Rain...What Shuts Down?

[khnanrsn]

The weather forecast is less than stellar for next week. What rides/meets generally are closed during rain? What happens with Fireworks/desert parties? Any tips for favorite things to do in each park during rain? Hoping the forecast will change between now and then, but it keeps getting worse every day. :-(

 

[FCDub]

Do not spend one second of time worrying about a weather forecast a week in advance. It's truly worthless. Check back a couple days out, and even then be skeptical.

 

[Peppeperoni]

I mean when it comes to things I can control I don’t worry at all. If everything is booked you’ll be there no matter what. Just be prepared bring some cheap ponchos! I’m sure it’s Just the outdoor rides compromised from inclement weather

 

[DavidNYC]

Depends on severity and lightning (and for fireworks - wind). But generally anything that has outside ride elements like coasters is subject to shutdown. But I've ridden Splash and BTMRR in fairly significant rain so it's not just a typical FL shower that will shut things down.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Mostly just outdoor/semi outdoor attractions.
Example.. 7DMT, SDD, TT....

Fireworks will happen in the rain as long as its not thundering/lightning.

Dessert parties will happen.

When its raining I toss on a poncho and continue on.
I just stick to indoor attractions like Mickey's Philharmagic, Space Mountain, COP, TOT, RNRC, Soarin'....

 

[Belleandtinker]

Some people freak when it starts to rain, we love it because he make people leave. We put on our ponchos and look for short lines.

Stroller families - bring a big trash bag to put over the stroller (of course NOT with the child in it) to keep your stuff dry while you are enjoy the short lines or watching a show or having a snack.

 

[Shellyred8]

As others have mentioned, it's not necessarily the rain that will cause shutdowns. It's the lightening. For example, it could not be raining at MK, but if there is lightening within a certain distance, they will shut down some of the outside rides. On the flip side to that, it could be down-pouring at MK, but if there is no lightening, they won't necessarily shut those same rides down.

The rides that would be subject to shut down will be the outside rides.

Fireworks I think also depend on lightening or not, but there's probably more involved in these decisions than just lightening. When we were at EP last May, we watched Illuminations in the pouring rain. While it was less than pleasant standing in the rain, the show was extra spectacular because of the added effects from the rain.

 

[Lease257]

I’m going next week too. Too bad this week looks gorgeous. Got a huge family box of ponchos. Good idea about the garbage bag for the stroller!!

As long as my EMM at toy story is fine and the dessert party holds out I think I will be ok. I’ve heard rain can sometimes work in our favor.

 

[StarSeven7]

We were at MK on Jan. 27 this year and it rained the entire day without letting up even a little bit. A constant steady rain too, not a light drizzle. But no lightning at all. Nothing at MK was shut down because of the rain. We rode roller coasters outside in the rain all day long! But it was chilly and after about 10 hours in the rain we decided to call it a day even though we could've easily gotten on any rides with little wait at that point! I'm not sure what they ever did about the fireworks that night, but I am curious!

 

[BK2014]

We were at MK on Jan. 27 this year and it rained the entire day without letting up even a little bit. A constant steady rain too, not a light drizzle. But no lightning at all. Nothing at MK was shut down because of the rain. We rode roller coasters outside in the rain all day long! But it was chilly and after about 10 hours in the rain we decided to call it a day even though we could've easily gotten on any rides with little wait at that point! I'm not sure what they ever did about the fireworks that night, but I am curious!

We were there at MK that morning too! We were the folks in the Mickey ponchos. I second that nothing at MK was shutdown. Beware of rides like Dumbo that have water pooling in the seats. Oddly, as far as we saw, the only ride that they made you take your ponchos off on was Space Mountain. Rain kept the crowd away, which was great.

The ponchos helped, but all of our lower halves were pretty soaked. We left at midday with the intention of going to the resort before heading back out later in the day. But once we were dry and warm we had no desire to get wet again, so we just made an ADR at our resort (Boardwalk) and ate dinner and relaxed.

 

[StarSeven7]

We were there at MK that morning too! We were the folks in the Mickey ponchos. I second that nothing at MK was shutdown. Beware of rides like Dumbo that have water pooling in the seats. Oddly, as far as we saw, the only ride that they made you take your ponchos off on was Space Mountain. Rain kept the crowd away, which was great.

