Temperature and crowds

[javeyloveschelsi]

Hello!

Just a question out of curiosity. Is there a certain temperature that cause the locals not to want to go to the parks? I’m looking at a 10 day forecast where the high is only to be 59° (of course this can change) with a 40% chance of rain. Would that cause for possibly lower crowds or not—from what I’ve gathered from those I know that live in Arizona and California that temperature is a pretty big deal there (correct me if I’m wrong!). I’m preparing for the worst *crowd wise* as the last two times we went we pretty much had the parks to ourselves and it was glorious lol...I know it won’t be that way this trip, so I’m trying to find any glimmer of hope of lower crowds. For us, 59° would nearly be shorts weather this time of year where we live so we will definitely be out in the parks.

 

[MillauFr]

59 won't make a difference

 

[midnight star]

No..I don't like the cold and have gone to DL in that weather. I just bundled up in layers and showed up midday when it was the warmest.

I think it has to be a mix of good luck, a severe rain storm (where flooding occurs in the surrounding areas to prevent driving), and VERY cold weather to really stop locals. I was just there today in the rain (but weather in the 60's), and DCA was still pretty packed. DL was nicer, but still busy...def not empty.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Pros and cons to weather lowering crowds: cold alone may or may not do it -- and by "cold" I mean a high of 50*F (so lows in the low 40s) -- 59* can be pretty nice -- add steady/pouring rain to that and that should lower the crowds. But, there are rides that will close in steady rain, like RSR, Luigi's, Mater's, tea cups, etc. Parades, F!, and fireworks can get cancelled. Inside seating at restaurants can be hard to find. If there is lightning, other rides will close and the trams to M&F won't run (so you will be walking back to the parking structure in the rain). As the pp noted, today (rainy all day, but milder temps) was a good example of cooler, wet weather not lowering crowds.

 

[Whistlebee]

Personally, I felt like the rain definitely lowered the crowds today. Yesterday, DCA was pretty crowded. Fastpasses we’re gone early. Guardians was 160 minutes for a large portion of the day. I never saw Guardians go over 90 minutes today. Crowds were lower in DL both days. I think yesterday more crowds were in DCA for Food & Wine and today the rain kept people out of both parks. I’m not saying the parks were empty but they felt a lot less crowded today than yesterday. It was my first time being here in the rain and I loved it. A poncho, baseball cap, and shoe covers ordered from Amazon did the trick.

 

[midnight star]

Personally, I felt like the rain definitely lowered the crowds today. Yesterday, DCA was pretty crowded. Fastpasses we’re gone early. Guardians was 160 minutes for a large portion of the day. I never saw Guardians go over 90 minutes today. Crowds were lower in DL both days. I think yesterday more crowds were in DCA for Food & Wine and today the rain kept people out of both parks. I’m not saying the parks were empty but they felt a lot less crowded today than yesterday. It was my first time being here in the rain and I loved it. A poncho, baseball cap, and shoe covers ordered from Amazon did the trick.

Sometime today guardians did hit 110 minutes and RSR was like 95 minutes. But that was probably b/c RSR broke down, then came back up, and everyone rushed to those two rides with multipasses. I'm assuming the times leveled out if you noticed that Guardians it was under 90 minutes though. I was probably over there at the wrong time lol

 

[sherilaine]

It’s been cool and rainy for quite a stretch so I think they are getting used to it. It was quite cool, by local standards, during our visit last month and it didn’t impact crowds much except for one day and that was quite a bit of rain. We walked on guardians 3 times as there was no line. But if you weren’t dressed properly you’d be pretty miserable. Luckily we were used to a lot colder weather where we live!

 

[Cal-Pie]

I think temperature only has an effect if it's too hot. I went during a heat wave once, 105+ for several days straight, it was the quietest I've ever seen the parks.

 

[agamble]

59 isn't cold by CA standards; it just isn't shorts weather to us. Rain chances change. If it actually rains locals may stay away. But a chance of rain won't keep them away. Also if it is 59 and the sun is shining, that would be perfect theme park weather.

