tips for dealing with rain?

[zomama]

Its looking like we'll have some rainy days next week during our trip. Any tips/advice to keep it from "raining on our parade"?

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Put on a poncho, a baseball hat and head on out! Many, many folks will leave during longer rainy spells so wait times will fall.

Do your best to hit the attractions that close for rain (and/or storms) when its dry (ie Test Track, BTMRR, EE, Kali River Rapids etc).

And try not to be negative about it as your kids will pick up on it. Try to spin it the best you can and they will have a ball too! One of our favorite WDW memories was hanging out in Tomorrowland during an hour long downpour and stepping into the worlds biggest puddle. Shoes were soaked, and there was nothing to do afterwards except do an exaggerated stomp to get through it like we were 3 years old!

ETA: Make sure you invest in a stroller cover and always put it on when entering an attraction if the skies look iffy...

 

[excitedfamof4]

I agree with the PP! Just get out there and have fun no matter what! We were at Disney World last week and had one day of rain. We just put on our hats and kept on going! It was funny tho, b/c it started raining like crazy just as we got on The Barnstormer! We were all laughing so hard while on the ride b/c we were soaked! As soon as we got off we got on the Train and rode it around Magic Kingdom till the rain let up a little bit. That was much nicer than being crammed in somewhere waiting for the rain to let up. We enjoyed the rain as it was a nice change to the hot sunny days we had prior. Also, purchase ponchos before you go, so you are not having to pay $7.50 each at the park. Hubby and I had brought some hats from home and we got the girls some Goofy hats when it started raining! They were perfect for keeping the rain off their heads and so cute too!
Have fun!!!

 

[luvgoing2disney]

Just accept the fact that the rain is there and you can't change it. Like all the others have said, Put on the ponchos and head to the parks. Shorter lines for rides, less people, so just go and prove to yourself that "A bad day as Disney is better than a good day at work"

I would suggest carrying two pair of tennis shoes as they will not dry out overnight. And don't forget band-aids. Sometimes wet socks can cause blisters, so put some on your heels ahead of time to prevent those.

 

[VACamm]

We were there last August during the hurricane.... we put on ponchos and had a great time because there were no lines!! While we did get soaked some... we had a blast

 

[2manydaves]

We wear Keens or Tevas on rainy days so we don't have to worry about shoes drying out. Buy a poncho at Wal-Mart before you leave and stick it in your bag.

Take a few pictures, too. We have hilarious rain pics from past trips.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Put your phones in a locker so they don't get water damaged (you don't need 'em anyway) and just brave the rain! Since so many people will leave or seek shelter, you will see that you have a lot of empty space to play in!

The only park that's really tough in the rain is DAK because they will close some attractions. However, the flip side is that the animals like the weather. I've seen more animals out on safari during the rain than any other time. (And Flights of Wonder is a completely different show in the rain, definitely worth checking out)

Either way, don't let a little rain get you down...ESPECIALLY when it's warm out. That Florida sun will dry you right up in less than an hour. I, personally, like to go no poncho, but everyone is different.

 

[PrincessP]

Your kids are little. We got those elastic head bands to help keep the ponchos on our kids heads when they were smaller. Baseball cap can help if you prefer. The elastic bands were also perfect to go around their waists to "blouse up" the poncho so it wasn't tripping them up.

We love to head to tomorrow land in MK if it is raining b/c Buzz stays open....carousel of progress 20 min. Or sp "show" is there....and the people mover(tomorrow land transit authority)....we rode over and over w/out getting off during one lengthy rain day. That would be plenty to delight your little ones and give you a respite from the rain.

As PP said, We like sandals or flip flops on rain days to avoid the wet sock and tennis shoes issue. Or pack that extra pair of tennis shoes to give the wet ones a day to dry out.

We have as much fun on rainy days as on the dry ones....so don't fret.

 

[firstwdw]

We got drenched last week. I wasn't too thrilled with rain but we bought Disney ponchos (much better than the 99cent ones I got at home before the trip) and made the best of it. My 7 year old LOVED the downpours at Hollywood Studios! During heavy rain there isn't really anywhere for the water to go so the walkways get very wet-it was like walking in a river. Some people were walking barefoot! If you have good shoes for getting wet you may be better off. OUr sneakers and socks were soaked. Someone told me to put newspaper in the sneakers and they'd be dry in the morning and that helped. We also got a locker one day to store a change of shoes and clothes. When it's dry do all the outside rides-they closed them down often when we were there so we just had to rearrange our plan and we did fine. We also got up early and toured early as the rain seemed to start more in the late afternoon and last all night.
Also you can't count on a Florida forecast. One day it was supposed to be 90% chance of rain all day and the SUN was out until 8PM and then it poured so you never really know!

