RAINING ALL WEEK?!?!?!?

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I'm here now. Yesterday we had a storm that lasted about 5 hours. It wasn't a hard storm though. Actually, it was great! That is because the rain made the temperature in the 70's. I would rather walk around the parks in rain/70's than hot/90's.

Most of the time though, storms last about 10-20 minutes.

 

[LisaCM614]

We found the best way to deal with the 'disappointment' of the weather forecast is to change your plans. We are normally park opening - lunch and then back for a break at the pool and a nap. When the kids were getting bummed each day because it was pouring when we were supposed to go to the pool we switched it up - we went to the pool in the AM and then hit the parks when it started to rain. We wear our raincoats that fold up into pockets and we wear visors or baseball caps. When you get back to the room stuff your shoes with newspaper. The newspaper soaks up the water so quickly! We're heading to WDW in 2 weeks. I'm glad the drought has ended for FL and the risk of wildfire has gone down.

 

[fbarker]

*S* ok we need a "Rain" thread like we have for FP+ or MB's because this question seems to be asked every other month and all the answers are always the same. So can we just put up a "Rain" posting that describes the typical Orlando rain day and be done with it *S

 

[DisLaw]

I think the issue is that what's been happening the past couple of weeks is not the "normal" Orlando summer rain i.e. Sunny mornings then brief afternoon thunderstorm that ends and clears up for evening. Sounds like it's been fairly steady rain most of the day which literally can put a damper on your vacation!

I think most of us know what to do about the routine thunderstorms it's just what to do if the rain is more steady

Hoping for more sunshine next week!

 

[Ariel Wanna-be]

I think the issue is that what's been happening the past couple of weeks is not the "normal" Orlando summer rain i.e. Sunny mornings then brief afternoon thunderstorm that ends and clears up for evening. Sounds like it's been fairly steady rain most of the day which literally can put a damper on your vacation!

I think most of us know what to do about the routine thunderstorms it's just what to do if the rain is more steady.

Hoping for more sunshine next week!

THIS.

I think very few people are actually freaked out by a normal afternoon storm. It's the prospect of constant, all-day, non-typical rain that is throwing people for a loop.

On one of our trips (2007? 08?) there was some sort of freak pre-season system that sat on top of southern Florida for a week. The only sunshine we saw was on the first and last days of our 9 day trip. IIRC, twelve inches of rain fell in that week. Though we made the best of it, it definitely put a damper on our trip (see what I did there?). The parks did not clear out like they did during a normal storm because there was no end in sight, so people had to get out and do what they could. We were staying at the WL, and there was so much rain that the roof started to leak in that sloped area that leads from the lobby to the food court.

I definitely do not want a repeat of that trip.

 

[bryanb]

Here now as well. The rain has made it very pleasant here. Usually Orlando is awfully hot all day. If you can turn being wet from a deterrent to a blessing, it is that it's so much more comfortable than when it feels likely the surface of the sun. And the crowds are much better too!

 

[ITALIANNYC]

Either way you will have a good time

I completely disagree with people who say rain on the trip is a good thing though. I go to Florida to enjoy the beautiful sunny skies down there. There is no comparison to a sunny day at the parks to a cloudy and rainy ones. It does put a damper on things. Photos don't look as good either. Just my opinion. I hate the rain. Who actually enjoys wearing a poncho? I dislike them very much

Either way, I wouldn't worry. It's Disney and will be awesome.

 

[Auntie_Maim]

I remember one trip when it pretty much rained all day when we were at AK. Not a heavy rain, just steady and mild. Neither of us bothered with umbrellas or ponchos. It had been gross and hot the preceding two days, so it felt great to walk around in the rain all day. Very refreshing.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We toured the parks in 2013 during Tropical Storm Debbie - 72 hours of straight rain. That was an interesting trip to say the least! During the summer months, you could have brief rain showers to hours-long rain showers. Ironically, the best weather we've encountered in Orlando has been in December (only ironic, I guess, coming from a girl living in New England who expects snow that time of year!). For 2 years straight, we've encountered mid-70's and zero rain during our mid-December trips.

 

[Catvondita]

When I looked at the forecast it seemed pretty standard for Florida. 40-60% chance is what we normally see when we check the forecast for the day when we're on vacation. The difference that makes us nervous is the past few weeks were people are saying that its been nonstop raining. I'm really hoping this week it turns more into standard Florida weather :/

 

[#1hoosierfan]

We were there last week when the weather was rainy. Fortunately, I knew what we were in for (system sitting in the gulf) and went to Walmart and bought a bunch of 97 cent ponchos. That way we could toss them at the end of the day and not have to worry about folding up wet ponchos or drying them out over night.

I do agree that the weather did help keep the temps down. We barely broke a sweat last week. Unheard of in Florida in June.

