Six days to go, no plan in place and worried about the weather

[BuddyTheElf]

Help please,
I have not made any plans yes for an itinerary, we leave on Tuesday. I am concerned about the thunderstorms. Do these affect the parks? Do rides stop etc. I have been in May and October before so we didn't have the summer storms then.
What about the water parks?
My only stipulation for the itinerary is that the Halloween Horror nights have to be 6th and 8th. We plan to do all of Universal, Busch Gardens, Kennedy and Aquatica. Any advice re weather is appreciated, thank you

[TeeKayDawn]

Do you plan to go to Disney as that's the only real park I would be worried about not having a plan for. The rest of them I would just look at the busy day guide and go from there.

[Poppins73]

Thunder storms (inclement weather) do stop rides, particularly traditional rollercoasters and water rides/parks. Once the storm has passed, they re-open. They are usually in the afternoons (not always and not necessarily every afternoon) so make the most of dry mornings. Be flexible. It’s not that bad although we did miss out on quite a lot at Busch Gardens a couple of years ago-only there for the day and the big rides were closed for most of the afternoon.

There’s nothing you can do about it really, so just have fun.

[voicon]

I've been in May and had the afternoon thunderstorms.

I go in 2 days and have no itinerary, we have tickets for various parks, and we will decide on the day or day before depending on how we feel and the weather. All I've got is a list of things I want to do but that's it.

You cant plan too far ahead for the weather, forecasts change all the time.

[stan_the_man]

Waterparks yes they usually stop you going on stuff. I know at DC we had to get out the pools for a bit when a storm was coming in. As for the parks, I can't ever recall much shutting when it's been bad. They did at BG once but those are quite high coasters so maybe there was an issue there? But equally I've been on coasters during the rain. The only problem you will see is that if a storm hits, suddenly ever indoor ride becomes popular!

Tbh the storms don't really last long and shouldn't really stop you doing much. Sometimes you can be on a dark ride and come out and it's soaking wet because a storm has come and gone, they can be that quick. So just grab a poncho/brolly and keep on enjoying the fun!

With regards to planning, you're probably best to go from a busy day guide on here and do a rough plan yourself as you haven't got long left. If you haven't booked FPs yet, do it now to get what you can. Pick a park day first then go from there.

[Sioux]

Originally Posted by BuddyTheElf

Help please,
I have not made any plans yes for an itinerary, we leave on Tuesday. I am concerned about the thunderstorms. Do these affect the parks? Do rides stop etc. I have been in May and October before so we didn't have the summer storms then.
What about the water parks?
My only stipulation for the itinerary is that the Halloween Horror nights have to be 6th and 8th. We plan to do all of Universal, Busch Gardens, Kennedy and Aquatica. Any advice re weather is appreciated, thank you

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I remember when we first started to go to Florida we never gave a thought to having an itinerary and just rocked up to the parks we fancied doing and had a blast! Them were the days

As others have said, when there is the threat of lightning the outside rides will stop and this includes the water parks too. Some storms will blow over quickly and others linger and some parks won't see a drop of rain whilst others could be right under that storm cloud and get washed out. I usually check the local weather reports early morning before setting out, as they are fairly accurate as to when and where the storms might strike so that can help you decide whether you sack off plans for a water park or head there early and leave before the storms come in.

If you are going to Busch Gardens most of the rides are big coasters and Tampa can suffer from heavier and slow moving storms coming in from the Gulf so this affects how much you'll be able to do. We got caught out a couple of years back and literally within an hour of arriving everything was shut and remained closed for the entire day. I didn't check the forecast that day - a rookie error.

It's a good 15 years since I visited Kennedy Space Centre but I think most of it was indoors so this might be a good option to do if the weather is looking dodgy for a long period of time.

I've booked FPs for every day of my 2 week stay but we've also got tix for Universal parks so some of those days we won't be at Disney and if we don't go I'll just cancel the FPs we don't need.
That's about as much advance planning as I do.

[Guest]

We went end July/early Aug this year. Stayed Gulf coasts. Had 2 wet mornings then brightened up, no afternoon thunderstorms at all. But we did go to Busch and it rained from 4pm onwards, all rides were closed and no fireworks. If this happens ask about their wet weather policy - we got free 1 days passes which are valid for a year so we are going back next summer. Also take a waterproof poncho, I got some from Poundland and Home Bargains - I stayed dry at Busch but the rest of my group refused to wear them and they got soaked...

[oeamon]

We are here now. The weather is much better than last year. There have been lots of showers but not hours and hours of torrential rain we had last year. Having said that there is a 20% chance of a tropical storm developing over central Florida in the next few days

[Welshjim22]

Been here almost two weeks and yes it has rained a little like most tropical countries on or near the equator but not that much or that bad with a few short exemptions.

Weather posts are greatly exaggerated. I over heard a Brit the other day saying how their holiday was ruined by the weather. We all looked on in dismay, been to the pool most mornings the others I have been on the golf course or driving to KSC.

A few showers in the afternoon but the sheer panic over some rain in premium outlets the other day made me laugh. I just walked under cover and calmly crossed the smaller gaps in canopy. I am wet from sweat so why do I care if I get a little damp from some rain.

[tink111]

We’ve never had any major troubles in the parks in August! A few bad showers maybe lasting for an hour at a time.. they’re pretty ready for it though! I’m sure you’ll be fine