DL in the rain?? Help!

[OlliePop27]

We visited in the rain during January 2023 and it rained at some point on all 3 park days. We were concerned going in, but it ended up being one of our favorite and most memorable trips. There is still a lot to do inside and the rain will not persist for the entire day. Try to take a break if there's a multi-hour period of heavy rain, or plan for long indoor attractions near each other. The Hollywoodland area of DCA is good with Phillarmagic, animation academy, Crush, Monsters Inc, Soarin, all nearby. You can also try to book a dining reservation for a time it looks like it might rain and cancel if it ends up not raining then (at least an hour before of course). Storyteller's is a good sit down near DCA, or any of the other sit downs in DL, DCA or DD.

This is no consolation, and not intended to brag, but this is why we usually go during the summer (and will be going this summer) - no worries about rain in SoCal!

 

[NorCalFanatic]

It’s definitely going to rain. We’ve been watching the forecast daily. Friday is no longer in the mix but Saturday went from 75% chance to 95% with about a half an inch predicted in the daytime hours and 1/4 inch in the evening. Sunday about an 80% chance of rain, half an inch overall….and then it blows out and should be nice rest of the week. Forecast should firm up more tomorrow /thursday.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

Forgot to add….get a good weather app. The basic ones with your phone isn’t the best. We like accu weather and the Fox weather app. We’ve found their hourly breakdowns for rain seem to be fairly accurate. There are supposed to be some periods of heavy rain on Saturday.

Oh…hair dryers take way too long to dry soaked sneakers. A trip to the laundry room and toss them all in the dryer would be your best bet.

 

[Chili327]

Forgot to add….get a good weather app. The basic ones with your phone isn’t the best. We like accu weather and the Fox weather app. We’ve found their hourly breakdowns for rain seem to be fairly accurate. There are supposed to be some periods of heavy rain on Saturday.

Oh…hair dryers take way too long to dry soaked sneakers. A trip to the laundry room and toss them all in the dryer would be your best bet.

Bring multiple pairs of shoes. I usually bring 3 even if it's not going to rain.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

Bring multiple pairs of shoes. I usually bring 3 even if it's not going to rain.

Yes, I'd agree...but OP mentioned they were packing light with no room for extra shoes. My shoes are HUGE, so only what I Can wear on my feet, although my better half and kids always bring extras (small feet)

 

[ironband74]

I hadn't spotted your pants... I love the fact you say "poorly" and "cuppa"-do you eat sarnies with your cuppa? Or fancy a biccie? (Sandwich or biscuit -cookie to you!!) Or for the ultimate British food, and something I have never seen anywhere in the USA-least of all in the UK pavilion at Epcot.... a chip buttie. Or a French Fry sandwich to you!

We do sometimes substitute biscuit for cookie as well.

When we visited the UK I couldn't get enough fish and chips or meat pies, and why on earth don't they sell Cadbury flake here? Can't say that I came across a chip buttie though. Is there gravy on that? The closest we have here is that there is a "Ministry of Food" booth at our big Scottish Games in the fall where we get lots of good food from the isles. But now we're getting dangerously off topic.

I can't offer tips for drying shoes, though the reasonably dry SoCal air will help. I would recommend though bringing or getting something to mitigate sneaker funk. I can tell you from experience, one rainy day in Anaheim where our shoes got soaked (mostly due to Splash Mountian but the rainy weather did not help) - when we got back to the hotel those shoes were toxic! They get all swampy, you know? Some kind of sneaker balls, odor-eater type things, or spray, might be a good idea.

To get back on topic (mostly) - One time we traveled down and realized that the rain was not going to abate, I went to either Target or Walmart (can't remember which) and bought weather resistant footwear for the members of my family who had brought only trainers (tennis shoes). If you have sufficient time it may be worth picking up some extra pairs of shoes.

 

[Meets1]

Given the forecast is now 100% looking bleak for the weekend, is the silver lining that there should be very light crowds despite it being a holiday weekend? Like are we talking <15 min waits on everything or is that too optimistic?

 

[NorCalFanatic]

Given the forecast is now 100% looking bleak for the weekend, is the silver lining that there should be very light crowds despite it being a holiday weekend? Like are we talking <15 min waits on everything or is that too optimistic?

Ahhh….yes, and maybe no. Being Spring break those traveling to the park are unlikely to change their plans, it will keep some of the locals away though. We used to 10+ years ago every Feb and it would be a ghost town when it rained, it’s not like that anymore.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

To manage some crowd expectations- last year we went in February (president’s day week) and it was absolutely pouring. I think they may even have closed the park early (we left before that happened and my memory could be off). It was totally packed. The rain didn’t really make any difference on the crowds that week.

Can’t stress enough the footwear issue. If your feet are dry, you’ll be so much happier! If you are staying nearby- plan for a break and clothes/shoe change. And a good raincoat/poncho (like the kind from REI, not the throwaway DL ones).

