Rain rain go away!!!!!!!!!!

[BrittyRo]

We went in September and it rained almost every day. Many days of torrential down pouring. I remember the CM saying this was the most rain they ever got. We didn't let it get us down (a little upsetting but not vacation ruining). We wore our ponchos and went about our business as usual! Still had a blast and hooked DF on WDW Don't let the rain ruin your vacation!
I don't know if anyone else went end of September (around the 23- Oct 5) last year and remembers. It was a TON of rain.

 

[kerstfan1]

im oing the week after labour day im expecting rain and thunder everyday people call me crazy but i know what to expect

 

[parkluvr]

I found a pretty good strategy for dodging the rain when we were there in March.(Top Secret! Do not share)
The second day that we were at WDW the forecast was for heavy rain from about 10a.m. on throughout the day and continuing thru the following day. That morning I went to the store at our hotel and shelled out $30+ dollars for ponchos for everyone. We packed the ponchos and umbrellas in our park bag and lugged them around for 2 days. We never ended up seeing more than a very brief sprinkle during our 9 day stay.
Bottom line is that the weather in Florida is ever changing and unpredictable. Like others have said, prepare yourself for the rain but don't let the forecasts scare you and if it does rain don't let it spoil your fun.

 

[ReelRedHead]

We have been here for 3 days. It has poured all day, each day and it's cool. Very crappy weather. No end in sight. Too cold for the pool.

 

[halssister]

We have been here for 3 days. It has poured all day, each day and it's cool. Very crappy weather. No end in sight. Too cold for the pool.

And this shows how much the weather can vary even from park to park.....we have been here since Thursday evening. Hit some rain driving in, but spent the first evening at DTD and there was no rain. Friday we did MK from RD to about 2, came back to POR for a pool break and dinner, then returned to the park around 6. Our only rain was about 10 minutes while we rode the PeopleMover......it rained during the ride but stopped before we got off! Now yesterday, we did DHS at RD and ended up getting back to POR at 2 in a downpour.....rained off and on the rest of the day, but we had a great time in the pool from about 5-6 while it was lightly sprinkling. The water felt great to us, but maybe because I'm used to a colder climate?? Today has been pretty wet though for us, we did AK at EMH RD and it was raining by noon. Now we are relaxing and drying off, stuck it out til about 1:30-2 but not the best park for soldiering on in the rain when it is REALLY pouring out. I have appreciated the cooler temps though, I was expecting it to be too hot for us to handle but instead my only complaint about the temps is that we had to shut off the AC in our room at night because I've gotten too chilly

 

[Christinaxo]

We have been here for 3 days. It has poured all day, each day and it's cool. Very crappy weather. No end in sight. Too cold for the pool.

And this shows how much the weather can vary even from park to park.....we have been here since Thursday evening. Hit some rain driving in, but spent the first evening at DTD and there was no rain. Friday we did MK from RD to about 2, came back to POR for a pool break and dinner, then returned to the park around 6. Our only rain was about 10 minutes while we rode the PeopleMover......it rained during the ride but stopped before we got off! Now yesterday, we did DHS at RD and ended up getting back to POR at 2 in a downpour.....rained off and on the rest of the day, but we had a great time in the pool from about 5-6 while it was lightly sprinkling. The water felt great to us, but maybe because I'm used to a colder climate?? Today has been pretty wet though for us, we did AK at EMH RD and it was raining by noon. Now we are relaxing and drying off, stuck it out til about 1:30-2 but not the best park for soldiering on in the rain when it is REALLY pouring out. I have appreciated the cooler temps though, I was expecting it to be too hot for us to handle but instead my only complaint about the temps is that we had to shut off the AC in our room at night because I've gotten too chilly

I am also here now and was telling DH this morning that this rain is becoming annoying. Especially since it is beautiful back home in Boston and over here Ive barely seen the sun! It has been off and on some days but cloudy and chilly (for Florida) most days. Last night I was freezing after splash mountain, I was tempted to buy a sweater.... in August lol but we are making the best of it. Its our off day today so we didn't mind the rain all morning but hoping we can at least get one waterpark day in before we leave Thursday! Fingers crossed!!