 

[dieumeye]

Sometime today guardians did hit 110 minutes and RSR was like 95 minutes. But that was probably b/c RSR broke down, then came back up, and everyone rushed to those two rides with multipasses. I'm assuming the times leveled out if you noticed that Guardians it was under 90 minutes though. I was probably over there at the wrong time lol

Guardians has had towers go down the last couple days, which makes the wait time go way higher than usual.

 

[midnight star]

Guardians has had towers go down the last couple days, which makes the wait time go way higher than usual.

Oh didn't know that! Makes sense then!

 

[javeyloveschelsi]

Thanks everyone for the answers! It was nice to dream about quiet park days for a minute We were so spoiled when we went in September of 2016. We walked onto almost every ride we wanted to—the longest my DH and oldest DD waited was about 20 minutes for Indiana Jones and we only pulled one Fastpass the entire trip and that was for a nighttime RSR ride. The time before that was a few days before the 24 hour party so it was pretty quiet as well. I’m sure we will have a wonderful time anyway and plan on going at a slower pace as it is so what we get done is what we will get done—all that matters is that we will be at Disney!

 

[tarheelalum]

Cold rain forecast days in advance will scare locals off but 59 won't do a thing.

 

[Disney Lvr of Old]

i noticed that on the colder rainier days when we were there last week that the sweet spot is late night. it empties at around 8-9pm. Everything was 5 minutes. On Weather: I'm from Buffalo, NY and was pretty blase about CA 40 degree weather: " i can handle it, what are they talking about?" but standing and waiting in lines that barely move is a heck of a lot different than my 40 degree running from warm house to warm car to warm office is. IT digs deep. Be prepared; we layered after the first night and were fine but it was a quick lesson learned.

 

[MommyLove]

As a local now, cold weather won't keep me away but rain will.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

... standing and waiting in lines that barely move is a heck of a lot different than my 40 degree running from warm house to warm car to warm office is. IT digs deep. Be prepared; we layered after the first night and were fine but it was a quick lesson learned.

This is so true! We see so many miserable people in shorts, flip flops, and a poncho during cold, rainy spells at DLR. They think that it "isn't so cold" -- then they get damp/wet, chilled to the bone, and can't warm up again. Not fun. And waiting for shows by the water is even worse -- it is really chilly down by the ROA and by Paradise Bay when you are totally inactive while waiting for a long time for F! or WOC to begin.

 

[Niltiac]

One place I have found cold weather to make a big difference in crowds - the "wet zone" of WOC. We went in December, it must have been 2017 since WOC wasn't playing this past December. It was a cold night but there was no wind, so we took a chance with the wet zone. We didn't get wet, and there were less than 10 people in the whole section. The closest person to us was about 10 feet away. The row above us was packed. It might have been a fluke, but worth a try if you have a poncho just in case.

 

[DLgal]

Rain...yes. Cold weather...no. It's not that cold. This has been our weather since December. We are used to it now.

 

[javeyloveschelsi]

We are well prepared with rain coats, ponchos, shower curtain stroller cover, plenty of layers, absorbent towels to wipe off seats, etc. I’m questioning my thoughts on our original plan of going to DCA on a Monday (Monday’s at DL worries me because of crowds), but Cars Land was going to be a big part of our first day since our two youngest love cars and the older of the two finally hit the height requirement for RSR. We do have two DCA and two DL days planned, no park hoppers this round, but that supposed really rainy day may limit the amount we get to do at DCA. We have reservations at Lamplight though and I don’t see any other openings that week for there, so we will stick it out and do the rest of DCA and focus on Cars Land more that other day.

 

[javeyloveschelsi]

Rain...yes. Cold weather...no. It's not that cold. This has been our weather since December. We are used to it now.

I always laughed at our friends there who would pull out their heavy coats when it showed 60° weather. I’m glad to know they are just crazy lol...they came to visit us during a very mild winter and our 19°-30° weather was more than they could handle. I’ve never seen anything like their reaction and it wasn’t even that cold to us lol