Weather affecting parks

[Poppycat]

Originally Posted by Schualice

Yes we are going in 10 days time and I am looking at the forecast which shows thundery spells at the moment and for the next week. What about shows at Seaworld, and perhaps MK, or AK? Will they still operate? Also are most rides at Epcot under cover and will they still be going?

Anyone know what happens at water parks, do they close rides or keep going when it rains?

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If there is lightning around they'll prevent you from getting in the pools and the staff will be told to stay in one location and not move around the park for safety reasons. If it doesn't show signs of clearing up, they may shut the park early. We had this happen to us at TL one year. Make sure you claim a rain check voucher which gives you free entry for another trip. They used to be non expiry.

[DisneyF1rstT1me]

You're right Nimbus, I know and believe me, regardless of the weather I won't be wishing myself back at my desk next week for anything!

I think we're prepared for the rain. I'm paying a small fortune to get my hair straightened on Sat to combat the frizz and mean I can go from pool/rain storm to photo ready in 15 mins, not an hour and 15 mins. And, we bought our pac-a-macs at Go Outdoors last weekend. Any other suggestions gratefully received - though we're trying to limit the amount of stuff we have to carry with us in the parks so I don't fancy lugging around spare shoes/outfits unless there's a large consensus that these are essential...

[Kraken]

It's also worth noting that the afternoon storms can be very short, sharp & localised.

Lightning will likely see any outdoor rollercoasters cease operation until the storm has passed. If at a waterpark they will empty the pools if there is lightning in the area & make you stay indoors. Rain by itself does not really affect much, but if it is torrential some outdoor rides may cease operation briefly until the rain eases off.

Unless you specifically want Disney ponchos to keep then buy ponchos elsewhere ass they will be significantly cheaper than Disney prices.

[Fraser789]

Yea they tend to leave the rides open during the rain. The queues also become very short too! They only close some rides when there is lightning in the area.

[sky13]

Some of the outdoor rides (coasters, and especially Test Track) will close when there is rain. If there is lightning, they will also start closing anything that is outdoors including things like the flying carpets ride in MK.

Parades and fireworks may get delayed/cancelled in rain. I've seen them delay parades/fireworks for up to an hour before announcing that they will start (this included them starting a MNSSHP parade at midnight on a night when the party ended at midnight, so the parade actually only ended around 12.25 or so; and an Illuminations show that was delayed about an hour and started only around 10pm).

The upside to rain is that the parks clear out - so there are less people in then parks!

Also flip flops are definitely the way to go. On one of my recent trips I started carrying around a pair of flip flops in my bag, so if it rained I could swap out my skechers for the flip flops and not worry about getting my shoes wet in the rain. (Ponchos are great in general but they are rather useless for keeping anything below the knee dry)