Embracing the Rain: How to Make the Most of a Wet Day at Disneyland with George

It is always dissapointing when you see rain in the forecast for your Disneyland trip.  In this episode, we give tips for the rain and even when you might consider canceling your trip.  Rainy days can mean minimal crowds, short lines for rides, and a unique adventure around every rain-slicked corner—that's what we're unpacking in this episode. 

Deciding whether to brave the weather forecast or to reschedule your Disneyland trip is no small feat, and in this discussion, we dive into the complexities of making that call. 

Right now, our tools are just for Disneyland, but we hope to expand to other parks soon. Disney changes policies, prices, and shows often. Be sure to visit our website at Parkmagic.com or Disneyland's Website for more information.

Park Magic is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Mickey Mouse are all registered trademarks of Disney Enterprises, Inc. Any use of third-party names or trademarks is for identification purposes only and does not imply, nor is it intended to imply, any affiliation with, endorsement from, or business relationship with any third party, including with Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sometimes the world just rains on your parade.
Today we're going to be talkingabout what to do if you see
rain in the forecast for yourDisneyland vacation.
Don't panic, it can be a goodthing.
I've got one of my favoritepeople in the whole world Like,
if you ever get a chance to goto Disney with George, you
should drop whatever to do, quityour job, sell your house.
I'm just kidding, but reallyGeorge is an expert at

(00:22):
Disneyland.
He grew up in California, spentpretty much all of his life in
California, except for the lastcouple of years.
Now he lives in Florida and sohe has a lot of experience with
rain.
You had three kids that youtook to the parks all the time,
and we've been to Disneyland inthe rain, I think, like four or
five times, just with me even.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Oh yes, oh yes, and it was a blast the entire time.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
And you can have a good time in the rain.
I think you know.
Jennifer says there's no badweather, only bad clothes.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Right?
Yeah, I'd like to add a littlebit to that, and that is there
is no such thing as bad weather,only bad attitudes about the
weather.
Even if you don't have theright clothes, you can still
have the right attitude.
But we'll talk about all that.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
Well, let's talk about you know, because any time
it's going to rain, I see inthe Facebook groups we have
people who are panicking becauseon the weather app it looks
like it's going to rain all day.
Let's start by talking a littlebit about how rain usually
plays out in California aroundDisneyland.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Yeah, sure, I got a bunch of things to say about
that, and really the thing youshould remember most of all is
you know the old sayingknowledge is power.
We want to empower you to kindof understand all that there is
to understand about rain inCalifornia, specifically in
Disneyland, and we want you tomake the best choice for
yourself, and not everybody'sgoing to choose the same thing,
so what's good for one personmight be different for another

(01:42):
person.
We want you to be empoweredwith the knowledge to know what
the right thing is for you.
And, like we were alluding toearlier, sometimes maybe you
don't want to avoid the rain.
Let's just go play in it.
But the one thing I want to sayabout California is, if you're
familiar with rain in any otherpart of the country, it might
not be the same for you.
So, like Robin said, I live inFlorida now, although I still
travel to California severaltimes a year, so I'm familiar

(02:03):
with the differences.
And if you're used to like thewarm summer rain that happens
along the South, you might be alittle bit surprised to know
that in California often therain is cold and so it's like oh
look, it's raining outside.
Let's step out into the nicewarm rain.
Oh no, no.
No, it can be kind of cold inCalifornia, but, that said,
water is still just wateranywhere you go, and it's not

(02:24):
going to kill you.
It might make you feel a littledifferent, but it's definitely
not going to kill you.
But the thing about Californiais typically when it rains there
it's like an unusual event, andso people will freak out on the
freeways, people will run andseek shelter, because something
that's not typical.
But don't freak out, relax,enjoy and, in fact, lean in a
little bit to the enjoyment partof it.

(02:46):
Some of my fondest memories,both as an adult and as a
younger kid, are stomping aroundin the puddles, either myself
doing it just for fun or with mykids.
Stomping around with yourlittle kids can be fun.
Think about the Winnie the Poohand the rain.
Rain, rain came down down togreat time playing in the rain.
Why should you be any different?
You're in the happiest place onearth.

(03:07):
Enjoy the rain.
Sure, you might be a littlecool, you might be a little cold
, you're going to be a littlewet, but enjoy it.
That's my advice.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
And rain can be a good thing, because a lot of
people will not be able to hangwith the cold, because the
things that we're going to talkabout in a little bit can make
or break your day.
So it's all about beingprepared.
So the people who get caughtoff guard, those are the ones
that end up usually not makingit.
Now, as more and more peoplehave started to learn that rain
can be good, there are morepeople sticking around on rainy

(03:38):
days than there had been in thepast.
George and I were there earlierthis year.
It was pouring rain and it feltlike nobody left, but we still
had a really good time.
As long as you keep yourexpectations realistic and you
have a good attitude, then itcan be a really fun day, even
when it's cold and rainy.
Did you want to talk a littlebit about rides and why some of

(03:58):
the rides might still runoutside with rain and why some
of them will be canceled, evenif it looks cloudy and there may
be isn't rain?

Speaker 2 (04:07):
For sure.
Now, the thing about outdoorattractions Well, the thing
about rain in general oranything with park operations is
Disney's primary concern isyour safety.
And even if you're annoyed bysomething oh, I totally wanted
to see the whatever, but thewhatever got canceled, or I have
to walk all the way from hereto over there because they move
the whatever you know relax,they're not doing it just to be

(04:28):
mad at you, and maybe you'rehaving a bad day already and
this is just making it worse.
But take a deep breath, calmdown.
The reason Disney is doingthese things is for your safety.
So you're actually you shouldbe glad that they're doing these
things for you.
But the reason that ridesspecifically will close down is
number one.
If there's lightning in thearea.
They do not want these bigmetal tracks or some of the

(04:48):
other aspect of this attractionto attract any kind of lightning
that's going to hurt you.
And, just out of an abundanceof caution, if there's lightning
anywhere near, or there couldbe lightning developing nearby,
they'll shut down the ride.
Now, the other interestingthing about this is, even if
it's not lightning, even if it'sjust rain, without any fear of
lightning, like I said, it'sjust water, right.
What's the big deal?

(05:09):
There is a safety concern aboutjust the rain, and that is if
the ride continues to operateand then people get off their
ride vehicle and walk towardsthe exit, where it's outside,
and they see the rain, theymight want to stay inside the
exit of the ride and not go out.
And if that happens then justkind of like the bottom of an
escalator, you know, people arestill getting off the ride but
nobody's leaving the ridebuilding.

(05:31):
It's just going to pile up andcreate a dangerous situation.
So often they will shut down aride if people congregate at the
exit and aren't willing to stepout into the rain.
So that's another reason thatthe rides can shut down.
And you know, if you kind oflike close your eyes and picture
all these folks crowded in, youknow, cowering under the little
overhang there and not willingto step out into the rain, it

(05:51):
can be frustrating, it can bedangerous, it can be.
People are cranky and angry.
That's just a bad situation.
So Disney does not want thosecrowds to appear.
That's another reason.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
You know.
So an example of that is BuzzLightyear Astro Blasters.
You exit into this really tinygift shop and then people will
hide in that gift shop and itmight seem like they just have
the world's crankiest castmembers.
Because they're basicallysaying if you're not going to
buy something, get out.
And that's because they'retrying to keep that flow of
people.
And it's the same reason whythe parades can get canceled is,

(06:20):
while you know, you might befine standing in the rain.
We've got people that aredancing.
They're in costumes withlimited visibility, so it's
important that they don't slipand fall, so they're trying to
keep the cast members safe aswell.
I think those are the bigthings that get canceled.
Airworks parades some meet likethe, especially like the
spontaneous meet and greets,like the Alice in Wonderland in

(06:42):
a lad and walking around fantasyland, and then like the outdoor
rides, like Dumbo.
You know those ones to get thatshutdown first, usually right.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Yep, anything with exposure to the outside.
You know that's a lightningconcern, so they'll shut that
down.
And then anything with an exitthat you know could create a
safety hazard if it rains andpeople aren't stepping out into
the rain to clear the exit area.
That's a concern, it'll shutdown.
But the thing I wanted tomention is, even though it's
good to know, to have theexpectation that parades and
fireworks and meet and greetsand rides have the potential of

(07:12):
all getting shut down because ofthe weather, we don't really
know exactly what operationalchanges the park is going to
have to do as a result of theweather, so it could be that
they have different walkwaypaths, it could be they need to
shut down certain other areas ofthe park.
You really don't know.
But the important thing, thetakeaway here, the thing to
remember, is please just beflexible.
Remember this is the happiestplace on earth.
Everybody is there.

