Which park if it rains?

[ewasilau]

What do you do in the rain with 3 kids, all under age 5? Is any park better than the others (i.e., has more indoor attractions) in case we have a rainy day? We're doing just a 5 night trip and have 4 full days (and one almost full day), so we won't want to spend a whole day hiding out in our resort (which is AKL - anything to do in the rain there?) . . . . I just checked the 10-day forecast and am a little concerned that our first day in WDW calls for rain . . . (though that day is over a week away).
Oh - and the kids wouldn't have any idea what to do in an arcade (they're too young), so that's not an option.

[Altair]

Epcot by far IMO.:thumbsup:

[ParkMan]

Yep - ditto that - Epcot.

I've found that the larger pavilions, longer shows, large number of shots in World Showcase make it a good place to stay out of the rain.

That said - we've found that it's quite possible to brave the rain. All of the parks have enough indoor activities that you can have a very enjoyable day with a good raincoat.

[Giggy]

Epcot has a lot of indoor attractions in the future world area. Though some parts of World Showcase preferably need good weather. Animal Kingdom is probably the one with the most outoors stuff so probably best to save for a nice day.

You could always do a waterpark on the basis you'll be getting wet anyway. Though we never tried this so I'm not sure if it works.

Weather at WDW seems to change quickly though, even if you get a storm it seems to blow over fairly quickly and you can go back to what was going on.

[mrmcgiv]

absolutely EPCOT!

[DisneyGlutton]

Epcot for the reasons mentioned above and then MK b/c a lot is packed in a small space. Depending on how heavy the rain is though, I agree that it is worth braving no matter where you are as it'll thin out the ride queues (though the shows and such will probably be more crowded).

[linedropper]

Epcot,

even if you go around the world, Most attractions are inside

Steve:mickey:

[tjstrike]

I prefer MK because of the above mentioned thinning of the lines. We were at MK one year in Jan. when it rained and we had complete roam over the entire park. No lines on any rides, it was a blast.

[tadshome]

Another vote for Epcot :thumbsup:

[jensantuit]

I would say with the ages of your children MK would be the place to be. In Sept we had a rainy day at MK and we just put on our ponchos and had a great time (with a DS 4 and DS 2). There are a lot of inside rides in Fantasyland, there's the Country Bears, the Tiki Room, POTC I could go on. I would invest in some pochos and maybe a stroller rain cover. We got lots of comments on ours last year, asking where we got them. They were a life saver. The weather changes so quickly down there that hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised with no rain. Have fun. :mickey:

[Cheloconnell]

A vote for MK. We have been there several times with the kids in the rain. It practically clears out. It is the only real time we can do Fantasyland in about a hour hopping from ride to ride. The lines are practically none and most rides are walk on's, so if you are looking to get a lot done with the kids, this is the place :thumbsup:

[VWL Mom]

I prefer MK because of the above mentioned thinning of the lines. We were at MK one year in Jan. when it rained and we had complete roam over the entire park. No lines on any rides, it was a blast.
:ditto:

[kakn7294]

Because of the ages of your kids, I would say MK. You would be outdoors between attractions but there's more to do to keep the kids' interest there. Epcot is great too but it would probably not keep the kids occupied nearly as well and a number of the FW indoor attractions may not be appropriate for children the ages of yours. DHS would be my third choice and I'd avoid AK all together unless it's just a light drizzle - not much is covered there and it's long distances between what is. I highly recommend a stroller covers - we had one and it was an absolute lifesaver a number of times and my DDs liked that it was clear so they could sit all warm and dry and still see where they were going.

[disneyworld55925592]

If you really want to stay dry go to epcot every single attraction is inside. If you don't mind getting wet go to another park and hope for smaller lines :mickey:

[Figaro]

I always tell people wear a swimsuit to the parks. It's Florida, it rains every day. While everyone else is huddled under cover, wear a swimsuit, get wet, and enjoy the empty park. I always wear my swimsuit and sometimes a rash guard under my shirt. If it rains, I put my shirt in my backpack and keep on trekking with a rash guard on. :thumbsup: :) Also... MK would probably be your best bet. You can hop rides one next to each other and navigate thru shops.

[Imagineer1981]

but with Kids, Epcot could also be the most boring place on Earth for the kids. I think MK is always good

[jakeybake]

I would also say MK too.

[jakeybake]

or epcot because there are a lot of indoor rides

[Pop Centurion]

I think MK would be best also because of the kids.
As mentiomed, Epcot may be too boring for them.

[cindchan]

I'm putting my vote in for Epcot as well. Most of the rides are indoors. and World Showcase is just enjoyable to walk around. :umbrella:

[GhostHost999]

I really like Epcot when it rains, lots of cool shops and attractions that you can duck into...one warning...whatever you do, don't get caught on that bridge that cuts across the park at its midpoint when the clouds open up. Happened to me once and there was *no* cover and I got completely soaked. No need for the pool that day. :D

[wdwfansince75]

Considering the ages of your kids, do MK. Get ponchos...buy extras at Walmart or the Dollar Store before you go....If its raining when you get there, take the Train to Toon Town....or stroll through the stores....

