worried about the rain - I know - but please help

FCDub · May 21, 2018

Folks, it's rain.

There's no way to change the weather, so try not to stress out about it. Pack some ponchos and dry clothes and make the most of it. Lemonade out of lemons!

PamNC · May 21, 2018

I know it's just rain and I get that but Disney can be an expensive venture..usually is. Plus, folks look forward to their trips and we plan and plan and have time off. I for one TOTALLY expect a thunderstorm every single day. Just want to avoid the all day soakers. I'm one of the lucky ones, I can cancel/re-arrange my trip. I'm dying to go and this weekend is a perfect time for me to go but I can rearrange. I hate it for those who can't. I went in late January once for 4 days - rained the whole dang time - an it was in the 50's. Miserable. At least it'll be warm rain LOL

Spencer Wright · May 21, 2018

PamNC said:
I know it's just rain and I get that but Disney can be an expensive venture..usually is. Plus, folks look forward to their trips and we plan and plan and have time off. I for one TOTALLY expect a thunderstorm every single day. Just want to avoid the all day soakers. I'm one of the lucky ones, I can cancel/re-arrange my trip. I'm dying to go and this weekend is a perfect time for me to go but I can rearrange. I hate it for those who can't. I went in late January once for 4 days - rained the whole dang time - an it was in the 50's. Miserable. At least it'll be warm rain LOL

My mother has been there for about the past 5 days with pouring rain a large portion of the time. They've been having a great time!

Most individuals recommend ponchos, however I personally go the umbrella route. I find ponchos make me sweaty and sticky and are tough to reuse.

What do you like to do at WDW? My mother has been having an excellent time perusing the stores and going on the more tame attractions. Since most leave the parks when it is pouring and miserable, she was able to go on about half a dozen major MK attractions in a couple of hours with almost no waits!

YawningDodo · May 21, 2018

GovieMom said:
If you already have those, great. But I packed a bunch of the dollar-store ponchos for my family (we were there all last week), and I do have to say they worked very well. Kept our clothes nice and dry. They are packaged so nice and small that we were able to carry a couple with us each day in our pockets, one to use and the other for backup. I felt that, with the high temps, that the thicker, heavier ponchos would have been too hot for us.

Conversely, the heat is why I've given up on the flimsy dollar ponchos for WDW. Because they're so lightweight I find that they end up pressed against my skin wherever it's bare and then stick to me because of the sweat, which makes me even more sweaty and gross and sticky. :crazy2:

At least a raincoat or heavy poncho has enough form to it that there can be breathing space between poncho and skin.

BrownHP800 · May 21, 2018

I'm hoping for a few hours of no rain to enjoy the pool (and pool bar) at the Dolphin on Saturday afternoon.

PamNC · May 21, 2018

Spencer Wright said:
My mother has been there for about the past 5 days with pouring rain a large portion of the time. They've been having a great time!

Most individuals recommend ponchos, however I personally go the umbrella route. I find ponchos make me sweaty and sticky and are tough to reuse.

What do you like to do at WDW? My mother has been having an excellent time perusing the stores and going on the more tame attractions. Since most leave the parks when it is pouring and miserable, she was able to go on about half a dozen major MK attractions in a couple of hours with almost no waits!

that's definitely a plus - I love doing the attractions as well as walking around and soaking it all in (no pun intended...soaking...LOL). I do like the idea of short lines so this is food for thought. I tend to like to stroll though and strolling through torrential rain "ain't" fun. I'll just keep watching, you never know, this weather maker could die out...something brewing in the gulf right now but it's weak.

JerseyJanice · May 21, 2018

PamNC said:
LOL on splash mountain - you're right about that. Question/clarification - what do mean "off and on" - if you had to guess a percentage or rain time vs non rain time - could you make a guess. You're right, it does keep the crowds down I'm sure.

It rained like crazy Saturday night. We wound up eating dinner at the resort and stayed there for the night.

Beyond that night, it’s been sporadic. Like a deluge comes through for 20-30 minutes or so, and then it clears up.

We were here the week of Matthew in 2016. The rain was much worse that trip.

BellaandMickey · May 21, 2018

This is a once in a lifetime trip for my parents. And my kids like thrill rides, which close when there is lightning in the area. This is also our last trip for quite a while. So I’m pretty bummed about this. We’ll try our best, of course, to keep on trucking. But I’m really sad that this big trip we’ve planned is going to be soured by rain. I wanted to take pictures with my DSLR, which I can’t do if it’s raining. The kids wanted to swim. Etc etc. I’m not paying thousands of dollars to “peruse the shops”. I can do that at home.

Surgie2 · May 21, 2018

FCDub said:
Folks, it's rain.

There's no way to change the weather, so try not to stress out about it. Pack some ponchos and dry clothes and make the most of it. Lemonade out of lemons!