(07:33):
The job is to make sure you'resafe and you have a good time.
They're not trying to like makeyou miserable.
So please just have a goodattitude about it, be flexible
and enjoy the weather as bestyou can and you'll have a good
time.
They're not out to get you, Ipromise.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well, and you know rain can be good things.
Sometimes they'll have a lot ofpeople leave, especially if
it's really cold rain.
If you can stay dry, keep yourfeet warm which we're going to
talk a little bit later then youmight be able to enjoy a lot of
things with a lot lower levelsof crowds, and a lot of people
do cancel their vacations.
I think on an average day atDisneyland, like half of the
attendance there is annual passholders, so people who can come

(08:11):
all the time.
So when it's raining a lot ofthose folks might choose not to
come.
So you might end up withlighter crowds, shorter lines,
especially if you know if yousee in the weather forecasters
only expected to rain for acouple of hours, then it can be
a really great day.
And the park is so pretty whenit's wet.
I mean, there's some bigpuddles, for sure, but I just

(08:32):
find it kind of pretty and youcan get these really great shots
sometimes of not a lot ofpeople when it's raining, and I
really like that too.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
I agree, you know, our fondest memories, both as a
large family with kids and justas a smaller family, when it's
just my wife and me, are whenthings are different, you know,
like in the rain.
That's kind of unusual.
And so my fondest memories, oh,remember that time it rained,
you know, and then we'll sharefun stories about that, and like
the time we had to go off andget some hot cocoa or buy a new
change of clothes or whatever.
Those are fond core memories.

(08:59):
You know, as you call it, wenever sit around and say
remember that time we went toDisneyland and everything went
absolutely like normal andnothing out of the ordinary
happened.
Yeah, boy, that was a greattime.
The one thing I do want to sayabout clothing and we should
probably dig into this if you'reready to kind of talk about the
clothing.

Speaker 1 (09:14):
Yeah, let's get into it.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, there's a lot to unpack here, and so a lot of
people will wear the kind ofclothing that just isn't really
the best for rain.
And what I mean by that is likeyou know, a cotton pair of
Levi's with, you know, socks andshoes, and like, maybe, a heavy
shirt with a sweatshirt.
You know that that stuff getswet and stays wet.
Now, if it doesn't rain, it'sgreat, it's comfortable clothing

(09:37):
.
I want you to be comfortable, Iwant you to wear what you
normally wear, but in the rainthat stuff can be miserable.
The two ways I look at it iswear clothes that you love and
then have a contingency plan ofwhat am I going to do if it
rains.
And for a lot of people, that'soh, my clothes need to be, they
need to come off of me and Ineed to put on some new, clean,
dry, warm clothes.

(09:58):
And if that's your opinion, ifthat's what you want to do, if
that's living your best life, byall means live that best life,
and we got a couple of greatideas for you.
If that's how you live yourlife and that is, keep your
change of clothes nearby thatcould be in your backpack that
you carry around.
A lot of folks carry a bigbackpack when they tour the
parks.
That's not really my style, buta lot of people love it.
Another thing is bring the bigbackpack but stash it in a

(10:21):
locker.
That's a great idea becauseyou're only a few steps away,
depending on where you are inthe park.
The thing I like to do is Icarry all my contingency stuff,
the just in case stuff, and thenleave it either in the hotel
room if I'm staying in a hotel,or leave it in the car if I'm a
day guest driving in from nearby.
That way, my plan B yeah, it'sa little further away, but it's
still accessible and then kindof the last step beyond that

(10:45):
would be you know what throwyour hands up and say I didn't
bring anything because I didn'tthink I'd need it.
And my plan B is actually notgo to the car for my supplies.
My plan B is drive down toTarget.
There's a wonderful Targetright off a Harbor Boulevard,
just close to the parks.
Just drive down to Target.
It would not be the first timeyou see soaking wet people
walking in and then buying awhole outfit of clothes and
walking out.

(11:05):
And I mean that's a perfectlyfine plan B if that's your style
and I'm sure Rob and you got alot of things to say about that
too.
But I want to come to thealternative of that, and that is
, if you wear clothing that iskind of rain compatible, it
dries quickly, you know, it kindof wicks its moisture away.
That's another option, becauseif you get wet and if you're

(11:26):
wearing the kind of clothes thatcan handle that okay and I
don't mean handle it by none ofit soaks in.
What I mean is if it gets wetand actually gets wet, it'll dry
quickly.
That's another option.
And of course, if you'revisiting the parks in Florida,
that's almost a must have.
But if you're visiting theparks in California, it's kind
of a nice to have.
But if that's not your style, Idon't want to like encourage
you to go out of your normalclothing patterns, but that's

(11:47):
another approach.

Speaker 1 (11:49):
About January last year I went to the parks with my
family and a lot of them it waslike kind of my more of an
extended family trip, a biggerfamily trip, so not just my core
family and you know it lookedlike it was gonna rain.
So I was like, hey, don't wearjeans, you know, make sure you
bring.
Like I packed for my kids a lotof the same clothes that we
packed for Costa Rica, for therainforest, you know things that

(12:11):
you know like athletic, quick,dry kind of stuff.
But my parents and my sister, Iwas like, hey, make sure you
bring an extra pair of shoes,make sure you bring extra socks,
and we want to bring them tothe park each day.
And they were like the Robinshe's a little a type, she's a
little overstressed abouteverything Meh.

(12:31):
And then me and my son hung outall day, had such a great time
in the rain.
Well, my husband and my sisterand a couple other people had to
.
You know, take my mom to go getnew shoes and you know she she
only ended up spending likethree or four hours in the park
that day Because they had to gotry to find things or change or
dry off, warm up all of thosethings.

(12:52):
So, like Scar said, you want tobe prepared.
So I think we should talk aboutfeet first, because I Agree
with your wife, jen, that sayslike keeping your feet warm is
like the most important thing,especially, and like it's true
in Florida too, but especiallyin California, because the rain
is so much colder.
I don't know if you disagreethere.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
No, I don't disagree at all.
I agree 100%.
In fact, speaking my wifeJennifer, she's got a pair of
ugg boots.
You know the big Line of boots.
She's got a pair of ugg bootsin the car at all times and
that's definitely her plan B.
So she, like me, wearsflip-flops.
That's our daily wear, even toformal occasions.
It's always flip-flops, whichworks great in the rain.
You know they dry out prettyfast and then off you go.

(13:33):
But that's our style, that'snot yours, that's okay.
But in addition to theflip-flops that we're always
wearing, she's got those uggboots in the car and so when
it's for whatever reason, it'swet or cold or whatever it's
time to flip into the bettershoes.
She's got them nearby.
So that's brilliant.
But let's talk about the feetand let's kind of unpack that a
little bit, because if your feetaren't happy, you're not happy.
So there's a lot of ways tokeep your feet happy.

