Little kids and rain

smallsy

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
I see posts all the time about Disney in the rain being great (shorter lines and such). Almost always those posts are from families with older kids or adults. Does anyone have advice or experience with preschoolers/toddlers and rainy days at Disney?

We're going for a short trip next week (3 park days) and this will be our only trip for a few years. Kids are 4, 2, and 2. I get the "you're at Disney, just enjoy it!" sentiment, "put on a poncho and splash in a puddle", or the "go back to the room and watch movies" idea. I wouldn't mind so much if we had to have a movie day if it were a 5+ day trip, but when you only have 3 total days, a movie day really eats into the fun (and budget).
 
Yeah, we've done it. In fact, I distinctly remember one trip where it rained and rained and rained. Did I mention it rained? :umbrella: :boat:

The part I don't recall is which of two trips it was on...I just remember how much it rained. We took a few trips when they were little. They were either 4, 1, 1 or 6, 3, 3 (we have twins too). I think they were 6, 3, 3. And it's really no different than when they're older. You just deal with it. We had everyone in strollers at that point. We put ponchos on them and put the stroller hood up, but it only does so much. They got somewhat wet. We did our best to hustle from ride to ride, but at some point you're already wet so you just give up trying. Make the best of it and have fun. Wish there were a better answer, but it kind of is what it is...unless you want to skip out on rides and go to the hotel (which we wouldn't do).
 
When my son was just shy of 3 his favorite park days were the ones that rained. I just put a poncho on him and let him go at it. He had a blast getting to play in the rain since he didn't get to do that at home. When he got just too wet for words and started getting cold, we just went back to the resort and changed and back out we went.
 
One of my favorite memories was when my daughter was about 1 and a half years old. We came out of the Nemo show at AK to drenching rain. Put her and our son into their strollers and started walking to the front of the park to head back to the hotel. When we got to the front we stopped for a minute to rest and Meghan was sitting in her stroller with the happiest giggles splashing the water that was accumulating in her stroller tray.
 
Buzznina that picture is adorable!

Y'all are making me feel much better! I've been picturing three days of miserably drenched and sobbing toddlers. It sounds like that the key is to make sure DH and I aren't the ones that end up grumpy and ruin the kids' fun.

I did end up requesting the rain cover with our rented stroller so that's good. Will the kids sized ponchos work for a 2yo?
 
We took a few trips when they were little. They were either 4, 1, 1 or 6, 3, 3 (we have twins too). I think they were 6, 3, 3. And it's really no different than when they're older. You just deal with it. We had everyone in strollers at that point. We put ponchos on them and put the stroller hood up, but it only does so much. They got somewhat wet. We did our best to hustle from ride to ride, but at some point you're already wet so you just give up trying. Make the best of it and have fun. Wish there were a better answer, but it kind of is what it is...unless you want to skip out on rides and go to the hotel (which we wouldn't do).

Yay for twin moms! Any additional tips for Disney with twins? Were rides difficult since one parent had to squeeze two littles in the seat?
 


We had one trip with 12 days of record rain. Two kids in strollers and I was so thankful that we had the clear rain covers.

This picture was from our final night.
 

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Yay for twin moms! Any additional tips for Disney with twins? Were rides difficult since one parent had to squeeze two littles in the seat?

Actually, I'm the dad. :groom:

When the twins were really young, like yours are now, we often would split them on rides. I would take our older son and one of the twins, and my wife would take the other twin. The next ride, we'd switch it up. It was just easier than having one parent try to manage both twins at once. We also always used a side by side double stroller...much easier that way. Sure, they're a bit wide but the only place that's really a challenge is in a crowded store. But having them both in one stroller just made it so much easier to keep track and keep them happy, especially when trying to leave the parks. Beyond that, nothing special we did per se. Try to keep them on the same schedule of eating, napping, etc...that helps a lot. Wait until they get older...they can start riding on their own or on some rides ride with your older child. While we love our kids to death and still ride with them plenty, having a ride to ourselves is pure bliss. :cloud9:
 
Just returned from late August trip - 6yo and 21 mo old - they did great in the rain and it rained EVERY DAY. Our first trip with ODD she was 21 months too, and we had a tropical storm blow through. Having a rain cover for the double stroller (and any stroller) is good. We did get kid size ponchos for our 2yo - they were too big but since they were mostly sitting in the stroller they were fine. Honestly, at 2 they had fun in the rain - to them it was just another type of weather that was interesting and fun to play in.
 
