Rain!!!!!!!!!

[goofy4tink]

Lane -

First, California DEFINITELY needs the rain. They are in a severe drought. If the drought does not end eventually there will not be a Disneyland that is able to operate. Putting things in perspective, that is more important than someone's trip being disrupted.

Second, December is among the rainiest months in Anaheim. See http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1711098.

Third, if I had a trip rained out I would be disappointed too. I would hope I would be philosophical that I chose to go during a month when rain is more likely. So I took my chances and it did not work out.

Finally, everyone has a different definition of "perfect". For those whose definition of perfect revolves around perfect weather, then choosing a month with the least chance of rain may be the best approach. Everyone would define this differently but on average May, June and October may be the best tradeoff in hot temperatures (also an issue for many) and chance of rain.

I really hope your trip goes as well as possible and all the rain (and hopefully lots of it) happens at night when the parks are closed!

Good luck!

Absolutely! With the lack of rain there, I'm not hugely disappointed that it could possibly rain while we're there! Bringing those ponchos....not a big deal. Better than the cold/snow here in NE!!

 

[HydroGuy]

California's "storms" are drizzle for an hour. I've been there when a light mist was falling and everyone screamed and ran for cover and exits like the mist was acid or something. Yall should try Disney World. Heavy thunderstorms every afternoon all summer long and everyone just carries on and has a great time. I can't imagine what yall would do in Southern California if you ever got a real rain storm. Rain so heavy you are drenched from head to toe the second you step out into it and can't see more than a a few feet ahead of you. I've never seen Rain in California; only drizzle. You don't even get wet in it if you stand outside for the entire hour. At least when I was there.

Based on the reaction from the locals, that drizzle was as "rainy" as it gets so I wouldn't even bring an umbrella especially if you are from a place that gets real rain. Correct me if it ever really rains hard in Southern California. I doubt you've even seen anything in Disneyland approaching what is considered a regular afternoon rainshower in Florida.

My first trip to WDW was in June and there was a tropical storm that carried an enormous amount of rain. My experience is that - on average - Orlando rain tends to be associated with warm temperatures and is generally of short duration before the skies clear. SoCal rain tends to be associated with cold temperatures and a day with rain tends to be gray and cold all day.

I would avoid rain at DLR and in fact have only been to DLR once when there was rain. It was in December and was a day trip. I personally plan longer trips to DLR purposely in the summer as that is when the weather is better.

It seems to always rain when I am at WDW and it is just part of the landscape there. So there is no reason to try and avoid it because you really can't. But it is not as disruptive as rain at DLR - on average.

 

[AmberStar]

looks like the weather is getting better.

Check Accuweather this morning.

 

[lwanthony]

looks like the weather is getting better.

Check Accuweather this morning.

Already did! I noticed the reports can vary b y quite a bit depending on where you look. I am loving the accuweather report this morning!

Thanks again everyone! We have our ponchos packed and extra shoes. We also are packing our good attitude and heading to the airport tomorrow AM.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I've been at DLR when the rain was much more than just 'mist.' It poured all day once. My feet were soaked. The poncho helped but wasn't great. We still had fun. And the wet ground made for really pretty photos of the Christmas lights and stuff at night.

We like to plan our trips in Winter because to me, rain is much easier to deal with than the heat of Spring/Summer/Fall. I've been to the parks all times of year. Cooler temps and rain is more fun to me than sun and 80 degrees (or much, much hotter. Yuck.)

Click HERE to see some actual rain at DLR.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

pack ponchos stay warm and be ready for some rides to go down. Plan on some indor things and still have fun. Hay when we were there rain wasn't our problem wind was. Maybe the rain wont be so bad.

 

[jetskigrl]

California's "storms" are drizzle for an hour. I've been there when a light mist was falling and everyone screamed and ran for cover and exits like the mist was acid or something. Yall should try Disney World. Heavy thunderstorms every afternoon all summer long and everyone just carries on and has a great time. I can't imagine what yall would do in Southern California if you ever got a real rain storm. Rain so heavy you are drenched from head to toe the second you step out into it and can't see more than a a few feet ahead of you. I've never seen Rain in California; only drizzle. You don't even get wet in it if you stand outside for the entire hour. At least when I was there.

Based on the reaction from the locals, that drizzle was as "rainy" as it gets so I wouldn't even bring an umbrella especially if you are from a place that gets real rain. Correct me if it ever really rains hard in Southern California. I doubt you've even seen anything in Disneyland approaching what is considered a regular afternoon rainshower in Florida.