(13:55):
My personal opinion, as you'veheard me say, is I've just
acclimated to flip-flops.
I wore, I was a tennis shoesand socks wearer for my entire
life, and then I'd come toFlorida and my feet to get wet.
I'd be miserable and I was justkind of Sort of suffered
through and then I look around Isee some of the local
Floridians always wearingflip-flops.
And then when I finally movedhere and I was here, you know,

(14:17):
frequently and I'm like, wow,okay, let's just try this
Florida thing and I converted aflip-flops.
Took a bit of a transition, butI converted a flip-flops now my
flip-flops guy.
So if you're a flip-flopsperson, you're probably already
set for the rain.
Your feet will get a littlecool, but they'll dry off.
You'll be fine.
If you're not a flip-flop person, we're not trying to change
your mind about anything.
Oh, and then please, please,please, don't give up a lifetime

(14:38):
of shoes.
Put on flip-flops as you'rewalking into Disney on the first
day of your vacation and expectto have a wonderful Disneyland
day Wearing flip-flops for thefirst time.
And this is something you needto kind of transition over to.
But, depending on what, whatstrategy you adopt if you're
flip-flops and let them get wet,or if your shoes and socks and
they need to stay dry you canhave a good time if you're

(14:59):
prepared.
But my advice is Bring theextra pairs of socks, bring the
extra pairs of shoes, becauseyour shoe itself is gonna get
soaking wet.
And the last thing I want tosay about this before I hear
Robin, your take on it isremember that ponchos, umbrellas
, no matter what else you have,and we'll talk about all those
things, but no matter what elseyou have, they're not gonna help
your shoes.
Your shoes are gonna get wet,no matter what else is going on

(15:20):
on your body, so plan on gettingyour feet wet if it's gonna
rain and you know I loveflip-flops in the summer, but I
don't like my feet getting cold.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
So I normally, like in Florida, I'm all about about
the flip-flops, and if it's nottoo cold, if it's not like
January rain, then I'm on teamflip-flop.
But I'm a person that likeloves socks, and so I mean like
I will put socks on to go to bed, even if I wore flip-flops
during the day, which I know isblasphemy to many people.
But I love my socks, I loveshoes.

(15:51):
So what I do is I bring acouple of extra pairs of socks
and then I bring shoes that aremeant for like hiking, that you
know you can kind of get wet, sothey're designed to get wet and
quickly dry.
So I have a pair of Merrillshoes that that I bought for
hiking.
They're very lightweight andthey kind of have kind of holes
in them, so everything driesreally, really quickly.

(16:12):
So what I'll do is, when I seethe rain coming or starts to
fall down, I'll take my stick alittle break, I'll take my shoes
off, take my socks off, putthem in my bag.
If they've already gotten wet,I have a zip-up bag that's ready
to go.
Once the rain is completelystopped up, maybe put my socks
back on.
There are some socks that arereally good about keeping your
feet dry, even if they're yourshoes are really wet.

(16:33):
But especially for little kids,if their feet get wet and if
you, those socks get wet, evenif the rest of the day dries out
, your feet are so cold and theyalso have these little feet
warmer things.
So they're like kind of likehand warmers that you can put in
your shoes If you've alreadypassed that point of no return.

(16:54):
Sometimes that can help.
But I will tell you, trying toget those shoes to dry out in a
hotel room it's not usuallypossible unless you sit there
with a hairdryer.
It can be really, reallydifficult.
So I think that you know if you,if nothing else, bring lots of
different pairs of shoes orswitch, bring something like
Keens to Change into when therain starts and then put your

(17:15):
shoes in the locker and thenswitch them out, is something
that I can do.
And I know, george, I don'tknow if you've seen this, but on
the Facebook group so a lot ofpeople will talk about these
like plastic booties that goover.
You know, I've seen a lot ofother people complain that they
become basically buckets and therain kind of falls into the
booties or it makes it reallyslippery.
Have you ever tried those, ordo you know anybody that really

(17:37):
loves them?

Speaker 2 (17:38):
I know nobody who loves them.
I personally would never trythem because for me I know we're
gonna talk about ponchos in asecond but for me I think about
the fact that sometimes I'm morewet underneath the poncho than
before I put the poncho on.
Yeah and you know, especiallyif you have a bad poncho, a bad
poncho is worse than no poncho.
Yeah, I kind of look at theplastic booties as like a bad
poncho for my feet.

(17:59):
I'd rather not trap everythingin there, I'd rather kind of
deal with the, the plan B.
If I have to deal with the planB and you know, robin, you said
something a second ago thattriggered me.
You said the point of no returnlet's talk about your
contingency plans.
And I don't mean, like yournormal plan B, let me run to the
car and get my other pair, like, if you're stuck, if it's an,
it's a wet shoe Emergency andyou don't have any plan B and

(18:20):
you don't have any contingencies.
The what, what I recommend youdo is a last-ditch resort is go
some place where they have somekind of paper towel or toilet
paper or or something like that.
You know a bathroom or anything,and if you can find something
absorbent, what I've done beforewhen I've Cut, I'm one of stuck
with no other options and I'mwearing shoes and socks is I

(18:40):
take off my socks, I pull outthe liner of my shoes if it has
one, you know, often there's aninsert there in the bottom and
I'm left with just the shell ofmy shoe.
Then I take whatever I've gotthe, the paper towels, the
toilet paper and I'm sure Disneythat was not gonna be happy to
hear me say or suggest you dothis, but I will wrap my feet up
in the toilet paper or thepaper towel or whatever I've got

(19:02):
, sort of like one of thoseArctic explorers we find buried
in ice from a thousand years agoand then kind of shove that big
ball of paper back inside theshell of my shoe and lace it up
and that'll give me some warmthand dryness for a while and
that's my like emergency plan ifall else fails.

Speaker 1 (19:19):
But to answer your question though, I'm not a fan
of the plastic booties and youknow my kids saw George do this,
or they think they you help oneof the kids Do it and they
thought it was so fun and it itis something that they will
remember.
And there are other options tothere's a target, not far
there's.
You know, there are shoes thatare available to purchase in the

(19:39):
park.
They can be a little pricey, soyou want to try to do that.
Let's talk about team ponchoversus team umbrella, because I
think I'm more on team poncho,with some caveats, and you, I
think, are much more like teamumbrella.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, given the choice, I would be umbrella all
day long.
But remember, sometimes I'mlike you know what?
It's just water.
I'm gonna get wet and enjoy mycrazy day and then hopefully the
sun will come out and dry meoff.
I might be cool, but because Itravel light, you know, I know a
lot of people love to pack up abig fanny pack or backpack of
essentials for the day andthat's great.
Please do if that's your vibe.
My vibe is to go as light as Ican.

(20:16):
I just my phone and my walletand that's it.
I don't have anything else.
So often I'll just leave theumbrella in the car and say, meh
, I'll be fine, and then if Ihave to plan B and run out and
get it, I do.
But between the two, to answeryour question, I'm umbrella all
day long.
Poncho is not my vibe, but Ilove that.
Other people love it.
It's good for them.

Speaker 1 (20:32):
I like umbrellas, but I, you know, I'm not really
good at making sure that I Idon't have good looks to hang
dry under umbrellas.
I'm so easily distracted that Iend up, you know, dumping the
rain on me or somebody that Ilove.
You know, I just for somereason I just can't get my act
together on on umbrellas.
I like ponchos and they sellponchos in the park.
I ended up having to buy onerecently because we got caught

(20:54):
in the rain.
Used to be like five or sixyears ago.
They had these awesome ponchos.
Now they're like made out oftissue paper and they're like
ten bucks.
When you're looking at ponchos,I recommend that you bring
ponchos to the park with youryou know, on your trip with you,
even in the summer, if it's notgonna rain, if you're gonna do
something like Tiana's Bayouadventure when it opens up, or a
Grizzly River Rapids, then, butwith the ponchos.

