What to do in the rain?

[mjhannaf]

40% chance of rain = 100% chance of rain from roughly 3-6pm. As long as there is no lightning (and it has been bad the past two weeks) you'll be ok.

If you can handle getting wet then crowds will be down and when it clears up later you should have lighter crowds and a great time!

 

[jennc27]

When we went in Aug 2009 we were very lucky and only had rain for one day. It started down pouring when we left our hotel room for dinner. Meet with my parents in the hotel lobby and decided to eat dinner there at the food court. An hour later it is still raining. I had read on here when it rains head to the parks so I decided that my family would go ahead and my parents said if the raining stops they will go to MK to meet us. Put the rain cover over the stroller for DS (he was 3 at the time) and loaded the rest of us with dollar store ponchos and went to MK. By the time we get to MK the rain stops and the great part was that there was hardly anyone there! We walked onto all the rides with no wait! I also asked if they were still doing the night parade and Wishes and was told yes! My parents show up and we found a great spot to view them. It was a great night.

 

[dae3dae3]

Our best day on our trip was when it rained. It rained while we were having breakfast in the Castle and was drizzling when we came out. We then did every ride in Fantasy Land and met a bunch of character in about 1.5 hours. It was awesome. It probably took two or three hours for the crowds to finally start filling in after it stopped. We wanted it to rain more.

We paid for it the next day though when everyone who stayed away all showed up at the same time.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If it's just rain, put on a poncho and go.

If there's lightning, strong wind or a heavy downpour, take shelter until it passes.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

They are predicting 40% chance of rain our entire visit to WDW next week. Natch, I want to take advantage of it! What's the best strategy for hitting up rides and M&Gs and other things if a downpour starts?

Go and have fun

In 2009 we went during a tropical storm and we were soaked, but we had a blast. They even had fireworks a few nights when the rain wasn't pouring. It was interesting because the walkways were flooding and CMs were outside with brooms trying to push the water into the drains... but we got to do everything and had an amazing trip

 

[over50visits]

They are predicting 40% chance of rain our entire visit to WDW next week. Natch, I want to take advantage of it! What's the best strategy for hitting up rides and M&Gs and other things if a downpour starts?

We LOVE a mid afternoon storm. It's just the right time to clear the park of a LOT of people who have been there for hours, are already tired and hot, and decide they don't want to get wet. After the storm passes the parks seem seriously less crowded.

But be sure to wear shoes you don't mode getting wet, and pack the 99 cent ponchos from your local store. Disney pulls out ponchos when it rains and seriously price gouges (they are around $10 each and not as good protection as the 99 cent WalMart variety).

Enjoy the parks, and relish the rain!

And, if it is raining for a long time, use the ponchos to move from place to place, there are plenty of indoor attractions (in fact, most of them). Since it is so warm you won't get chilled when your feet get wet.

 

[kugelette]

Do the A&E lines lighten up in the rain? My son has just expressed a desire to meet them and there's no way I'm doing a standard standby line....

 

[circus4u]

If you are from Arizona, you treat as pixie dust. We always look for a photopass photographer to take our pictures in the rain (with some rather weird looks). Then, we just go about our business and do whatever we want, unless it's lightning.

 

[disney meema]

Bring a rain poncho and carry it with you all day ... Yep bring it along usually makes it not rain lol : )

 

[bobtabin]

Being a Florida native living in Disney's Central Florida, 40% chance of rain is exactly as everyone says, it will rain in the afternoon. Lately, thunderstorms usually hit between 2pm and 3pm +/- an hour in most cases. It might downpour and then end in 10 minutes or on and off for a couple hours. That's what it's been doing here (near Disney) lately. Lightning will close outdoor rides. So plan accordingly; there are a lot of indoor rides anyhow! Hope you have fun! Don't let the rain scare you.

 

[soniam]

40%, like others have said, is a quick down poor in the afternoon. Go back and take a nap at the hotel. When you get back, the parks will be emptier and the temperatures will be nicer. Or just poncho up and stick it out.

Epcot is good in the rain, because there's a lot of covered areas to stand and look at things. Illuminations isn't so good in the rain though. The only problem is lightening. It shut down the monorail at EP park closing, and we were staying at Poly with no car. The bus lines were terrible, and there weren't even any buses to get people yet. We found a "cab" (really a guy in a suit in a Town car), who was willing to drive us from EP to Poly for ~$30. It was worth it. I don't even remember asking him how much it would be until we got to the hotel. Plus, my DH and I sat in the back behind hime, so that if he did try to kidnap us or something sinister, we could get him in a choke hold That actually would have made a really cool story.

Unless you're a witch, you won't melt. If you are at MK, then you can get clam chowder at Columbia House to help with the cold