mckennarose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 22, 2015
OP, you're doing the right thing in looking ahead and preparing. I have family going down next week too, so we're keeping an eye on this.
There is a BIG difference in the occasional downpour of rain and a tropical storm/depression and/or lead-up to a hurricane. SO. MUCH. WATER! Umbrellas are not good in those situations, IMO. We've been there through all of those and the rain doesn't let up much, not to mention the wind blowing all that water onto you. One year during a depression, it rained the whole week with maybe two or three times where it stopped, but even then, it was very, very windy and overcast. I think we got to swim one time for about a half hour on that trip.
For me, I feel Crocs are really good in situations like that. I've worn Keens, but when they got wet the straps caused friction and really hurt, as a previous poster mentioned. I've also worn foam-type flip flops (I can't remember if they were sanuk or skechers, but those really squishy ones) and when they get water logged, they hold the water in for days. I've also had a flip flop sucked off my foot leaving MK one night during the tropical depression and the water was a few inches high toward the park entrance. I'm not talking a "puddle", there's no way to avoid the water when it's pouring hard and not draining quickly enough. Animal kingdom parking lot was the same. Crocs stay on your feet when you have them in sport mode. Flip flops or similar are harder to walk in with no back strap/support to help keep them on your feet. If in doubt, imagine wearing any shoes in a bathtub filled with a few inches of water.... because that's what some of walking will be like in some areas. Walking through water is unavoidable in some areas.
We also will use the good ponchos, not the flimsy dollar store ones. When we get to rides and under cover, we take them off so they are inside out, rolling them up and trapping the water in the inside (which is technically the outside of the poncho), then put them in ziplock bags. You just have to be careful when you take them out and flip them right-side out again, if that makes sense. You will get some water, but that's unavoidable in big storms like that. I also wear a baseball hat and keep the poncho hood up. It helps keep the hood part up and shield your face a little better. If you wear a crossbody or backpack, make sure they're under your poncho. Some raincoats may not have enough room for your bags. You can "wear" a small backpack on your front under a poncho, to get things easily.
Another thing to note is that even though it's warmer temps, when you're wet you get cold. 70 degrees in the sun is different than 70 degrees in pouring rain, especially when there's wind. You will get wet, and rain on bare legs in shorts or arms in short sleeves gets chilly.
Aside from those things, we did take afternoon breaks at the resort. Just changing clothes can help a lot. It gives you time to dry the ponchos off with towels and dry your crocs.
All that said, you can have a lot of fun! We still laugh about singing to HEA in the rain, (because they still had the show go on in the rain) and it does lighten the crowds somewhat so you could have lower wait times. Even if it's not an ideal situation, it is what you make of it.
HTH!
There is a BIG difference in the occasional downpour of rain and a tropical storm/depression and/or lead-up to a hurricane. SO. MUCH. WATER! Umbrellas are not good in those situations, IMO. We've been there through all of those and the rain doesn't let up much, not to mention the wind blowing all that water onto you. One year during a depression, it rained the whole week with maybe two or three times where it stopped, but even then, it was very, very windy and overcast. I think we got to swim one time for about a half hour on that trip.
For me, I feel Crocs are really good in situations like that. I've worn Keens, but when they got wet the straps caused friction and really hurt, as a previous poster mentioned. I've also worn foam-type flip flops (I can't remember if they were sanuk or skechers, but those really squishy ones) and when they get water logged, they hold the water in for days. I've also had a flip flop sucked off my foot leaving MK one night during the tropical depression and the water was a few inches high toward the park entrance. I'm not talking a "puddle", there's no way to avoid the water when it's pouring hard and not draining quickly enough. Animal kingdom parking lot was the same. Crocs stay on your feet when you have them in sport mode. Flip flops or similar are harder to walk in with no back strap/support to help keep them on your feet. If in doubt, imagine wearing any shoes in a bathtub filled with a few inches of water.... because that's what some of walking will be like in some areas. Walking through water is unavoidable in some areas.
We also will use the good ponchos, not the flimsy dollar store ones. When we get to rides and under cover, we take them off so they are inside out, rolling them up and trapping the water in the inside (which is technically the outside of the poncho), then put them in ziplock bags. You just have to be careful when you take them out and flip them right-side out again, if that makes sense. You will get some water, but that's unavoidable in big storms like that. I also wear a baseball hat and keep the poncho hood up. It helps keep the hood part up and shield your face a little better. If you wear a crossbody or backpack, make sure they're under your poncho. Some raincoats may not have enough room for your bags. You can "wear" a small backpack on your front under a poncho, to get things easily.
Another thing to note is that even though it's warmer temps, when you're wet you get cold. 70 degrees in the sun is different than 70 degrees in pouring rain, especially when there's wind. You will get wet, and rain on bare legs in shorts or arms in short sleeves gets chilly.
Aside from those things, we did take afternoon breaks at the resort. Just changing clothes can help a lot. It gives you time to dry the ponchos off with towels and dry your crocs.
All that said, you can have a lot of fun! We still laugh about singing to HEA in the rain, (because they still had the show go on in the rain) and it does lighten the crowds somewhat so you could have lower wait times. Even if it's not an ideal situation, it is what you make of it.
HTH!
-- I found this thread because I posted about this week's weather in the Nov thread. So thank you for creating it. I have never been to WDW when it's been raining (aside from very light temporary rain), so I appreciate this thread.