(21:15):
Here's some things that I lookfor.
In the poncho I wanted to havesleeves and not just the gaping
holes, because what happens is,especially when the rain's
coming in sideways, that raingets in to the Kind of into your
pants, and so the sleeves makeit so that, as you're kind of
reaching in for things.
It keeps the rest of you dry.
I like the little draw stringson the end of those sleeves too,

(21:38):
to make sure that I can kind oftuck my cloth clothing a little
bit back so it doesn't get hitby that rain, and a little kind
of like a drawstring around thehood so I can keep it from
flopping off.
And then I really want thelength you know, ideally to go
just a little bit past my knees.
So you know, in we'll have somelinks to a page with some

(22:01):
recommendations that I have forthe rain.
The reason is is that if youhave a really short one, then
sometimes your pants will stillget pretty wet, just because you
know the rain doesn't alwaysfall straight down, down down.
So when I'm looking for aponcho, that's what I recommend.
Sometimes you feel things like Ican just do like a winter
jacket.
Once that rain gets down intoyour clothes it's kind of no

(22:24):
return.
You know it's hard to get warmagain.
So what I like to do is I likeyou know we put the, you know
I'll wear the winter coats, butmake sure you put your poncho on
, maybe a little bit sooner thanyou think you might need it if
you're concerned, or before youget to the parks, you know, pour
a cup of water on the sleeve ofthat jacket and see how actual

(22:44):
water resistant it is.
Just because it says it's waterresistant on the Amazon page
doesn't mean it's actually waterresistant.
And then with jackets, do youusually do like, like, more like
rain jackets, or do you usuallydo kind of like windbreakers,
because the wind is what cansometimes get you the most?

Speaker 2 (23:02):
Yeah, when the wind picks up, boy, you're going to
be uncomfortable, even ifthere's not a hint of rain in
the air.
But let me go back just for onesecond.
There's one thing I wanted tosay about ponchos, and you know
we were saying a minute ago thatour fondest core memories are
the kind where something unusualhappened that we don't normally
do.
And you mentioned dump a cup ofwater and see, I love that idea
.
And in fact, if your kids wantto have a little goofy fun and

(23:25):
do something they've probablynever done before, go get your
ponchos for your upcoming trip.
Go put them on, go standoutside and have somebody grab
the hose and give it a try.
I guarantee your kids willprobably delighted in the fact
that you're doing something theycouldn't expect their parents
to actually ever want to do.
You know, spray each other withthe hose in the backyard with
ponchos on, but it'll be a funlittle family bonding core

(23:46):
memory.
But you also give your ponchosa trial run and you'd be like,
oh my gosh, I got so much waterpouring in here.
Better, you know now, whenyou're standing in your own
house for a fun afternoonactivity.
Then when you're in Disneyland,the clock's ticking on your
vacation.
You're stressed for a bunch ofother reasons.
But to answer your questionabout jackets, it's absolutely
critical that you have somethingwarm, against the wind or just

(24:08):
you know, like a chillyCalifornia night.
If you're not familiar with youknow how, how the weather can
turn cool in California.
We don't want you to be caughtby surprise.
We want you to be prepared.
You know knowledge is power.
If, if you want to just jam alight jacket into your park bag,
great.
And if, like I said, if youwant to leave it as a plan be
back at the hotel or back inyour car, that's great too.

(24:29):
And that advice about the planbe in your car or the hotel,
that dovetails nicely intoadvice that I hear a lot of
other people share, and that isdon't necessarily commit
yourself to an all day deathmarch, especially with your
little ones.
It works out great when you kindof divide it up into shifts.
Hit the park early, especiallyif you're going to do rub drop.

(24:49):
Hit the park early and havethat be your first shift.
Go through and enjoy your firstshift riding the rides and
doing all the fun things you'regoing to do, but then the middle
of the day, take a break, goback to the hotel, go swimming,
take a nap.
You know that that's.
That's common advice and I hearthat a lot.
It's great advice.
The reason it's so common isbecause it's so smart.
But if you've got your plan Bstuff your jacket for the
evening and all these otherthings, or the or the inclement

(25:11):
weather clothing back at thehotel, that dovetails perfectly.
So do the first shift.
If you get through it withoutany rain, great.
You're going to go home, take anap, go swimming or whatever
you're going to do anyway.
Then go back and if the coolweather jackets need to come out
for your second shift, you'vegot them at the hotel ready to
go.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
When it comes to California, I always think
layers, layers, layers, becausethe temperature even on a bright
, beautiful, sunny day, it cango from cold to hot to cold.
So I usually will always bringlots of layers, which does help
if things get something gets wet.
It kind of gives you a littlebit more protection.
But you know, so like if I knowit's going to rain, I will have

(25:47):
a t-shirt, and then I mighthave a spirit jersey, which
basically a long sleeve shirtthat goes over it.
Then I might have like a lightjacket and then something that's
more like a light windbreaker,and then something that like a
little puffer jacket orsomething that we could put on
if it gets really cold and keepthose in the locker.
So you know, but I'm anoverprepared person, so you
don't need all of that, but yeah.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
Well, I like to think about it this way Often I'll
pack a jacket just in case or,you know, a spirit jersey just
in case.
Like you mentioned, I lovespirit jerseys, but the way I
pack it is I put a hundreddollar bill in my wallet and
that's my spirit jersey.
That way I don't have to carryaround my spirit jersey, but I
know if I need one, I get outthat hundred dollar certificate
for a spirit jersey and then Ijust go buy one and you know,

(26:32):
with tax and everything they'reabout a hundred dollars.

Speaker 1 (26:34):
They're there, they're really expensive.
And then with little ones youwant to think about the stroller
.
You can put them in ponchos asmuch as you want.
The stroller can get pretty wetand pretty cold and then again
it might not dry out overnight.
So there are lots of coversthat are available for your
stroller.
But just kind of be thinkingthat through.
And then if you have somebodythat has an ECV, an electric

(26:55):
wheelchair scooter, it'simportant to keep the little
kind of command center where youyou know where you turn it off
and on and to keep that dry.
So if they, usually if you rentone, they'll give you a shower
cap to put on it and keep thatdry.
If not, you know, in some casesmaybe I'll just go into one of
the stores at Disney, ask for abag and use that over it.

(27:18):
There are a couple rentalplaces that will hold you
responsible if it gets damagedin the rain.
So make sure you check that.
I purposely don't check, Likeonce that mobility makes you
kind of take responsibility.
So I don't rent from themanymore.
I rent from some of the otherreally great companies that are
out there, not because they're abad company, not because
they're bad people, just becausethe other ones had a little bit

(27:42):
more allowance for that.
I can't control when it rainsand how I need to get back, but
they don't really like thembeing driven a lot during the
rain, so if you've got somebodyin an ECV, just kind of keep
that in mind.
I think those are the bigthings that before we go talk
about, like where can you hidefrom the rain, which is always a
fun topic.

Speaker 2 (28:02):
Two quick things I wanted to mention is please,
please, if you're an ECV driver,remember that everybody needs a
little bit of extra courtesyand distance and space.
So slow down, be careful,because I see some of these
folks on ECVs like it's theDaytona 500.
You know they're zooming in andout on a rainy day, especially
if the sun goes down.
Just give everybody a littleextra space, go a little slower.