 

[Puffy2]

I hate the rain. It was awful on our last trip. The worst part? SHOES soaked!!!

So if anyone has tips about keeping feet dry...let's hear it. Also What type of Poncho do you recommend...the thin ones don't work well. Where to buy better ponchos for best price??

maybe pack some light weight flip flops to switch into if it rains. That might keep your shoes from getting wet. Definately bring zip lock plastic bag to put wet things in.

 

[spartankid34]

I hate the rain. It was awful on our last trip. The worst part? SHOES soaked!!!

So if anyone has tips about keeping feet dry...let's hear it. Also What type of Poncho do you recommend...the thin ones don't work well. Where to buy better ponchos for best price??

maybe pack some light weight flip flops to switch into if it rains. That might keep your shoes from getting wet. Definately bring zip lock plastic bag to put wet things in.

Putting a towel in them at night and tightening them usually works, but I've also read the newspaper can dry them out pretty well also. When the parks flood and we're walking in ankle deep water, I usually just take my shoes off. I hate getting them soaking wet.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I agree, up until the end of May, I thought Rain, what rain? June and July (especially) did bring rain. I waited 30 min at Publix waiting it out today! And yesterday we were at SeaWorld in ponchos. Basically, I've learned that this time of year, your choices are Hot and Crowded or Cooler, Less Crowded and Rain. We rode a lot yesterday, we did two shows indoors and then it stopped raining. We don't let it stop us. Every one left when we were coming.

My honey did get a sore throat though, not sure if it was the rain or not....

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

FYI, there are wet socks for diving fins and dry/
wet hiking folks! They work great..haven't had to use them in a park, but they were helpful on the Mud Run 5k I did, which included wading thru creeks....

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Was watching Weather Underground - in prep for future trip

The storm over Orlando is now labeled as an 'Invest" (it was not labeled last night)

An invest in meteorology (short for investigative area, alternatively written INVEST)[1] is a designated area of disturbed weather that is being monitored for tropical cyclone development. From Wikipedia

 

[sersee05]

I just got here tonight. It sprinkled a bit when we arrived at 930. I'm hoping it turns out ok. I thought tomorrow was supposed to be ok. ?

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I have noticed that the best weather is typically first thing in the morning, and we have had non stop beautiful fireworks evenings every day this week. EP of course (minus show case) is the easiest for too hot, too cold, too wet weather, altho TT can get shut but not much else.

Living in the panhandle south for 5 yrs, than 7 W KY and now in C FL, you get used to summer/fall weather that is downright scary at times. (Altho I think for me, W. KY took the number 1 scary spot.) Anyway, when we would travel for cruises or FL trips, we would always choose last week Feb/Early March, April or May. Less winter weather, no real tropical weather yet. Any time outside of that, especially Sept/Oct (smack dab in active tropical season, Katrina was Sept, our Ivan was Oct) I personally would not plan a special trip myself. In fact, I haven't been down here in the fall I don't believe since probably 1998. (But we have come mid to late Nov and that has been winter weather already, even here...)

If all you have for the year is one week, its iffy. Now that we live down here, its different because if it rains for a week, we just hang out until it blows over. (Unless you get stuck at the grocery store in a whiteout, which did subside after about 30 min.)

I will say that it has definitely been cooler temps. I was grateful to have had my poncho on Sat, and someone described them as steamy and sweaty and it did actually keep me warmer.

Also, FYI the weather apps here really do change every few hours. I definitely would not trust a 5 or 10 day forecast.