You might see if you can grab a reservation somewhere too, so you have a guaranteed fry place to sit.

A wet day at Disney is still better than a dry day at home!

 

[LKing]

Given the forecast is now 100% looking bleak for the weekend, is the silver lining that there should be very light crowds despite it being a holiday weekend? Like are we talking <15 min waits on everything or is that too optimistic?

100% rain with expected half inch. It doesn't sound torrential. It may keep MK away for part of the day, but not necessarily the whole day.

 

[Chili327]

100% rain with expected half inch. It doesn't sound torrential. It may keep MK away for part of the day, but necessarily the whole day.

Keep what/who away?? lol


I still wouldn't be too worried about the rain, it'll probably be just a few hours in the AM on Sat. (but still be prepared)

 

[cmph]

Extra shoes were going to be my suggestion, unfortunately! Or, at least bring some that are kind of thin/breathable, so hopefully they dry faster. We had a good amount of rain over Christmas week 2022 trip. I had 3 pairs of shoes. I purposely wore some old tennis shoes on the worst weather day, then tossed them in that trash. One of the other pairs were still damp after a couple days. My slip-on Clarks fared better and mostly dried after a day. I know SoCal is usually dry, but when it's wet, it just stays damp. (Lots of mold/mildew issues this season in the LA university dorms after all the wet weather stuck around.)

 

[LKing]

Lots of mold/mildew issues this season in the LA university dorms after all the wet weather stuck around

I'm curious which LA university you are referring to. I know UCI had problems, but I wouldn't consider it to be in Los Angeles.

 

[xApril]

We were there this weekend and the forecast was very fickle! It went back and forth and when we arrived that day, it said one hour of rain. It ended up raining for 5 hours on Saturday. On Sunday, it showed rain and then showed nothing the day of when we were in park. Then all of the sudden, the sky was dark and it was back in the forecast. But they ended up doing the parade in the light rain, albeit modified.

The biggest thing is to either have a poncho or umbrella. It definitely (at least for us) wasn’t as bad as Florida rain in terms of heaviness but it was still annoying. Be prepared to take your backpack/bag off constantly for rides if you have a poncho on and it’s under it.

Be prepared that it will end up being chilly! After all the rain Friday and then again Saturday, both days it was just super cold for us Floridians. I hope the forecast improves for you but you will still have fun. My mantra that day was that I’d rather be there at Disneyland than in Florida at work.

 

[cmph]

I'm curious which LA university you are referring to. I know UCI had problems, but I wouldn't consider it to be in Los Angeles.

UCLA

 

[RainyDayPixie]

Traveling from quite the distance to visit DL/DCA this coming weekend 3/30-3/31 and the weather forecast looks terrible- rain and 50's/60's. Talk me off the ledge here- any tips/tricks to make the best out of bad weather days in the parks? Concerned that many things that we were looking forward to riding (eg Incredicoaster, BTMRR, RSR, etc) will not run in the rain.

How did your trip go? We are there later this week and I’m so disappointed the forecast keeps getting worse for us, particularly Friday. Now I need you to talk me off a ledge, LOL.

 

[LKing]

We were there on Saturday. Incredicoaster was down all day. Radiator Springs Racer was open. Thunder Mountain was open. Small World was walk on because the seats were wet. Luigi's was covered and never opened. The parades in Disneyland were cancelled. They had a cavalcade with a characters waving from covered vehicles and the double decker bus. Crowds were light for spring break, but lines still stretched out into the rain.

We live local so packing for the rain wasn't difficult. We wore rain jackets with hoods and used umbrellas. We got a locker thinking we were going to shed some of the layers, but it rained the majority of the day so we kept our jackets on. An extra pair (or two) of socks and shoes are super helpful.

Edit to add: Characters were waving from windows or were roped off so you couldn't stand next to them.

 

[RainyDayPixie]

Thanks! These are helpful details. I live in Seattle, so have the gear and will bring it. But it is disappointing! I need to start planning Sept/Oct trips (I much prefer the heat to rain).

We usually book a CA trip for midwinter or spring break for a dose of sun!

 

[Peachy0118]

We were also here Saturday

It wasn't as much rain as we had boxing day to New years 2022/2023 but still plenty

Just wanted to add that the park closed an hour early which seemed unusual

 

[Chili327]

Thanks! These are helpful details. I live in Seattle, so have the gear and will bring it. But it is disappointing! I need to start planning Sept/Oct trips (I much prefer the heat to rain).

We usually book a CA trip for midwinter or spring break for a dose of sun!

I know I said it won’t be bad, and I’m not sure how the rest of the weekend was, but you really shouldn’t have to worry about it. It really doesn’t rain often down there. Be prepared for sure either way, but I wouldn’t stress to much about it.