(28:24):
But the other thing I wanted tosay is, if you're in a push
wheel chair not the fancy ECVand that's the creme de la creme
right, have the motor drive youaround.
But if you're in a push wheelchair, remember that often where
you park your wheelchair to gointo a ride might not be covered
and so your chair is going toget wet.
Now it's made out of goodmaterial that dries quickly, but

(28:44):
still you don't want to comeback from a ride and then sit
down on a soggy seat.
So Robin's advice about giveyourself a little baggie or a
bag or something to kind of hidecover the ECV Great idea Also,
even if you're in a pushwheelchair.

Speaker 1 (28:59):
Yeah.
So you might even want to getyour chair a little poncho, and
so I think that you know thosethings can really help.
And he's exactly right aboutthe seat getting really wet, and
the same thing for thestrollers.
All of the stroller parking ispretty much uncovered.
So even if you don't want tohave your kids kind of in case

(29:19):
in plastic, you know you kind ofsee these little plastic
fortresses floating around whenit rains.
Even if you didn't want to havethat for your kids because of
concerns, then you know at leastcovering it while you're out so
that they don't sit in a nicelittle puddle in their cute
little clothes, then that thatcan help as well.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
Yeah, if you're going to do the family activity of
you know, the poncho rainactivity in the backyard, as a
trial run, get one of thoselittle ponchos for your stroller
.
Put a teddy bear inside there,because I don't think your
little one's going to understandwhat's happening, but put a
little teddy bear in there, putthe thing over the stroller and
give it a go and see how dry theteddy bear comes out.
You want to make sure you kindof give it a road test before

(29:59):
you actually give it a park test.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
And the reason we're saying you want to do this road
test is the same reason that younever like the Cardinals in.
The one thing you never do isyou never bring brand new shoes
to Disneyland.
You want to test these things,you know.
So you know where the failpoints are.
But also, if you're going toneed to purchase something
different, we want to make surethat there's not going to be
something that's going to giveyou a blister.

(30:21):
It's not going to cause chafing, you know.
So if you can kind of do thislittle silly test run, plus, if
you're an anxious person like me, you will feel like you have a
plan.
You will feel like you haveeverything set up.
You know, george is much betterabout just taking things as it
comes and not worrying aboutthings, and that's why I aspire
to be more like George.
But it's, you know, like if itfor me, like knowing what's

(30:43):
going to work and what my backupplan makes me a little less
worried, because I know you'respending a lot of money coming
on this Disney trip and youreally want to make sure it's
really great so you don't haveto do it.
But it's just an idea.

Speaker 2 (30:55):
Well, here's a fun idea, and that is, if having a
little trial run, a test in yourbackyard sounds silly, why
don't you book two Disneylandvacations about a week apart or
so and then have the first onebe your trial run for the second
one If?

Speaker 1 (31:10):
you don't want to try it in your backyard, but the
backyard test.
I think it'll be a lot cheaperfor you Well let's talk about
places to hide, because you knowit's funny, there are some
places that everybody goes tohide and so they're super
crowded, everybody's bushing andshoving and it's just not
comfortable, there's no place tosit.
And there's some places thatyou would think that would just
be super busy in the rain.

(31:33):
That are really great places tohide from the rain that nobody
goes to, and hopefully I'm notruining things.
But you know, george, what areyour favorite places to hide in
the rain?

Speaker 2 (31:43):
Well, like everything , let me just remind everyone
again that it's for me, numberone.
It's all about the attitude.
If you see something you thinkis going to be a great place to
duck in and it's too crowded,relax, don't think that that's a
bad thing.
Make a new friend.
Get to know somebody who'scowering in the rain in there
with you.
You know, and I know I knowpeople want to spend a day in

(32:03):
Disney free of crowds.
I know that people thinkDisneyland is going to be a
delightful park just for them,and then they're kind of mad
that there's so many otherpeople there just when you're
jamming into a place to get outof the rain and you're trying to
find a good place to hide andyou're jockeying for position
and elbowing for room.
It can be a real us versus them.
Please, let's just call.
Let's all get on the same page.

(32:24):
Make a friend instead of usversus them.
Have it be all of us versus theweather.
That's my advice, is the mentalattitude.
But, to answer your question,though, I'll give you my
favorite place, but I can'tguarantee it's going to be empty
if you try, because sometimesit's full.
But my favorite place is thekind of foyer and entrance of
great moments with Mr Lincoln.
Now, I love great moments withMr Lincoln as an attraction

(32:47):
anyway, because when I'm in theattraction I think back in, like
you know, the World's Fair,even before Disneyland, where
this animatronic first wasrevealed to the world, and I'm
like, wow, this must have blownpeople's minds and so I can
appreciate the historicalcontext and of course it's very
patriotic and it always swellswith emotion.
So I love the, I love theattraction anyway, but the foyer

(33:08):
leading into it, you know theentrance area, is this large.
There's a lot of room insidethere where you can kind of
browse around and look atexhibits and you know historical
facts and things.
I love that area.
That space is nice but it'slarge and it's inside and that
for me is my personal number onego to if I'm trying to get out
of the weather of any kind.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Great moments with Mr Lincoln.
If you actually go into theattraction there are really nice
, beautiful seat or seats thatyou can sit down for for a while
.
It's a nice.
The length of the show is anice length.
It's a great place to go in,have a break, sit down even on a
hot day, like really like it.
You know there's a couple ofother kind of like indoor show
places.
So the Tiki Room.

(33:47):
I know some people are like, oh, the Tiki Room is so lame.
Let me tell you I see moreastonished, joyful little
toddler faces in the Tiki Room.
I love the Tiki Room just towatch other toddlers look at the
birds.
One of my core memories istaking my son there.
We were doing baby sign and hewas just signing bird.
I thought his fingers weregoing to fall off.
He was so excited.
He's just like bird bird, bird,bird, bird.

(34:10):
But it is indoor.
Even though you know there's alittle rain on the outside of it
, you're going to be nice anddry.
You're going to get a littlechance to sit down.
The Tiki Room gets the busiest,of course, when it's raining.
You know there's lots of storesthat you can go into as well.
Know that the stores are goingto be a little extra crowded.
So, like George said, make afriend, chat somebody up.
That's a good thing to do.
And then in Park Magic, if yougo to parkmagiccom and then go

(34:33):
to Pikimiki, we have a way tosort what restaurants have
indoor seating so you can dothat.
You know that last time we gotcaught in the rain, george and I
we went, had a really wonderfulmeal, that Apple Pie Sunday.
I cannot think stop thinkingabout it.
It was so good, we had a reallynice meal and that took us out
of the rain for a while.

(34:54):
So you can either, you know,walk up to a restaurant, get on
a walk up list through the app,or go to a quick serve place
that has indoor dining.
In California, in Disneyland,you know, hungry Bear is covered
, the Pizza Planet even though Inormally don't recommend going
there, that is covered.
There's a lot of differentplaces that have kind of that

(35:16):
covered experience that you cango to and kind of hide in the
rain.
So you know, kind of look forthose locations and then you
know if the rain, if there's nota lot of wind.
With the rain I kind of likebeing on the train, you know,
kind of sitting in the train,you knowing I might get a little
wet as the things go back andforth, but just getting a nice
little tour of the park, becausemost of those are covered, I

(35:37):
think.
Is there any?
I have something in CaliforniaAdventure.
Did I miss any of the good onesin Disneyland?

Speaker 2 (35:42):
Well, you know, like I said, there is no one
guaranteed always good one.
A couple of ones we mentioned agreat, any indoor attraction,
you know, will help a little bit.
But the one thing I wanted tosay, coming back to your you
know, having a good, positiveattitude again, and that is if
you duck into an attraction justfor the purpose of getting out
of the weather, don't besurprised if you actually start
enjoying the attraction.

