September 9, 2025 • 40 mins
Headed to Disney and worried about rain? Don’t stress! In this episode of Mom Street USA, we’re diving into the ultimate guide for what to do at Disney in the rain. From the best rainy day Disney tips and what to pack for a rainy day at Disney World or Disneyland, to the top indoor rides, shows, and hidden spots to escape the downpour—you’ll be ready for anything!
Whether you’re visiting Walt Disney World or Disneyland, knowing how to handle rainy weather can actually make your trip more magical. We’ll share the must-have packing list for Disney rainy days, the best ponchos and gear to bring, and how to still make the most of your vacation when the skies open up.
🎧 Tune in now for practical Disney park tips and tricks that will keep the fun going—rain or shine!
Whether you’re visiting Walt Disney World or Disneyland, knowing how to handle rainy weather can actually make your trip more magical. We’ll share the must-have packing list for Disney rainy days, the best ponchos and gear to bring, and how to still make the most of your vacation when the skies open up.
🎧 Tune in now for practical Disney park tips and tricks that will keep the fun going—rain or shine!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome everybody to Mom Street, USA. My name is Jackie
aka Wishes Mama, and today on mom Street we are
going to be discussing rainy Disney days and what to
do if the weather is not cooperating and you have
a Disney trip coming up. So I'm going to do
my best today to give you some advice and some tips,
(00:26):
some experiences that I've had, and hopefully get you prepared
for if you do end up at disney World or
Disneyland during the rainy season, what that looks like and
what you can expect. So the goal today is to
talk about what to pack in your suitcase, what to
put in your park bag, where in the parks you
(00:48):
can go if it is raining and you need a
place to hide from the rain, and then also talking
about what to do and what to remember after your
rainy Disney days over just some tips and tricks and
things like that. So that is on the list for today.
So we're gonna go ahead and just hop in and
(01:09):
chat about rain at Disney. So sometimes of year at Disney,
Disney and rain go hand in hand, right, especially if
you're visiting Florida. Disney Land doesn't have quite as drastic
of an issue with rain, as Disney World does right,
but this episode aims to help you better prepare for
(01:30):
rain while on your vacation to the Disney parks. My
goal is again to highlight different things to help you before, during,
and after. So let's take a look, starting with what
to pack in your suitcase. So we've done some episodes
here on mom Street about different ideas of what to
pack and what you need to make sure you get
ahead of time, things to prepare for weather. So just
(01:54):
reminders for a lot of this because we.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Have talked a lot about a lot of this before.
But before if you even leave for your trip, you've
got to check the weather, which is kind of a
given right, but I would also be sure you're checking
it kind of daily in the three four five days
leading up. Depending on when you start your packing, you're
going to want to start to check that daily because
things can change drastically, especially when it comes to Florida weather.
(02:21):
If you're visiting during any sort of storm season, hurricane season,
tropical storms, or if you're visiting Disneyland during some of
those kind of record breaking wet seasons that they've had
in years past. So if you're going to Disneyland, the
rainy season tends to be in the winter months, so December, January,
(02:41):
February is kind of when you're looking at their rainy season,
so completely opposite of when we see it in Florida. Right,
Just a fun fact per Google, On average in Anaheim,
which again Disneyland we're talking, it rains about thirty four
days each year, so very very minimal in comparison to that,
(03:04):
but you've got to still be prepared because that's the average.
It could be more, it could be less, you never know. Now,
the rainy season in disney World typically runs from April
to about September. Now that doesn't mean that's the only
time that it's going to be rainy, right, but that
is when you will see those warmer months that tend
(03:26):
to have more rain storms come through in Florida. On average,
it rains about one hundred and forty eight days each
year in Orlando, So that is a good portion of
their year, nearly half, right, that you're going to have
rainy days in Orlando when you're visiting. So again, those
warmer months have those pop up afternoon rain showers and
they can happen anywhere from about one pm until about
(03:49):
five pm depending on all sorts of factors, but a
lot of the time depending on heat in humidity, so
you'll be able to look at that. So sometimes when
you're looking at that app that you're using to check weather,
it can be a little tricky, especially for Walt Disney World.
For example, my last trip that I took with my family,
we went over Memorial Day, which is in that rainy season.
(04:11):
We knew it was likely to rain in the afternoons,
and we were looking at the percentages of rain on
the you know, extended forecast, and it was like thirty
five to forty maybe percent. So in my head I
kind of said, oh, okay, those are going to be
those afternoon pop up rain showers. That's no problem. We'll
just plan accordingly and make sure that we you know,
(04:32):
take shelter ahead of time, or take a trip back
to the resort to relax in the room for a
little bit while it's raining. You know, we'll have a
plan set in motion. Well, our trip over Memorial Day
ended up being the rainiest trip that I have ever
taken to Disney in the decade plus that I have
(04:53):
been visiting the parks. So we had rain in the mornings.
First thing, we had rain's you know, rain around six
seven pm at dinner time, so you never truly know.
Florida rain especially can be fairly unpredictable, so you really
want to keep checking the closer you get to your
trip in case you need to pivot and pick some
different clothing options, or you know, pivot a little bit
(05:18):
from what it might be that you're planning. So let's
talk about what to pack to help prepare you for
if you do see rain in the forecast. And these
kind of go for both coasts, right, this is kind
of a universal topic, not universal the park, you know,
but for both both sides of the country when it
comes to that. So a couple things to make sure
(05:38):
that you've got packed in your suitcase if you're anticipating
any sort of rain. Poncho, umbrella, rain jacket, those are
all kind of givens when it comes to rain. But
making sure that every person in your party has some
sort of plan when it comes to rain. I highly
suggest for little kids doing like a really nice rain jacket,
(06:00):
but chances are good they probably already have one, especially
if you're someone that lives in a more rainy climate
to where you are, but I really suggest having a
nice rain jacket for them. Ponchos can be a little
bit too much for some little kiddos, especially if they're toddlers. Right.
Not only are they uncomfy and you kind of have
to just tough it out, but they don't make really
(06:21):
great like toddler kids sized ones, so they're gonna be big.
If they're new walkers and they want to walk and
splash in the puddles, a poncho is gonna be really
tricky to navigate. Even my six and eight year olds
when we did them last trip, had a hard time,
like where does my head go? Where do my arms go? Right?
It's a very foreign experience. So I don't highly suggest
(06:44):
ponchos for kids. I do I would rather see something
like a rain jacket. But for the adults in your group,
ponchos maybe fine. Be sure to have a plan for
storing whatever your rain gear is after they get wet.
So if that's a bag for your umbrella to go
(07:04):
in after you're done with it, if that's a bag
for your poncho to be able to go in, then
that is an option as well. It just you need
to have some sort of plan for after their wet
when it's no longer raining, right, you want to make
sure that you can put those away and have them
(07:26):
not get everything else in your park bag wet. So
whether that's the bottom of your stroller, that's what we
tend to do, because we still have a stroller when
we go to the parks. We just designate that bottom
storage area to throw our wet stuff in the meantime
while we're still running around the parks. Or if that's
an extra bag they make, you know, mesh wet bags
(07:46):
that you can get for like bathing suits and stuff.
Those would be a great option, but have some sort
of a plan. Just a note for the whole poncho
versus rain jacket thing. I was chatting with our good
friend Kate Disney cicer own, former co host of Mom
Street about this topic this week, and she mentioned to
(08:06):
me that there's just a funny kind of culture thing
that disney Land tends to see less ponchos and more
rain jackets. So she noted that she thought it was
funny because when she is in Disneyland and she sees
a poncho, she typical she knows that that's likely a
Walt disney World transplant family that is visiting the West
(08:28):
Coast part, So again just kind of differences with that.
