tips for disney in the rain?

[KMarston]

We were in the Magic Kingdom during Easter break several years ago and it poured! Best MK day ever. People left and they never returned. Somewhere I have a picture of my car in an empty parking lot when we left. We rode Splash Mountain over and over without getting off! We rode the carouselle at midnight several times over. We walked onto to Dumbo. On a day that was supposed to be a 10, we did any ride we pleased, with no wait!! We haven't had the opportunity to travel during slow times, so we always have a schedule and spend the first and last part of the day on a crazy agenda! This was like something I've never experienced at WDW!

 

[cruisingkat]

Just don't use a beach umbrella - we were in AK when it started to rain - put on our ponchos and were walking toward the exit on a crowded walkway. Here comes a man pushing a stroller with a big beach umbrella taking up over half the walkway and keeping others who want to walk quickly from getting around him. Not only that but he had it attached to the stroller so that the spokes were at eye level while people were walking looking downward to avoid the huge puddles and rain hitting their faces.

 

[mjplantz]

Definitely some good tips here. We probably overprep a little when we see a considerable chance for a heavier storm. We keep 4 of the cheap ponchos in the bottom of the backpack just to be prepared and then bring some heavier raincoats or thicker ponchos on days it looks worse than a brief shower. We actually picked up some Disney park rain coats at the outlets last year for $5 a piece so we will carry those now.

As far as tips go, I use a cheap poncho for my backpack and always have a hand towel or two at the ready for the rides so that you aren't sitting in water. If you aren't in flip flops or crocs extra socks are great too.

 

[jdcthree]

Check the crowd levels. Rain doesn't necessarily mean it won't be crowded.

True! Especially if it rains several times in the same week. People get tired of being cooped up and go to the parks anyway.

 

[starrysky]

We have been at WDW when the forecast had said rain everyday and we never saw any. We have been when it poured down non stop for two days. Neither time did it affect how much fun we had. DH is not keen on ponchos and will only use one if he absolutely has to.
As lots of PPs have said most of the attractions are in doors so you can stay inside most of the time. It does suck when they have to close some of the attractions due to the weather but I do understand they have to keep people safe.

 

[jrtoastyman]

With no disrespect intended to anyone that has posted in this thread (or on this board in general), it cracks me up the lengths that some people will go to address the possibility of rain. If there's actually significant (read: not the normal afternoon shower) rain in the forecast, that's one thing, but when I hear about the normal daily packing for the parks including ponchos, umbrellas, changes of clothes and ziploc bags, it just makes me laugh. Over 6 trips, I can't think of a single instance where I found myself caught in enough rain that any of that stuff would have been necessary.

Perhaps some day I will find myself stranded and I'll change my tune on this, but to me, the potential cost of a poncho or umbrella that I might have to pick up on the fly (but haven't had to pick up to date) is a reasonable premium to have to pay to not carry around that much gear every moment of my trip. I do get that they are expensive there, but so is everything, just kinda part of the deal, I feel...

 

[KellDy]

We keep cheap ponchos in the stroller just in case. Since getting caught in a downpour one time years ago I now bring extra socks. I ended up buying some so I wouldn't be miserable the rest of the day.

 

[Pembo]

2 years ago we were at the MK in rain that did not stop all day.this was in March. It was raining when we got up at 7 am and it rained and rained and rained. My son was supposed to march in the evening parade and it got cancelled. The rain stopped at 9:55 pm, just in time for Wishes.

We used our ponchos from the Dollar Store and had an umbrella. It is surprising how much there is to do indoors. We also found characters in all kinds of new places - in the store at the end of Space Mountain.

We did leave around 2 pm, went back to our condo and dried our shoes in the dryer.

Ironically, we had a student in the band who had to go to the ER that day for dehydration and another student slipped in Frontierland and broke his hip.

 

[kmb584]

While the rain is definitely no fun, throw on a poncho or (my preference) a light weight rain jacket. I purchased a North Face one last year and it was the BEST money EVER spent for a WDW vacation.

 

[lisagirl88]

The first time we took our older boys it was pouring when we arrived and continued the next day. They were 6 and 4 at the time so we had a stroller. The one mistake I made was not bringing something to cover the stroller and after about 10 minutes it was soaked, which of course meant wet bottoms. I used the hair dryer on it that night and the next day when it was still raining I remembered to take an extra pancho and towel to cover the stroller!

 

[North of Mouse]

In the south we have rain showers often, and I can deal with that whether they are downpours or not, if they don't last too long.

What we won't deal with is all day raining, or when it just sets in. Unlike others have said, I don't care how short the lines are, we don't enjoy it, and we are out of there. We can enjoy other things at the resorts/whatever instead of touring in the rain.

We live about 700 miles away, and can go fairly often, so we choose to tour when we can enjoy the whole ambiance of the parks, not just go from ride to ride in the rain.

That's just our opinions.

 

[ilovevacation]

Just like the rest of you planners we take our heavier ponchos with us in a backpack, with a few snacks, and look forward to the day ahead. I always make sure we have a back up pair of shoes in the room, you never know...rain, broken strap, etc...