Well, that isn't exactly correct. We do get some pretty good soakings. Just ask those people that live in the landslide areas. They know we can get more than just a drizzle. We have done DL in the rain many times (we actually head to DLR because it is raining and we know crowds will clear out. There are some pictures I have seen of a flooded Main Street.

Oh, found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBP9nxJu8SU


But that being said, the good thing about California Rain is that it generally doesn't stick around long. It moves in and moves out pretty quickly.

 

[SweetAlex]

California's "storms" are drizzle for an hour. I've been there when a light mist was falling and everyone screamed and ran for cover and exits like the mist was acid or something. Yall should try Disney World. Heavy thunderstorms every afternoon all summer long and everyone just carries on and has a great time. I can't imagine what yall would do in Southern California if you ever got a real rain storm. Rain so heavy you are drenched from head to toe the second you step out into it and can't see more than a a few feet ahead of you. I've never seen Rain in California; only drizzle. You don't even get wet in it if you stand outside for the entire hour. At least when I was there.

Based on the reaction from the locals, that drizzle was as "rainy" as it gets so I wouldn't even bring an umbrella especially if you are from a place that gets real rain. Correct me if it ever really rains hard in Southern California. I doubt you've even seen anything in Disneyland approaching what is considered a regular afternoon rainshower in Florida.

Oh we definitely got serious rain when we went in February. I'm from Vancouver where rain and flooding is as common as Starbucks coffee shops on every corner. It was coming in from all sides... we were totally drenched. Mind you, we are used to that but still, it was definitely RAIN . But yes, I don't think that happens often, but it's definitely possible!

 

[Sherry E]

Well, that isn't exactly correct. We do get some pretty good soakings. Just ask those people that live in the landslide areas. They know we can get more than just a drizzle. We have done DL in the rain many times (we actually head to DLR because it is raining and we know crowds will clear out. There are some pictures I have seen of a flooded Main Street.

Oh, found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBP9nxJu8SU


But that being said, the good thing about California Rain is that it generally doesn't stick around long. It moves in and moves out pretty quickly.

Agreed.

Of course, there are many times when we get "drizzle for an hour," but sadly that is not always the case. There was one year when water was coming through my ceiling, and the roof couldn't be fixed for weeks -- I was actually counting the days to see if we'd make it to the "40 days/40 nights" point after a while, but the rain let up before we got to day 40! -- because it was literally raining for days and days and days on end and would not stop. And it was heavy rain too. There have also been times when I was trying to cross streets and walk across parking lots and had to step right in the rushing water because there was no way to jump over it (our storm drains seem to back up quickly around here, so the streets flood easily in my area). There were times when rain was coming through the ceiling at my former job.

In fact, just this past February (I think it was February and not March), we got hit with a massive, heavy rainfall for about 30-60 minutes, but in that short time the semi-outdoor hallway outside my front door was already beginning to accumulate a big pool of rainwater. If the rain hadn't stopped it would have made its way to my front door, because that's where it was headed.

We don't have the same patterns of rain that other states have, and sometimes we can have long dry periods (hence, the drought), but there is often truth in the saying, "When it rains, it pours"!

The weather forecasters can usually tell in advance if the rain is going to be heavy or mild, so that helps with planning. I've been at DLR in light drizzle and also in heavy rain, and I am not a fan of being there in heavy rain. It was too messy, too inconvenient and not fun for me. The only good thing (for me) about it was that the crowds disappeared, for the most part.

 

[purplecrush]

Thanks Hydroguy, I certainly didn't mean to make light of California's drought problem. I know you all can use the rain. Being from Oregon I was just hoping to dry out a little.
I am definitely trying to look on the bright side, and I know we are going to have a great time no matter the weather. I was just looking for some positive words to help me look at the bright side!
I also knew this was the perfect place to do that, since this has always been such a positive place.
I can't wait to get there and use all your good advice to make this trip a memorable one. Thanks for all the time you have spent trying to help everyone on these boards!

-Lane

Lane- I know EXACTLY how you feel! I'm from Oregon too, and we will be there Dec 3, 4 and 5th. It's supposed to have heavy rain on the 3rd. I wanted a vacation from the rain, since it rains so much in Oregon LOL....Oh well..it's still DISNEYLAND!!!

