Thunderstorms :(

[halssister]

We will be at the parks from Friday through Monday, and the current weather forecast is showing thunderstorms every single day, with anywhere from a 30-65% chance, depending on which website I look at. We have some super cheap junky rain ponchos, though with the heat, I'm not even that worried about getting wet, we have plenty of extra clothing packed for this trip. I'm more worried about things closing. I *think* most of the rides we plan on doing at MK and Epcot are enclosed, except the Speedway.....this should still be running, shouldn't they?
I am REALLY hoping we don't have a wash out on Sunday.....that is our AK day, which is our favorite park!!!

 

[Wenny]

This is a totally normal weather forecast for central FL in the summer. You get a T-storm just about every afternoon.

I've been watching the forecast all summer ahead of our visit the second week of August and it seems the standard forecast is 50% chance of T-storms and 89 degrees (give or take two or three degrees). Bring your ponchos and roll with it!

 

[LaurenT]

Summer in Florida. Every day is a good chance of a thunderstorm.

 

[Tink415]

It usually rains and thunderstorms everyday in the summer for a few hours at least. Some rides may close temporarily but plenty of attractions will still be open. I find the rain ponchos sold at the parks work really well to keep dry, and they last, worth every penney! The other thing to consider is wearing shoes that won't get soaked or be slippery. Not sure if Test Track stays open in thunderstorms, I would think not.

 

[loves to dive]

Yes, it will rain every day but it doesn't last but a hour or so. Make sure you take more than one pair of shoes so you aren't walking around in wet shoes every day. It is usually a good time to get things done as lots of people leave the park when it starts raining. Just make sure you carry a poncho every day.

 

[rucifee]

We will be at the parks from Friday through Monday, and the current weather forecast is showing thunderstorms every single day, with anywhere from a 30-65% chance, depending on which website I look at. We have some super cheap junky rain ponchos, though with the heat, I'm not even that worried about getting wet, we have plenty of extra clothing packed for this trip. I'm more worried about things closing. I *think* most of the rides we plan on doing at MK and Epcot are enclosed, except the Speedway.....this should still be running, shouldn't they?
I am REALLY hoping we don't have a wash out on Sunday.....that is our AK day, which is our favorite park!!!

Forecast said 100% chance of thunder storms by Disney World last Sunday, all day. The reality though was 5 minutes of rain and no thunder. Don't believe the forecasts here, they're almost never right.

 

[FindMeAFishingSpot]

It usually rains and thunderstorms everyday in the summer for a few hours at least. Some rides may close temporarily but plenty of attractions will still be open. I find the rain ponchos sold at the parks work really well to keep dry, and they last, worth every penney! The other thing to consider is wearing shoes that won't get soaked or be slippery. Not sure if Test Track stays open in thunderstorms, I would think not.

I can validate this one - Test Track is definitely closed during the thunderstorm. We waited over an hour for it to reopen once and finally bailed (the 5 year old was amazingly patient!). Good thing we didn't wait any longer - the storm raged all evening long and it never reopened. We did mention it back at the resort and they put an additional FP on for us the following day, so we were finally able to ride. And it is now my son's favorite ride in all of Disney!

 

[Mousemommy1]

That's Florida in the summertime hun. I honestly wouldn't give it a second thought.
We were there last August and there was an 80% chance of storms every day of our 11 day trip -- it rained ONCE. We were actually praying for rain because it was so hot and nothing.

 

[Jarmo]

If you think you got through a summer day without a rainstorm in Florida, you probably weren't actually in Florida. In this case, be wary of whoever is calling themselves Mickey Mouse.

 

[kj2mom]

Forecast said 100% chance of thunder storms by Disney World last Sunday, all day. The reality though was 5 minutes of rain and no thunder. Don't believe the forecasts here, they're almost never right.

I am soo glad to hear this. There was a dis member who was really nervous about Sunday being a washout. I posted a link with the % chance of rain hour by hour hoping to put their mind at ease that unless there was some big storm coming through they would probably be okay. Glad to hear the fears were not realized!