You're going to see more umbrellas and rain jackets in Disneyland,
whereas disney World tends to be more ponchos, but they
also do get some umbrellas there as well. Something else
to consider packing when it comes to prepping for the
rain and for the weather at Disney is shoes that
(08:52):
can withstand the rain. You want to make sure that
whatever shoes you have packed are going to be good
in the rain, are going to dry quickly, are going
to hold up right and not get really sloshy, not
take on a ton of water. So you really need
to consider that and think about when you're getting dressed
each morning whether or not that shoe is a good
(09:14):
choice for the weather forecast for the day. If you
don't have shoes that are really good options for rain,
then investing in something like a shoe cover is also
a really great idea. So the way that these shoe
covers typically work is they look like little ponchos for
your shoes. The bottom has like a sole on it
(09:35):
and then it either zips or like cinches up and
it covers your whole shoe, so you can wear those
in place of having like a water resistant or waterproof shoe.
If you're like I don't want to go buy new
shoes for my Disney trip. I really like my tennis
shoes I already have. Maybe a shoe cover is a
better option for you, But do keep in mind you
want to have something that completely comes up your ankle
(09:59):
and give you a little bit more height on it,
because especially in Disney World, there are several pathways that
are prone to flooding because the rain comes down so
hard and so fast during that time, then you you
may be stuck having to kind of wade through some
(10:22):
rivers of rain water in the parks, So just keep
that in mind. You want to make sure that you've
got enough coverage kind of up your ankle to be
sure that your feet are not going to get soaked
when you're walking through the parks. Something else to consider
is making sure that you pack multiple pairs of shoes
so that way, if your shoes do get soaked in
(10:42):
an unexpected rain shower, they have time to dry so
that way, and you still have another pair of shoes
to wear. Right two pairs of tennis shoes or two
pairs of park shoes minimum for every Disney trip that
you take, because your shoes need to have time to
dry in between if they are ones that are going
to get wet, So making sure that you have those
(11:03):
and those are available for you to swap out if
you're coming back in the middle of the day to
get you dry, clean socks and shoes on making sure
that you have another pair that you can swap out.
Something else to consider when it comes to covering. When
it comes to the rain stroller covers, you've got to
(11:26):
have some sort of a rain cover. Be sure in
Disney World that you have that stroller cover because you
want to make sure that your stroller does not end
up soaking wet and your kiddos don't end up really
sad because they have to sit in a wet seat
on their stroller. So be sure to use it. Have
(11:46):
one with you. I would pack it even if the
chance of rain is really really small, pack it with you.
Make sure you have it. And if it's questionable, if
you're getting ready to go into a show or dining
reservation and you're looking at the weather or looking at
the sky and you're going, oh, I'm not really sure,
(12:07):
just put it on. Just put it on. I cannot
tell you. At least three or four times a couple
trips ago, we got caught without our stroller cover on
and it poured on our stroller and we were soaking
wet and we had to figure out something to get
it at least a little bit dry before my kids
were wanting to sit on it. So just use it.
(12:28):
Be sure that you have one with you, Be sure
that you are taking a look at the weather before
you're going into some of those extended indoor activities to
make sure that you don't get stuck with a wet stroller.
The last thing when you're looking at what to pack
for the rain is just contemplate your wardrobe choices. Okay,
(12:49):
you don't want to be caught wearing clothes that become
very translucent when they're wet, or are going to be
very heavy if they get wet. You want to make
sure that you are really thinking about that for you,
but also for your kids, to make sure that whatever
(13:11):
they're wearing will be comfortable in the rain. If it's
going to rain, I would not put your little girl
in one of those big princess puffy dresses, even though
they may love it and that may be their favorite
thing in the world, if it's going to rain, that
dress is going to gain about fifteen extra pounds, right,
So you just want to make sure that you're thinking
about that and thinking about picking out quick drying material
(13:35):
that is going to be beneficial for rain showers. So
if you do get wet, they will have more of
a quick drying ability and you won't be stuck wearing drippy,
soppy clothes for the rest of your park day. So
that is kind of in a nutshell what to what
to think about before your trip and what to pack.
(13:57):
But let's talk about on your actual park day. What
are good things that you can put in your park bag.
So a couple things to consider, and we've gone through
and I've done a whole episode on what I like
to pack in my park bag, So scroll back in
our archives a little bit to find my What's in
your Disney park Bag episode? But things that are weather
(14:18):
specific to pack. Again, we talked about poncho, rain jacket, umbrella,
whatever of those you're doing, or if you've got a
combination of them, be sure they're in your park bag. Right,
It doesn't do you any good if you're bringing them
to the parks and then not taking them into the
parks with you. Do keep in mind that if you've
got an umbrella, that is something that will likely set
(14:38):
off Disney's security. So your best bet is to hold
it with two hands straight out in front of you
when you go through the metal detectors. So be sure
that you are thinking about that whenever you're getting ready
to go through security, but being sure that those are
all in your bag and making sure that every member
of your parties is accounted for, so whether it's they're
all together in one bag, you know, like we've got
(14:59):
four people our family, so all four of our ponchos
lived in my husband's backpack for the whole week that
we were there last trip. Something else to consider is
extra pairs of socks in your park bags because you
may be in a situation where your shoes have dried
or mostly dried, but your socks are still sopping wet, right,
(15:24):
So walking around the Disney parks having wet socks and
wet shoes wet feet not a great way to spend
your Disney day if it can be avoided, right, So
being sure that you have an extra pair of socks,
and again having somewhere where wet socks can live in
your bag that won't get everything else wet. I always
suggest just grabbing a couple ziplocks to have them in
(15:47):
your bag, or having some sort of designated wet clothes
bag in your park bags that you're taking in or
in the bottom of the stroller, having a place for
those to go. Speaking of ziplocks, good thing to have
in your park bag if it's going to rain are ziplocks,
primarily for those wet clothes aftermath, but also for if
(16:12):
it's gonna pour. Throw your electronic devices in a ziplock
and just be safe. The worst is when your phone
gets wet and it won't charge, or the speaker sounds
funny and you can't listen to things if you want
to be watching or listening to things while you're waiting
in cueues for different attractions, So grabbing a ziplock bag
(16:32):
grabbing a couple. I typically just throw like one small
one and one big one in our bag and we
just have them in there for whatever we need. So
definitely being sure that you have those available for you,
and also remembering to bring your stroller cover. We just
keep ours in the bottom of our stroller. Anything else
we have that needs to go into that bottom storage
(16:53):
area just gets piled on top. But that way it's accessible.
If we just like reach in the side of our
of our storage area under our stroller when we need it,
we just reach in, grab it out and throw it on.
That way, we're good to go with that. So those
are kind of my you need to have this in
(17:13):
your park bag when it comes to weather and rain
at the Disney parks. The next thing we're going to
talk about is where to go and what to do
if you're in the parks and it's going to be raining.
So if you are visiting and you're already in the
parks and it starts to rain and you were not
expecting it, or you were expecting it, but you still
(17:36):
need somewhere to go, let's talk about what to do
in that situation. So here's the thing about visiting the
Disney parks in the rain. There will be a large
split on rides that close and rides that stay open.
So you need to kind of plan accordingly to what
area you're going to try to visit and go to
if it does look like it's going to start to
(17:57):
rain or starts to rain, So anything within outdoor track
will likely close. Now keep in mind i'm talking rain only, Okay,
things like thunder wind lightning that is a kind of
a different story. So I'm talking like straight up just rain,
not massive storms or lightning anything like that. But most
(18:19):
stuff with outdoor tracks will close in the rain, unless
it's just like a little sprinkle, But if it's rain
and good, they're going to close. Any character meet and
greet or attraction experience that has uncovered or exposed areas
is going to close in the rain. So any character
meet and greet that does not have an overhang that
(18:40):
it hangs out underneath or like a building that it's in,
those are going to close. So like some of the
pop up characters you get it like Epcot, I'm thinking
of those are going to close. Any of the roaming
characters you see a lot in like Fantasyland at Disneyland,
those characters are all going to go back to their
backstage areas when it's raining, just because of the weather.
(19:01):
So keep that in mind, especially if you're planning out
rides for an afternoon where you know it's going to rain,
maybe avoid those outdoor ones and hit those either in
the morning or the evening or another time when it's
not going to be raining outside. Something else to consider
is attempting to plan dining or rest breaks at your
resort during known rainy times. So I mentioned that a
(19:24):
little bit earlier, that if I know it's going to
rain at two pm, then I'm just going to plan
to be back in my room. Right, That's a great
time to take a break anyway, because it's likely hot,
especially if you're visiting disney World. Disneyland is a little
bit different, but chances are good you can just walk
back to your resort if you're staying in near property at Disneyland,
(19:45):
but using an afternoon break or using a rainy time
break to go back to the room, recharge, reset a
little bit and not have to worry about getting soaking
wet is a really great idea as well, and can
definitely be a huge help. Again, mostly at disney World.
