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QueenofHearts
02-15-2004, 08:41 AM
We leave tomorrow for the week, and see that it's supposed to rain on Wednesday... what are the best things to do at Disney on rainy days? We have two little ones ages 3 and 5.
Thanks!

HBTiggerFan
02-15-2004, 08:49 AM
1) Never trust the southern CA weather reports, it changes so fast. :)

2) If it does rain the park will be nearly empty, so come prepared to get wet (ponchos from home, much cheaper) and go on everything you want with minimal wait and have fun in the rain.

If you don't want to go do the parks and get wet you can go to the AMC theater in DTD, spend a few hours (and lotsa $$) in Build - A - Bear or explore the hotels.

Sonya in Boise
02-15-2004, 08:51 AM
Take a large trash bag to put over the stroller to keep it dry while you are on rides.

Pack a few extra socks and an extra pair of shoes so the feet keep dry (if that's possible)

GO TO THE PARK IN THE RAIN. Many of the que's are under cover so the rides keep going, but the crowds should be less. Fantasyland has many indoor que's so take advantage of shorter lines and funner family time in Disneyland.

If you have mud boots (rain boots) and can take them, I would. This might help keep the little feet warm. For my kids, cold feet mean cranky kids. If they do get wet and cold a nice warm bath mid day should be perfect just before naps. :~D

Try to eat someplace that has indoor seating (Redd Rockets Pizza Port, Hungry Bear by Pooh Ride, River Belle Terrace...) so you keep dry.

Have fun. I have heard rainy days at Disneyland are great.

Kevy Baby
02-15-2004, 08:56 AM
Originally posted by Sonya in Boise
Have fun. I have heard rainy days at Disneyland are great. Some of my best visits to DL have been on rainy days. But we have to watch out for the "poncho people" - they're out to get us.

PsychDoc
02-15-2004, 09:25 AM
I love rainy DL days. We went one Easter and it flooded so bad that they closed DL early. It wasn't too bad because we walked on every ride. My then 7 year old was wearing shorts and shaking but she smiled the whole time,"No, I'm not cold...I want to stay." My husbad put a DL souvineir bag on his head. After a while we saw this large group of Japaneese tourists following suit. It was so funny. I still have my overpriced poncho and bring it along with me evertime, just in case. I agree, bring extra shoes and socks. When we got back to the hotel, the one dryer was packed. We used a hairdryer to dry out our shoes it took forever.

mousey_girl
02-15-2004, 10:59 AM
The first time we took The Boy it didn't just rain, it POURED. Huge thunder storm and cloud burst. We had a ball. It was impossible to stay dry so we totally gave up. The 3 of us went stomping thru the entire park! It was the best trip!!

Brian Noble
02-15-2004, 11:36 AM
If you find yourselves with wet shoes, buy a newspaper (preferably a Sunday edition!) and stuff your shoes with paper. They'll go from wet to merely damp in an hour or so, and dry overnight.

disney_j
02-15-2004, 12:59 PM
Hey,

first time posting here, but i've been 'lurking' for a while.:D first off, going to DL or DCA during rain is certainly one of the least crowded days. I remember in March of 2003, me, my family, and some friends went down to California ( i live in canada by the way), and one of the days it poured. like, insanely poured:D but i must say that was the funnest day i had. cause you can only get so wet...right?:D and something even better was when we were in DCA, the CM's let us stay on the attractions cause there were no lineups. It was awesome, and as i said before, you can only get so wet:D


*edited smiley*

mamabot
02-15-2004, 01:29 PM
I have done two trips to Disneyland in the rain. THe first one was when I was in the 5th grade, otherwise known as 1981. The park was totally empty and my friends and I had a memorable time.

The other rainy day at DL was on my honeymoon circa 1997. Nathan and I were there for two days, the first we were by ourselves and it rained a good deal. We had an amazing time. The park looked even more romantic than usual.

I have yet to take the kids to DL on a rainy day. I would prefer to keep them dry and happy than wet and cranky.

CarlieB
02-15-2004, 01:35 PM
I have yet to take the kids to DL on a rainy day. I would prefer to keep them dry and happy than wet and cranky.

Good point, Mambot. I think adults and older kids tend to deal better with being wet for an extended period of time than young kids...I have never been at DL when it's rained, but from what I've heard it certainly doesn't make a trip less enjoyable.

RickW
02-15-2004, 02:11 PM
My secret Disneyland strategy:

Drive up on a rainy winter morning and hope that it clears up in the afternoon. If it doesn't clear up we can always go home or do other Orange County things (South Coast Plaza, Ikea, Fry's, etc.).

But if it clears up, WOO-HOO, we stay at the Park and have it all to ourselves!

You'd be surprised how often my strategy works!

stitchlvr
02-15-2004, 05:11 PM
Some of my best trips to DL have been in the rain, from a light rain to pouring, and almost all of them have been with small children (one with 5 kids under 5). It has always been great. Sure there were times we got wet, but we dried off in the hotel. The best thing is that the lines are so short! There are a couple of rides that close in the rain however (Alice for one). The best thing you can do is bring rain gear for everyone (Ponchos and boots) and bring a tarp or garbage bag to cover the stroller. When you go for the day, try to only pack essentials. If you have something waterproof to hold equipment or things that cannot get wet (camera, etc.) that will help a lot too. Have a lot of fun. Wish I was going!

Photographer
02-15-2004, 05:37 PM
I agree with everyone, DL is a BLAST in the rain. Now I don't have kids so I don't offer an advice for wet children but there's plenty to do.

Honey, I shrunk the audience, most of Fantaslyand has covered lines, take them to the Golden Horseshoe whether or not it rains it's a funny show. Tiki Room, Pirates, Haunted Mansion...

