What does "scattered thunderstorms" mean?

[NeuroCindy]

I was referring to where a PP said "We wait and buy the Disney ponchos when/if we need them. This way, we don't have to carry them around. " To me, that seemed to say to just buy one whenever you needed one, even if it was every day. So that is why I said 7 ponchos times 6 days.

TBH, we likely won't be back to WDW for a few years and since it never rains where we live, we don't really need to save them for a future trip.

NEW, related question: Several of you have mentioned having very wet shoes after a downpour. I assumed we would all wear tennis shoes (= comfy for all that walking) but then some people are saying they will get all wet and we will be miserable in wet tennies for the rest of the day. So do you recommend wearing sandals all day or tennies, knowing that it will probably downpour every day? Or are we supposed to bring 2 pairs of shoes with us every day and switch to the sandals when we think it's going to rain, or after the rain if we didn't switch out in time? That is more stuff for me to carry! Ugh! I don't want to be miserable (do you know how much this trip is costing me? LOL)!!

I wear gym shoes. When I notice that it's about to rain I put them in my backpack and put on flip-flops, then afterwards I switch back (I do the same for water rides). Some people can get away with sandals all day, some can't.

 

[happymommy]

I've been in August a few times, late August (right before Labor Day), and it's one of my favorite times!

There is ALWAYS a chance of scattered thunderstorms at this time. I first recommend downloading the "My Radar" app. It's free. The storms over central Florida can pop up rather suddenly. It helps if I see the sky start to look funny, I'll pull it up and see what the radar looks like.

I have a husband who buys ponchos sometimes. This past spring break was unusual, in that we had days where it rained almost all day. So we all donned those ugly suckers and sweat it out.

I personally find them to be a sauna.

Wherever they sell the ponchos, they also sell nice umbrellas for just a few dollars more. I always have an umbrella in my purse.

I wear Chacos sandals - they have a good arch support and are good for hiking. They are like Tevas in that you can either wear them in the shower or put them in the washer to clean them. I have 3 pairs (maybe 4? I share with my daughter), and have had my oldest pair for 10 years. I wear them to beach vacations all the time. If they get sandy, I just wear them in the shower or toss them in the washer.

I rarely wear my gym shoes (running shoes) at the parks, since there is usually a chance of rain. My daughter does often though.

If we see rain coming, we just find somewhere to wait it out. Sometimes, those end up being funny, fond, silly, or even fun memories! Like, last August, we were on the quick service dining plan, and were near Japan in Epcot, and a storm was coming, so we tucked into the counter service place. We sat and ate a bunch of stuff (some we hadn't tried before), I had a beer or two, and we just chatted and enjoyed the rain!

Beware, when rain does come, especially late summer, it will come down HARD. Umbrella, poncho, nothing will keep you dry! We just try to plan for the unexpected, and more or less go with the flow!

 

[ArwenMarie]

I agree with getting some good weather apps! I have one that shows me just the lighting strikes. It's pretty cool, you can see them moving in from Tampa each day across the state. When they start getting close, get indoors! I forget the name of that one.

I've used Dark Sky as well, their radar is pretty good. We've used it to walk in the opposite direction from the rain as it's happening.

Touring in the summer in Orlando is all about planning for the next hour or two, looking at long-range forecasts is useless, minus an established front coming through.

 

[goofyernmost]

Just buying something that's going to get thrown in a landfill after a single use is pretty wasteful, and this is the kind of thinking we need to move away from.


I have Disney ponchos that are 10+ years old. We bring them with us every trip and I carry them in a backpack with our water bottles and snacks in case we need them. A couple of weeks ago it rained a few times while we were at the parks, so I'm glad we had them. I also get good use out of them at home when I need to do something in the rain but having an umbrella isn't practical.

Whatever happened to recycling? Has that been abandoned?

 

[writerguyfl]

My go-to weather website is Intellicast. It shows the forecast for a location but also provides a visual graph lower on the page. This is the current information for Lake Buena Vista.

Those blue peaks represent the chance of rain by hour of the day. In my experience, they are generally accurate for the current day. Make sure you use Lake Buena Vista and not Orlando when searching.

The site also has a variety of weather radar options. I use the "Java Radar Loop", which can be animated. Although, that only helps if you can figure out exactly where you are on the map. But, even if you're not certain, it's easy to see which direction a storm is traveling and whether it will be short-lived.

It doesn't look like any storms happened at Disney this morning. But, here's an example of the radar page. This is a storm that passed through my neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale earlier.

Unfortunately, the website gets a little wonky on my Windows phone. Not sure how it functions on an iPhone or Android.

Link to the Lake Buena Vista forecast: http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Weather.aspx?location=USFL9833

 

[TavieP]

NEW, related question: Several of you have mentioned having very wet shoes after a downpour. I assumed we would all wear tennis shoes (= comfy for all that walking) but then some people are saying they will get all wet and we will be miserable in wet tennies for the rest of the day. So do you recommend wearing sandals all day or tennies, knowing that it will probably downpour every day? Or are we supposed to bring 2 pairs of shoes with us every day and switch to the sandals when we think it's going to rain, or after the rain if we didn't switch out in time? That is more stuff for me to carry! Ugh! I don't want to be miserable (do you know how much this trip is costing me? LOL)!!

I live in Teva Tirras all summer (even at work, my job doesn't care what my feet look like under my desk) and they are perfect for Disney - great arch support (perfect for my plantar fasciitis), comfy to walk around in all day long, and they dry quickly after a rainstorm. I've even worn them in water when kayaking/canoeing.

I highly recommend something like this if you're worried about wet feet and walking around in soggy sneakers all day.

eta: Also if you shop around they're almost always available for under that $80 price tag. I got my last pair on Amazon for $40. Wearing them right now.

 

[2binak]

Like others have said, scattered thunderstorms could mean that they pop up anywhere in the area and could be a downpour or a quick shower. We left Epcot one afternoon, not a drop of rain to be seen. We took the monorail to MK and by the time the monorail pulled into the MK station, there was a full-on down pour complete with thunder and lightning. We waited nearly 30 mins on the monorail platform but the rain wasn't letting up so back to Epcot we went where it was dry as could be.

As for how to carry the ponchos, we put 2-3 in a large Ziploc and when we're done with them, fold them back up a best as we can and put them back in the Ziploc. We have 2 Disney ponchos that we've had for over 10 years and a couple more that are almost 5 years old and they're all still going strong.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

One other little footnote on the footwear/rain subject. In the summer, fairly deep WDW puddles often linger for a while after the rain stops.

Last summer, we stayed at BC and over at Universal, plus we visited Typhoon Lagoon. Long after theme park puddles were gone, the pool areas and water park had puddles lined with green algae-like slime.

A few years ago, it was sunny when we entered Buzz. When we got off the ride, there was an absolute downpour, but a steady stream of people behind us forced us out into the deluge. DH stepped right into a very deep puddle! His sneakers were drenched. They took several days to dry.

I knew putting alcohol on them helps keep odor away, but I've also since read that stuffing with newspaper helps.

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

Does anyone know if they will exchanged an old yellow Mickey poncho that finally ripped for the style in the shops now? Or are they only exchanging new style for new style?