Wet Rides in February or Freeze your bum off?

[divawife]

We're going in February. 2 nights for Universal and 5 nights for Disney. I keep reading about all these water oriented rides! I means there is a lot of them in both parks. Now I like getting splashed as well as the next fun loving vacation happy person but in February? Do they turn off some of the water? Do you just bring ponchos? Any suggestions?

 

[lachica]

They do turn the water pressure down slightly, but as someone that avoids them entirely I can't really gage the wetness factor. The only one I do in winter is Jurrasic Park; but with that said I'm a florida girl so i'm a wuss when it comes to the cold.

 

[mjohnson96]

It depends too on the weather the day you go, we went down to Florida a couple years ago around the 20th of February and it was darn hot out. We made a trip over to TL one day and it was very nice out. Now last year I think it was pretty cold and the weather in Florida can change hour to hour sometimes

 

[Mom2PrincessK]

We've gone several times in February. Some rides get you wetter than others.

Kali River in AK and Popeye's raft ride in IOA get you soaked. If it's too cool (and it usually is for us) we avoid those.

Rides like Splash Mountain (MK), Jurassic Park and Dudley Doo Right (IOA) can get you wet, but ponchos help and we just wear those and/or plan on riding them just prior to leaving the park for a day-break.

Most of the rides are not water-related, and they are easy to avoid or handle with some planning.

 

[Planogirl]

If it's cold, stay far away from Popeye's Bilge Rat Barges. It's a blast but on that one you will get soaked! We don't get too wet on Jurassic Park but Dudley Doo Right is more questionable.

 

[kangareaux]

We went during Mardi Gras this last february and I just about froze my tookus off! OMG it was COLD! Confisco had a booth removed and a ginormous heater with a blower in the spot where the booth was supposed to be! (It looked like a mini-jet engine with a heater inside! LOL!) I had only packed a light hoody and one or two of my shirts were long sleeve. Needless to say I lived in that hoody for a few days and my long sleeve shirts DID get worn more than once! LOL!

But this is NOT the norm. Seriously...orlando was NOT equipped to deal with that cold. We saw space heaters in businesses! LOL!

If it is nippy while you are there, definately dress in layers! It might start out near freezing (If it's a freaky winter like last year) and be short sleeve weather by lunch. Florida weather has a mind of it's own and doesn't really follow the *guidebook* for how weather is supposed to act. (But we're used to that...we're from Louisiana...)

If you pack for 2-3 days cooler weather you should be fine as you'll probably be taking the layers on and off and able to re-use them later inthe week. Since I'm from Louisiana, *cooler* can mean downright cold to me....up north it means *sweater weather* normally...but don't forget that *Florida Cold* (on the rare occasion when it's THAT cold) is a particularly bone chilling kind of cold because of the humidity. And when we were there it was pretty windy. (But I have the best DH in the world...he knows how poorly I tolerate cold and always lets me use him as a wind screen. ) I'd suggest a light windbreaker as a jacket and some warmer stuff (light sweater...long sleeve shirts, etc...) underneath.

And about the water rides inthe winter.... *I* did the barges on a warmer day (still cold to me, but DH had his heart set on riding...it's our favorite...) and stayed *relatively* dry with a poncho. (The back of my shirt/hoody was soaked on the bottom...and the top of my pants, but since aI was in a wheelchair by that point, it stayed warm...LOL) DH on the other hand has this AMAZING ability to go on raft rides and stay perfectly dry! He rode it 2-3 times and was still dry.

Enjoy your trip. Even though it was cold, the weather was beautiful in February! And the ccrowds were SOOOOOO low!!! Even during Mardi Gras when half of Louisiana was there.

 

[Purseval]

Rides like Splash Mountain (MK), Jurassic Park and Dudley Doo Right (IOA) can get you wet, but ponchos help and we just wear those and/or plan on riding them just prior to leaving the park for a day-break.

The splash in Splash Mountain is an engineered splash that squirts water up in the air when you hit bottom. The folks in the front can get pretty wet but the ones behind them can stay fairly dry, even without ponchos (unless the folks in front duck down).

The splash in Ripsaw Falls is caused by the force of the log hitting the water. Everyone will get wet, some may get soaked. Plus people above you pay money to shoot water guns as you go by, can can actually get more water from these than the ride. A lot of water also gets into the bottom of the log so you can have a dry top and soaked feet.

The best advice to to see what the air temperature is and how strong the sun then decide if you would mind walking around in those conditions soaking wet. If the answer is no then avoid the rides or ride them just before you are leaving so you can go back and change.

And for all you ladies, we gents really appreciate those of you who decide to go on these water rides with light-colored clothing and no underwear

 

[mjohnson96]

And for all you ladies, we gents really appreciate those of you who decide to go on these water rides with light-colored clothing and no underwear

Sad thing is my sister decided to wear the white shorts with small undies one year...DH and I were so embarrased for her that we went and bought her a new pair of shorts at a store at IOA. Since then she has never done that again

 

[divawife]

Thanks everyone!

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Just know that Jan/Feb is often when water rides may be down for annual rehab. But aside from that, ponchos help you get less soaked on Ripsaw & Popeye. They help keep you dry on JP. Also, the dryers usually have longer lines than the ride.

 

[bokolo]

You will all get completely soaked on othe Popeye's Barge ride. My party filled the all the seats in the raft and all of us came off completely wet---top and bottom. They did allow us to take off our shoes once we were all seated and buckled in, so the only dry thing we had were shoes!! Our whole log also got wet on Dudley's Ripsaw Falls too. This was in mid-April and it was very warm, so we did dry quickly though. The weather in Feb. can be hit or miss. I would wait until that day to decided if you'll go on or not.

 

[braddillman]

I echo the expectations on Popeye & Bluto's Barges: "You will get - Soakin' wet!" as the sign says. Before you board, watch a few people coming off first. One time water was coming over my shoulders pretty deep, and I thought "this is no different from total immersion up to my neck". But this is my fav ride in IoA, and I'd hate to miss it. Feb 2011 will be my first visit in Feb, I've been in April before but mostly in Sept/Oct (which I prefer and recommend - harder for us now with 3 in school). We have 15 days and plan on getting FlexPasses so I hope at least 1 or 2 days'll be hot enough for the barges.

But really, the barges are much, MUCH more wet than JP and typical flumes. FWIW I've been on Kali Rapids too and found the barges much more wet than Kali.