So you wake up and look out your resort window and it is a torrential downpour. You have two options, curl back up in bed and wait out the storm or throw together your park bag with a couple extras and head out.
We always chose a park day. Rain days are less crowded because many locals don't drive in and there are plenty of people who chose the wait it out option. If you are going to do a rain day here are a couple advantages and a couple pieces of advice. Do note that some rides, shops and shows will not run if it is raining hard or there is lightning in the area, but this isn't the majority.
On our last trip during Spring Break it poured in the morning and early afternoon on our Animal Kingdom day.
Let's start with what to wear and pack to make sure this doesn't go sideways:
1. You'll need a rain coat or poncho. I bring a rain coat for rainy days and save my $.99 poncho for the water rides. My mom brings an umbrella, which is another good option.
2. Rain might make you chilly, so a long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt is a good option.
3. My park bag goes under my raincoat but if you have a backpack you'll need to pack a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet or use an umbrella.
4. If you have a stroller, wheelchair or scooter pack an extra poncho and some binder clips, this will keep it dry while you are inside. You can roll the poncho up and store it in a gallon ziplock between uses.
5. Sandals without socks. My kiddo wears crocs, I wear my Keens and I have a friend that rocks straight up water socks. All of these shoes are designed to be worn wet. My mom wore her Tevas in the rain and then after it stopped changed into her sneakers that were in her backpack so her feet didn't get sore. But walking all day in soggy sneakers or flats is no fun.
6. Quick wick clothes. If there is ever a day to wear athletic gear to the park, rain days are it. (I suggest athletic gear everyday because I sweat in Florida and find it more comfy.) Wearing clothes designed to dry quickly and not weighed down when wet is what you are looking for.
Now you are ready to hit the parks.
Watch for Character Greetings in alternative locations because no one wants to hug a soaking wet fur suit. On the day we went, Pocahontas was way down a trail in a covered picnic area and Scrooge and Launchpad were together. Neither had more than 3 people in line so it was perfect.
This is Sydnee in the photos. She was using an umbrella and riding in my mom's wheelchair at the time (mom was walking in the morning). I'm not sure why her swim hat is on over her hoodie but it must be the latest 6yo fashion trend.
The characters weren't busy so she got to spend extra time with them. She was the only one visiting Pocahontas so they spent about 20 minutes chatting before the next guest showed up and we waved goodbye.
TriceraTop Spin runs in light rain and this is a picture I took while riding. It was raining really hard in the morning so we used our first Fast Passes to ride Dinosaur and shopped in the gift shop after getting character photos. After a quick snack, the rain had let up and was a light drizzle so we headed over to more rides and shows.
We were able to get on Kali River Rapids (a water ride) with a 20 minute standby line and use our Fast Passes on Expedition Everest, which had reopened after the rain.
The park started to fill up a bit, (note: Spring Break, late March-early May, is one of the busiest periods at WDW) by mid-afternoon so we headed to lunch and then to catch a showing of The Festival of the Lion King.
The Festival of the Lion King is inside and some of the waiting area is covered. It wasn't raining when we went in but it was looking pretty gloomy so we were hoping to miss the afternoon rain while inside. By the time everyone is seated and the show runs you are inside for around 45 minutes.
It did start to rain, again and we were greeted with drizzle and puddles as we left the building and headed to our Fast Passes to ride Flight of Passage. I have never stood in the standby line for Flight of Passage but from what I can tell you enter the building when you have about 2.5 hours left to wait and are inside the rest of the time. With a Fast Pass you are in the building after a quick walk up a ramp and the ride runs in rain because it is 100% enclosed in a building.
The rain had stopped again by the time we got off Flight of Passage, so we headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safaris to use our final Fast Pass of the day. (So that was 4 Fast Passes in one day and we weren't staying on Club Level, so check out my blog on fast passes to find out how that happened). The rain had cooled off the air so there were lots of animals out and about. We were able to have great views and even got to see the baby giraffe and baby elephant on the same outing.
Recap: Arrived at 9:30am and left at 7:30pm and did the following in Animal Kingdom (in the rain):
Meet: 6 Characters
Ate: lunch and three snacks
Rode: Dinosaur, TriceraTop Spins, Primeval Whirl, Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Avatar's Flight of Passage, and Kilimanjaro Safari
Watched: It's Tough to be a Bug and The Festival of the Lion King
We always chose a park day. Rain days are less crowded because many locals don't drive in and there are plenty of people who chose the wait it out option. If you are going to do a rain day here are a couple advantages and a couple pieces of advice. Do note that some rides, shops and shows will not run if it is raining hard or there is lightning in the area, but this isn't the majority.