So let's talk about in parks, specific places that I
suggest you could take a look at to consider where
(20:08):
to go when you're considering where to go to get
out of the rain. So at Disneyland, we're going to
start west coast and move our way east here. So Disneyland,
a couple places that you can go that would help
you get out of the rain would be the Fantasy
Fair and Royal Hall area, any of the shows so
(20:29):
Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mister Lincoln, the Main Street Cinema,
the Disney Gallery with the new Walt Animatronic show. Those
are all really great options that you could pop into
one of those shows to help get out of the
rain for a little bit. Doing the Castle walk Through
is a good option. Do keep in mind that if
you're doing something like the Castle walk through, you can't
(20:52):
just like stand in the middle of the walkway, right.
You have to actually physically do the walk through so
that it doesn't become a hazard to other guests. So
it's not a place where you can just go and hide.
But if you want to go actually do the walkthrough,
it's a great option as well. And then any indoor ride,
now you're gonna hear me say this at all of
these parks, because all of these parks have rides that
are indoors and or have ride queues that are also
(21:16):
covered or indoors. So at Disneyland, things like the Jungle Cruise,
Space Mountain, the Indiana Jones Ride. They have indoor spaces
that you can stand in a line and not get
drenched while you're doing that. Not every ride has a
covered or indoor queue, so you're gonna need to scope
out the area that you're in to be sure that
(21:38):
you don't accidentally try to go to a ride that
has an outdoor exposed queue that you're gonna get drenched
while you're waiting for that ride. Now over in Disney's
California Adventure, a couple places that you can go. The
Animation Academy would be a great option over there if
you've got little Little's doing. The Disney Junior Dance Party
(21:58):
is a good option to get indoors. Phil Harmagic the
Show is a great option. Again, shows are good, and
again indoor ride queues. A lot of the rides over
there do have some indoor and covered spaces for their
attractions as well. Now all of that being said, please
keep in mind that if you are at any of
(22:21):
these places, again, you cannot block exits, you cannot block entrances.
You have to follow the norms of the flow of
the queue or the crowds. Things like that. So just
keep that in mind. Cast members during the rain are
unfortunately constantly telling people that they can't stand in doorways
because it does become a hazard. So make a safe
(22:41):
choice and go somewhere safe whenever it is raining, for sure,
And that again applies to all of these parks. Now,
going over to Disney World, let's talk about what that
looks like for a couple places that you can go,
Starting with Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom has quite a few
shows that you could consider hiding out in if it's
(23:02):
going to be raining. Care Self Progress, Country Bears, Philharm,
Magic Monsters, and Laugh Floor, Hall of Presidents. All of
those are options that you could consider. Hall of Presidents
also has like a lobby area that's got some like
museum memorabilia and stuff like that that you could wander
in and take a look around without actually doing the
show and still be out of the way, again, making
(23:25):
sure you're not blocking any exits, entrances, those types of things.
Princess Fairytale Hall meeting the Princesses is a good option
because that queue is inside, or if it's not inside
and it has spilled to the outside queue, it's still covered.
So that is a great option as well, and again
any other attraction that has a covered quee things like
(23:47):
Small World, Peter Pan Pooh Bear's queue is mostly covered
to an extent, you know, things like that. The Teacups
are fairly well covered. Dumbo is covered. So a lot
of Magic Kingdom attractions do have a covered queue, but
you've got to be careful for things like the Tomorrowland Speedway.
That queue is covered for a little bit of it,
(24:09):
but then once you get closer up to the front,
it's no longer covered. Now that attraction typically won't run
in the rain because of the exposed track that's outdoors.
But things like that you've just got to kind of
take a mental note of and be weary of as
you're walking through the parks. But any other attraction that
has a covered queue area is always a great option.
(24:29):
Another note about Magic Kingdom in the rain, it can
be really frustrating when the rain ruins plans. Right if
it's ruining, Like if you want to go see Festival Fantasy,
the parade that is at Magic Kingdom during the day,
it doesn't run in the rain. However, the nice thing
about Festival Fantasy that kind of is different than like
(24:51):
a fireworks show or any of those other experiences is
they will often do. If it gets canceled, they'll do
what they call a rainy Day Cavalcade, and it is
super cute. The cast members wear these adorable bright yellow
rain coats with red hats and red boots, and the
characters a ton of the characters that would typically be
(25:14):
in the parade will still appear in the Rainy Day Cavalcade,
and they will ride in the covered buses and main
street vehicles, so that way they can still come through
that pathway and wave to everybody and still have a
little bit of a parade go on. So I think
the Rainy Day Cavalcade is super cute. Granted it's not
the big floats of festival fantasy, but it's still a
(25:36):
fun way and a unique way to see characters that
not a lot of people get to see. So don't
be too mummed if that's what happens, because Disney will
do its best to make it up. If they just
have to delay, they might just delay for whether it
just really depends on the situation and the circumstances for that.
(25:56):
Let's talk about Epcot. If you are in Epcot, it
is the best park in my opinion to be in
when it is raining outside, because really the only attraction
in Epcot that routinely closes due to weather is Test
Track because it does have that outdoor part of the
track at the end. So that makes Epcot again an
(26:19):
amazing park to visit in the rain. Again, just be
aware of outside and uncovered queues. The Q four Frozen
ever After is uncovered and exposed once it gets outside
the building. The queue for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic
Rewind they have some umbrellas. Those umbrellas are made for shade,
they're not made to keep the rain off, so just
(26:41):
be aware of those types of things. The queue for
Remy's Ratitude Adventure is mostly covered, so you just again
have to kind of look and see about a lot
of these queue lines to see whether or not they're
covered to determine if it's a good option for you
to be able to visit during the during the weather.
The shops of World Showcase are a fabulous place to
(27:03):
wander when it's raining outside, and you will find a
lot of people that also tend to do that too.
The good news is there's a ton of them and
you can kind of meander and wander and look around
until you find places that are not super packed. But
you do need to be prepared to jump from country
to country out in the elements, So still having an
umbrella or a poncho readily available is a good idea,
(27:26):
regardless of if you are spending the majority of your
time inside of those shops. So again, Epcot is a
great great park to visit if it is going to
be raining, just for for that alone. Talk about Hollywood Studios.
Hollywood Studios has a bunch of shows which can be helpful.
You've heard me talk about shows at some of the
(27:46):
other parks, so Hollywood Studios has shows. But do keep
in mind that sometimes the shows will close due to weather.
The Indiana Jones show will close due to weather, and
sometimes the Beauty and the Beast show will close due
to weather, depending on how hard the wind is blowing
and if they're at risk of the stage getting wet.
You know, we got to keep everybody safe that is
performing in these shows. But the inside shows Little Mermaid,
(28:10):
The New Little Mermaid, the New Villains Show, Frozen, the
Frozen sing Along, those shows have really great indoor spaces
that you're able to wait and again pay attention to
the cues. The Villain's que is outside the frozen ever
after Q is outside. Both of those are uncovered and
you could definitely get wet. The majority of the Little
(28:31):
Mermaid cue is covered, but if it gets long enough,
it does go to an outside exposed area. So just
keeping in mind that when you're looking at the shows,
most of the rides at Hollywood Studios will still run
in the rain. Slinky Dog will close because it is
an outdoor roller coaster, so that one will close in
the rain. And sometimes you will also see alien swirling
(28:54):
saucers close in the rain just because of the nature
of the attraction. If it gets windy at all and
that rain starts blowing underneath the awning where that attraction is,
it just becomes a safety issue. So those two are
really the only ones that you will find. Toy Story
Mania is a great one because again their whole outdoor
(29:16):
queue has an awning that covers it, and then a
lot of their queue is indoor, so that's a really
great one. The queue for Rise of the Resistance a
little a little skeptical on that one. Same for like
Tower of Terror, those are outdoor queues that you will
likely get wet if it starts to rain when you're
waiting in those cues, so you have to kind of
(29:37):
ballpark it, take a look and see what you think.
