When you think of Florida, you likely think of the the sunshine. Florida is beautiful! There's a reason it's called the Sunshine State. Its winters are mild and its summers are hot. As you're planning your Disney World vacation, you're probably hoping it will be warm and sunny just like you pictured and you're watching the forecast like a hawk, hoping that storm cloud will turn to sun.
You will see rain on your Disney World trip, and that's okay.
In Florida, it rains frequently. In hurricane season, you may see some more prolonged rains, so keep an eye on hurricane and tropical storm watches. But, on a day to day basis, it typically only rains for a short while, maybe 15-30 minutes, then stops for the day.
If it does rain, don't panic! Disney is designed to deal with the rain.
Rain is a Good Thing
The rain can be your best friend. Lots of families clear out and head back to their hotels when it rains, making the parks much, much less crowded than usual. You may be able to walk right on to a ride that would have otherwise been an hour-long wait, like Jungle Cruise.
The other good part of going to the parks in the rain is that most of the attractions are indoors. Any indoor attractions will stay open in the rain. Especially if most of the queue is indoors, this is a perfect place to wait out the rain.
Most outdoors attractions will have to close when it is actively raining in order to ensure everyone's safety. Attractions that close in the rain include Tom Sawyer's Island, Tomorrowland Speedway, Test Track, Slinky Dog Dash, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, Fantasmic!, Beauty and the Beast, and a handful of attractions at Animal Kingdom.
Additional attractions will close if there is lightning within a certain radius.
The Festival of Fantasy parade will not run if it is raining or has rained recently. If it is raining lightly, Magic Kingdom will instead have the Rainy Day Cavalcade Parade, a special rainy-day only parade. Additionally, while the Magic Kingdom fireworks will still happen in the rain, Tinkerbell typically doesn't fly.
Top Recommendation: Go to Epcot when it rains! The only attraction that will close is Test Track; every other attraction is indoors. And, with the pavilion style of the lands in Epcot, you can often find 2 or 3 things to do in one building. In the Land pavilion, for example, you can find two rides (Soarin' and Living with the Land), a show (Awesome Planet), a quick-service dining location (Sunshine Seasons) and a table-service location (Garden Grill) all without going outdoors!
This time-lapse was taken over the course of a few minutes from the Chevrolet lounge above Test Track during a surprise downpour one afternoon.
What If It's Pouring?
If it's downpouring and you need to stay out of the parks, check out the hotels! If you're staying at a resort on the monorail loop, use the monorail to get between the three resorts--the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian--and just explore! Each of these resorts has bars and lounges for adult guests. They will also run special rainy-day activities for kids in the hotels that you might want to check out with little ones!
Also consider checking out the water parks! The water parks will not close when it is raining (though they will close for lightning), nor will any of the dining establishments at the water parks. If you're already going to get wet in a downpour, you might as well have some fun doing it!
Disney Springs features a lot of indoor shopping and entertainment venues you could look into. You could spend an hour and a half at the Cirque du Soleil show, Drawn to Life, or catch a movie at the AMC dine-in movie theater. Just be sure to try to reserve whatever you can ahead of time; because these two options are indoors and time consuming, a lot of people will have the same idea.
Items You Need to Beat the Rain
So you've decided to just go for it and take the parks in the rain. How do you prepare yourself?:
Ponchos:
As soon as it starts raining, you will see signs come out at merchandise locations and even some booths or quick service locations that advertise Disney's ponchos. These are available for $12 for an adult size and $10 for a child size, plus tax. The Disney ponchos are thick and have a hood. You can easily fit it over your backpack. Just note that you might be able to smell the plastic for a little while, depending on how sensitive your nose is. The arms also tend to be a little short, so your hands and wrists may not stay dry. If a Disney poncho rips, let a cast member know and they will replace it for free.
It would be a good idea to consider buying a cheap pack of flimsy ponchos prior to your visit! I got mine on amazon. After the rain is done for the day, I throw out the wet poncho so I don't have to cart it around.
How to Dress:
If you know you're in for a rainy day, dress appropriately! Don't wear jeans or jean shorts, as these tend to take much longer to dry. Yoga pants, leggings, or other cotton pants tend to dry much faster.
Think about what shoes you're wearing. If you're wearing a pair of Keds, for example, they will soak through and make walking super uncomfortable. There's nothing as bad as wet feet. Consider sticking a pair of Crocs, Birkenstocks, or even plain old flip-flops in your bag just in case.
Hats
A baseball cap or other kind of hat will keep your head and hair dry even when it's raining. When the rain stops, you can loop if through a strap on your bag or even on a belt loop to let it air out.
A Stroller Cover
If you're traveling with a stroller, bring a rainproof stroller cover. You don't want to be caught in a situation where you go into a ride while the weather's nice, it downpours for the fifteen minutes you're in the queue, and you come off the ride and out to a soaking stroller. Bring something, even just a tarp or a trash bag to throw over your stroller any time you go inside to keep it protected.
A bag
I always recommend bringing a bag of some kind, whether that's a grocery store bag or a Ziploc. You need something to dump your wet stuff into. Or, alternatively, something to keep your valuables dry. A Ziploc is also great for storing snacks when you're going on rides or just done with them for the time being.
How about hurricanes?
Disney World almost never closes completely. In the 51-year history of the parks, they have only totally closed 9 times. Seven of these were due to hurricanes (the other two were 9/11 and 3/15/2020-7/11/2020 for COVID-19).
Florida hurricane season technically runs from June 1st to November 30th each year, with most events occurring between August and September.
If your trip is planned for the same time as a hurricane, Disney will communicate with you about your options. If you've booked with a travel agent, your travel agent should reach out to you as well.
Disney is well-prepared for emergencies such as hurricanes. When a hurricane approaches, Disney will enact their "hurricane ride-out crews", which are comprised of cast members who are either specially trained in certain hurricane preparedness roles or cast members who are volunteering to work outside of their schedule to ensure that guests are safe, entertained, and happy. Cast members will secure any loose items, removing items like picnic tables and shutters, to minimize the risk of injury or damage. They will have extra people on hand to get you fed, and sometimes have characters visit the lobby of the resort if it's safe!
Rain can really put a damper on your Walt Disney World vacation, but it doesn't need to! There are plenty of options of things to do both in the parks and out of the parks when the weather isn't the best.
My final rain-related tip for you is that sometimes, you just need to wait it out. Rain typically doesn't last for long. You might be able to beat the storm by getting in an indoor queue, visiting a dining location, or exploring a shop until the storm is over.
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