Don't Let Weather Dampen Your Disney Vacation

You pack, plan, and pay for a magical vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort and are so excited you have been counting down the days with excitement and anticipation.  Then, it happens; the one thing you have no control over.  The weather takes a turn for the worse.  What do you do?  This question has many answers and all involve some flexibility, planning, and perseverance.

Let me preface that “taking a turn for the worse” is a matter of degrees—sometimes literally.  A rainstorm to Floridians may not phase someone from the Northwest and a chilly day to Cast Members may still mean shorts and flip flops for someone from the northern states.

So, what do you do when it rains while at the most magical place on earth?  Well, if it is just that, rain, no thunder or lightening, we grab our ponchos and umbrellas and carry on.  Of course those items are in our park touring bag.  EPCOT and Hollywood Studios make for some of the driest touring during the rain with Magic Kingdom a close second.  And, as I read somewhere, if you are at Animal Kingdom and it starts to rain, don’t head for the exit, head straight to Kilimanjaro Safaris as the animals enjoy the rain and become more active as they cool off while guests are still protected from the elements.  We are known to swim if it is raining—again, no thunder or lightening, at our resort or a water park.  We were going to get wet anyway!

If lightening becomes part of the equation, Disney is going to jump in and ensure guest safety.  Boat transportation throughout the resort will be suspended and some attractions may be temporarily shut down.  Pools and water parks will be closed until lightening leaves the vicinity.  Some say this is the best time to shop and that is what thousands of others will be thinking, too.  Downtown Disney is a great destination not only for shopping, but for indoor entertainment such as Splitsville for bowling, the AMC Dine-in theater with multiple movies to select from, and DisneyQuest, the five-story indoor arcade with amusement park ride simulations.  Just know that if there is lightening, there will be no boat transportation to Downtown Disney. 

Now, if we are talking hurricanes or tropical storms, again, Disney will provide directions to guests to ensure safety.  Parks may be closed and entertainment options may become available at resorts (the afternoon pool-side activities may get moved inside to lobbies or food court areas).  Depending on your resort, there may be games available to check-out from the Concierge or Guest Registration area.  Resorts with kids’ clubs will still be in operation.  Disney may also offer guests extensions on the park tickets, etc. to compensate for a hurricane and will do their best to get parks into ship shape if they experience any damage.  This is, after all, Disney.

But what if it gets cold?  Again, “getting cold” is relative and yet we have experienced some cold and chilly days while at the World.  If traveling during the late fall/winter/early spring months, it can be beneficial to think layers.  The mornings can begin chilly and a jacket is comfortable, but not needed by afternoon.  The evenings can also bring drops in temperatures.

Just as umbrellas and ponchos magically appear in stores at the parks and resorts when rain starts to fall, guests will find sweatshirts, jackets, hats, even gloves appear when temperatures begin to fall and catch guests unaware.  I would rather be prepared and pack those items, though I still have and use the Mickey gloves that I purchased during our first trip when there was unexpected cold weather.  Now, I slip of pair of gloves into the pocket of my jacket before throwing it into the suitcase.

A little rain or cold, need not dampen your Disney vacation.  With some creative thinking, packing or purchasing necessities, and fortitude to keep going although safely, you can still have a magical vacation if the weather takes a turn for the worse.  And, besides, you are going to have a great story when you get home.  Isn’t that what memories are made of?

In Every Walt Disney World Vacation A Little Rain Must Fall

In a previous post I espoused the importance of ponchos and rain gear during a Walt Disney World vacation—click here to read more.

Us in an almost empty Magic Kingdom after rain.

Since a little rain must fall in most Walt Disney World vacations, it may be valuable to have a game plan should your plans get rained on or out. We could call it a rain plan!



A rain plan could fall into a couple of categories. . . having rain gear or not having rain gear.



Let’s start with having rain gear. If you have read the post about the ponchos, then you have planned accordingly and are prepared for the almost daily afternoon showers the Floridians enjoy and have ponchos, rain gear, and/or umbrellas in the bag you are carrying while at the parks. So, when the rain does inevitably fall, you are prepared. The plan then is to keep touring! You may take in more indoor attractions such as the shows or almost any attraction in EPCOT and save Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for later, but you keep going! You might look for attractions with covered queues such as Peter Pan’s Flight or It’s a Small World, but you keep going!



You may even find that you get to more shows and attractions because of the rain, as those who do not come prepared will seek cover and not keep touring. Stories abound about often coveted dining reservations at, say, Cinderella’s Royal Table, sometimes becoming available due to cancelations because of rain.

Very few guests out and about after the rain at the Magic Kingdom--

and more leaving than coming in!

So, if you find yourself in a near deserted park due to the weather, it may be a great time to try for those hard to get Advanced Dining Reservations or openings at various table restaurants.



We have toured in the rain—as you could have guessed. We enjoy the parks and attractions no matter the weather and have taken advantage of near empty parks.



The second category would be for those not prepared for the weather with rain gear. The rain plan would then be to either get supplies quickly or head for cover—in a car, a shop or any shelter, or at your resort. One might do this, too, if the weather becomes extreme.



One time, we did head back to our resort, but didn’t go to our room. Instead, we headed to the main building and spent time looking in the resort shop, playing in the arcade, and hanging out at the food court. It was much more spacious than our room and had more to do! When the weather did let up a bit, we dried off and headed back to the parks!



Another fun thing to do at the Walt Disney World Resort in the rain is swim. Yeah, that’s right, swim. As long as there is no lightening in the vicinity, which will actually close the pools and water parks, it is safe to swim. We enjoyed swimming in two resort pools on a rainy day. We were getting wet anyway!



Some folks head to Downtown Disney during inclement weather for a movie at the giant AMC theater or to whittle away the hours at Disney Quest—a multi-story virtual amusement park.



So, when a little rain does fall on your vacation plans, have a rain plan! In the meantime, look for those 88 cent ponchos at Wal-Mart!