The ponchos helped, but all of our lower halves were pretty soaked. We left at midday with the intention of going to the resort before heading back out later in the day. But once we were dry and warm we had no desire to get wet again, so we just made an ADR at our resort (Boardwalk) and ate dinner and relaxed.

I think most of the park was in Mickey ponchos! We had actual raincoats so we never had to take them off on any rides, but I agree, the water on the seats was a lot! (Even on indoor rides from everyone's wet clothes!) Thankfully I changed from jeans to workout leggings right before we headed out for the day so my lower half repelled water pretty well! But my feet were SOAKED! We lasted until 6pm that day (and we got there early for EMH that morning) and my tennis shoes were so wet that even after drying them with a hair dryer for a long time back in the room that night, I was cold the whole next day at AK because of my damp feet!

 

[MaC410]

The only thing that holds us back when it rains is not wanting to get our sneakers wet. I'm more than willing to put on a poncho and still enjoy my day at the park but getting our sneakers soaked is something that just wouldn't be good. Does anyone have any tips for this?

 

[StarSeven7]

The only thing that hold is back when it rains is not wanting to get our sneakers wet. I'm more than willing to put on a poncho and still enjoy my day at the park but getting our sneakers soaked is something that just wouldn't be good. Does anyone have any tips for this?

Well if it's warm you could wear sandals instead. (It wasn't warm enough for sandals when we were there). Otherwise I saw people walking around with plastic bags over their shoes but that's not my style!

 

[BK2014]

The only thing that holds us back when it rains is not wanting to get our sneakers wet. I'm more than willing to put on a poncho and still enjoy my day at the park but getting our sneakers soaked is something that just wouldn't be good. Does anyone have any tips for this?

I don't do sandals or flip flops, so I always pack two pairs of sneakers. Partly because I heard somewhere that it is better to alternate shoes each day so one pair has a chance to just dry out from normal usage even when it is not raining.

 

[gharter]

Rain can be a good thing at WDW. its amazing how even light rain will kepp people away or send them back to their resort.
As others have mentioned, only the outdoor rides close down in rain. And it need to be lightning, or heavy rain. We've been on the rollercoasters and TT in light rain.

 

[YawningDodo]

They might cancel outdoor shows like Fantasmic! if the weather creates unsafe conditions for performers. That can sometimes include rain without lightning, depending on whether it makes the stage too slippery. Back when I worked at Fantasmic!, though, they had a (very) short fireworks show they'd do instead on nights when the performers just couldn't go out. That was back in 2009, so I don't know if they still do it.

 

[only hope]

The only ride to shut down because it is wet is Test Track. The track outside has to be dry. Outdoor shows/entertainment will be cancelled or modified if the performance surface is not safe to perform on due to it being wet and/or to keep costumes dry.

There are rare exceptions; downpour over several hours can flood areas, blocking access to attractions that normally are unaffected by rain.

Lightening within a certain radius shuts down everything outside. Indiana Jones will usually still be performed, but only the portions that take place under the canopy.

Fantasmic has an alternate short show involving the fountains and setting off all of the pyro if the stage is too wet and/or if there’s lightening.

The Jedi training kiddos meet the characters inside Star Tours on the handicap access bridge instead of doing the training.

I feel like rain/lightening info should be in a sticky note somewhere. People are always asking this.

 

[crazycheryl]

We were at MK on Jan. 27 this year and it rained the entire day without letting up even a little bit. A constant steady rain too, not a light drizzle. But no lightning at all. Nothing at MK was shut down because of the rain. We rode roller coasters outside in the rain all day long! But it was chilly and after about 10 hours in the rain we decided to call it a day even though we could've easily gotten on any rides with little wait at that point! I'm not sure what they ever did about the fireworks that night, but I am curious!

I was there that day from open to close because we had dessert party reservations. Fireworks definitely happened!

 

[StarSeven7]

I was there that day from open to close because we had dessert party reservations. Fireworks definitely happened!

Thanks for letting me know! I'm glad for you that they still happened! It must've been pretty empty in the hub!!

 

[TSR6]

I-4 shuts down lol