(36:02):
Like Robin said, take your room, you might think is dumb and
then you find yourself liking it.
Nothing wrong with that.
If you want to sit and look atsome ridiculous old animatronic
of Abraham Lincoln, you mightthink great, I'm here just to
take a nap, or just to get outof the weather.
You might find yourself reallyenjoying it.
So a delight in that littlesurprise.

Speaker 1 (36:19):
And then in California Adventure there's I
think there's actually moreplaces to hide in California
Adventure so, and the one thatyou would think so there's.
There's this, the whole areabetween, like, turtle Talk with
Crush and the Animators Workshop.
There's this big indoor areathat has these beautiful big
screens and they show clips.
It's really cool.
That place does get prettycrowded.

(36:41):
A lot of people do duck intothose in.
Lines can start to get a littlebit longer for those
attractions, but they are stilla really great place to go.
Right across the street isMinky's Feel-Hard Magic and
Minky's Feel-Hard Magic you getto see like little clips of the
shows, that kind of woventogether into this cute little
story about you know Donaldtrying to conduct this symphony

(37:01):
and it's indoors theater seatsand I have never seen the
weeding area.
I've never seen the theaterfull.
Have you ever seen the theaterfull since they changed it?

Speaker 2 (37:13):
No, but that's not to say it's-.
The last time I saw that.
Yes, that's not to say it's notadorable.
It's an adorable show and it'sone of those things where you
might like look it's a sleep.

Speaker 1 (37:21):
People sleep on it.
I think it's great.

Speaker 2 (37:23):
People are like, look , it's just a movie, but I'll
duck in to stay dry.
You might actually wind upreally enjoying the movie.
Don't tell yourself short, it'sfun.

Speaker 1 (37:30):
So I really like that .
There's the bakery tour that'sover in San Francisco.
You can get out of the rain for, you know, a short bit in the
rain there.
There's some really greatindoor places to eat, like flows
.
They have some good indoorsit-down restaurants.
The peer area is there's alittle bit harder to hide from
the rain, but, you know,avengers campus can be a little

(37:53):
bit more difficult to hide inthe rain as well, but there's
still some stores over there andyou can always, you know,
decide to go to downtown Disneyand head into a store get a nice
meal.
The Grand California lobby has,you know, some really beautiful
things.
If you're in CaliforniaAdventure, you could peek over
there, take a look at the lobby.
Those are some of the thingsthat you can do.

(38:14):
But you know you can always goback to the hotel, especially if
you know it's going to rain fortwo or three hours.
You know plan on leaving alittle bit before the rain
starts and come back after therain's done, and that can be a
great strategy as well.

Speaker 2 (38:26):
Yep, leaving before the rain starts.
If you're gonna go back to thehotel for a plan B clothes
change or a rest that's a greatidea, but in the event that you
did not leave before the rainstarts and the rain, the rain
has got you.
Now my advice would be, sinceyou're gonna get wet anyway, and
since you're on your way backto the hotel, to change into dry
clothes or take a shower.

(38:47):
You know, warm up.
Whatever you're gonna do, mayas well.
Just enjoy the fun of gettingcaught in the rain.
And you know I hate to say itagain, but it might be a core
memory to have you and your kidsjust get drenched.
That sounds actually pretty fun.
So you look around and you'llsee people like trying to dive
under for cover, trying to hideunder a tree, and you know none
of that stuff really worksperfectly.

(39:08):
Anyway, just enjoy it.
Stroll down the middle of theroad like you own the place and
say, yeah, I'm getting wet, whatabout it?

Speaker 1 (39:15):
And jump in the puddles with your kids.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
Right, exactly.

Speaker 1 (39:19):
You know, if you have to go, if you, especially if
you know you're gonna have to goback and change anyway, just
embrace the wet, you know.
Just, you know, as long as youcan keep warm, then you know
you'll dry, unless you're withthe Wicked Witch of the West, in
which case you probably shouldcancel, you know, unless
somebody's gonna actually meltbecause of the rain, or you know
.
You know, embrace it, have funand just kind of kind of get

(39:43):
your team psyched up.
Okay, we're gonna get wet, wemight have a little cold, but
we're gonna see how much fun wecan have in the rain and we're
gonna make this as playful andjoyful as possible.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
Yes, and just one thing I want to say.
Let me lean in on the playfulthing.
Absolutely.
I love it when kids play andhave a good time, when parents
kind of corral them in and tryto like make them not be hoodlum
kids.
It kind of hurts my heartinside because Disneyland's the
one place where I think kidsought to be able to just be kids
for a while.
But what I want to mention setyour expectations accordingly.
The employees in the parks, foryour own safety, will not want

(40:18):
your kids running.

Speaker 1 (40:19):
No.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
And that's like the thing I want to do the most,
even as an adult.
When I see it's raining, I'mgonna go out and get wet in the
rain.
I want to just run around and,like you know, kick my feet as
big as I can through the puddlesand things for your and
everyone else's safety.
They won't want you to run andthey won't want you to stomp in
puddles so loudly or sovigorously that you're now

(40:41):
splashing other guests.
So as long as you can, kind ofrain that in a little bit, enjoy
the rain.
If you can, on the way back tochanging to dry clothes, just do
it in a way that's not going toattract like safety related
attention.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
You know, the other thing that I love to do in the
rain is I love to get hot cocoain the rain.
You know, my kids like whenthey have.
When they rains and we're inthe parks they're like, okay,
when are we going to get our hotcocoa?
I want to take a quick momentto mention that the hot cocoa
that they sell at the Starbuckslocations, market House, fiddler
, pfeiffer and Practical is alittle bit more bitter.

(41:16):
So my kids actually prefer thehot cocoa that's available in
some of the other locations.
If you go to Park Magic, go tothat picky Mickey thing and then
you just you from that dropdown, pick hot cocoa or hot
chocolate, whatever is listedthere, it will show you all of
the locations where they servehot chocolate around the parks
and if you are familiar with Iwill eat that hot chocolate.

(41:37):
That's what they serve at JollyHoliday and it's just a warm
and cozy red rose tavern, has itthere's.
There's a lot of hot chocolate.
There's a lot of coffee that'savailable.
I kind of said that a littleboss need a little coffee.
You know, around that was Iapologize to anybody from Boston
, that was not a good Bostonaccent.
I don't know what I wasthinking there, there are lots
of places to get somethingdelicious, tea and warm up.

(42:00):
And you know, warm up your soul, get ready for another round.

Speaker 2 (42:03):
Yeah, if you know.
The accent that comes to mindis I love to hear folks matter
town, call it coffee.
But no matter what kind of hotdrink is your go to?
If you want to kind of leaninto the shishi foo foo Los
Angeles vibe, you could orderyourself a chai tea latte.

Speaker 1 (42:21):
Yes.
So there's lots of options, andso you know, there are times
when we've gone to Disneyland,you know, and we either.
You know it was really reallycold and rainy and you know,
maybe it wasn't as fun.
So I do get a lot of questionsof, like it's going to rain,
should we cancel?
So, george, is there a timewhen you would say you know, if

(42:46):
it's going to rain like this, oryou, this is the kind of people
that you're going with, thenyou might want to see about
canceling or rescheduling yourtrip?

Speaker 2 (42:54):
Right.
Well, only you know yourcomfort level about if you think
you could be compatible in therain and honestly I don't want
you to have a bad time if it'sraining on you and you tried to
stomp around in the middle ofthe rain through the puddles and
you're just miserable.
Please don't make yourselfmiserable just because I think
it's fun.
But if you would prefer tocancel, then by all means.