The lines are shorter on really rainy days, and there are lots of dry places....Hope for Sonny Eclipse to be restored....Will TTA be available? One or two turns around Tomorrowland on TTA is a great way to kill time while waiting for your fast pass time on Buzz or Pooh.

You will notice that the stores become more crowded....Once suspected that Walt scheduled rain to ramp up merchandise sales, particularly of all those ponchos which seem to appear exactly when the rain starts....

EPCOT does have indoor rides, but since the Life pavilion has closed, Imagination has changed...for the worse...., and since Soaring packs the Land with people, there aren't many kid friendly indoor places anymore....Nemo and Living Seas is really about it for younger kids

[hardingella]

I prefer MK because of the above mentioned thinning of the lines. We were at MK one year in Jan. when it rained and we had complete roam over the entire park. No lines on any rides, it was a blast.
We too went one rainy day. Rode Thunder Mountain in the rain, we had the ride to ourselves, myself and DD at the front and DH & DS and the back videoing the experience. Everytime we got back to the station, they shouted "Do you want to go again" and we'd shout YESSSSS".
It was so memorable, we had ponchos on. We were fine.

[Altair]

I just think the kids would have more fun in a dry MK rather than a wet one. :mickey:

[4ubie1]

I would vote for EPCOT. To be honest, I actually prefer it to :rain: or threaten to anyway. Keeps the crowds at bay. Only bummer is it ruins most picture taking opportunities.:photo:

[KylesMom]

If you really want to stay dry go to epcot every single attraction is inside. If you don't mind getting wet go to another park and hope for smaller lines Although every single attraction is inside, there's alot of walking between each attraction or country. Due to lightning, we were "stuck" in Spaceship Earth for an obscene amount of time on two separate occasions this past trip. While we did stay to watch Illuminations in the rain, we all agreed later that we'd have rather been "stuck" at MK. A good portion of the queues are under cover so you're not exposed to the elements, and you can move from one attraction to the other with relative ease. On days where it rained when we were at MK, we were still able to move from place to place without being totally exposed.

Based on our trip this past July where we were dealing with rain almost every day, I'd have to say MK - especially with kids under age 5.

[jclightchasr]

First choice would be epcot but MK with thin lines sounds very appealing too. Most people with park hoppers will hop to epcot on a rainy day because its known for its indoor rides and therefore gets crowded . I will say this, we were caught in world showcase during rain and got absolutely drenched. All the stores were jammed above fire safe capacity (you couldn't even take one step)for people trying to get out of the rain. Have ponchos for your family and also for your strollers (if you need them) to act as rain covers. We made the mistake of not planning to cover the strollers so the blankets and bags got soaked too. Ponchos are close to $20 each at disney I suggest bringing one per person per day of your trip since after one use they are difficult to fold back up. Just buy the 99 cents emergency variety at your local discount store and make sure they haven't been sitting on the shelf for long because age can cause the plastic to stick to itself rendering your poncho useless.

[Imagineer1981]

I'm putting my vote in for Epcot as well. Most of the rides are indoors. and World Showcase is just enjoyable to walk around. :umbrella:

enjoyable for most adults. I have found very few kids under 5 who would think world showcase is cool or fun

[KylesMom]

Ponchos are close to $20 each at disney Actually, adult rain ponchos are $8 each, tax included. I have to say, we got stuck & had to buy three our first afternoon - and those three lasted our whole 15-day vacation. We liked them better than the disposables we brought (which we would have quickly run out of). Very durable, at any rate!

[mouseketeer mom]

I'm surprised by all of the Epcot reponses. We were there during a hurricane week in August, and we did every park through the weather. I really don't remember one park being better then another during the big rains, but if I had to pick one, I'd say MK...the attractions are closer together, I remember more places to duck in and stay dry. I remember walking endlessly in Epcot feeling like I would never be dry again.

[kakn7294]

I just think the kids would have more fun in a dry MK rather than a wet one. :mickey:Probably but they can still have fun even when wet.


enjoyable for most adults. I have found very few kids under 5 who would think world showcase is cool or funBoth Future World and World Showcase aren't really designed to be overly entertaining for small kids, especially ones who are stuck inside during rainy weather. I'm not saying they won't enjoy it, but I'm betting they'd enjoy MK more.


I'm surprised by all of the Epcot reponses. We were there during a hurricane week in August, and we did every park through the weather. I really don't remember one park being better then another during the big rains, but if I had to pick one, I'd say MK...the attractions are closer together, I remember more places to duck in and stay dry. I remember walking endlessly in Epcot feeling like I would never be dry again.Very true. While the attractions are all indoors at Epcot, the distances between them are looong.

I still vote for MK given the ages of the OP's children! :thumbsup:

[ewasilau]

Thanks for all of the input. Looks like it would be best to try Epcot or MK, depending on the kids. Good to know that we should steer clear of AK in the rain. Hopefully we won't even have to worry about it - the forecast has changed again and right now we're in the clear . . . .