We have all been there. You’re on your much anticipated Disney Vacation. The sky looks blue, the sun is out, you have your day planned, all is well. Florida weather isn’t exactly predictable, so looks can be deceiving. Just because your day starts off sunny and beautiful, doesn’t mean there won’t be a “cloud burst” that rains buckets on your Disney parade! The storms in and around WDW today got me to thinking of weather issues I’ve had at Disney, and I have a few doozies, but here’s one story for you.
It was a lovely day at Epcot. The day started off like it always does when we visit Epcot. I’m a creature of habit when it comes to Disney Parks, I like to visit the same attractions first, in certain order, then go from there. We went on Soarin’ and Nemo, had lunch at the Electric Umbrella (the kids love the free refills), went shopping at my favorite store, Mouse Gear, and were planning on dinner that evening. We had reservations to eat at Via Napoli in Italy, and started walking through World Showcase. Suddenly, those beautiful skies started to turn cloudy, the wind picked up, and I knew the rain was on it’s way. We just made it to the restaurant when the rain hit. We stood under the cover near the entrance at Via Napoli, and watched other Disney guest scatter and look for shelter. I thought, well, at least we had time to eat and relax, the rain should be done by then. I was wrong. Very wrong.
Once dinner was through, we headed towards the doors and checked out the weather situation. I thought it was raining hard BEFORE we ate, but wow, it was raining cats and dogs still when it was time to go. Of course, Via Napoli is in the very back of the park, and there aren’t too many places to go when walking in the rain. The covered doors of the restaurant were crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder trying to stay dry. It wasn’t working, the awning was flooding, it was raining sideways, and we were getting wet even under the shelter. It was time to make a decision….. do we stay there and get wet and frustrated, or do we make a run for it? We put our WDW ponchos on, and decided to go for broke and head towards the exit at the front of the park. Big mistake.
I didn’t think the rain could possibly fall harder than it was, but I quickly realized that I was wrong within seconds. It was too late. Every covered spot along the way was filled with people, so we had no choice but to press on. The rain was slamming down, the ponchos were doing nothing, the streets were flooding, and the kids were complaining!! “Mom, I’m getting soaked” and “Mom, this isn’t fun anymore” was all I heard on the way back. Why did we even bother to put ponchos on at that point? I never have had rain blow sideways into the sleeves, and underneath my lovely and stylish rain poncho before (insert sarcasm here), not ever! My older son picked up speed, and the younger one slowed down. Not a good time to slow down. So, I had his hand and was pulling him along as fast as we could go, but it was horrible. It reminded me of those old fishing boat movies, or like the film “The Perfect Storm” when the sailors were getting slapped with water over the side of the boat, in addition to the rain, and nothing could be done.
We finally reached the front of Epcot. By this time, my contact lenses were all blurry from the rain/mascara blend I had running into my eyes, I couldn’t see. The boys had the great idea of running into a gift shop for a reprieve before heading to the parking lot. Yet another mistake. We were soaked, and the store was freezing with the air conditioning blowing. Talk about cold! Then of course, the boys had to use the bathroom. Were we ever going to get to the car? Well, eventually we did. We threw the ponchos in the trunk, turned on the heat, and all of us sat there, in soaked clothes and feeling totally exhausted and worn out. Not the day at Epcot we had planned.
Truthfully, once it was all over, I actually laughed about it. Sure, it wasn’t pleasant at the time, but that’s how it goes sometimes. You just can’t ever predict how the weather will be, or what will happen during your Disney day. It’s always good to come prepared, even if it’s raining sideways, you still try your best! I will still stand by my theory, that a rainy day at Disney is STILL a better day than a sunny day anyplace else!
Michele also contributes theme park news for Fox 35 Orlando 11pm news and on the radio on WDBO.
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We got to visit Disney during Tropical Storm Debbie in June 2012. Our 1st day was the Mafic Kingdom. There was water coming up out of the manholes and it rained sideways the entire 5 hours we were there. But it was a GREAT DAY. No one was at the park so we were able to ride our favorite rides sever times without any lines. Day 2 back at the Magic Kingdom was the same as day 1 and no crowds. By day 3 our fun was over; others decided they paid to see Disney and not spend their days in the hotel rooms. If you can get over the “soaked to the bone” feeling it’s a great day to visit when it rains.