(43:14):
You know, knowledge ispowerless.
Talk about what that looks liketo cancel, but what I would say
is free your mind just a tadand see if you might be willing
to book a trip, even though theforecast calls for rain.
By the way, you know, say whatyou will about climate change.
We can all pretty much agreethat the climate is changing,

(43:35):
and it used to be.
I think we had a better timepredicting the weather than we
do now.
It seems like now, no matterhow much we try to exactly and
accurately predict the weather,we don't do a really good job.
I've been, even though I checkthe forecast everywhere I travel
anywhere, whenever I'mswitching parks between, you
know, disney World andDisneyland, or just no matter
where I go.
Of course I'll check theforecast, but it seems now

(43:56):
there's a better chance of themgetting it completely wrong.
By the time I've packed and, youknow, traveled, or by the time
I'm within the cancellationwindow, where I can't cancel, it
seems like only the last minuteweather forecast is going to
work anyway.
So I've just adopted thisattitude and it's kind of
compatible with my attitude inlife and that is just take it as
it comes.
But if that's not your, ifthat's not your vibe, we don't

(44:16):
want to push you into outside ofyour comfort zone.
Of course, canceling is alwaysan option and with a couple of
things we're going to talk aboutnow, you can be empowered to
know the right way, the righthow to do it and when you should
be thinking about canceling.

Speaker 1 (44:28):
So the first thing is that just because it says 10
days from now it's going to raindoesn't mean it's actually
going to rain in 10 days, and itcould be that it only rains for
10 minutes.
So when you're looking at yourtrip, kind of keep that in mind.
It would be, it would be abummer if you cancel your trip.
You know, told your kids weweren't going after all, and
then it ended up not rainingthat day.

(44:48):
Now I wouldn't tell the kidsthat I'm not raining.
But you know, something toconsider is that, like George
said, those are not accurate.
If this is your once in alifetime trip you've been saving
up for five years.
You're only going to get tothis once and seeing the
fireworks, seeing the parades,you know Dumbo, the things that
are outside, those are thethings that you were coming for

(45:09):
and you have a very short window.
So maybe you only have one dayin each park.
Then you might decide that ityou know that you want to cancel
or you know reschedule, if youbuy your tickets from Disneyland
, you cannot get a refund onthose tickets.
You can use them towards alater date.
That's not a problem.
Even after the expirationthey'll credit, kind of the
value.

(45:29):
So you know you're not losingthat money.
But rescheduling is going to bethe only option.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
For me, the word non refundable that kind of triggers
me.
I want to be able to refund andI'm triggered anytime I hear
the word non refundable.
But I just want to emphasizeand you said it, but I just want
to emphasize what you said, andthat is you will never lose the
value of your purchase.
Yeah, they're not going to handyou the money back and so, okay
, that's kind of a bummer, butyou will never lose the value of

(45:55):
it.
They will let you reschedule,they will let you apply that
value to something else you buy.
You've got all kinds offlexibility.
Just the one thing you can'tchoose is you can't choose to
just hand them your stack ofcash back.
So you haven't lost anything.

Speaker 1 (46:09):
Now on our ticket tool.
If you go to parkmagiccomforward, slash tickets there in
a tool you can look at that whenyou kind of compare prices, in
that there's one vendor thatdoes allow refunds.
They charge a 5% restocking feeand so you know, we use our
friends at undercover Taurusquite a bit, just because I'm

(46:29):
one of those people that likesto cost chaos and change travel
plans quite often.
So that is an option and that'sone of the reasons why, in our
course on how to do and planDisneyland, I talk about the
importance of booking refundableplane tickets, refundable
hotels.
If somebody gets sick or youhave a big weather incident,

(46:50):
then it gives you thatflexibility.
So those are some of the thingsyou know you need to consider
about.
You know when can youreschedule.
The other thing is like ifyou're trying to decide to
cancel, you know you think aboutwho's going to be in the group
and how do they handle adversity.
So I have some family membersthat are like you know the
venture is out there, kakarar.

(47:10):
You know they're wildernessexplorers, were happy to go
brave things, try new things.
And then I have some peoplethat are a little bit more
Eeyore.
I actually have somebody in myfamily that prides herself on
being an Eeyore and that's okay.
I love her exactly the way sheis and exactly the way she isn't
.
But you know an Eeyore kind ofpersonality.

(47:30):
When you put the rain on top ofall the other things that, you
know there's lots of things tofind to complain about in the
parks.
Maybe you're not going to havevery much fun in the rain with
an Eeyore.
So, thinking about that, thinkabout how your kids react to
being cold, if you guys are usedto doing things outdoor.
And then the other thing I liketo think about is there anybody

(47:53):
with like a physical disabilityor medical issue that being out
in the cold and the rain couldaggravate?
You know this includes thingslike arthritis or you know, some
asthma is triggered bydifferent things.
So if you have a special needor you have somebody that maybe
is immune compromised and you'reworried about the rain I mean,

(48:13):
the rain doesn't give youdiseases, but you know sometimes
it can stress your immunesystem Then that might be
something you want to consider.
The one time that I went toDisneyland I was like this was a
bad choice.
We should have canceled.
I had a, it was me by myselfand I had my two year old and my
five year old and it wasfreezing.

(48:36):
It was freezing before the rainstarted and then the rain
started on top of it and I, youknow, we did the pond shows, we
did all of that but they just,they were soaked and they were
cold and we went home after onlyabout two hours.
And that was when, you know, wedidn't have a pass, so we had
paid for a single day ticket andwe didn't have a lot of money

(48:56):
and I remember being really,really sad about that.
So you know, this was, you know, earlier on before.
This was earlier on before.
I had taken kids to the parks alot and had a lot of experience
.
But I just, I want to make surethat I'm, you know, if you have
kids that hate being cold, hatebeing wet, you don't think
they'll wear the poncho becausemaybe it's a sensory thing for

(49:17):
them or you're going to havesome other trouble, then that's,
that's when, if you have peoplelike that in your group, then
you want to especially focus onbooking in a way that gives you
that flexibility of refunds andchanging.

Speaker 2 (49:28):
I couldn't agree more , and just let me emphasize
again non-refundable triggers me.
But in all those othercircumstances, even if you're
wrapped up in a non-refundablesituation when it comes to
flights and hotels, there'susually a rescheduling option or
somehow applying the value.
Don't let it trigger you likeit triggers me.
No one's going to steal yourmoney and your left empty hand

(49:51):
with nothing to show for it.
You can, with a littlefinagling.
You can usually reschedule orsomehow get the value of that
back out another way.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
What other tips do you have for people who are
going in the rain?

Speaker 2 (50:03):
Well, let me just recap stuff we've talked about
already.
The biggest number one is Iwould challenge you, or
encourage you, to consideradjusting how you experience it,
and what I mean by that is youmight feel powerless against the
weather coming down and, in away, you are.
There's really nothing you cando about rain falling out of the
sky, but you have the power,and the power is how you

(50:25):
perceive it, how you experienceit, your own mental attitude,
and I would encourage you to beoptimistic about the fact that,
hey, rain's a natural thing.
No one's punishing you, noone's trying to come down on you
, right?
And I know that the phrasesdon't rain on my parade and I
get it.
Rain is typically associatedwith a negative thing, but I
would like to give you thepermission to let yourself enjoy

(50:46):
the rain.
Sure, it might not be ideal, itmight not be what you're
expecting, but my biggest numberone advice is if you get caught
in the rain, try, if you can,to enjoy it, because you might
be surprised at how fun itactually is to create a core
memory in the rain.
Very unusual, your vacationdidn't go as you planned, but
you can still have a fun memoryout of it anyway.
That's my number one advice.

