Rain...

[brittainy]

We fly in Thursday and have park days Friday and Saturday. 90% Chance of rain in the forecast for Friday. Do less locals tend to show up if it's raining? I'm a PNW gal so rain doesn't phase me at all, just wondering if it'll be to our advantage crowd level-wise!!

 

[dshimel]

We fly in Thursday and have park days Friday and Saturday. 90% Chance of rain in the forecast for Friday. Do less locals tend to show up if it's raining? I'm a PNW gal so rain doesn't phase me at all, just wondering if it'll be to our advantage crowd level-wise!!

Was there last Friday with a heavy-mist to light-sprinkle most of the day. Wait times were half what they were on Saturday when the sky cleared.

 

[VandVsmama]

Locals melt if they get wet, so they tend to stay away from DL if it's raining. It means lower wait times on rides!

 

[DLgal]

It does mean less crowds. But, it also means a LOT of rides/shows shut down. Just don't be surprised by that.

 

[SMD]

It really depends how much it rains and how much the rain impacts traffic. I've been making it a point to go when it rains since for the last 2 years, and when it doesn't rain hard or it only rains briefly, or it doesn't rain until after morning rush hour, the crowds really aren't impacted that much.

 

[dshimel]

It does mean less crowds. But, it also means a LOT of rides/shows shut down. Just don't be surprised by that.

True. When we were there in the rain last Friday, we spent much of the day in DCA. Rollickin' Roadsters never opened, Sky School was down much of the day, most of the lunar new year stuff didn't happen (Mulan Procession, acrobats, etc).

 

[TalkDisnerdytome]

It really depends how much it rains and how much the rain impacts traffic. I've been making it a point to go when it rains since for the last 2 years, and when it doesn't rain hard or it only rains briefly, or it doesn't rain until after morning rush hour, the crowds really aren't impacted that much.

Do you live in Anaheim? I am wondering how someone who lives the next state over would make a trip to Disneyland purposefully during a rainy time. Guess I would just have to plan my trip a week in advance, which would probably mean no Disney hotel rooms available. :/

 

[2princesses*Mom]

We have plans to go for a day trip with my daughter this Friday (her birthday). But after looking at the weather we will postpone for two weeks. We had 3 days in the parks last November and one day it POURED all day (we were in CA). Crowds were def less, but there was so many closures it became frustrating. We were properly dressed (rain boots, ponchos, etc) and did as many indoor options as possible (frozen, animation academy, etc) but the ride closures were slightly irritating.

We returned in January, and again were met with a full day of rain. Again, we were in CA. The closures that day were significant. RSP, goofy's flight school, screamin, midway mania were all down for most of the day, TOT is closed for the ride re-do, that it made that day frustrating as well. The other rides were much longer wait times (55 min for monsters, 90 min for soarin')

It CAN work to your advantage, less locals will come, but just come prepared with a plan.

 

[gary1955]

does Mickey's Fun Wheel operate when it rains? I saw it in a couple of shots today on the Mattercam and it appears to be empty and not moving.

 

[Winnowill]

We returned in January, and again were met with a full day of rain. Again, we were in CA. The closures that day were significant. RSP, goofy's flight school, screamin, midway mania were all down for most of the day, TOT is closed for the ride re-do, that it made that day frustrating as well. The other rides were much longer wait times (55 min for monsters, 90 min for soarin')

It CAN work to your advantage, less locals will come, but just come prepared with a plan.

Why on earth would TSMM close because of rain?

 

[brittainy]

does Mickey's Fun Wheel operate when it rains? I saw it in a couple of shots today on the Mattercam and it appears to be empty and not moving.

Mickey's Fun Wheel is down for refurb

 

[brittainy]

Thanks for all the insight! I guess we will just go prepared for rain and see what happens! We are taking our 18 month old so she'll be covered in the stroller

 

[AuntieMe3]

Some of our best Disney days have been rainy days!

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We are local, have a box full of DLR specific rain gear, and head for the parks whenever it rains! The heavier it rains, the better. Funny thing is that there are some really dedicated locals out there who do the same thing. We've learned to recognize them by their rain gear because we see them on the same rides with us over and over.

 

[my*gracie*girl]

We just returned from a mostly wet/rainy trip and I didn't feel like the parks were as empty as I expected them to be. I noticed what theluckyrabbit said that many APers (as distinguished by their AP MSEP popcorn bucket! ha!) were there with proper rain attire and seemed to not melt just fine. It was a bit slower, way more AP peeps than I expected considering the friends I have in SoCal who seem afraid to drive if there is a drop of rain in the forecast. Bring ponchos from home and make the best of it. I told my family that a rainy day at Disney is better than a day anywhere else!

 

[ashley0139]

I am local and will plan to go when it rains if I can. I was there a couple Sundays ago when they closed the park early, and I was there yesterday. I love the low crowds so I can get on rides I don't usually get on because of lines (Peter Pan at 20 mins I'll do - not at 50, TSMM, etc). I can definitely see how it would be frustrating for someone out of town, though.

 

[Gretchen1973]

We were there two weeks ago when it rained and the crowds were minimal. As our week went on and the weather got nicer I was actually longing for the rain to come back so that the crowds would go down. I am a PNW girl too so rain doesn't bother me. I was wishing for some rainboots though because there was definitely some flooding in the parks.

 

[HuskyGal]

Pnw girl here too. We entered Disneyland on Tuesday at around noon. It must have rained heavily in the morning because there was no car traffic at 10:45 am from LAX and the people who were in Disneyland were decked out in full rain gear - brand new, shiny rain boots, rain jackets, ponchos while I was sweating in a light sweater. There were no lines at security or the turnstiles. It was a ghost town until late afternoon. Yesterday was definitely heavier to where we needed to move slowly with our double stroller because of the crowds. Not sure Friday will bring the same luck but I sure am hoping so!
I would post photos as proof but it keeps saying file too big.

 

[BubbleDragon]

Another question for those familiar, since we will be down there saturday-wednesday, and the rain looks particularly bad. (We are also PNW'ers!) We have reserved seating dining reservations for both World of Color and for the Parade. Should we just go ahead and cancel those? I've heard they cancel at the drop of a hat, and we wouldn't really have a reason to eat at those places if we didn't want the reservations. I see that the rain will let up for tuesday. I could take a gamble on the world of color not canceling Saturday, and move the MSEP (which is more likely to cancel) to Tuesday....

 

[disney789]

Locals melt if they get wet, so they tend to stay away from DL if it's raining. It means lower wait times on rides!

LOL, you're correct. We're locals and we definitely stay away when it's raining.