Dec. strategies for water rides

[cruiseconvert]

I know Florida weather can change quickly in December, but it looks like the highs will be in the 60s and maybe low 70s when we're at WDW Dec. 6-13. What are your strategies for water rides when the weather is chilly (other thank going back to the hotel if you get wet)? I think we'll be OK on Splash Mountain (and will ride it no matter what because it's been closed the last several times we've been there), but Kali is another story. Are ponchos a help? Maybe switching to flip flops before we ride? Finally, I haven't been on the Norway ride in Epcot since they added the Frozen theme; I don't remember getting wet, but I saw mention of someone getting drenched - is that common?

We don't get to WDW very often, so we want to ride as many things as we can...thanks for any tips!

 

[AllieBoo]

I can't speak to Kali, because I haven't ridden it recently. But, we rode Splash the week before Thanksgiving and only got a little wet this time. I think they have reduced some of the spots where you used to get wet. The Norway ride, we did not get wet at all.

 

[livbeatles]

Rode Splash Mountain yesterday, and all three of us got the majority of the water straight into our face (and particularly our eyes)

 

[RanDIZ]

I’ve been drenched on Kali before while the rest of the boat suffered minor wetness. Splash Mountain is hit or miss. I will say, one Dec I rope dropped Frozen and somehow the boat took on water and my shorts were soaked for about half the day.

 

[JenBush]

I wear ponchos on water rides no matter the temperature outside because I don't like walking around in wet clothes. It is not very eco friendly, but I like using one of the really cheap $1 ponchos from walmart or amazon. They don't keep me completely dry, but dry enough and then I can throw out the poncho after the ride so I don't have to carry a wet poncho around all day.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Splash and Frozen are both a minimal chance of getting very wet. They have made some pandemic adjustments like no water cannons at Splash...

Kali is just not worth getting wet as the ride is so short and theming is lacking in my opinion. We skip it most of the time unless it is a hot summer afternoon and we are ready to exit the park. (the queue is fabulous though)

 

[DebLovesPooh]

My tush has gotten soaked on the Norway ride only when I’m in the front row on the left side. Otherwise very minimally get wet on that ride. I also like to wear Parkas when I go on splash Mountain in the winter months.

 

[Shellyred8]

Hopefully others can weigh in on this, but if I recall correctly from our October trip, Kali had been "adjusted" so you don't get as wet now. We didn't ride it, but I think that's what I heard at that time.

 

[Blondie58]

Ponchos from a dollar store work great for us. We use them and then pass on to others in line. However, this would not be a good idea with Covid. So one and done for a dollar. Splash and Kali are two of my favorite rides so I always have a poncho.

 

[MainMom]

I personally would not go on Kali the winter. I’ve gotten too soaked that I would not be comfortable. When we go in the summer I’m usually dry by the time we walk from the ride to the bus stop.

 

[disneygirlsng]

Hopefully others can weigh in on this, but if I recall correctly from our October trip, Kali had been "adjusted" so you don't get as wet now. We didn't ride it, but I think that's what I heard at that time.

Correct, unless you're the lucky one going down the hill backwards, then you will still get soaked.

 

[DSLRuser]

Kali and Splash Mountain have "cold weather mode". They have the ability to change the ride so the riders do not get wet.

You can see this easily on Splash. When the flume goes down the big hil...the air cannon is off in winter....so water doesnt spray to other boats or out to guests on the walk way. In the summer, the right side of the log is the worst for getting wet as it circles around the drop. the waterfall on the right gets you soaked....but in the winter, that is turned off.

They do similar things on kali.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

Go on them last so that if you get soaked you were planning to leave anyway.

 

[cruiseconvert]

I greatly appreciated everyone's advice, and now that we're back from our trip, I thought I'd post about how wet we did - or didn't - get. Temperatures were mostly in the low 60s to low 70s.

Splash Mountain - Those in the front row got wet. Our second time, my grandson and I took the front row and ducked down on the big hill, right after they took our pic, so we stayed pretty dry. The post-drop waterfall or spray or whatever was turned off, thank goodness!

Frozen - A small bit of splash. Pretty much dry.

Kali River Rapids - We braved this toward the end of the day even though it was pretty chilly out, and we laughed so hard! We each put on a dollar-store poncho before riding and made sure to sit on the poncho and tuck it around our arms. We put our feet up on the middle railing to keep shoes dry (except my grandson, whose legs weren't long enough, but his shoes didn't touch the floor anyway). We did a lot of screaming and laughing as the raft turned and shifted, meaning someone else was in position to get wet at the big drop. Definitely glad we had the ponchos! No one else was waiting to get on, so three of us stayed on for another go-round and more laughs. Then we threw away the ponchos. I've never worn a poncho before on this ride, but I've never been to AK when it was this chilly before.

Aladdin's Magic Carpets in MK - Yeah, we hadn't expected to get wet here. We had just noted that they had the spitting camel turned off for cold weather when he launched a big stream at us. We got wet, but it was worth it for the laughs.