(51:06):
My number two advice is youwill feel much better even if
all you are powered with is theknowledge you know.
Knowledge is power.
But even if all you'reempowered with is the knowledge
of what your plan be or youremergency contingency might be,
you might not have to do toiletpaper, shoes or what you're
talking about, but you mighthave to run down to Target or
out to your car, back to yourhotel or whatever it is.

(51:27):
But having that plan be to fallback on, or just knowing what
your options are, I think thatwill make you feel a lot more
comfortable.
At least, it certainly makes mefeel more comfortable because I
travel light, but I kind of knowwhat all my options are if I
have an emergency and I need togo solve a problem.
So having all those kind oftips in your mind or in your
back pocket not literally, butjust mentally in your back

(51:47):
pocket I think that's superimportant.
And then the other thing I wantto stress if you're only going
to remember a few tips from ourconversation today, the other
thing I'd like to stress is itsounds silly and it sounds like
we're joking, but if you want togive everything a trial run.
I think that's fun.
Get the garden hose out, put iton spray mode, point it up in
the air and create a rainstormin your backyard and see how
everybody gets along with theirponchos or the stroller cover or

(52:10):
whatever it is.
It'll be a fun family activityanyway.
And if it happens to you in thepark, you've been through it
once already, so you kind ofknow what you're getting at.
So those are my top three.
Robin, what do you got?

Speaker 1 (52:21):
You know it really is about making sure that you have
, with small kids especially,that you have something for them
to change into.
You have a backup plan and thenkeeping the feet dry is the
most important thing.
So if you can only do one thing, then yes, jackets, ponchos,
all of that important, butkeeping making sure that your

(52:41):
feet will not be cold and wet isthe most important thing,
because it gets cold.
I usually will always bringhand and feet warmers in the
show notes for this.
I have a blog that is on ParkMagic site that has links to
different products that I knowwill work and products that I,

(53:01):
even if I don't usually use them, that you know friends that
usually use these products thatwork in the park.
You know you can still have agreat day in the rain and if
you're going for thrill rides,then it can be a really great
day because sometimes the lineswill thin out quite a bit.
So you know, know that there isa lot of magic that's still
available in the parks.
Just it's not like the day willbe over.

(53:23):
We just need to make sure weplan accordingly and know that
your pictures will be a littlecloudy or, you know, your
experience might be a littledifferent than somebody else who
went on a different day, butthey can still be magical.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
Yeah, and we want you to enjoy the magic of a
perfectly sunny, beautifulSouthern California day.
We also want you to enjoy thedifferent magic of a rainy day
in Southern California.
Either way it's magical, it'sjust different magic.

Speaker 1 (53:46):
So George, let's go through it.
We with, with, with guests.
We usually do these quicklightning questions.
Oh, no, oh no, I should haveprepared, but no, I'll give you.

Speaker 2 (53:53):
I'll give you my unvarnished off the time.
This is not rehearsed, soyou're going to get the without
thinking, top-of-head responsesfrom me.

Speaker 1 (54:00):
So what is your favorite hotel to stay at when
you go to Disneyland?

Speaker 2 (54:05):
Okay, if I can splurge and I can afford it and
if it's in the budget.
I love the Grand Californian.
It's just, even if I'm notstaying there, I just walk
through the lobby and sit downand pretend that like I'm like
you know, wow, soaking it all in.
I just love everything aboutthat space, the architecture,
the whole thing.
And so when I can splurge,because it's really expensive,
but when I can splurge and I'mable to stay there, I just

(54:27):
thrill.
So that's that's by far myfavorite.
But typically when I'm doing aDisneyland visit and I'm staying
in a hotel, I don't really havea specific recommendation
except well, I'm lying, actuallydo.
But I love the Harbor Boulevard.
I love the Harbor Boulevardhotels because they're just so
easy to walk to and you knowthey're very similar one from
another.

(54:47):
You know they're kind of like asort of a discount or an
economy option and it's great.
You know if, basically, if youwant to spend, you want to blow
your budget somewhere else.
You know, on the snacks insidethe park, an economy hotel there
on Harbor Boulevard is awonderful idea.
But there's one of them, Ithink it's I don't know the name
it's part of the Marriott brand, a family of brands, but
they've got a water park.
It's on Harbor Boulevard, justclose to the park.

Speaker 1 (55:08):
Courtyard.

Speaker 2 (55:09):
Courtyard.
yes, that's the one, and they'vegot, they've got a water park,
and so you know you have a longday in the parks and your feet
are tired, go sit in the hot tub.
Or you're going to take a breakand not do a park day, or you
got a few hours before you headback to your home or airport
jump in and do the water slides.
I mean, how fun is that to goto a water park in your hotel?
So that's, that's my.
Those are my two.
My go to is, if I'm splurging,grand Californian.

(55:31):
If I'm not splurging, I see ifI can get a room at the water
park hotel on Harbor.

Speaker 1 (55:36):
And then what's the most important tip you give your
friends when they plan a tripto Disneyland?

Speaker 2 (55:40):
Oh, my goodness, I've said this once, I'll say it
again, and that is your positivemental attitude.
We could talk, I could talkabout this for hours.
And that is, you know, badstuff's going to happen, even on
a perfect day.
But it's up to you to decidehow you're going to experience
it.
And so if something bad happensto you, look at the bright side
.
It's probably a silver lining.
Or even if it's not a silverlining, it's a.

(56:02):
It's a unique, interestingexperience you didn't anticipate
have.
Enjoy it.
So that's that's my advice.
Number one is look bad stuff'sgoing to happen, or stuff you
would prefer not to happen isgoing to happen, no matter what
happens.
See if you can find a way tofind the magic in everything
that occurs to you, because theworld's a pretty magical place,
even if we're inclined to begrumpy about it.
Find the magic, that's myadvice.

Speaker 1 (56:23):
And last, one favorite quick serve menu item.

Speaker 2 (56:26):
Oh well, my favorite go-to is Bengal barbecue.
In fact, sometimes, when, whenI was living in Southern
California, I was about an houraway, and so you know, being an
hour away from the parks,sometimes Jennifer and I would
look at each other and say, hey,you want to grab dinner tonight
out somewhere?
It's like, yeah, sure, where doyou want to go?
Bengal barbecue?
And he's like, no, no, I don'twant to drive down to Disney.
Well, I want to drive down toDisneyland for Bengal barbecue.

(56:47):
I love the fact that it's easyto get.
It's easy to walk around andkind of gnaw on while you're
walking.
And you know, for those who maynot know, bengal barbecue is
like a skewers place and so youcan get, you know, chicken or
steak or a spare, the baconwrapped asparagus divine.
But I'm a big fan of theskewers and so I love to dip
them in the sauce and walkaround and having my Bengal
barbecue experience.

(57:07):
That's me.

Speaker 1 (57:09):
Well, that is the show for today.
I you know what, if it's goingto rain when you're going into
the park, you're probably youmight have listened to this
podcast just because it lookslike it's going to rain, but if
you see that tut tut, it lookslike rain, know that you can
still have a great day.
You have lots of options andwe're providing you with a link
for some things that we've seenhave really worked well in the

(57:30):
parks.
And you know, just be willingto kind of change and go with
the flow.
It'll be a great day and you'llhave a great trip to Disney.

Speaker 2 (57:37):
Yes, even if the weather is the worst it could
possibly be, it's happening inthe best place it can.

Speaker 1 (57:43):
True Thanks for joining us today.

Speaker 2 (57:45):
It was my pleasure to be here, robin, and thanks for
everyone listening.
I hope you picked up a few tips.
Most importantly, I hope youhave a wonderful time at
Disneyland.