 

[minniecarousel]

One of our best trips to Disneyland was decades ago on a rainy day in Feb! Walked onto every ride! We were young & had a blast!

One year (I'm sure it was between Christmas & NYE) Main St. Got flooded and the rain was coming down sideways. I remember waiting in the lobby of one of the Disneyland towers to run for a different tower. Our kids were young (but not babies) and we all had a great time.

We're in NorCal and we've noticed the long-range forecasts are revised when they get closer to the day, so it may not pour, but drizzle.

 

[tarheelalum]

If it does it will last about an hour, max. Don't spend a minute worrying about rain in southern California.

 

[jina]

We're going just before Christmas and I'm hoping it rains at least one of the days so it won't be so crowded- although I hope it doesn't rain on one of our driving days - we'll probably stick to 101 even though it takes a little longer just to avoid possible weather closures on I-5.

DD and I have rain boots which we'll wear if it ends up raining, that and some disposable ponchos. We were at a local amusement park this past weekend (Gilroy Gardens) when it was raining and the ponchos & rain boots were perfect- we stayed dry and got to walk on every ride. I'm not sure how my feet will feel after hours of walking in them but it's gotta be better than soaked feet.

Agreed there is so much to do at DL which is indoors or covered so no matter what the weather I know we'll have a great time because we'll be in the happiest place on earth together as a family.

 

[LiveAndLetLive]

My first trip to WDW was in June and there was a tropical storm that carried an enormous amount of rain. My experience is that - on average - Orlando rain tends to be associated with warm temperatures and is generally of short duration before the skies clear. SoCal rain tends to be associated with cold temperatures and a day with rain tends to be gray and cold all day.

I would avoid rain at DLR and in fact have only been to DLR once when there was rain. It was in December and was a day trip. I personally plan longer trips to DLR purposely in the summer as that is when the weather is better.

It seems to always rain when I am at WDW and it is just part of the landscape there. So there is no reason to try and avoid it because you really can't. But it is not as disruptive as rain at DLR - on average.

Forecast for Anaheim calls for highs in the upper 60s and low 70s with rain showers on Monday, Tuesday, and early Wednesday morning. I don't consider that a "cold" rain.

 

[TheLanes]

If it does it will last about an hour, max. Don't spend a minute worrying about rain in southern California.

willing to place a wager? This one looks for real. Two days of 70% plus chance of precipitation

 

[Gisele]

Forecast for Anaheim calls for highs in the upper 60s and low 70s with rain showers on Monday, Tuesday, and early Wednesday morning. I don't consider that a "cold" rain.

In all fairness, regarding a cold rain being associated with Southern Ca. it had been stated as "having a tendency" not as always being the case.

 

[ButterflyKisses77]

So Cal rain is no big deal at all! Don't worry, you guys will still have a blast!! And total PLUS because it DOES clear the crowds out - its great!!! So fun!
On a side note, the 1 and only time i got to go to WDW was about 10 yrs ago and there were torrential downpours the whole week we were there! I've still never in my life seen so much rain lol But even so, i had an amazing time (poncho and all) and will never forget those great memories!

 

[HydroGuy]

My first trip to WDW was in June and there was a tropical storm that carried an enormous amount of rain. My experience is that - on average - Orlando rain tends to be associated with warm temperatures and is generally of short duration before the skies clear. SoCal rain tends to be associated with cold temperatures and a day with rain tends to be gray and cold all day.

I would avoid rain at DLR and in fact have only been to DLR once when there was rain. It was in December and was a day trip. I personally plan longer trips to DLR purposely in the summer as that is when the weather is better.

It seems to always rain when I am at WDW and it is just part of the landscape there. So there is no reason to try and avoid it because you really can't. But it is not as disruptive as rain at DLR - on average.

Forecast for Anaheim calls for highs in the upper 60s and low 70s with rain showers on Monday, Tuesday, and early Wednesday morning. I don't consider that a "cold" rain.

See bolded words.

 

[SMD]

The latest forecast is 3/4" - 1". Anaheim doesn't have many monsoons, it will take more than an hour of rain to accumulate that much.

 

[LizzyS]

Our last trip was rainy for two of the three days and I mean it was HARD rain. CMs were even commenting about how hard it was coming down. That being said, I believe that was unusual for the area as it was the top news story on the news that week, lol.

We still had a great time, but we got drenched in California Adventure. We were on the very first RSR car for the day, though!

You can make it work and pick attractions at the time to get you out of the rain. That's what we did.