We visited all of the parks at WDW in September and it rained every day for a short while. We visited Disney Springs one day in January and experienced a very continuous, driving rain. We put together some notes based on our experiences about what to do at Disney World in the rain.
What to do if it Rains for One Day at Disney
Our family flew into Orlando the day before our Disney cruise and wanting to keep our trip on a budget we stayed at a value resort and did not buy park tickets. We planned to spend the day exploring Disney Springs and a couple of the luxury resorts that we’ve never been to.
In January the rain was cold and driving all day so we did go to Disney Springs and enjoyed looking around the largest gift shop at the parks. We spent extra time and found some gifts that we needed to pick up anyway so that was a bonus! We walked across the path to the LEGO store to learn that they have the same products as LEGO stores all over. Since there was nothing special to stay for we headed back to our resort to put on dry clothes and use the hair dryer in our room to dry our tennis shoes.
We stayed at POP Century and LOVED our room. The kids had so much fun just playing in the room, maybe jumping on the bed a little and watching TV.
Before all of the rain, we planned to visit the Boardwalk and enjoy random performers and dinner. Because of the rain, we rode Disney buses to the Animal Kingdom park and at the bus station switched to a bus bound for the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The deluxe resorts have covered walkways and bigger indoor lounge areas. Anyone can view animals at the lodge – if they’re out. My husband and son headed outside for the night viewing but didn’t find any animals outside.
We enjoyed looking around in the unique gift shop and playing checkers. We headed downstairs and walked under covered walkways to the Mara food court.
If you’re already at a park I think staying there to eat would be best when the rain comes. If you’re at a hotel and looking for a new adventure I would try to get to a unique place within your budget and the Mara food court fit the bill for us.
After dinner, we sat in the center of the resort where there are several comfortable seats, fireplaces and a few TVs playing Disney shows.
There is a schedule of events in the lobby of the luxury resorts that changes each day. We didn’t have a lot of time but if we had more we would’ve checked out those activities. We also heard there is a great playground for nicer days at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
We were so excited to be at Disney that we didn’t let the rain dampen our spirits. But we’re also glad that we didn’t have park tickets for the day so we didn’t feel pressed to be out doing stuff all day. We took it slow and enjoyed our time together as a family.
What to Do at Disney Parks in the Rain
Keep going if you don’t have a rest day(s) planned. Park tickets are precious and you won’t melt.
If it’s possible to plan ahead and bring extra shoes and clothes that dry out more quickly. If you missed planning and can afford to pick up some ponchos, umbrellas, sweatshirts or other items to help keep you more comfortable that is probably cheaper than losing a ticket and day at the park or extending your stay to make up for the lost time.
We did spend more time inside at shows, check out gift shops or enjoy a longer meal and rest period during the rain.
In September the temperatures were in the 90s or close to 100 so even though pop up storms were common we dried off fairly quickly.
Overall we really benefited from sticking out the rain because most people scatter. So if you hang around the lines and wait times are likely much shorter than normal.
Thank goodness we had been tipped off before going on our trip that rain is so common in Florida so we prepared for it. We all picked two really good pairs of tennis shoes so that we would always have a dry pair to switch into. We also stocked up on a couple of different kinds of ponchos from Amazon and Walmart. If you have a small child be sure to come prepared with child or youth ponchos so they’re not tripping and dragging
We purchased a stroller cover which was VERY useful. We always had a book bag full of supplies for the kids, another bag with thin raincoats and ponchos and a thin bag that we always wore with our valuables. The book bag and extra supplies fit well under the stroller and would be safe left in stroller parking in rain because of the stroller cover. When the storm passed we just shook it off and folded it up under the stroller.
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