 

[PoohsFan1]

Look on the bright side, when it starts to rain/storm, the parks tend to clear out . This is why we love it when it rains in Disney, we have been known to come back for a break and head right back out again because it started to rain, we were trying to fight our way back into MK because so many people were trying to get out. When the weather gets like this we like to go shopping down Main Street or hit up some of the shows, DH and I have even sat at a table (under an awning at Pecos Bills on the Adventureland side of the restaurant) and just people watch as they are running to take cover. The good thing about Florida rain in the summer, it usually lasts about an hour or so, so don't worry too much about the forecast. Have fun!

 

[ChelleFeegan]

Echoing what everyone else has said, it rains every day (pretty) much in Summer in Florida, and the showers last between 10 minutes and an hour. In the three years I've been I've known two storms that lasted longer - one where the park flooded and after trying to wait it out by the undercover part by splash mountain we decided to just go and jump the puddles and had a blast, and the other time was our last day last year - where it rained for five hours and for the first time EVER I was chilly in August, in Florida.

You'll be okay

 

[Iowamomof4]

What happens if it's raining during your Fastpass time and the ride is closed because of the rain?

 

[bball15fan]

They will honor the fastpass for a later time when the ride reopens.

 

[rucifee]

What happens if it's raining during your Fastpass time and the ride is closed because of the rain?

In my experience they give you a freebie fastpass good for nearly any ride to replace the one you missed if a ride goes down. I don't know what the controls around it are, but we've gotten them several times. The only time they won't give them out by default in my experience is if you've checked into the second fast pass MB checkpoint.

 

[Jess_S]

One of the neat things about thunderstorms in Florida is how localized they are. During my time as a CP, I can remember multiple instances where it was raining in one park and I hopped to another to find sunny skies. (Washouts do happen, but putting on a poncho and soldiering on still allowed plenty of fun).

 

[rucifee]

One of the neat things about thunderstorms in Florida is how localized they are. During my time as a CP, I can remember multiple instances where it was raining in one park and I hopped to another to find sunny skies. (Washouts do happen, but putting on a poncho and soldiering on still allowed plenty of fun).

Sunday on i4, westbound was soaked and it was raining quite a bit over there while i4 eastbound (the side of the road we were on) was completely dry. It finally started raining on our side about a mile further along. That was our 5 minutes of rain experience Sunday.

 

[NavyDad]

We were at WDW for 8 days at then end of June. Every day the forcast was 80-90% chance of Thunderstorms.

.... and we got them every day some time between 3-6 PM. They lasted for about an hour each day. Did not affect our trip at all - in fact may have made it better. We did everything we wanted to in the morning and then either watched a show or went back to our cabin for a break while it was raining. Each day the park cleared out quite a bit when the storms rolled through and by dinner time and into the evening the parks were not very crowded. In fact our HS day we were returning to the park around 5:30 just as the rain was stopping. People were just streaming out of the gate and the lot was only about 25% full. We got a front row spot and enjoyed a half empty park.

You will be just fine!

 

[Fizban]

In Florida it will usually rain between 2:00 pm and 5:00 Pm for a small amount of time. This is normal and shouldnt bother your trip. The only thing to truly concern yourself with is if lightning starts then you need to get inside. Also remember that a prediction of XX% rain chance doesnt mean all locations of that viewing area will have XX% chance of rain. What it means is that XX% of the viewing area have a chance to get rain. So if the prediction from the "weather liars" says 50% chance of rain that means that they believe 50% of the viewing area will be impacted by some amount of rain.

 

[halssister]

I guess, I do realize that it rains nearly every day for a little bit, but these forecasts were making it sound like it was going to storm almost the whole time! We are planning on being done at the parks by about 1 each day, so hopefully we will just miss it . That is the downside to only being able to spend four full days there, it's one park per day and hope there isn't a total washout on your "favorite" park day!