misbehaving and getting gross.

 

[momfeez]

We've done ponchos in the past, and had a rain cover for the stroller. When they were toddlers they rode in the stroller with the rain cover on - there were air vents on each side. If I remember correctly, they stayed drier than us with the ponchos. This summer though, I am thinking of using umbrellas. The kids all carry their own backpacks anyway and if we have small umbrellas they can put them in their backpacks just as easily as ponchos. Besides, the 15 yr old is too cool for ponchos but will use an umbrella. Go figure.

 

[cleophus12]

The biggest problem with umbrellas I think is how they effect other people in the crowded parks. Someone is always getting whacked in the head or stabbed by the random umbrella. And sometimes umbrellas don't like those Florida gusts of wind (but the ponchos aren't much good in the wind either).

 

[bopper]

As I see it you have these choices:

1) For days when maybe it might rain
a) $1 thin ponchos. They are easy to have with you just in case, but are sort of disposable. I would bring 2 per person with you on vacation and have each person carry one with them.
b) Mini umbrella. This will help with light rain. Not good if the wind is blowing.

2) For days you know it will rain:
a) Disney ponchos. They are much thicker, can go over anything, but you can sweat in them. They are relatively cheap.
b) Breathable raincoats. E.g., ones with Goretex. They are sturdy, will cause you to sweat less, but are more expensive. You can use these for other occasions too.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

We always take dollar store ponchos, one for each day to be stored in plastic bags in our park bags. The Disney ponchos are great, but we find that for the price of one, you can have a week's worth of ponchos that can be discarded at the end of the day or if the weather clears for the day. We used this strategy on our trip in October 2011, where it rained for two days straight and it worked well. They do tend to rip near the snaps, though-but since we were throwing them away it didn't matter.