Thunderstorms the entire trip?

[Tomh]

TYPICALLY . .. . it rains every day, but usually only for a while in the afternoon, say somewhere between 20 minutes and an hour or so.

Last summer, that was not the case, we had hard core rain through most of our trip, but that is not the norm.

 

[AngiTN]

It's likely there will be A Thunderstorm somewhere in the area every day.
It's unlikely there will be Thunderstorms all day
It's even unlikely there will be Thunderstorms in all areas every day
But to put Thunderstorms on the forecast every day is correct

 

[Accident]

I've been on a trip before where it was a week of rain every day. Basically we would see noon rain, then afternoon rain and many days there was evening rain.. It never really got in the way, and in some ways it helped as people would leave and make the crowds thin to enjoy a little time before they came back.. Also don't forget it's florida, you can literally be in rain at jungle cruise and dry on main street (and if you look at the overhead of the park, they are physically next to each other).

We changed how we tour the parks from this now.. We like to do our must dos early int he trip, especially for things like fireworks and parades that may get canceled from rain (btw, the rain parade at MK in the afternoon is great if you've never seen it). This leaves the rest of the trip to circle back when the weather is more friendly.. Paid events like parties, it also gives you a chance to go to a second one if your trip length has more parties.

What rides will close during a thunderstorm?

Not many, but lightning within 20 miles and anything outside will close. There's a good mix and don't worry about fastpass, they turn into use anytime or on other ride fastpasses if something closes for weather..

 

[DisMommyTX]

We usually go in July, so for us, it's not really Disney unless it storms a couple days.

At first, I made the mistake of cancelling FP because it was storming a few minutes before out scheduled time. Do NOT do this! If the ride goes down during your FP window, they will give you alternate attractions and/or a 'return anytime' pass. These appear automatically in your MDE account, and can be a gold mine in terms of scheduling on rainy afternoons. Wait out the storms at indoor attractions such as characters, IASW, and Pirates. Then ride your mountain after the weather passes!

 

[DisMommyTX]

In our experience, at AK, Kali and Everest are the first to go down. At Epcot only Test Track, and HS usually keeps all rides open, though street entertainment is often cancelled. MK loses Splash, BTMRR, 7DMT, and lots of the kid stuff, Dumbo, Goofy, Flying Carpets, Tomorrowland Speedway, AstroOrbiter, etc.

 

[Micca]

Its been our experience that the Orlando forecast is for some strange reason "almost meaningless" that far out. We look at it maybe 2 days ahead of our trip for a "guide" knowing that it will probably change, but I have not found any reliability in the forecast there as we do for other areas. HOPE you have good weather!

Yup, we've noticed this too. We've seen the forecasts change from when we go to bed one night to when we get up the following morning. Not worth worrying about, you take your ponchos and pack some water resistant shoes.

 

[KEVD]

Just be prepared for rain by bringing rain ponchos. And stay off of those weather web sites this far in adv. I have a personal rule where I don't look at the forecast until 1 or 2 days prior to each day.

 

[BridgetR3]

We find Magic Kingdom to be the worst in thunderstorms as all outdoor rides close. That's AstroOrbiter, Barnstormer, Dumbo, 7D, Aladdin, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder and Splash. I think I've got them all. So if it looks like it's going to rain all day on one day, maybe look for a different park than MK.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

12 days out, I'd really not even think about it until about a few days before you leave, and then just for the first part of your trip. It is FL and it does rain, especially in the afternoon when you get the land/sea breeze interaction which causes convection (rising of air) that turns into T-storms, usually short lived.

 

[Minnesota!]

It's Florida. It'll be beautiful all morning, storm for 30 minutes in the middle of the day, and be beautiful all afternoon.

It was sunny maybe 10 minutes before I took this video:

It was perfect all afternoon too. It's just a passing thunderstorm, no big deal. This was during our April trip.

Good God I love the storms when I am in FL. Nothing better than a nap with the storm brewing outside.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Remember too that Disney World is a large place. It could be sunny at Animal Kingdom but storming at the Magic Kingdom.
During the Star Ware race weekend, I woke up to an alert for 100% chance of rain Friday. I went to the expo, chilled at Pop, then to Disney Springs-it never rained. That being said, many busses coming into the Springs were wet with headlights on, and folks exiting were wearing ponchos.

Have a plan, have a mobile weather radar in hand, and dive in to eat or do indoor activities and you will be fine.

