Tips and advice for Rainy Days at "home"

[JMC]

We're leaving tomorrow morning for our first trip "home" to SSR. Since we already have another trip planned for January, we're pretty relaxed about the stormy weather forcasted for Florida.

Do any of you out there have tips or advice for planning a rainy day at WDW, or DVC? Anything from what to pack, to what to do would be great to hear.

So far we've decided to pack an extra pair of sneakers- so one set can dry out over night. Also we thought we might take in a movie at DTD one afernoon if it gets stormy.

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

[SueOKW]

Usually I go to WS!

Last trip we purchase POC Game of Life. It was so much fun!!!

If it's warm and rainy i enjoy verandah time.

Cold and rainy? Spa!!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

As long as the rain isn't horizontal and it isn't lightning, we enjoy the parks. Could there be a better time to ride Kali River Rapids? If it gets too bad, we might just head to the villa or go to the movies if there is something we want to see.

And we also bring extra shoes along.

 

[jonestavern]

On our last trip down we encountered one fairly rainy day, and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise (or as DW said a "blessing from the skies"). We just went out and bought some Mickey ponchos and headed for MGM. We stayed dry and had no lines at all

Chris

 

[rocketriter]

You might want to bring cheap ponchos from home rather than buying them at the parks. The park ponchos are fine and quite inexpensive, but everyone looks alike in them and it's hard to spot your wandering children in a crowd.

 

[disney gadabout]

That rain poncho is all you need! We've had two trips in the pouring rain and it never affected our fun time. We also carry a small towel in our backpack to wipe off any wet surfaces. On all our vacations, no matter where we go, we bring along a travel scrabble game.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We have about six or seven yellow ponchos and about five or six clear ones. We use them all the time, dry them out and fold them back up. The best thing about the Mickey ponchos is that they last forever. I've heard that you can trade a ripped on in for a non-ripped one.

I wore one of my yellow ponchos around here during Hurricane Rita.

We've even gone down to the pool in the rain. We'll be wet anyway.

 

[tiggercrew]

I agree with the poncho posts. We have enough ponchos for our family and all our extended family. If you pack the ponchos in a backpack it won't rain...if you don't, well, now you know why I own sooooo many ponchos!

One year we got tired of dealing with the wet, so we went back to VWL to enjoy the resort. What a great time we had just strolling around that beautiful lobby, playing cards and sitting in front of the fireplace to dry out and warm up.

Enjoy your trip regardless of the weather.

 

[spiceycat]

do you like to read?

then a rainy day is wonderful - great time to relax and read a good book.

playing games is nice - I think the community hall has games you can borrow.

watch a movie - either in your villa or the AMC in DD is not far.

going to the outlet malls is also a nice way to spend the day.

I also like Epcot on a rainy day. It is generally big enough that everyone can be under cover if it is raining so hard you can't see.

I always have an umbrella (I have a sun problem) so that plus the ponchos is great.

or you can do my favorite - go back to your resort room and take a nap...

this might also be a good time to look around the inside area of SSR.

 

[wintergreen]

If you will have a car, I would highly recommend the Orlando Science Center. Our kids spent several wonderful hours there on a very rainy day. Mom and Dad enjoyed it, too!

 

[AFMom]

If it's anything like Disneyland on a rainy day - go to the parks! They absolutely empty out! We only had a light sprinkle at WDW - and I was hoping for more so that AK would get empty for us!

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

I absolutely LOVE to stay at OKW during a rainy day. In fact, I look forward to it! We go so often, we don't feel the need to go to a park/DTD everyday.

We always stay at a one or two bedroom and can really "spread" out.

We love to read, sit on the porch/veranda enjoying the rain with a glass of wine or two , watching the Disney Channel, watching the Disney Info channel, nap, surfing the web, playing card or board games, and then end the day by all of us cooking a big dinner and sitting down to enjoy.

 

[gppnj]

Tip if you'll be in the parks while it's raining: Wear shorts.

At first, this seems like it doesn't make sense because if it's raining, in general you'd want to be warmer. However, when the pants get wet, you've got wet fabric pressing against your legs all day. By contrast, if you have shorts on and your legs get wet, your legs dry off quickly.

 

[byoung]

Don't let the rain stop the majic.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We spent several weeks in WDW last June and it must have rained half the time we were there.

We don't even bother with the ponchos anymore. It's raining, but it is hot so we ditched the ponchos and just got wet.

The extra pair of shoes worked out great and I would definitely recommend bringing an extra pair of sneakers, as they don't dry overnight and technically you are not supposed to use the dryers for shoes.

We really enjoyed our stay despite the weather, and there was plenty to do.

At SSR, the Community Hall was great and always filled with activities and games to play or check out.

We went to the Waterparks, like already stated, you are already wet, plus they completely clear out even if there is no lightning in the area. We had a great rainy couple of hours at BB and TL and no lines!

Disney Quest is another fave, but it will be more crowded on rainy days. We still enjoy it and what better way to spend a rainy afternoon than surfing the net and Cheesecake?

DTD Movies is how we spent another afternoon. My sis and I watched 2 movies in 1 afternoon! That was great!! All the time, it was pouring down rain.

HTH!

 

[kkmauch]

If you don't want to go to the parks and want a day to relax in the resort, go check out DVDs at your resort. DVC guests get them for free! Last time we were at SSR, we rented National Treasure and Bug's Life, bought a couple frozen pizza and corona and had a blast in our room for about 6-8 hours!