Ponchos are a must and maybe even a change of clothes. Wet clothes can always be stored in a locker. Keep your camera and film dry. You can get some really great shots in the rain and I'm sure your kids will splash around in puddles!

oh keep in mind characters aren't out in the rain. Go to Mickey's house in Toontown so your kids can have a photo taken with him. They can also see Aladdin & Jasmine at their show in Adventureland. They pose for photos after the show.

I'll be there next week too!

seattlemom
02-16-2004, 04:28 PM
Not waiting in line is great when it's raining. We just have a great time runing from ride to ride and answer "We're from Seattle." when people look at us funny or mention how wet it is.

tod
02-16-2004, 04:54 PM
Don't miss "Mickey's Rainy Day Cavalcade," when they have dozens of costume characters pile into a station wagon and the Omnibus, and they wave at the guests as they are driven up the parade route. It is so sad that it's kinda sweet, that Disneyland wants to have some kind of character interaction with guests.

If your budget can stand it, eat at Storyteller's Cafe in the Grand Californian. The view out the windows on a rainy day is priceless: There's a lovely garden out there.

--T

zero
02-16-2004, 06:32 PM
Originally posted by tod
Don't miss "Mickey's Rainy Day Cavalcade,"
--T


wow! i've never seen that? do they do it every time it rains?

Morrigoon
02-16-2004, 09:26 PM
Yes, because they can't risk running the real parade which has dancers who may slip and costumes which could get damaged.

Black Pearl
02-17-2004, 06:56 AM
On my desk at work I have my most cherished picture of my daughter. She was 6 at the time, (now she's a very grown up 7 year old). She was standing in a very short line for Dumbo, with a very wet, pink jacket, Eoyore backpack, A Disney Princess t-shirt, and dads fitted baseball hat on backwards. In the picture, it's obviously raining like heck, But she's got the biggest smile I've ever seen on a kid. Wet magic is still magic.

Bruce Bergman
02-17-2004, 01:40 PM
Buy or bring good matching rain suits or ponchos for everyone in your party - and NOT blue. Any color but blue. The park ponchos are blue (the old ones were yellow), and if you don't hold hands you'll lose your kids almost instantly in a sea of blue - where Orange or Green would be instantly visible.

Bring good rain booties or properly waterproofed hiking shoes/boots for everyone. Umbrellas are a godsend if you wear glasses :geek: get either the double-folding "travel" style that can go in your backpack, or the "windproof" golf umbrellas that have relief flaps and fiberglass stays that won't break easily, as the buildings can cause some nasty wind-tunnel effects.

Don't forget to stop by Coke Corner toward the end of the day- Rod has his piano pulled inside when it rains, but he's still playing away. :cool:

:fez: --<< Bruce >>--

DuffMan
02-17-2004, 01:46 PM
Don't recall any DL trips when it rained that much, but of course WDW is another story. When I was 10, a group of my classmates and I were in Epcot when it started absolutely pouring. We must have gone on "Journey Into Imagination" about seven times. There were moments when we saw no other living souls except the CMs.

It was awesome. If I lived close enough to DL, you bet your sweet bippy I'd go on rainy days.

zero
02-17-2004, 03:04 PM
man i can't wait to go when it rains now.

i hope it rains this weekend, i'm too busy on wed.


are all the rides still open? i want to go on splash mountain in the rain.

jafar
02-17-2004, 07:54 PM
Some help with characters...

Generally, Mickey and his friends will be inside Mickey's house, with Goofy and pals somewhere in the queue and Mickey on the usual soundstage.

Also check the exit of Lincoln for characters, Village Haus for princesses, and Plaza Inn for Pooh and friends. In addition, characters are often deployed to Disney hotel lobbies and DCA's Animation lobby on rainy days.

As previously mentioned, the parade or cavalcade will usually run in some form, depending on how wet the ground is and how clear the skies are. Generally, they'll make every effort to run the parade if possible. However, if characters and parades are important to you, I wouldn't leave them for that day. Crowds may be sparse, but there will be no guarantees!

DCAWhites
02-18-2004, 06:44 AM
About parades on rainy days....

The electrical parade can run on days when it has rained and it has stopped raining, but still damp everywhere. If it stops raining a good 3 hours before the parade, and the puddles never got very large (this is more likely to happen at disneyland park cause they have asphalt and other weird surfaces with poor drainage), theres a good chance the parade will run if it isn't threatening to start again. Custodial has machines that will dry off the parade route (but not enough) and we can mop it dry to help too. Of course the best days to go are when it rains early and stops around 1pm or so. Disneyland looks great wet and for the majority of the day it will not be raining. Bring boots, waterproof jacket, and waterproof pants if you want to stay bone dry. Contacts instead of glasses help a lot if you don't want your glasses to instantly fog up when you go inside or get covered in water.

Brian Noble
02-19-2004, 02:50 PM
I hope rain is as pleasant as everyone says. We'll be in the parks all week next week, and there is currently only one rain-free day forecast for the week!

I seem to have bad vacation luck lately, as our "beach week" trip last summer to the Outer Banks had rain nearly all week and *very* cold (as in Santa Cruz cold) seas until the last day.

derraj25
02-19-2004, 05:43 PM
We are going to be in the park on Tues-Fri of next week. Looking at weather.com it states that there will be a 40-60% chance of showers on these days.

Living here in the Mid-Willamette Valley (Eugene Area) a shower can last 2 hours and dump an inch of rain (or hail, or sleet, or snow...you get the point):cool: . What is the shower activity like...light, heavy at times? I am curious.

Thanks.