Touring in the rain!

[dlavender]

We will be at EPCOT Saturday afternoon-evening. With Nate rolling through the Gulf, looks like from 2-10 will be an 80% chance of rain. I'm hoping it lightens up the normal F&W Saturday crowds. What tips do you have for touring in the rain? Has anyone done it and regretted the decision? We have 3 little ones, 9,5, and 3. We will have our stroller, ponchos, and umbrella. Planning on using our 3 FP's, and hitting up what we can. I'm just hoping we don't start going through the IG and realize that we've made a huge mistake......

 

[Disnsyncey]

Wear shoes that wont stay soaked....I like my reef flip flops (sturdy) or my keens......its easy to hop between countries if it rains...

One thing that I really need if its gonna rain is a baseball hat....I can really do anything almost if my face isn't having water running down it.....in college, it had rained for 2 weeks straight...my roommates and friends and I said "to heck with this" and put a hat on, put clothes that were least likely to STAY wet (shorts mainly, even though it was cooler weather, wet legs are better than wet pants), and went with it......

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I've been in the WS before when it was raining pretty hard. Be prepared to be stationary in some pavilions at times depending on the rain.

 

[Cirlonde]

Well...not with kids, which may mean a different set of things to consider. But in October 2015, my husband and I toured for 3 or 4 hours in the rain at Magic Kingdom. Not storms (no lightning), but moderate rainfall. While we looked like drowned rats, we had a blast. Lines for everything were much shorter than usual, and the paths were empty because most everyone else was hiding. It was a great memory and I have absolutely no regrets! I would do it again with no hesitation.

We had good quality ponchos that were long and a little heavier than the cheap dollar store type, so they didn't blow around. And we were both in shorts, so our pants legs didn't soaked. And we wore light weight shoes that would dry quickly (skechers go walks in our case).

 

[dlavender]

Well...not with kids, which may mean a different set of things to consider. But in October 2015, my husband and I toured for 3 or 4 hours in the rain at Magic Kingdom. Not storms (no lightning), but moderate rainfall. While we looked like drowned rats, we had a blast. Lines for everything were much shorter than usual, and the paths were empty because most everyone else was hiding. It was a great memory and I have absolutely no regrets! I would do it again with no hesitation.

We had good quality ponchos that were long and a little heavier than the cheap dollar store type, so they didn't blow around. And we were both in shorts, so our pants legs didn't soaked. And we wore light weight shoes that would dry quickly (skechers go walks in our case).

DW and I did it many years ago when we were young and without kids. It was a blast! That's how I'm selling it currently. I hope we have similar memories this time.

Wear shoes that wont stay soaked....I like my reef flip flops (sturdy) or my keens......its easy to hop between countries if it rains...

One thing that I really need if its gonna rain is a baseball hat....I can really do anything almost if my face isn't having water running down it.....in college, it had rained for 2 weeks straight...my roommates and friends and I said "to heck with this" and put a hat on, put clothes that were lease likely to STAY wet (shorts mainly, even though it was cooler weather, wet legs are better than wet pants), and went with it......

Great tips!

 

[GBBTomorrow]

Wear shoes that wont stay soaked....I like my reef flip flops (sturdy) or my keens......its easy to hop between countries if it rains...

One thing that I really need if its gonna rain is a baseball hat....I can really do anything almost if my face isn't having water running down it.....in college, it had rained for 2 weeks straight...my roommates and friends and I said "to heck with this" and put a hat on, put clothes that were lease likely to STAY wet (shorts mainly, even though it was cooler weather, wet legs are better than wet pants), and went with it......

Ditto on the baseball hat. We often use cheap dollar store ponchos with a baseball hat on over the hood. It holds the poncho in place and also keeps the water off of my face. Win win.

 

[DisneyMom93]

We will be at EPCOT Saturday afternoon-evening. With Nate rolling through the Gulf, looks like from 2-10 will be an 80% chance of rain. I'm hoping it lightens up the normal F&W Saturday crowds. What tips do you have for touring in the rain? Has anyone done it and regretted the decision? We have 3 little ones, 9,5, and 3. We will have our stroller, ponchos, and umbrella. Planning on using our 3 FP's, and hitting up what we can. I'm just hoping we don't start going through the IG and realize that we've made a huge mistake......

We went once in November and it rained for most of one day. Another time for part of the day. It was a great! The park was emptier, but it wasn't a Saturday...

We had "packable" rain jackets. I always get them one size up for the kids so they cover more below the waist. Our girls have the ones from Lands End. They also wore Crocs, which are so great in the rain. You can dry the inside easily. It also wasn't a heavy rain though so we weren't soaked through below the waist. And none of the rides had to be closed due to the weather.

I didn't have a rain jacket while I was there. I saw the weather forecast in advance so I ordered one from Amazon Prime while I was there and got it delivered to the resort.

My husband and I wore Keens. We love them. I would think of maybe wearing Crocs if I knew it was going to rain a lot. I don't normally wear Crocs anywhere but in our yard.

We had a GREAT day at Epcot in the rain. Kids love the rain and puddles, etc anyway. We did not have a stroller though. Our girls were older.