On Sat, as it was raining like crazy and we were debating to go to the park on Sat or Sun, Sun said it was going to top out at 17% chance of rain, which is great. An hour or two later when I looked again, it was over 50 and when I got up in the morning, under lots of cloud cover, got a great run in though, and the weather said 100% chance of rain. It ended up being much worse than the Sat forecast even though it was supposed to look much better half a day before. We were glad we had stuck it out on Sat. Case in point, unless you have a tropical system (and we even didn't get nearly as much rain as they said we would last week), don't change your plans a whole lot, just do the best you can with it.

See some of the inside shows and then ride ride ride after it subsides because the die hards stay, every one else leaves.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Also, a tip for out of towners. This applies to a BIG WET one, not an afternoon sprinkle, the kind that almost leaves you steamier than you started. When you see real low clouds, and the trees start to blow in circles and the wind blows in like 10 degrees cooler, at first its great, but it means get ready to hunker down. You have just minutes left to complete storm blowout. You might feel a few warning drops, but you don't get many before the bottom drops out completely, at that point, run!

There is no other reason for a very cool breeze to come up all the sudden in summer. And when you see those trees blowing in circles, its definitely coming. Find a place to relax, charge your phone, maybe ABC commissary, maybe that new Innoventions lounge at EP or go hang out at the UK pub or go on Ellen etc.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Head the warning in the above post! We are here now and as soon as you feel the cool breeze you have a few minutes to get inside. It's not just rain, it's pouring rain coming down in buckets! LOL! As long as you have ponchos you are good to go though. Temps have been great! Last night it was dry and cool at MK and we enjoyed the less crowded park. Basically walked on astro orbiter which we never get to ride. Having a blast!

 

[ReelRedHead]

5th straight day of solid rain and cold. Washout vacation. Still no end in sight. Same forecast for next 7 days.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

Today is almost worst because it started early (8am) and its a cold constant drizzle. Probably could see a lot at the parks tho, I imagine. Good day for ST, RnRc, TSMM and ToT. I am seeing that this does look like another massive system (like last week) covering the central FL state as a whole. It's a great day to drink coffee and sit with my doggie's tho! Glad we hit Thurs, Fri, Sat for parks in a row.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

We will be down there in 2 weeks. I hadn't started watching the weather forecast yet since a lot can change in 2 weeks.
Earlier this morning I was looking at the MDE app to see what wait times looked like and I saw that Test Track was closed. I wondered why but now I know! I looked at the FL radar and it's not pretty. I hope all the rain doesn't ruin everyone's trip this week.

 

[hsmamato2]

Must haves for a rainy trip:

Real ponchos, not the dollar store kind.
A 2nd pair of shoes or something that dries quickly (Crocs are ideal for this as they can be wiped dry with a paper towel).
Several baseball caps or something else with a brim. There is nothing more annoying than rain hitting you in the face all day.
Shami towels in your park bag so you can dry off seats as needed - sitting in a puddle on a bench or a ride is a gross feeling.
Plastic baggie to keep phone and money/credit cards dry, also easy to use your phone right in the bag if you need to change FPs or check ADRs in DME while outside.
Waterproof mascara.
A positive attitude and a sense of humor.

All of this. seriously of all the places we've traveled, I love WDW when the weather doesn't cooperate. Why? b/c no matter what the weather,we can ALWAYS find something fun to do on property! (unlike every other vacation destination where weather can really ruin your plans) My best advice is pack 2-3 pair of shoes,and extra socks if needed -also a few ziploc bags at all times to protect said socks,shoes,and iphones! Sometimes your days will run differently b/c of rain, but you will always find entertainment no matter what! .

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I believe TT closes in the rain, but I'm not sure if others do. (I mean, obviously not the indoor coasters/attractions.) Altho I feel obligated to say, TT was down the last two times, different days, in bright sunshine, that we tried to ride it. So, its not that uncommon anyway, weather or otherwise...

Just about everything closes for lightning though. Today, there hasnt been any thunder here yet, so that helps. Also the ferries carrying from EP to HS (or Resorts too I imagine) won't run if there is thunder in the vicinity, gotta take a bus instead (learned that the hard way.. )