I have planned my entire 9 day WDW vacation with the premise that it will be beautiful and sunny. Yes, I did pack my Mickey Poncho. It's in the backpack, that I will carry each day.
Today, I checked the ten day forecast for Orlando. They are predicting rain. Not just showers but rain.
Does anyone have any really good tips for touring in the rain?
Next Stop Disneyland
October 14-19, 2013
My tip for rain is ditch the poncho you have and get the cheapo ponchos from Wal-Mart. They're in the camping section and are about .65 cents. The best thing about them is they are only about 3 inches wide and very slim when in the package. I keep about 2 on me every day when I'm there and I throw them away when it stops raining.
It isn't fun to carry around a wet poncho all day. With the cheapos, you just dispose of them and if it rains again, you always have the backup in your pocket. If you want the Mickey on the poncho you could always just bring along a sharpie as well.
Ahh Florida rain. My best advice I can give you is this.
Rain is a little different here in Florida where it could be pouring for 30 minutes straight and then nothing for the next 5 hours. A lot of people make the mistake of leaving the park for the rest of the day (although I am grateful because there are no lines) and the weather usually becomes managable after the intital storm passes over.
Barbarann, where are you staying? My daughter and I are going this weekend, if you want I would love to meet youHave some lunch or something? If your up for it, if not, that's okay to.
If your bringing a backpack throw in an extra pair of socks. I learned this on one trip when my wife had to purchase a pair of $10 tigger socks. I alaos sometimes where a floppy hat.
Also, I would try and avoid Epcot on the rainiest days because of the big open spaces that you'll have to endure in the rain.
The good thing about rain is the crowds dissapear. I love rainy days because of that. You're staying on property right? So if you get too wet you can always go back to the hotel and change. I suggest MK for rainy days, there's too much space in the other parks.
hmm... stay under cover.. and when it goes more steady bring out the poncho... hard rain is evil... yesterday i was with a small chunk of the park near philarmagic's store.. it was pooring when i got out of philarmag and stayed there for a little bit till it slowed down enough....
MK is great for rain... and photos...
Epcot is not bad for rain and photos (lots of walking and running for cover...)
MGM should be great.. (attractions are close, and they have alot of stores for dive for cover in..)
AK.. um... never done it in rain, never will...
Best advice on a rainy day if you HAVE to be in a park would be to go to Epcot. ... Epcot has the very large pavillions like The Land with multiple attractions and dining and you can stay dry during the heaviest of the rain.
FWIW, Florida is sub-tropical as you know ... it shouldn't just pour all day. If it rains (and don't trust the forecasts either, it said rain every day I was there and rained significantly maybe twice), it won't be heavy all day long.
Re: Touring in the Rain. From experience... thats the usual... but there have been cases where scatered meant it all heads for one location and it rained heavy on an off all day...Originally Posted by WDW1974
Welcome to Florida! Don't like the weather? Wait 15 minutes.
I'm much more a fan of the umbrella than the poncho. It's such a pain to keep putting the poncho on and taking it off inside, especially in Epcot. With one of those cool little collapsable umbrellas you have rain coverage, and can conveniently just close it down while inside.
Or, if you buy the cheap Wal-Mart ponchos, you can just throw them away. Carrying 3 of them in your pocket is still smaller than a wallet.
Touring in the rain is really not a major inconveinience as you may think.
I've often thought that the parks, especially Magic Kingdom and Epcot were built for rain as the vast majority of attractions and queues are indoors.
When I was at WDW the first weekend of June '05 it rained nearly every day, all day, for the weekend. I had my Mickey poncho and kept it in my cargo shorts.
Epcot was no problem. Every attraction is indoors in Future World, and as WDW1974 pointed out you can always visit the large pavilions during long periods of rain. Heck, I can spend a few hours at The Land and never be bored. You have three attractions inside, plus a terrific food court (and table service restaurant to boot!) if you're feeling hungry.
If you're touring World Showcase in the rain, most of the shops in the pavilions are interconnected so you will never have to step outside. See the films "Reflections of China", "Impressions de France", and my favourite, "O Canada!" to increase your time spent indoors and see incredible travelogues of these countries.
You could spend time in Innnoventions; Spaceship Earth takes the better portion of 20 minutes, Universe of Energy 45 minutes, etc....
The big Saturday at Magic Kingdom it rained for the bulk of the day. Yet we rarely got wet. You can always walk through all the shops up along Main Street, spend some time on the Carousel of Progress, Hall of Presidents, it's a small world, Splash Mountain (OK.. you're GONNA get wet here, regardless), Space Mountain has an indoor queue.
Most attractions at all of the parks have indoor or covered queues. You will be dry for the most part except for when walking from place to place.
Our Animal Kingdom day was spent in the sun, but it seems like it would be the least rain-friendly. If you were take in a show or two here that would help. Dinosaur has an indoor queue, and so does the bulk of Expedition Everest.
Disney-MGM was a full day in the rain, but it wasn't bad at all. Again, walk through the shops up Hollywood Blvd, and if you're headed to Rock-N-Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, down Sunset Blvd as well. Both of these attractions have queues that are mostly indoor or covered. Actually, ALL of the attractions at Disney-MGM are indoors.
Long story short, the rain will not impede or ruin your WDW experience. Of course bring along a collapsible umbrella and/or a poncho. You'll still have a terrific time!
Last edited by RonNYC; 07-20-2006 at 10:37 AM.
When it's raining, anything covered with a roof will be completely packed with people. God forbid they should get the slightest bit wet (I've seen even people wearing ponchos standing under awnings). Stay on the streets, and there will be few crowds.
Have you faced the Yeti?
Ponchos are tacky.
Fat tourists wearing a poncho while devouring a turkey leg are disgusting.
Taking a picture of fat tourists wearing ponchos while devouring turkey legs ... priceless.
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