Ask Mel Wednesday: Rainy days at Disney
Question: What to do if it monsoons for a day while you’re there. Any suggestions?
Answer: I must have a weather bug in me this week! Tip Time Tuesday yesterday actually generated today’s post about rainy days at Disney. Anyone who has spent any time in Florida can tell you about the afternoon thunderstorms in the summer. They roll in late afternoon and will drench everything for 15-50 minutes, usually not much longer than that. There are several schools of thought on what to do when the rain rolls in.
Here they are:
1. The duck and cover crowd: this is the most obvious (and most used) method of dealing with the rain – head into the nearest gift shop, attraction, movie, pavilion (if you are in Epcot) and wait it out. Since these storms aren’t normally that long, this is a viable option. It works because it keeps you dry. The downsides are that it can get crowded inside said shop, attraction, pavilion and if you are in a shop – you will hear this, “Mom, can I have…” or “Dad look at this…” – if it is a longer storm these can be very taxing phrases for a parent. For parents with strollers, please heed this caution – your stroller may get moved to an area that is not covered. If you have a rain cover – put it on your stroller. If not, put an extra poncho over it. Otherwise you may return to your stroller to find it soaking wet and unusable!
2. The sprinters: these are the people who dart and dash between things once the rain starts. You may or may not see ponchos on this crowd. They are most noticeable when they enter the next shop, attraction, pavilion huffing and puffing. These are usually people who have done duck and cover and are now braving the rain to find a new cover.
3. The singing in the rain crowd: these are the people you see walking around like it wasn’t raining, going about their day at the parks. I will be honest, as long as there is no lightning with the storm – my family firmly falls into this group. Sometimes we have our ponchos with us, sometimes we buy new ones, but as soon as the ponchos are on – away we go! We have the park to ourselves, we sing, laugh, splash, and stomp in as many puddles as we can. (In case you were wondering, the walkway between the Odyssey and the main walkway between the World Showcase and Future World, can get pretty deep!) My kids laugh because for once, I am not yelling not to jump in the puddles – we all jump together! We make it to the next ride, take our ponchos off and ride. Once the ride is done, ponchos are on and away we go again. This is not for everyone – you will have soggy shoes, you will be cold in the air conditioning. For us, doesn’t matter – the laughter does. Nothing says Disney to me like hearing my kids laugh, and splashing in the rain definitely makes them laugh!
Now there are days where it just rains, all day, non-stop! In all my trips down I haven’t lost too many days to rain but if the forecast is calling for monsoons – stay tuned, next week I will be bringing you the Top 5 Ways to Spend a Rainy Day at Disney!