 

[BlueStarryHat]

In October 2011, we had two straight days of rain, and we just got our ponchos on and off we went! We still had lots of fun, especially in Epcot where it was nearly deserted. Well, deserted for Disney anyway.

And I agree about not trusting the Florida forecasts-they called for rain for a third day while we were there and it was hot and sunny all day.

 

[LSUfan4444]

ETA: Make sure you invest in a stroller cover and always put it on when entering an attraction if the skies look iffy...

We've always brought sheapo shower curtains as stroller covers. They fold up nice in our backpack then we can throw them away as we leave the park for the day and bring a fresh one the next day. No worries about storing a wet cover.

If you wear sneakers, I advise bringing two pair so if you get caught in the rain and they get soaked, you have a dry pair for the evening or the next day.

Also, stuffing newspaper in wet shoes will help draw out and absorb moisture.

 

[Crystal824]

We also just put on a poncho and go to the parks. We were also there last week and got wet more than one day. The crowds weren't bad.

 

[DisneyMim]

As others have said put on ponchos and just go!! The more you visit Disney the more the odds are of having a rainy trip. We've been there during hurricanes and weeks where it rained the whole week. One time we were staying at BC and really couldn't use the pool at all, but we still had a great time. You can't do anything about the weather so don't worry about it. Just carry on!!

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[kenny]

Just back and it rained almost every day last week and not 20 min Florida rain but long periods of rain for most the day. Sometimes very heavy.


Have 2 girls ages 8 and 3. My advice is when the rain stops make sure to hit rides that shut down as others said or the pool if kids like that. Wear poncho's and teva's/flip flops so your shoes don't get soaked. We skipped bringing the stroller on days where it looked liked heavy rain. Made it much easier. Also we had a nylon bag that would zip up into a small square for carrying but unzip to a nice size(about paper grocery bag size). Brought that to carry wet poncho's when we weren't wearing them. Made it easier to carry them and not get wait.

Most importantly you can't control the weather so just go have fun. Ad remember a rainy day at disney is better than a sunny day at work!!!!!

 

[waltdisneymama]

I would advise packing dry socks in your backpack. We just came back a few days ago and had rain while there. We usually wore crocs, which dry quickly, but we found that we disliked crocs with wet bare feet, so wore our socks and changed them when the rain stopped. But crocs can be slippery with puddles too, so we had to walk carefully. Sometimes we wore running shoes, but the runners stayed wet for a day or two afterwards. And we wore ponchos sometimes and our light raincoats sometimes. The odd time we used small umbrellas that fit in our backpack. We packed for rain (saw it was in the forecast) and over the span of two weeks had opportunity to try them all out! Definitely lower crowd levels with rain Still had a great time despite rain.

 

[girlb4amirror]

As others said, you can't trust the forecast far out, but go prepared.. Take ponchos and a second pair of shoes.

Be willing to pare down your touring plan. We had a lot of rain last week and thought it was going to rain on our AK day too. My husband and I talked the night before about what we really wanted to do at AK. It turned out to be a beautiful day. We still did less than our original AK plan which gave us time to go swimming at our hotel pool. In hindsight, I'm glad I dropped a few things off the list because I enjoyed what we did more instead of rushing so much.

For me, the rain was more of a bummer when I wanted downtime. In the parks, you can put on your poncho and go. But if the park is crowded and you are grumpy and just wish you could go hang out at the hotel pool except that it is raining. :/ Yeah, that happened to me on Thursday. We survived though!

 

[starrysky]

In October 2011, we had two straight days of rain, and we just got our ponchos on and off we went! We still had lots of fun, especially in Epcot where it was nearly deserted. Well, deserted for Disney anyway.

And I agree about not trusting the Florida forecasts-they called for rain for a third day while we were there and it was hot and sunny all day.

We were there for that weekend when even the locals said they couldn't remember it being like that. It just did not stop raining.
We made the most of it and ok we got wet but it was worth it.
I have those trekking sandals that are great if it looks like it might rain, they dry almost instantly.
Ponchos are good and the Disney ones do tend to be fairly sturdy.
Overall as everyone else has said just relax and try and make the most of it.

 

[Murron]

I'm there next week as well. The 10 day forecast seems to be maybe 10 to 30% chances of rain! Not too too bad!

 

[Lolsmum]

Wear something waterproof (poncho, raincoat, umbrella) and go have fun.

My kids remember the day with heaviest rain as the best, because we had the least time waiting in lines.

We also got unexpected souvenirs when I bought us all dry socks. That was last August and I still smile every time I wear mine.

 

[songkat]

Ponchos! We still have the bright yellow Mickey ponchos that we got back in the early 1990s; they're still in great shape.