But generally speaking, Hollywood Studios has some options there as well,
and lest but certainly not least Animal Kingdom. Most of
the rides. Again, an Animal Kingdom will stay open. Calli
River Rapids does tend to close for weather because it
(29:57):
is an outdoor ride and it is a water ride,
so got keep everyone safe when it comes to storms
and rain. The Safari can actually be really fun in
the rain. So my family on our one morning we
had an Animal Kingdom on our last trip around Memorial Day,
we were there on a rainy morning. We were like, well,
let's go on the safari and see what we can see.
(30:18):
We saw so many animals. I think the rain helped
cool it down, so the animals were a lot more
active than we had anticipated. So it can be a
really unique experience to see and experience that safari during
the rain. Again, not during lightning and thunder and storms,
but during rain. It can be a really fun experience.
And same thing here that I talked about at the
(30:39):
other parks being aware of those outdoor queues. Unfortunately, things
like Flight of Passage and Navi River Journey both have
outdoor queues that are not really covered until you get
in the building. So just things to keep in mind
when it comes to that. The Lion King Show can
be a little deceiving. It does have some some I
(31:02):
don't know. It's more like lattice covering on the top
of the queue area. It doesn't stop the rain, so
you will still get dripped on and wet if you're
waiting in that queue when it's raining outside. It's more
of a sun covering than it is a rain covering
over there. So again, just taking a look, scoping it out,
(31:25):
seeing whether or not you think it's an option that
will work for you and for what your needs are. Again,
if it starts raining, throw those stroller covers on, be
ready to go. And if you can get dining or
you are hungry at the right time and can go
into a dining quick service location to grab some food
(31:46):
when it's raining, that's always a good idea as well.
So if it starts raining and you're like, well, I
could go for a snack, pull up your phone and
do your mobile order. So you've got a place to
go that is inside. But again, be kind to the
cast members and make sure that you're not just taking
up a bunch of tables just because it's raining when
(32:07):
people are trying to eat. So just be aware and
be courteous of those around you when it comes to that,
because you're all experiencing that rain together, so working together
to keep everybody safe and dry is your best bet
for that. So that is kind of a fast and
furious list of where to go in the parks if
it does happen to be raining. But now let's talk
(32:31):
about at the end of your rainy day what you
need to remember to do to set yourself up for
success for the next morning. So you have spent a
day in the parks, it rained, you got wet, your
clothes are wet, things are wet. What do you do next? Well,
the first thing is kind of obvious. You need to
(32:52):
be sure to completely set everything out to dry. Lay
it out, use all of the space you have available,
use chairs, use hangers in your little closet area in
your resort room. Use what you've got to be able
to help with that. Also, if you are in a
Walt Disney resort room. Chances are good that a lot
(33:14):
of the bathrooms in those rooms have these retractable clotheslines
that you can use, So a lot of people will
use them for like swimsuits and things like that, but
these are really great for drying wet clothes and drying
wet ponchos, So take a look when you get into
your room to see whether or not you have them.
I know that I think all of the value resorts
have those, and I also think a lot of the
(33:36):
moderate ones do too. I'm not one hundred percent sure
on the deluxe resorts if they have them, but be
sure to take a look at that. Also, you can
use your hangers in your little closet space to help
you dry things as well, but you want to make
sure that everything is laid out as much as you
(33:56):
possibly can so that you don't get any yucky, gross
smell or anything like that when it comes to your
wet items. If your room gets morning or afternoon sun,
something that you can do if you have wet tennis
shoes that we actually saw this in at our Disney
(34:17):
resort on our last trip and had never thought of
it before, and it's so smart. If your room gets
the sun, prop your shoes up in the windowsill. So
we did this with my husband's tennis shoes because I
do crocs and sandals and things like that, but he
does like Brooks tennis shoes. So we we typically keep
our shades closed to help keep the room cool. So
(34:39):
my husband just kind of propped, you know, toe down
and you know, loosen the laces as much as he
could his shoes in the window. Because our window got
afternoon sun, they dried way faster that way. So it
sounds very basic and like it would be a no brainer,
but we had never thought of that before at Disney.
(35:00):
So using the windowsills to dry. You can also use
the hair dryer to dry things, but that's going to
take a really long time. So every Disney resort has
laundry facilities available. So if you are someone that has
a stash of wet clothes, I do not recommend shoes
obviously in their dryers, and don't put your ponchos in
(35:21):
their dryers. But if you've got wet clothes from being
in the parks doing a quick load, even if you
just put them in the dryer, if you're not looking
to or you don't need to actually wash the clothes,
but throwing them in for a quick cycle in the
dryer is a really great option just to make sure
that things are completely dry. So you avoid putting any
(35:42):
wet clothes in a hamper, in a drawer back, in
a suitcase. That is just asking for a disaster. So
just being sure that you utilize what's available to you
to be able to do that. If you are looking
for dryers, there typically by the pools, so most of
the time your laundry facilities are going to be near
pools at your resort, So take a look at your
(36:03):
resort map or call down to the front desk and
ask them where your closest laundry facility is. For that,
placing things near your air vent can be a really
good idea. Those air vents kick out a lot of air.
It's not warm, but it will at least help to
be able to get some airflow in circulation to help
(36:25):
dry out. Like we typically will put if our ponchos
are not drippy, we will like drape them over the
chairs and put them right under where the air vent
comes out, just to help make sure that they completely
dry overnight, because you don't want to be stuck having
a wet poncho still in the morning when you need
to repack it to go back into the park for
the day, you want to make sure that it's completely
dried so you don't have any issues with that. So
(36:48):
using the air vent overnight can be a really big
help with that. Just being sure to completely empty every
pocket of your park bag to ensure that everything dries,
because otherwise you're gonna have gross pockets inside your bags.
It's not going to be a good situation, right, So
(37:09):
making sure that you completely empty every pocket of your
park bag and that you completely empty out your the
bottom of your stroller. And I would also suggest when
it comes to your stroller, taking one of the towels
from in your room and kind of sopping up any
extra water from the seats in your stroller. Because the
(37:32):
strollers don't drive very quickly. They're not really made of
weather proof material unfortunately, at least in my experience, So
using one of the extra towels to kind of help
soop up any extra water to give that a chance
to completely dry overnight, and being sure that you don't
leave your stroller folded up if you've got space in
your room. I know there's not always a ton of
(37:53):
space in resort rooms, but if you've got a space
where you can keep that stroller up and open out
as much which as possible, because if you have it
folded up, you run the risk of moisture getting caught
in where things are folded, and when you go to
open it the next day in the morning, when your
kids are in their new clean clothes for the day,
they're going to end up with a wet behind because
(38:15):
they're sitting on part of a stroller that didn't get
to dry all the way. So be sure that you
are really utilizing every inch of your room, opening up
your park bag, opening up your stroller, laying things out,
using the hair dryer, using the sun for the next day. Again,
it's so important that you have more than one pair
(38:35):
of shoes to make sure that if you do need
to leave your shoes in the windowsill for a day,
that you have another pair of shoes that you can wear,
and again utilizing all of the closet space and hangars
to dry clothes if needed as well. So that is
kind of a short and sweet rundown of different things
that you can do in the Disney parks. If you
(38:58):
are stuck there on a rain Disney day. Hopefully this
has been helpful to you and that you got some
good ideas and tips and tricks and things maybe you
didn't think about for handling the rain at the Disney parks.
As always, if you've got comments, questions, you need further guidance,
you want help planning or looking into what you want
(39:21):
to do at your Disney trip, or you've got suggestions
for topics that we can cover here at mom Street.
You could always reach out to us at Momstreet USA
at gmail dot com, and you can find us on
several social media platforms. We are at mom Street USA
on all of those. Before we end our time together today,
(39:42):
I do want to chat about what is coming up next,
because our next podcast episode is believe it or Not,
our one hundredth episode of mom Street USA, and we
are thrilled and so excited to be planning kind of
a fun, unique podcast episode for you guys. Next time.