Also we put the kids in water shoes and wore waterproof/don't-care-about-water shoes ourselves - tevas, olukai flip flops - if it was going to rain. Then it doesn't feel so different from being in one of the hotel splash areas. :teeth::rolleyes1
 
When my oldest daughter was two we did a 9 day trip to WDW. It rained 7 out of the 9 days. Not just an afternoon shower either. Total torrential downpour every single day. It was so bad, the night we watched Illuminations, we had our choice of where to stand. No one else was there. It was crazy. We put on our ponchos and the stroller raincover and kept going for the most part. We did spend half a day at the resort watching movies. That was our pool day, but it was so cold and rainy we didn't get in the pool. A few days we got started later than we would normally hoping it would stop raining or slow down a bit.
 
Buzznina that picture is adorable!

Y'all are making me feel much better! I've been picturing three days of miserably drenched and sobbing toddlers. It sounds like that the key is to make sure DH and I aren't the ones that end up grumpy and ruin the kids' fun.

I did end up requesting the rain cover with our rented stroller so that's good. Will the kids sized ponchos work for a 2yo?
You hit it on the nose! DH was out there with our DD jumping into the puddles with her:) Just bring spare shoes, because gym shoes take a day to dry, only DH likes to wear gym shoes so he brings a spare just in case. DDs are like me, we take a bunch of shoes:rotfl:
 
As long as its warmer out (which in Florida it most always will be) at least my little kids adapted to the rain and kept on chugging along. A movie day in the hotel will be no fun, you'll need a lot of movies plus you will still end up going outside anyways at some point in the hotel.
My girls always loved the rain, its part of Disney.
 
In 2012 we were there with Tropical Storm Debby. It rained for 4 days without stopping. There was no thunder or lightening so we kept on going. My children were 9 and 2. If you have a stroller, I would suggest a stroller cover specifically made for that stroller. If you rent from somewhere like Orlando strollers or Kingdom strollers, the company usually includes them for no additional charge. Even the child sized poncho was too big for him so before we left I got home him a raincoat on Amazon. It lasted through this trip and the one the following year.

And ditch the socks. My children had way too much fun splashing in puddles. They had competitions on who could splash me the most.

552728_3867178452125_301042337_n.jpg
 
Also we put the kids in water shoes and wore waterproof/don't-care-about-water shoes ourselves - tevas, olukai flip flops - if it was going to rain. Then it doesn't feel so different from being in one of the hotel splash areas. :teeth::rolleyes1
YES! we have Keens and also Natives for the kids, which seem to do well in the rain. No socks here!
 
Kids are great in the rain until they are cold or uncomfortable.

Waterproof shoes and extra outfits in gallon ziplock bags (shirt, pants, underwear, and socks go in-- squeeze out the air, and put them in your bag). Extra Ziplocks also great to hold phones, extra food, wet ponchos, etc).

Stroller cover and practice putting it on while it's dry! I didn't get ours on correctly and seat was drenched.
 
One of my favorite Disney memories is a day it was practically a monsoon- MK was pretty empty because people had given up. DH had run to take our CRT lunch pictures back to our resort so they would not get wet. DD who was 3 or 4 was holding my hand skipping down a path kicking water and she said "Mama, this is the best day ever! You never let me go out and play in the rain at home!"
 
In 2012 we were there with Tropical Storm Debby. It rained for 4 days without stopping. There was no thunder or lightening so we kept on going. My children were 9 and 2. If you have a stroller, I would suggest a stroller cover specifically made for that stroller. If you rent from somewhere like Orlando strollers or Kingdom strollers, the company usually includes them for no additional charge. Even the child sized poncho was too big for him so before we left I got home him a raincoat on Amazon. It lasted through this trip and the one the following year.

And ditch the socks. My children had way too much fun splashing in puddles. They had competitions on who could splash me the most.

552728_3867178452125_301042337_n.jpg

We toured through Tropical Storm Debbie, too!! We've toured through so many rain storms my DS9 SWEARS it always rains if we go on Soarin'. Was the tropical storm fun? NO!!! But it sure was memorable, LOL! We've found EP is our favorite rainy day park, particularly with toddlers. We could spend an hour just in the Living Seas pavilion. There are so many indoor areas to play - Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, Mission Space, Test Track. You can also spend some time in the Mexico pavilion and the Land.
 

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