 

[Senk]

We were there last week. Generally it started raining around noon and stopped somewhere between 3-8:00. We did have one day where it poured from 10-6 at Epcot. It wasn't awesome.... but we put on our ponchos and trucked on. If you are willing to eat outside in a downpour.... it is very easy to get a waterside table at Yorkshire fish and chips, lol! We had to put up the umbrella at the table and wipe it down... but after that, we stayed relatively dry (with ponchos on). Test track was down most of the day because of the rain... so that was a bummer since we had a fast pass for it.

We were mentally planning for typical June rain.... and we got much more. But the two days it didn't rain were brutally hot.... so I think I preferred the rain!

We my have been at Epcot the same day. We tried in from 10-2 and then basically gave up and took naps in the room. It was like this for much if the week.

I've heard it isn't typical. A few hours of rain is different from the majority if the day. I don't think we saw sun until day 4 or 5 of our trip. We still had a great time but I would have probably had a better time without all the rain. Our final day was hot and sunny and I personally enjoyed that more. Also, from what I saw photopass photographers go away in the rain (totally resonable) so that limits the use of that.

Edit to add- most if the time the rain would stop between 5-8 and the night shows would be totally dry. That was awesome since I had a few dinner packages/parties booked and I was nervous mid day every day

 

[Parkercrew]

Either way you will have a good time

I completely disagree with people who say rain on the trip is a good thing though. I go to Florida to enjoy the beautiful sunny skies down there. There is no comparison to a sunny day at the parks to a cloudy and rainy ones. It does put a damper on things. Photos don't look as good either. Just my opinion. I hate the rain. Who actually enjoys wearing a poncho? I dislike them very much

Either way, I wouldn't worry. It's Disney and will be awesome.

Yes rain literally puts a damper on things. Since you have no choice on whether it rains, nothing wrong with looking at the sunny side of rain!

 

[ucfknight]

For all those saying this is just "normal", it isn't. The rain coverage has been much larger than normal, meaning more area is getting rained on each day than normal. And it also means you are likely to be in the rain for longer than the normal passing afternoon storms. Just a little bit of stats to back that up:

Historically for the whole month of June, Orlando averages 15 days of measurable precipitation. Or basically every other day (50% of the days) you can expect to get at least a little wet.
June 2017 already has had measurable precipitation for 14 of the 15 days. Over 93% of the days.

Kissimmee (the closest city to WDW) averages 7.7 inches for the whole month of June, or about 1/4 inch per day on average.
June 2017 they've measured 8.7 inches of rain already in 15 days. That's well over 1/2 inch of rain per day on average.

 

[AZMermaid]

We my have been at Epcot the same day. We tried in from 10-2 and then basically gave up and took naps in the room. It was like this for much if the week.

It was Wednesday 6/7 that we were at Epcot. I agree, the photopass people were basically non existent. There were a few out and about so we got a set of poncho pics- lol! Tuesday and Thursday it also rained all afternoon (Thursday was a shorter spurt, probably 3 hours or so). Fri and Sat were more typical and then our flight was delayed 2.5 hours due to the rain on Sunday.

 

[puffkin]

We have visited many times in June, and we have also been here all week and I can attest that this is NOT normal June weather (and all the CM's are saying last week was even worst). The rain is for very extended and long periods of time. While the cooler temps have been nice and it has helped slightly with the crowds, I can say that being soaked and wet for more than half of every day gets old after a few days. We poncho up and soldier on, but it is a pain, especially with the stroller.

 

[Spridell]

As @ucfknight has said last week WAS NOT normal for down here in Florida.

We were stuck between to jet streams and there was a system in the Gulf and that brought days and days of rain to most of FL which is NOT normal. Usually we get the afternoon storms and they are gone in an hour or 2.

Now for next week......

There is a system entering the Gulf depending how close it gets to FL there might be a couple of days straight of rain (sun through Tues) If the storm stays further away from FL then less rain.

 

[MarBee]

As @ucfknight has said last week WAS NOT normal for down here in Florida.

We were stuck between to jet streams and there was a system in the Gulf and that brought days and days of rain to most of FL which is NOT normal. Usually we get the afternoon storms and they are gone in an hour or 2.

Now for next week......

There is a system entering the Gulf depending how close it gets to FL there might be a couple of days straight of rain (sun through Tues) If the storm stays further away from FL then less rain.

Do you mean the week of 6/18 or 6/25?

 

[Spridell]

Do you mean the week of 6/18 or 6/25?

Yes for next week we are watching a system in the Gulf that if it comes close enough to FL will give a couple of days straight of rain. If it stays further away not as much rain

 

[GC&S]

We were there 6/8-6/15 and it rained every day in the afternoon/evening except for the 9th. We are used to the rain but this rain was different - lasted longer, sometimes severe and with thunder and lightening a lot of things shut down - pools, boat transportation, rides. We kept getting good for any ride FP because every time we had a FP for test track it was closed. I think we rode soarin 5 times with our TT FP. We were lucky one evening to be by TT when it opened after a storm and only had to wait about 10 minutes. Plus the rain sometimes was that sheeting rain that no poncho or umbrella would keep you dry. And my hair frizzes something scary in the rain and humidity. First world problem but it drives me crazy .