 

[Annadesu]

Oh wow, thanks for all the tips, everyone We do have rain ponchos and do not planning on abandoning the parks if it does rain

 

[TSR6]

Good God I love the storms when I am in FL. Nothing better than a nap with the storm brewing outside.

Yes.... as long as you've already made it back to the room like we did.

 

[Minnesota!]

Yes.... as long as you've already made it back to the room like we did.

Yeah, I suppose there is no great place to nap in a park

We have had a great time with storms in the parks, though. One of my favorite memories was our first trip with our first child. We were waiting out the storm by the bathrooms in the America pavilion at Epcot. There were SOOOO many people crammed back there, sheltering from the rain. Our son, just shy of 2, was getting impatient waiting there. So, my husband took him out to the promenade and they danced in the rain and jumped in the puddles. It was so great. The kid had a blast, wasn't whining anymore, and it helped me learn to embrace the weather - no matter what it is!!

 

[vratiana]

It's Florida. It'll be beautiful all morning, storm for 30 minutes in the middle of the day, and be beautiful all afternoon.

It was sunny maybe 10 minutes before I took this video:

It was perfect all afternoon too. It's just a passing thunderstorm, no big deal. This was during our April trip.

Wow, is that the view from your room? Boardwalk Inn? What kind of room is that?
Great video!

 

[MlWinans]

Just a cool little tip when looking at the forecast a few days before your trip:

Look at the UV forecast for the day if it says Rain/Storms/T-Storms. If there is above a 30% chance of rain at any point during the day the forecast will say rain and make it look as though that day may be a wash.

SO... for example, if a day is showing 50% chance of T-Storms but the UV prediction is 8+ you can count on the sun being out most of the day and a 50% chance of a scattered T-Storms.

 

[Yarbogash]

Yesterday there was heavy rain on and off through the day. Very heavy before 8 pm. We got off the bus at I think 7:30 and despite using ponchos and an umbrella our shoes were soaked by the time we got in. Was thinking this might be a big mistake. Took the train, did a full lap at son's request then got off in Fantasyland and in the circus area there was nobody there. Son played in the Dumbo waiting area and there was like 2 or 3 kids total in there. Had a snack in Gaston's and when we came out we could see stars. Park was asempty as I've ever seen. Stayed till 11, walked on to most rides including Belle's. Amazing night. So some bad weather can be a good thing if you can stick it out.

 

[Accident]

I had a horrible trip in 2014 where it rained a lot for about 10 days.. While there was some situations like doing laundry a lot, a couple times having to go back to the resort just to get dry clothes, buying more clothing at disney than we normally would it really helped make an insanely crowded week into something more barable. People just scatter when it's the 2nd or third time there is rain and if you stuck it out, you had a great time, night fireworks running really late with no crowd in the hub to watch them, etc etc.. It's never all day rain, but in this trip it was 2-3 hours of rain 3-4 times a day (and night). at night it was almost a ghost town, people just called it an early night after a day of rain..

Also when it's raining first thing in the morning, many people start to crowd places that are indoors. It's not uncommon for disney quest to go into closed mode or everyone to be around springs or other parks that are more indoor queues.. If your able to pivot your trip, you can find a little time at some of the parks with lower than rope drop crowds until everyone starts to fill it back in after lunch sometime..

I also like the rain parade in MK. It started one christmas when it was too much rain to run the parade but being christmas day, they improvised a parade using the main street vehicles to put the characters in to stay dry and rain coats on everyone else. Every once in awhile it comes out again and it's fun and different to see a parade that isn't easy to catch. It's not the best parade but it's something special and different for that trip that most people haven't seen.

 

[Amanda999]

We go every late August (and also other dates) annually. The weather report usually says hot with chance of thunderstorm daily. Some years - like 2014 - it didn't rain once! Usually it rains/thunderstorms about 1/2 the days we are there in late August, but only 2 times in many of those trips did the rain (real rain, not just tiny sprinkling) last more than about 30 minutes.

FWIW we love it when it rains: many people leave the park! We always have our rain ponchos (the lightweight type) with us if there's any chance of rain, because if you can wait out rain the wait times will often go way down.

HTH!

 

[DougEMG]

We been at WDW since mid April and while it has rained occasionally, it's never rained where we have been. On Monday evening there was a huge downpour with major lightning, worst I'd even seen. Then on Weds it rained all day which was unusual. Today is bright and sunny again.

I highly doubt that you are going to be rained out every day regardless of what the forecast says.