(40:03):
We're gonna have some trivia, some just fun little statistics
about mom Street and what we've been doing for the
past three years, because it just so happens that this
is also our three year anniversary of mom Street. So
so many fun things to come next week on that episode,
(40:24):
but for now, thank you guys so much for being here,
thank you for listening. We love our mom Street community.
You guys are amazing and so supportive. So thank you,
thank you, thank you for being here, and we will
catch you on the next episode of Mom Street USA. Bye. Everyone,
Welcome everybody to Mom Street, USA. My name is Jackie
aka Wishes Mama, and today on mom Street we are
going to be discussing rainy Disney days and what to
do if the weather is not cooperating and you have
a Disney trip coming up. So I'm going to do
my best today to give you some advice and some tips,
(00:26):
some experiences that I've had, and hopefully get you prepared
for if you do end up at disney World or
Disneyland during the rainy season, what that looks like and
what you can expect. So the goal today is to
talk about what to pack in your suitcase, what to
put in your park bag, where in the parks you
(00:48):
can go if it is raining and you need a
place to hide from the rain, and then also talking
about what to do and what to remember after your
rainy Disney days over just some tips and tricks and
things like that. So that is on the list for today.
So we're gonna go ahead and just hop in and
(01:09):
chat about rain at Disney. So sometimes of year at Disney,
Disney and rain go hand in hand, right, especially if
you're visiting Florida. Disney Land doesn't have quite as drastic
of an issue with rain, as Disney World does right,
but this episode aims to help you better prepare for
(01:30):
rain while on your vacation to the Disney parks. My
goal is again to highlight different things to help you before, during,
and after. So let's take a look, starting with what
to pack in your suitcase. So we've done some episodes
here on mom Street about different ideas of what to
pack and what you need to make sure you get
ahead of time, things to prepare for weather. So just
(01:54):
reminders for a lot of this because we.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Have talked a lot about a lot of this before.
But before if you even leave for your trip, you've
got to check the weather, which is kind of a
given right, but I would also be sure you're checking
it kind of daily in the three four five days
leading up. Depending on when you start your packing, you're
going to want to start to check that daily because
things can change drastically, especially when it comes to Florida weather.
(02:21):
If you're visiting during any sort of storm season, hurricane season,
tropical storms, or if you're visiting Disneyland during some of
those kind of record breaking wet seasons that they've had
in years past. So if you're going to Disneyland, the
rainy season tends to be in the winter months, so December, January,
(02:41):
February is kind of when you're looking at their rainy season,
so completely opposite of when we see it in Florida. Right,
Just a fun fact per Google, On average in Anaheim,
which again Disneyland we're talking, it rains about thirty four
days each year, so very very minimal in comparison to that,
(03:04):
but you've got to still be prepared because that's the average.
It could be more, it could be less, you never know. Now,
the rainy season in disney World typically runs from April
to about September. Now that doesn't mean that's the only
time that it's going to be rainy, right, but that
is when you will see those warmer months that tend
(03:26):
to have more rain storms come through in Florida. On average,
it rains about one hundred and forty eight days each
year in Orlando, So that is a good portion of
their year, nearly half, right, that you're going to have
rainy days in Orlando when you're visiting. So again, those
warmer months have those pop up afternoon rain showers and
they can happen anywhere from about one pm until about
(03:49):
five pm depending on all sorts of factors, but a
lot of the time depending on heat in humidity, so
you'll be able to look at that. So sometimes when
you're looking at that app that you're using to check weather,
it can be a little tricky, especially for Walt Disney World.
For example, my last trip that I took with my family,
we went over Memorial Day, which is in that rainy season.
(04:11):
We knew it was likely to rain in the afternoons,
and we were looking at the percentages of rain on
the you know, extended forecast, and it was like thirty
five to forty maybe percent. So in my head I
kind of said, oh, okay, those are going to be
those afternoon pop up rain showers. That's no problem. We'll
just plan accordingly and make sure that we you know,
(04:32):
take shelter ahead of time, or take a trip back
to the resort to relax in the room for a
little bit while it's raining. You know, we'll have a
plan set in motion. Well, our trip over Memorial Day
ended up being the rainiest trip that I have ever
taken to Disney in the decade plus that I have
(04:53):
been visiting the parks. So we had rain in the mornings.
First thing, we had rain's you know, rain around six
seven pm at dinner time, so you never truly know.
Florida rain especially can be fairly unpredictable, so you really
want to keep checking the closer you get to your
trip in case you need to pivot and pick some
different clothing options, or you know, pivot a little bit
(05:18):
from what it might be that you're planning. So let's
talk about what to pack to help prepare you for
if you do see rain in the forecast. And these
kind of go for both coasts, right, this is kind
of a universal topic, not universal the park, you know,
but for both both sides of the country when it
comes to that. So a couple things to make sure
(05:38):
that you've got packed in your suitcase if you're anticipating
any sort of rain. Poncho, umbrella, rain jacket, those are
all kind of givens when it comes to rain. But
making sure that every person in your party has some
sort of plan when it comes to rain. I highly
suggest for little kids doing like a really nice rain jacket,
(06:00):
but chances are good they probably already have one, especially
if you're someone that lives in a more rainy climate
to where you are, but I really suggest having a
nice rain jacket for them. Ponchos can be a little
bit too much for some little kiddos, especially if they're toddlers. Right.
Not only are they uncomfy and you kind of have
to just tough it out, but they don't make really
(06:21):
great like toddler kids sized ones, so they're gonna be big.
If they're new walkers and they want to walk and
splash in the puddles, a poncho is gonna be really
tricky to navigate. Even my six and eight year olds
when we did them last trip, had a hard time,
like where does my head go? Where do my arms go? Right?
It's a very foreign experience. So I don't highly suggest
(06:44):
ponchos for kids. I do I would rather see something
like a rain jacket. But for the adults in your group,
ponchos maybe fine. Be sure to have a plan for
storing whatever your rain gear is after they get wet.
So if that's a bag for your umbrella to go
(07:04):
in after you're done with it, if that's a bag
for your poncho to be able to go in, then
that is an option as well. It just you need
to have some sort of plan for after their wet
when it's no longer raining, right, you want to make
sure that you can put those away and have them
(07:26):
not get everything else in your park bag wet. So
whether that's the bottom of your stroller, that's what we
tend to do, because we still have a stroller when
we go to the parks. We just designate that bottom
storage area to throw our wet stuff in the meantime
while we're still running around the parks. Or if that's
an extra bag they make, you know, mesh wet bags
(07:46):
that you can get for like bathing suits and stuff.
Those would be a great option, but have some sort
of a plan. Just a note for the whole poncho
versus rain jacket thing. I was chatting with our good
friend Kate Disney cicer own, former co host of Mom
Street about this topic this week, and she mentioned to
(08:06):
me that there's just a funny kind of culture thing
that disney Land tends to see less ponchos and more
rain jackets. So she noted that she thought it was
funny because when she is in Disneyland and she sees
a poncho, she typical she knows that that's likely a
Walt disney World transplant family that is visiting the West
(08:28):
Coast part, So again just kind of differences with that.
You're going to see more umbrellas and rain jackets in Disneyland,
whereas disney World tends to be more ponchos, but they
also do get some umbrellas there as well. Something else
to consider packing when it comes to prepping for the
rain and for the weather at Disney is shoes that
(08:52):
can withstand the rain. You want to make sure that
whatever shoes you have packed are going to be good
in the rain, are going to dry quickly, are going
to hold up right and not get really sloshy, not
take on a ton of water. So you really need
to consider that and think about when you're getting dressed
each morning whether or not that shoe is a good
(09:14):
choice for the weather forecast for the day. If you
don't have shoes that are really good options for rain,
then investing in something like a shoe cover is also
a really great idea. So the way that these shoe
covers typically work is they look like little ponchos for
your shoes. The bottom has like a sole on it
(09:35):
and then it either zips or like cinches up and
it covers your whole shoe, so you can wear those
in place of having like a water resistant or waterproof shoe.
