As I type this Hurricane Matthew is making its way towards Florida and it is predicted to be a bad one. This got me to thinking about weather at WDW. To be more specific I was thinking about those days in the parks when the skies drop tons of water and scatters tourists towards shelter. One of the drawbacks to Central Florida is the rain. It used to be that the only two things that were certain were death and taxes. Add rain at Disney World to the list. It is not that it rains EVERYDAY but it does rain a lot.
As with everything there are exceptions and there are drier times at WDW than others. The four driest months are as follows (in order) April, December, January, and November. The rainiest 4 months are June, July, August and September. By the way, the four rainiest months are also the hottest months and probably (I don't have the stats in front of me) the four busiest months at Walt Disney World. These are the months when many people take their vacations and kids are out of school, especially June-August. So how do you deal with a hot, wet, theme park?
I wrote in an earlier post about the heat and without rereading it I am pretty sure I mentioned rain/precipitation. However, with today's events I am going to key in on what to do in case of rain.
One thing you should know is that Disney does not shut down for rain, neither do most of the rides and attractions. Lightning is a different thing though and some do shut down if there is "close" lightning. (I am not sure what they consider close, so do not ask).
The parks have been known to shut down due to very severe weather (yes Virginia a hurricane is considered very severe). Not all hurricanes do they shut down for however, in 1994 we drove down to WDW when Hurricane Allison was making its way through the Gulf of Mexico and causing havoc in western Florida but they didn't shut down the Magic Kingdom which we visited that night. With the threat of some thunderstorms the only question was whether or not the nightly parade would go on, it did. We had come out of the Hall of Presidents show just as Michael Eisner was walking the parade route contemplating his decision Ironically as I type this I have been informed that they have closed the parks this afternoon in anticipation of the storm. The cast members have been busy battening down the hatches.
So what to do in case of rain? There are many opinions and as I have always said it is JUST an opinion. My opinion is to ride it out and splash your way through the parks if the rain is not too hard. Many people will duck for cover and lighten the lines of the rides. The other option is to duck into a store or indoor show/attraction. If you are in the Magic Kingdom one of the great beat the rain and heat options is the Carousel of Progress. In my opinion the Magic Kingdom is a good park to be in when it rains. You are never too far from a duck in spot. One thing about the rain in Florida is that it doesn't usually rain all day and if you can hold off for a half-hour or so then the rain will pass and the crowds may have also left.
In closing I have been in WDW during the rainiest months and the driest month and I like it better when the rain is NOT falling but I have learned to not let a little rain ruin anything I just roll up my pant legs and splash about. One other advantage to a little rain is for photos.
One thing I believe make some photos of say the castle, Spaceship Earth, and/or the Tree of Life better than others are the clouds. A cloudless sky is boring to me. Another advantage is in the reflections created by the puddles left behind after an afternoon shower.
I'd be amiss if I didn't tell you to make sure you pack a poncho to slip on and off while at WDW. This is one thing I say to have on hand even though you can buy them at the parks. Go to your local dollar store or Wal-Mart and buy them for a little bit or when you get caught in the downpour walking down Main Street USA you will be paying a LOT.
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| Make sure to bring a poncho to the parks... |
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The clouds help make the shot...
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