I know people say that over and over...and of course it is true...but I would have been pretty bummed with all this rain had we had it on our trip earlier this month. With 10 people (4 preschoolers) all flying in for a 10-day visit which we spent over a year saving $$$$ and planning... it really would have been disappointing not to see some Florida sunshine and enjoy pool time, plus get those pretty castle pictures with the blue sky in the background and the kids in front. Not to mention the extra hassle of stroller covers, kids ponchos, keeping the baby dry, umbrellas up and umbrellas down, etc. etc. This really was a once-in-a-decade trip for our family since we have other travel interests so I was very grateful for the abundant sun and light rain that we had.

Yes, we would have made the best of it if we'd had all-day rains. But I think it's important to validate folks' feelings of disappointment over the weather and not have a "just get over it and enjoy smaller crowds" attitude. (Which I know you did not mean, FCDub, but I've detected that vibe in many, many threads about weather over the past year of reading). We already had a great plan for minimizing crowds so having all-day rain would have been no benefit. We had a taste of a few hours in a row of steady rain one morning and were able to adjust to more indoor attractions but it just wouldn't have been as fun doing that multiple days in a row.

MMR76 · May 21, 2018

PamNC said:
I know it's just rain and I get that but Disney can be an expensive venture..usually is. Plus, folks look forward to their trips and we plan and plan and have time off. I for one TOTALLY expect a thunderstorm every single day. Just want to avoid the all day soakers. I'm one of the lucky ones, I can cancel/re-arrange my trip. I'm dying to go and this weekend is a perfect time for me to go but I can rearrange. I hate it for those who can't. I went in late January once for 4 days - rained the whole dang time - an it was in the 50's. Miserable. At least it'll be warm rain LOL

I feel the same way. Yes, it’s only rain and we will make the most of it (we have to) but that’s not what I am hoping for. This is our big vacation for the year. Lots of effort, time and money have gone into it. Add that to the fact that we had a terribly long and cold winter this year and I’m going to be really disappointed if it’s rainout. Hoping it dries out and that disturbance in the gulf stays away!

Have a great trip!

PamNC · May 21, 2018

MMR76 said:
I feel the same way. Yes, it’s only rain and we will make the most of it (we have to) but that’s not what I am hoping for. This is our big vacation for the year. Lots of effort, time and money have gone into it. Add that to the fact that we had a terribly long and cold winter this year and I’m going to be really disappointed if it’s rainout. Hoping it dries out and that disturbance in the gulf stays away!

Have a great trip!

Thanks - Let's will that gulf disturbance away. I am really sorry about your trip, like I said, I can rearrange mine but you have to go. I am with you about winter, it's been bad and long and miserable. Let's just keep a lookout and see what happens. I fly on a buddy pass so I can even change that up if needed. Either that or I drive. I think by Wednesday we should know something more solid about the situation.

Here's hoping you have a wonderful trip.

Pam

PamNC · May 21, 2018

BellaandMickey said:
This is a once in a lifetime trip for my parents. And my kids like thrill rides, which close when there is lightning in the area. This is also our last trip for quite a while. So I’m pretty bummed about this. We’ll try our best, of course, to keep on trucking. But I’m really sad that this big trip we’ve planned is going to be soured by rain. I wanted to take pictures with my DSLR, which I can’t do if it’s raining. The kids wanted to swim. Etc etc. I’m not paying thousands of dollars to “peruse the shops”. I can do that at home.

TOTALLY AGREE - I can shop at home, for much cheaper. I hope you have a wonderful trip - we'll think positive.

Mithent · May 21, 2018

Back from last week. On a day-to-day basis, it was hard to predict how bad the rain would be - one day I thought it would be raining all day from the forecast, it was mostly dry, but others were a real washout. A poncho (large enough to cover my bag too) and an umbrella kept me pretty dry - except for my feet. I absolutely agree with the advice to not wear trainers/sneakers - heavy rain showers at WDW easily result in water pooling in walkways and your shoes are liable to get soaked through, so best to take some which will dry quickly. Most of my uncomfortableness from the rain was due to wet shoes.

PamNC · May 21, 2018

Surgie2 said:
I know people say that over and over...and of course it is true...but I would have been pretty bummed with all this rain had we had it on our trip earlier this month. With 10 people (4 preschoolers) all flying in for a 10-day visit which we spent over a year saving $$$$ and planning... it really would have been disappointing not to see some Florida sunshine and enjoy pool time, plus get those pretty castle pictures with the blue sky in the background and the kids in front. Not to mention the extra hassle of stroller covers, kids ponchos, keeping the baby dry, umbrellas up and umbrellas down, etc. etc. This really was a once-in-a-decade trip for our family since we have other travel interests so I was very grateful for the abundant sun and light rain that we had.