If you're like I don't want to go buy new
shoes for my Disney trip. I really like my tennis
shoes I already have. Maybe a shoe cover is a
better option for you, But do keep in mind you
want to have something that completely comes up your ankle
(09:59):
and give you a little bit more height on it,
because especially in Disney World, there are several pathways that
are prone to flooding because the rain comes down so
hard and so fast during that time, then you you
may be stuck having to kind of wade through some
(10:22):
rivers of rain water in the parks, So just keep
that in mind. You want to make sure that you've
got enough coverage kind of up your ankle to be
sure that your feet are not going to get soaked
when you're walking through the parks. Something else to consider
is making sure that you pack multiple pairs of shoes
so that way, if your shoes do get soaked in
(10:42):
an unexpected rain shower, they have time to dry so
that way, and you still have another pair of shoes
to wear. Right two pairs of tennis shoes or two
pairs of park shoes minimum for every Disney trip that
you take, because your shoes need to have time to
dry in between if they are ones that are going
to get wet, So making sure that you have those
(11:03):
and those are available for you to swap out if
you're coming back in the middle of the day to
get you dry, clean socks and shoes on making sure
that you have another pair that you can swap out.
Something else to consider when it comes to covering. When
it comes to the rain stroller covers, you've got to
(11:26):
have some sort of a rain cover. Be sure in
Disney World that you have that stroller cover because you
want to make sure that your stroller does not end
up soaking wet and your kiddos don't end up really
sad because they have to sit in a wet seat
on their stroller. So be sure to use it. Have
(11:46):
one with you. I would pack it even if the
chance of rain is really really small, pack it with you.
Make sure you have it. And if it's questionable, if
you're getting ready to go into a show or dining
reservation and you're looking at the weather or looking at
the sky and you're going, oh, I'm not really sure,
(12:07):
just put it on. Just put it on. I cannot
tell you. At least three or four times a couple
trips ago, we got caught without our stroller cover on
and it poured on our stroller and we were soaking
wet and we had to figure out something to get
it at least a little bit dry before my kids
were wanting to sit on it. So just use it.
(12:28):
Be sure that you have one with you, Be sure
that you are taking a look at the weather before
you're going into some of those extended indoor activities to
make sure that you don't get stuck with a wet stroller.
The last thing when you're looking at what to pack
for the rain is just contemplate your wardrobe choices. Okay,
(12:49):
you don't want to be caught wearing clothes that become
very translucent when they're wet, or are going to be
very heavy if they get wet. You want to make
sure that you are really thinking about that for you,
but also for your kids, to make sure that whatever
(13:11):
they're wearing will be comfortable in the rain. If it's
going to rain, I would not put your little girl
in one of those big princess puffy dresses, even though
they may love it and that may be their favorite
thing in the world, if it's going to rain, that
dress is going to gain about fifteen extra pounds, right,
So you just want to make sure that you're thinking
about that and thinking about picking out quick drying material
(13:35):
that is going to be beneficial for rain showers. So
if you do get wet, they will have more of
a quick drying ability and you won't be stuck wearing drippy,
soppy clothes for the rest of your park day. So
that is kind of in a nutshell what to what
to think about before your trip and what to pack.
(13:57):
But let's talk about on your actual park day. What
are good things that you can put in your park bag.
So a couple things to consider, and we've gone through
and I've done a whole episode on what I like
to pack in my park bag, So scroll back in
our archives a little bit to find my What's in
your Disney park Bag episode? But things that are weather
(14:18):
specific to pack. Again, we talked about poncho, rain jacket, umbrella,
whatever of those you're doing, or if you've got a
combination of them, be sure they're in your park bag. Right,
It doesn't do you any good if you're bringing them
to the parks and then not taking them into the
parks with you. Do keep in mind that if you've
got an umbrella, that is something that will likely set
(14:38):
off Disney's security. So your best bet is to hold
it with two hands straight out in front of you
when you go through the metal detectors. So be sure
that you are thinking about that whenever you're getting ready
to go through security, but being sure that those are
all in your bag and making sure that every member
of your parties is accounted for, so whether it's they're
all together in one bag, you know, like we've got
(14:59):
four people our family, so all four of our ponchos
lived in my husband's backpack for the whole week that
we were there last trip. Something else to consider is
extra pairs of socks in your park bags because you
may be in a situation where your shoes have dried
or mostly dried, but your socks are still sopping wet, right,
(15:24):
So walking around the Disney parks having wet socks and
wet shoes wet feet not a great way to spend
your Disney day if it can be avoided, right, So
being sure that you have an extra pair of socks,
and again having somewhere where wet socks can live in
your bag that won't get everything else wet. I always
suggest just grabbing a couple ziplocks to have them in
(15:47):
your bag, or having some sort of designated wet clothes
bag in your park bags that you're taking in or
in the bottom of the stroller, having a place for
those to go. Speaking of ziplocks, good thing to have
in your park bag if it's going to rain are ziplocks,
primarily for those wet clothes aftermath, but also for if
(16:12):
it's gonna pour. Throw your electronic devices in a ziplock
and just be safe. The worst is when your phone
gets wet and it won't charge, or the speaker sounds
funny and you can't listen to things if you want
to be watching or listening to things while you're waiting
in cueues for different attractions, So grabbing a ziplock bag
(16:32):
grabbing a couple. I typically just throw like one small
one and one big one in our bag and we
just have them in there for whatever we need. So
definitely being sure that you have those available for you,
and also remembering to bring your stroller cover. We just
keep ours in the bottom of our stroller. Anything else
we have that needs to go into that bottom storage
(16:53):
area just gets piled on top. But that way it's accessible.
If we just like reach in the side of our
of our storage area under our stroller when we need it,
we just reach in, grab it out and throw it on.
That way, we're good to go with that. So those
are kind of my you need to have this in
(17:13):
your park bag when it comes to weather and rain
at the Disney parks. The next thing we're going to
talk about is where to go and what to do
if you're in the parks and it's going to be raining.
So if you are visiting and you're already in the
parks and it starts to rain and you were not
expecting it, or you were expecting it, but you still
(17:36):
need somewhere to go, let's talk about what to do
in that situation. So here's the thing about visiting the
Disney parks in the rain. There will be a large
split on rides that close and rides that stay open.
So you need to kind of plan accordingly to what
area you're going to try to visit and go to
if it does look like it's going to start to
(17:57):
rain or starts to rain, So anything within outdoor track
will likely close. Now keep in mind i'm talking rain only, Okay,
things like thunder wind lightning that is a kind of
a different story. So I'm talking like straight up just rain,
not massive storms or lightning anything like that. But most
(18:19):
stuff with outdoor tracks will close in the rain, unless
it's just like a little sprinkle, But if it's rain
and good, they're going to close. Any character meet and
greet or attraction experience that has uncovered or exposed areas
is going to close in the rain. So any character
meet and greet that does not have an overhang that
(18:40):
it hangs out underneath or like a building that it's in,
those are going to close. So like some of the
pop up characters you get it like Epcot, I'm thinking
of those are going to close. Any of the roaming
characters you see a lot in like Fantasyland at Disneyland,
those characters are all going to go back to their
backstage areas when it's raining, just because of the weather.
(19:01):
So keep that in mind, especially if you're planning out
rides for an afternoon where you know it's going to rain,
maybe avoid those outdoor ones and hit those either in
the morning or the evening or another time when it's
not going to be raining outside. Something else to consider
is attempting to plan dining or rest breaks at your
resort during known rainy times. So I mentioned that a
(19:24):
little bit earlier, that if I know it's going to
rain at two pm, then I'm just going to plan
to be back in my room. Right, That's a great
time to take a break anyway, because it's likely hot,
especially if you're visiting disney World. Disneyland is a little
bit different, but chances are good you can just walk
back to your resort if you're staying in near property at Disneyland,
(19:45):
but using an afternoon break or using a rainy time
break to go back to the room, recharge, reset a
little bit and not have to worry about getting soaking
wet is a really great idea as well, and can
definitely be a huge help. Again, mostly at disney World.