On our last trip during Spring Break it poured in the morning and early afternoon on our Animal Kingdom day.
Let's start with what to wear and pack to make sure this doesn't go sideways:
1. You'll need a rain coat or poncho. I bring a rain coat for rainy days and save my $.99 poncho for the water rides. My mom brings an umbrella, which is another good option.
2. Rain might make you chilly, so a long-sleeved shirt or sweatshirt is a good option.
3. My park bag goes under my raincoat but if you have a backpack you'll need to pack a plastic bag to keep it from getting wet or use an umbrella.
4. If you have a stroller, wheelchair or scooter pack an extra poncho and some binder clips, this will keep it dry while you are inside. You can roll the poncho up and store it in a gallon ziplock between uses.
5. Sandals without socks. My kiddo wears crocs, I wear my Keens and I have a friend that rocks straight up water socks. All of these shoes are designed to be worn wet. My mom wore her Tevas in the rain and then after it stopped changed into her sneakers that were in her backpack so her feet didn't get sore. But walking all day in soggy sneakers or flats is no fun.
6. Quick wick clothes. If there is ever a day to wear athletic gear to the park, rain days are it. (I suggest athletic gear everyday because I sweat in Florida and find it more comfy.) Wearing clothes designed to dry quickly and not weighed down when wet is what you are looking for.
Now you are ready to hit the parks.
Watch for Character Greetings in alternative locations because no one wants to hug a soaking wet fur suit. On the day we went, Pocahontas was way down a trail in a covered picnic area and Scrooge and Launchpad were together. Neither had more than 3 people in line so it was perfect.
This is Sydnee in the photos. She was using an umbrella and riding in my mom's wheelchair at the time (mom was walking in the morning). I'm not sure why her swim hat is on over her hoodie but it must be the latest 6yo fashion trend.
The characters weren't busy so she got to spend extra time with them. She was the only one visiting Pocahontas so they spent about 20 minutes chatting before the next guest showed up and we waved goodbye.
TriceraTop Spin runs in light rain and this is a picture I took while riding. It was raining really hard in the morning so we used our first Fast Passes to ride Dinosaur and shopped in the gift shop after getting character photos. After a quick snack, the rain had let up and was a light drizzle so we headed over to more rides and shows. We were able to get on Kali River Rapids (a water ride) with a 20 minute standby line and use our Fast Passes on Expedition Everest, which had reopened after the rain.
The park started to fill up a bit, (note: Spring Break, late March-early May, is one of the busiest periods at WDW) by mid-afternoon so we headed to lunch and then to catch a showing of The Festival of the Lion King.
The Festival of the Lion King is inside and some of the waiting area is covered. It wasn't raining when we went in but it was looking pretty gloomy so we were hoping to miss the afternoon rain while inside. By the time everyone is seated and the show runs you are inside for around 45 minutes. It did start to rain, again and we were greeted with drizzle and puddles as we left the building and headed to our Fast Passes to ride Flight of Passage. I have never stood in the standby line for Flight of Passage but from what I can tell you enter the building when you have about 2.5 hours left to wait and are inside the rest of the time. With a Fast Pass you are in the building after a quick walk up a ramp and the ride runs in rain because it is 100% enclosed in a building.
The rain had stopped again by the time we got off Flight of Passage, so we headed over to the Kilimanjaro Safaris to use our final Fast Pass of the day. (So that was 4 Fast Passes in one day and we weren't staying on Club Level, so check out my blog on fast passes to find out how that happened). The rain had cooled off the air so there were lots of animals out and about. We were able to have great views and even got to see the baby giraffe and baby elephant on the same outing. Recap: Arrived at 9:30am and left at 7:30pm and did the following in Animal Kingdom (in the rain):
Meet: 6 Characters
Ate: lunch and three snacks
Rode: Dinosaur, TriceraTop Spins, Primeval Whirl, Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Avatar's Flight of Passage, and Kilimanjaro Safari
Watched: It's Tough to be a Bug and The Festival of the Lion King
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| (Note: my ears are 3D printed from plastic so they do great in the rain) |
This is our party of 9, so it wasn't that I'm just fast and can zoom around the park solo. We had my 6yo, my friend's 12yo daughter, a couple of fun loving husbands, a wheelchair for my mom and a motorized scooter for my friend's mom. All in the rain and as you can see we had a blast and the sun was starting to peek out by the end of the day.
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