I will add that I had a Joovy double stroller when they were younger and bought the rain cover for it and brought it EVERY Disney trip we went on. It never rained! It was like a good luck charm. We never even opened the package and I sold it on eBay years later as New Never Opened. LOL.

 

[DisneyMom93]

Oh yes, my husband and I wear quick-dry bottoms. I wear the skorts from Eddie Bauer and he has the EB shorts. I think Kohls also sells quick dry shorts in one of their brands. Croft and Barrow?

 

[jackilvsmath]

Our very first trip to WDW with our kids was 6 years ago during this time period. DD#1 was 8 and DD#2 was 5. There were 2 days where it just POURED down rain. The kids didn't want to leave the park right after we had gotten there, so we bought ponchos and kept going. WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE BLAST!!! There were NO LINES and we got some AWESOME photopass pictures because were were all splashing in the puddles on main street and having fun.

 

[Murron]

Whenever it rains, we head straight for MK. In fact, I wait (dare I say hope) for rainy days to visit MK. Grant it, some of the outdoor rides may close, but overall wait times, restaurants, shops are dramatically reduced.

 

[snoopboop]

=" Grant it, some of the outdoor rides may close, but overall wait times, restaurants, shops are dramatically reduced.

*I think you mean "granted"??

During our trip this summer, it rained every single day. Ugh. But..... I agree with @Murron - I'm not sure that I would have traded the reduced waits for better weather.

 

[DisneyFive]

Some people talk about how much they have enjoyed Disney in the rain. I am not one of them nor is the rest of my family. In our opinion, rain at Disney royally stinks. Ponchos are sticking to you. Goes from hot and muggy outside to freezing inside in the air conditioning. Feet are soaking wet.

I would give tips on how to enjoy it if I had some, but I don’t. When we have had rain at Disney we have had no other choice but to tour the parks because we are there for X amount of days and want to get our park time in.

Dan

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've been there for 3 tropical storms and two hurricanes (one was Jeanne in 2004, one was just passing by well to the south and gave us a day of rain). We wear rain jackets, not ponchos, keep a ziploc baggie to put the phone in, and wear Keen or other sandals, not shoes with socks. I wear a ball cap to keep the rain off my glasses.

 

[Tinman1717]

I can add another vote for sandals (Keens,Reef, Ecco etc..) I always wore sneakers/socks in the rain at parks and was miserable! Two weeks ago on our last trip i invested in a good pair of walking sandals for wet weather. I am now a believer!! It was a monsoon in HS and I was walking around like a kid playing in puddles having a blast!! While others in my party had wet sneakers/socks and were not happy! They now will be purchasing sandals for their next trip!!

 

[texnmickey]

Did it twice this week and with kids. Suck it up buttercup was our motto. Here's what I would tell you. 1) keep going. It's actually fun. If you brought ponchos great. If not buy the ones in park they are better. We put a cover on our stroller busted out the hats and umbrellas (dollar tree) and on we went. Now I live in West Texas so I don't know how to really deal with rain but we did it. The only part that did stink was waiting for our princess dinner but we did it.

 

[JerseyJanice]

We were there the week of Matthew last year and encountered a lot of rain. Epcot was our best park to tour because of its many indoor venues.

We spent a lot of time in the Living Seas. Saw all of the movies (China, France, Canada). Also hung out in Mexico and saw the American Adventure. You can browse in the Festival Center in the Wonders of Life pavilion. Really, there is a lot to do at Epcot in the rain.

 

[hsmamato2]

most important for OP? a stroller cover. Buy one that fits our stroller, the rest of your raingear,and go have fun. Bring extra shoes to change into the next day so the wet ones can dry.

 

[UpStNYmouse]

All great tips from others. But if you just need to get out of the rain go to the Seas. One very rainy Epcot day we hung out there riding Nemo and enjoying the aquarium and all the little things to see. Then we hung out in the Lands, but that was pretty crowded. Headed to WS and did some country hopping. We always found a way to get out of the rain when we wanted to.

 

[gillep]

Wear shoes that wont stay soaked....I like my reef flip flops (sturdy) or my keens......its easy to hop between countries if it rains...

One thing that I really need if its gonna rain is a baseball hat....I can really do anything almost if my face isn't having water running down it.....in college, it had rained for 2 weeks straight...my roommates and friends and I said "to heck with this" and put a hat on, put clothes that were least likely to STAY wet (shorts mainly, even though it was cooler weather, wet legs are better than wet pants), and went with it......

Agree with both these points! I just got back from a late September trip and it rained pretty heavily a few times, I was so glad to have my Teva sandals while my husband was walking around in soggy sneakers and socks (he hates sandals I have tried). Life was also so much better when I had my baseball cap vs when I didn't, no comparison for me.

I am also one of those people who will often ditch all my plans to hit MK in the rain, we have had our absolute best touring at MK in moderate-heavy rains!

 

[jo-jo]

We throw a few binder clips in a ziplock bag. They can help to hold the stroller cover down or clipped under your chin to hold the rain hood on. The phones can go into the ziplock bag.