So let's talk about in parks, specific places that I
suggest you could take a look at to consider where
(20:08):
to go when you're considering where to go to get
out of the rain. So at Disneyland, we're going to
start west coast and move our way east here. So Disneyland,
a couple places that you can go that would help
you get out of the rain would be the Fantasy
Fair and Royal Hall area, any of the shows so
(20:29):
Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mister Lincoln, the Main Street Cinema,
the Disney Gallery with the new Walt Animatronic show. Those
are all really great options that you could pop into
one of those shows to help get out of the
rain for a little bit. Doing the Castle walk Through
is a good option. Do keep in mind that if
you're doing something like the Castle walk through, you can't
(20:52):
just like stand in the middle of the walkway, right.
You have to actually physically do the walk through so
that it doesn't become a hazard to other guests. So
it's not a place where you can just go and hide.
But if you want to go actually do the walkthrough,
it's a great option as well. And then any indoor ride,
now you're gonna hear me say this at all of
these parks, because all of these parks have rides that
are indoors and or have ride queues that are also
(21:16):
covered or indoors. So at Disneyland, things like the Jungle Cruise,
Space Mountain, the Indiana Jones Ride. They have indoor spaces
that you can stand in a line and not get
drenched while you're doing that. Not every ride has a
covered or indoor queue, so you're gonna need to scope
out the area that you're in to be sure that
(21:38):
you don't accidentally try to go to a ride that
has an outdoor exposed queue that you're gonna get drenched
while you're waiting for that ride. Now over in Disney's
California Adventure, a couple places that you can go. The
Animation Academy would be a great option over there if
you've got little Little's doing. The Disney Junior Dance Party
(21:58):
is a good option to get indoors. Phil Harmagic the
Show is a great option. Again, shows are good, and
again indoor ride queues. A lot of the rides over
there do have some indoor and covered spaces for their
attractions as well. Now all of that being said, please
keep in mind that if you are at any of
(22:21):
these places, again, you cannot block exits, you cannot block entrances.
You have to follow the norms of the flow of
the queue or the crowds. Things like that. So just
keep that in mind. Cast members during the rain are
unfortunately constantly telling people that they can't stand in doorways
because it does become a hazard. So make a safe
(22:41):
choice and go somewhere safe whenever it is raining, for sure,
And that again applies to all of these parks. Now,
going over to Disney World, let's talk about what that
looks like for a couple places that you can go,
Starting with Magic Kingdom. Magic Kingdom has quite a few
shows that you could consider hiding out in if it's
(23:02):
going to be raining. Care Self Progress, Country Bears, Philharm,
Magic Monsters, and Laugh Floor, Hall of Presidents. All of
those are options that you could consider. Hall of Presidents
also has like a lobby area that's got some like
museum memorabilia and stuff like that that you could wander
in and take a look around without actually doing the
show and still be out of the way, again, making
(23:25):
sure you're not blocking any exits, entrances, those types of things.
Princess Fairytale Hall meeting the Princesses is a good option
because that queue is inside, or if it's not inside
and it has spilled to the outside queue, it's still covered.
So that is a great option as well, and again
any other attraction that has a covered quee things like
(23:47):
Small World, Peter Pan Pooh Bear's queue is mostly covered
to an extent, you know, things like that. The Teacups
are fairly well covered. Dumbo is covered. So a lot
of Magic Kingdom attractions do have a covered queue, but
you've got to be careful for things like the Tomorrowland Speedway.
That queue is covered for a little bit of it,
(24:09):
but then once you get closer up to the front,
it's no longer covered. Now that attraction typically won't run
in the rain because of the exposed track that's outdoors.
But things like that you've just got to kind of
take a mental note of and be weary of as
you're walking through the parks. But any other attraction that
has a covered queue area is always a great option.
(24:29):
Another note about Magic Kingdom in the rain, it can
be really frustrating when the rain ruins plans. Right if
it's ruining, Like if you want to go see Festival Fantasy,
the parade that is at Magic Kingdom during the day,
it doesn't run in the rain. However, the nice thing
about Festival Fantasy that kind of is different than like
(24:51):
a fireworks show or any of those other experiences is
they will often do. If it gets canceled, they'll do
what they call a rainy Day Cavalcade, and it is
super cute. The cast members wear these adorable bright yellow
rain coats with red hats and red boots, and the
characters a ton of the characters that would typically be
(25:14):
in the parade will still appear in the Rainy Day Cavalcade,
and they will ride in the covered buses and main
street vehicles, so that way they can still come through
that pathway and wave to everybody and still have a
little bit of a parade go on. So I think
the Rainy Day Cavalcade is super cute. Granted it's not
the big floats of festival fantasy, but it's still a
(25:36):
fun way and a unique way to see characters that
not a lot of people get to see. So don't
be too mummed if that's what happens, because Disney will
do its best to make it up. If they just
have to delay, they might just delay for whether it
just really depends on the situation and the circumstances for that.
(25:56):
Let's talk about Epcot. If you are in Epcot, it
is the best park in my opinion to be in
when it is raining outside, because really the only attraction
in Epcot that routinely closes due to weather is Test
Track because it does have that outdoor part of the
track at the end. So that makes Epcot again an
(26:19):
amazing park to visit in the rain. Again, just be
aware of outside and uncovered queues. The Q four Frozen
ever After is uncovered and exposed once it gets outside
the building. The queue for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic
Rewind they have some umbrellas. Those umbrellas are made for shade,
they're not made to keep the rain off, so just
(26:41):
be aware of those types of things. The queue for
Remy's Ratitude Adventure is mostly covered, so you just again
have to kind of look and see about a lot
of these queue lines to see whether or not they're
covered to determine if it's a good option for you
to be able to visit during the during the weather.
The shops of World Showcase are a fabulous place to
(27:03):
wander when it's raining outside, and you will find a
lot of people that also tend to do that too.
The good news is there's a ton of them and
you can kind of meander and wander and look around
until you find places that are not super packed. But
you do need to be prepared to jump from country
to country out in the elements, So still having an
umbrella or a poncho readily available is a good idea,
(27:26):
regardless of if you are spending the majority of your
time inside of those shops. So again, Epcot is a
great great park to visit if it is going to
be raining, just for for that alone. Talk about Hollywood Studios.
Hollywood Studios has a bunch of shows which can be helpful.
You've heard me talk about shows at some of the
(27:46):
other parks, so Hollywood Studios has shows. But do keep
in mind that sometimes the shows will close due to weather.
The Indiana Jones show will close due to weather, and
sometimes the Beauty and the Beast show will close due
to weather, depending on how hard the wind is blowing
and if they're at risk of the stage getting wet.
You know, we got to keep everybody safe that is
performing in these shows. But the inside shows Little Mermaid,
(28:10):
The New Little Mermaid, the New Villains Show, Frozen, the
Frozen sing Along, those shows have really great indoor spaces
that you're able to wait and again pay attention to
the cues. The Villain's que is outside the frozen ever
after Q is outside. Both of those are uncovered and
you could definitely get wet. The majority of the Little
(28:31):
Mermaid cue is covered, but if it gets long enough,
it does go to an outside exposed area. So just
keeping in mind that when you're looking at the shows,
most of the rides at Hollywood Studios will still run
in the rain. Slinky Dog will close because it is
an outdoor roller coaster, so that one will close in
the rain. And sometimes you will also see alien swirling
(28:54):
saucers close in the rain just because of the nature
of the attraction. If it gets windy at all and
that rain starts blowing underneath the awning where that attraction is,
it just becomes a safety issue. So those two are
really the only ones that you will find. Toy Story
Mania is a great one because again their whole outdoor
(29:16):
queue has an awning that covers it, and then a
lot of their queue is indoor, so that's a really
great one. The queue for Rise of the Resistance a
little a little skeptical on that one. Same for like
Tower of Terror, those are outdoor queues that you will
likely get wet if it starts to rain when you're
waiting in those cues, so you have to kind of
(29:37):
ballpark it, take a look and see what you think.
But generally speaking, Hollywood Studios has some options there as well,
and lest but certainly not least Animal Kingdom. Most of
the rides. Again, an Animal Kingdom will stay open. Calli
River Rapids does tend to close for weather because it
(29:57):
is an outdoor ride and it is a water ride,
so got keep everyone safe when it comes to storms
and rain. The Safari can actually be really fun in
the rain. So my family on our one morning we
had an Animal Kingdom on our last trip around Memorial Day,
we were there on a rainy morning. We were like, well,
let's go on the safari and see what we can see.