Yes, we would have made the best of it if we'd had all-day rains. But I think it's important to validate folks' feelings of disappointment over the weather and not have a "just get over it and enjoy smaller crowds" attitude. (Which I know you did not mean, FCDub, but I've detected that vibe in many, many threads about weather over the past year of reading). We already had a great plan for minimizing crowds so having all-day rain would have been no benefit. We had a taste of a few hours in a row of steady rain one morning and were able to adjust to more indoor attractions but it just wouldn't have been as fun doing that multiple days in a row.

Thank you for saying that.

lucas · May 21, 2018

We live in South Florida and it has been very rainy and cloudy for a couple of weeks! And, local weather says no end in sight. We are also supposed to drive up to WDW this coming Fri-Tues. I am dreading driving up on the turnpike if there is heavy rain!

PamNC · May 21, 2018

lucas said:
We live in South Florida and it has been very rainy and cloudy for a couple of weeks! And, local weather says no end in sight. We are also supposed to drive up to WDW this coming Fri-Tues. I am dreading driving up on the turnpike if there is heavy rain!

We've had it in NC as well - for about 9 days but not non-stop. Off and on but comes up quickly and rains crazy hard. And, a few days have been wash outs.

FCDub · May 21, 2018

Surgie2 said:
I know people say that over and over...and of course it is true...but I would have been pretty bummed with all this rain had we had it on our trip earlier this month. With 10 people (4 preschoolers) all flying in for a 10-day visit which we spent over a year saving $$$$ and planning... it really would have been disappointing not to see some Florida sunshine and enjoy pool time, plus get those pretty castle pictures with the blue sky in the background and the kids in front. Not to mention the extra hassle of stroller covers, kids ponchos, keeping the baby dry, umbrellas up and umbrellas down, etc. etc. This really was a once-in-a-decade trip for our family since we have other travel interests so I was very grateful for the abundant sun and light rain that we had.

Yes, we would have made the best of it if we'd had all-day rains. But I think it's important to validate folks' feelings of disappointment over the weather and not have a "just get over it and enjoy smaller crowds" attitude. (Which I know you did not mean, FCDub, but I've detected that vibe in many, many threads about weather over the past year of reading). We already had a great plan for minimizing crowds so having all-day rain would have been no benefit. We had a taste of a few hours in a row of steady rain one morning and were able to adjust to more indoor attractions but it just wouldn't have been as fun doing that multiple days in a row.

I understand. I totally do. It can be super disappointing when a wrench gets thrown into your plans. But ultimately you can only make do with what you've got, the good and the bad.

In my experience, letting yourself be temporarily disappointed about something is A-OK. Nothing wrong with that at all. But it needs to shift to "how can I make the best out of the situation I have?" If you show up in a state of self-pity and being upset about it, those vibes will carry through everything you do. You're together, in a place you love, with family? Find ways to squeeze the most joy out of that situation, regardless of the external circumstances.

MamaDunk · May 21, 2018

Honestly one of the BEST trips we have taken to Disney was ALL rain. Each day...without fail you could count on the rain. However, we experienced some of the best times. Riding rides where you couldn't get away from me so you just laugh or watching our girls sing in the rain. Our Sophie dances competitively and she put on a whole show dancing in the puddles in HS. She had an audience with applause at the end and all LOL. Some of the best photos I have of the girls is when they are standing in the rain and having the best times. You just need to adjust. Work around it and if you don't want to get wet just be prepared. Make the most of it and just be a kid at heart. You are going to have an amazing time <3

Micca · May 21, 2018

Just figure out what you're going to need to get comfortable when you get wet. Whether that's ponchos, umbrellas, shoes & socks, just plan on getting wet and dealing with it. Someone upthread mentioned Croc's, I've found them to be slippery on wet surfaces but that could just be me.

sbd78 · May 21, 2018

I will echo the sentiments of others. The last time our entire vacation was Disney (we've stopped for a day or 2 after a beach vacation since) was during tropical storm Andrea, and it was pretty miserable if I'm honest. I thought, "lightning can't strike twice, right?" But I'm getting really nervous it might. During Andrea, multiple days of our trip were torrential downpours, shutting down rides and waterparks. All with 3 kids in tow. Yes, we made the best of it, but it was a huge bummer then and it will be a huge bummer now. We are spending a lot of money on this trip and started planning 9 months in advance. Up at 6 a.m. to make dining reservations at 180 days. Up again to make FP+ at 60 days. Time spent tweaking things, now one of my best friends who lives in Florida is meeting us for the last few days of our trip. I'm going to have a really hard time making lemonade if this happens again. I think I will be done with Disney at this time of year, and there really aren't many other choices since we have kids in school and don't like to take them out. That only leaves Christmas break and Spring break which are very expensive, very crowded times to visit.

worried about the rain - I know - but please help

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