(30:18):
We saw so many animals. I think the rain helped
cool it down, so the animals were a lot more
active than we had anticipated. So it can be a
really unique experience to see and experience that safari during
the rain. Again, not during lightning and thunder and storms,
but during rain. It can be a really fun experience.
And same thing here that I talked about at the
(30:39):
other parks being aware of those outdoor queues. Unfortunately, things
like Flight of Passage and Navi River Journey both have
outdoor queues that are not really covered until you get
in the building. So just things to keep in mind
when it comes to that. The Lion King Show can
be a little deceiving. It does have some some I
(31:02):
don't know. It's more like lattice covering on the top
of the queue area. It doesn't stop the rain, so
you will still get dripped on and wet if you're
waiting in that queue when it's raining outside. It's more
of a sun covering than it is a rain covering
over there. So again, just taking a look, scoping it out,
(31:25):
seeing whether or not you think it's an option that
will work for you and for what your needs are. Again,
if it starts raining, throw those stroller covers on, be
ready to go. And if you can get dining or
you are hungry at the right time and can go
into a dining quick service location to grab some food
(31:46):
when it's raining, that's always a good idea as well.
So if it starts raining and you're like, well, I
could go for a snack, pull up your phone and
do your mobile order. So you've got a place to
go that is inside. But again, be kind to the
cast members and make sure that you're not just taking
up a bunch of tables just because it's raining when
(32:07):
people are trying to eat. So just be aware and
be courteous of those around you when it comes to that,
because you're all experiencing that rain together, so working together
to keep everybody safe and dry is your best bet
for that. So that is kind of a fast and
furious list of where to go in the parks if
it does happen to be raining. But now let's talk
(32:31):
about at the end of your rainy day what you
need to remember to do to set yourself up for
success for the next morning. So you have spent a
day in the parks, it rained, you got wet, your
clothes are wet, things are wet. What do you do next? Well,
the first thing is kind of obvious. You need to
(32:52):
be sure to completely set everything out to dry. Lay
it out, use all of the space you have available,
use chairs, use hangers in your little closet area in
your resort room. Use what you've got to be able
to help with that. Also, if you are in a
Walt Disney resort room. Chances are good that a lot
(33:14):
of the bathrooms in those rooms have these retractable clotheslines
that you can use, So a lot of people will
use them for like swimsuits and things like that, but
these are really great for drying wet clothes and drying
wet ponchos, So take a look when you get into
your room to see whether or not you have them.
I know that I think all of the value resorts
have those, and I also think a lot of the
(33:36):
moderate ones do too. I'm not one hundred percent sure
on the deluxe resorts if they have them, but be
sure to take a look at that. Also, you can
use your hangers in your little closet space to help
you dry things as well, but you want to make
sure that everything is laid out as much as you
(33:56):
possibly can so that you don't get any yucky, gross
smell or anything like that when it comes to your
wet items. If your room gets morning or afternoon sun,
something that you can do if you have wet tennis
shoes that we actually saw this in at our Disney
(34:17):
resort on our last trip and had never thought of
it before, and it's so smart. If your room gets
the sun, prop your shoes up in the windowsill. So
we did this with my husband's tennis shoes because I
do crocs and sandals and things like that, but he
does like Brooks tennis shoes. So we we typically keep
our shades closed to help keep the room cool. So
(34:39):
my husband just kind of propped, you know, toe down
and you know, loosen the laces as much as he
could his shoes in the window. Because our window got
afternoon sun, they dried way faster that way. So it
sounds very basic and like it would be a no brainer,
but we had never thought of that before at Disney.
(35:00):
So using the windowsills to dry. You can also use
the hair dryer to dry things, but that's going to
take a really long time. So every Disney resort has
laundry facilities available. So if you are someone that has
a stash of wet clothes, I do not recommend shoes
obviously in their dryers, and don't put your ponchos in
(35:21):
their dryers. But if you've got wet clothes from being
in the parks doing a quick load, even if you
just put them in the dryer, if you're not looking
to or you don't need to actually wash the clothes,
but throwing them in for a quick cycle in the
dryer is a really great option just to make sure
that things are completely dry. So you avoid putting any
(35:42):
wet clothes in a hamper, in a drawer back, in
a suitcase. That is just asking for a disaster. So
just being sure that you utilize what's available to you
to be able to do that. If you are looking
for dryers, there typically by the pools, so most of
the time your laundry facilities are going to be near
pools at your resort, So take a look at your
(36:03):
resort map or call down to the front desk and
ask them where your closest laundry facility is. For that,
placing things near your air vent can be a really
good idea. Those air vents kick out a lot of air.
It's not warm, but it will at least help to
be able to get some airflow in circulation to help
(36:25):
dry out. Like we typically will put if our ponchos
are not drippy, we will like drape them over the
chairs and put them right under where the air vent
comes out, just to help make sure that they completely
dry overnight, because you don't want to be stuck having
a wet poncho still in the morning when you need
to repack it to go back into the park for
the day, you want to make sure that it's completely
dried so you don't have any issues with that. So
(36:48):
using the air vent overnight can be a really big
help with that. Just being sure to completely empty every
pocket of your park bag to ensure that everything dries,
because otherwise you're gonna have gross pockets inside your bags.
It's not going to be a good situation, right, So
(37:09):
making sure that you completely empty every pocket of your
park bag and that you completely empty out your the
bottom of your stroller. And I would also suggest when
it comes to your stroller, taking one of the towels
from in your room and kind of sopping up any
extra water from the seats in your stroller. Because the
(37:32):
strollers don't drive very quickly. They're not really made of
weather proof material unfortunately, at least in my experience, So
using one of the extra towels to kind of help
soop up any extra water to give that a chance
to completely dry overnight, and being sure that you don't
leave your stroller folded up if you've got space in
your room. I know there's not always a ton of
(37:53):
space in resort rooms, but if you've got a space
where you can keep that stroller up and open out
as much which as possible, because if you have it
folded up, you run the risk of moisture getting caught
in where things are folded, and when you go to
open it the next day in the morning, when your
kids are in their new clean clothes for the day,
they're going to end up with a wet behind because
(38:15):
they're sitting on part of a stroller that didn't get
to dry all the way. So be sure that you
are really utilizing every inch of your room, opening up
your park bag, opening up your stroller, laying things out,
using the hair dryer, using the sun for the next day. Again,
it's so important that you have more than one pair
(38:35):
of shoes to make sure that if you do need
to leave your shoes in the windowsill for a day,
that you have another pair of shoes that you can wear,
and again utilizing all of the closet space and hangars
to dry clothes if needed as well. So that is
kind of a short and sweet rundown of different things
that you can do in the Disney parks. If you
(38:58):
are stuck there on a rain Disney day. Hopefully this
has been helpful to you and that you got some
good ideas and tips and tricks and things maybe you
didn't think about for handling the rain at the Disney parks.
As always, if you've got comments, questions, you need further guidance,
you want help planning or looking into what you want
(39:21):
to do at your Disney trip, or you've got suggestions
for topics that we can cover here at mom Street.
You could always reach out to us at Momstreet USA
at gmail dot com, and you can find us on
several social media platforms. We are at mom Street USA
on all of those. Before we end our time together today,
(39:42):
I do want to chat about what is coming up next,
because our next podcast episode is believe it or Not,
our one hundredth episode of mom Street USA, and we
are thrilled and so excited to be planning kind of
a fun, unique podcast episode for you guys. Next time.
(40:03):
We're gonna have some trivia, some just fun little statistics
about mom Street and what we've been doing for the
past three years, because it just so happens that this
is also our three year anniversary of mom Street. So
so many fun things to come next week on that episode,
(40:24):
but for now, thank you guys so much for being here,
thank you for listening. We love our mom Street community.
You guys are amazing and so supportive. So thank you,
thank you, thank you for being here, and we will
catch you on the next episode of Mom Street USA. Bye. Everyone,
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