Thunder Storms and Park Touring

[foxfamily238]

We read the thread about rain at the parks, and how a lot of people just use ponchos and keep going, but what if thunder storms are predicted? Do they shut down most of the rides if there is thunder/lightning? How long do the thunder storms usually last? TIA

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

As far as I can remember or know, as long as it's inside, it stays open. Unless it's a rainy day all together, storms are brief. Throw on that poncho and "just keep swimming"!

 

[foxfamily238]

Lol.

 

[Tom]

Yes, outdoor rides will shut down if lighting is within a certain distance. Otherwise, take advantage of the emptier park. MK is a lot easier to tour than the other parks, when it's raining, because you can hop between buildings much quicker. The other parks are spread out, especially AK and Epcot, meaning you'll have soggy feet.

 

[kap91]

It's Orlando. If you don't like the weather, wait 30 minutes.

 

[wdwfan4ver]

A lot of WDW attractions don't close because a thunder storm a head of time. The attractions that close during a thunderstorm are your outdoor attractions like Test Track.

I am saying that because I was in MK during a storm multiple times in the past. MK is the theme park to go to during a storm.

What I can tell you is a lot of attractions can close if power is out due to lightening.

 

[Tom]

Agree. I was down during a tornado warning - BTMR shut down because lightening was too close, as did Splash (and I assume other "outdoor rides"). While everyone was hiding in the shops? My wet butt squeaked on over to the HM and rode it without a wait. In June, mid-day.

Summer thunderstorms are awesome. Parks empty, but those who wait an hour are rewarded.

 

[ninjaprincesst]

One of my best memories at MK was when a thunder storm hit one evening at MK, we happened to be at POC and there were hardly any other people coming through the storm and they let all of us on the boat ride like 5 times in a row while the storm passed.

 

[docdebbi]

one time while waiting in line for fantasmic, lightning struck the ToT right beside us. btw- that's REALLY loud and the earth shakes- they ushered us all into the Beauty and the Beast theater and told us "it is a certified storm shelter" and made us wait until the direct lightning strikes stopped.
we really enjoyed trying to figure out how sitting on metal benches in a metal building qualified it as a certified storm shelter. real and we just aren't from florida so don't get it or CMs trying to calm folks down. anyway, storm continued but without direct strikes, park stayed open, life went on.
nothing stops us at WDW.

 

[CheshireCat12]

Had to leave AK because it started thundering and just about everything got shut down. Ruined my plans for the afternoon.

 

[Tres Vegas]

if the weather is nice....flip flops, ponchos, back packs to store ponchos for when you need them throughout the day. our 2009 & 2012 trips encountered lightning and thunderstorms but it did not effect us except when lightning struck one of the buildings at MK so all rides were down for about an hour but this gave us time to walk the shops.
enjoy your trip. note my avatar photo it was dumping buckets this day : )

 

[HouCuseChickie]

AK is probably the only park I don't like to be in during storms. All of the others have a good handful of things that can be done inside that won't shut down due to inclement weather.

 

[mf1972]

about 6-7 years ago, we hat a tail end of a hurricane. stopped early that afternoon. parks reopened for resort guests only. MK was prob half full. had a good time.

 

[rct247]

Obviously if it lightnings or rains really really hard, the entire park is shut down. Make sure you go to Guest Relations and ask for a refund since there isn't anything to do and it has ruined your vacation. Rain is like acid so it's best to run from it and hide. The best places are at the entrances to shops and restaurants and at the exits to attractions. After all, you want to make sure you block others for venturing out in such dangerous conditions. Oh and if it rains at 2pm, they will obviously cancel the fireworks too. It's even worse at the waterparks when it starts to rain. I mean who wants to be out in the rain getting soaked anyways. I mean, I understand that they have to water the plants and stuff, but the whole point of the dome is so they don't have to make it rain. Either way, the showers are usually pretty quick. Good news is that you can buy clear acid protectors at every single cash register for about 7x the amount you would pay Walmart. [sarc]

 

[danlb_2000]

I remember a time when we had some bad late afternoon storms that continued into he evening. They had cleared out of the immediate area by the time Illuminations started but you could still see the lightning out in the distance, really added to the atmosphere of the show!

 

[Jakester]

Never will Mickey Shutdown a Theme Park earlier than the posted time. Only extend hours based on demand that day. Even if it's Thunder Storms all day they will still operate. Now if all guests leave before offical closing time .. Well maybe

 

[Jakester]

You know that's not true right? Disney has shut down due to four different hurricanes and on 9/11. It's rare, but it's not "never."

I know they have. But those are totally different from your afternoon Beast Thunder Storm (outside of 9-11 which even then isn't comparable to afternoon thunderstorms)

 

[foxfamily238]

Agree. I was down during a tornado warning - BTMR shut down because lightening was too close, as did Splash (and I assume other "outdoor rides"). While everyone was hiding in the shops? My wet butt squeaked on over to the HM and rode it without a wait. In June, mid-day.

Lol. We did the same thing. We just got back, and had a lot of rain and thunder during the trip. BTM and Splash closed. So we went to HM. We were able to do both of those rides a different time on the trip though. The only things we really couldn't do this trip that We had planned were Tom Sawyer Island and Honey I shrunk the kids playground. DD really wanted to do these but the weather didn't cooperate. but we were able to do other play areas at both Disney and Uni so it worked out.

Other than that, using rope drop, and FP+ we were able to get more done than we thought we would, even with the rain.

 

[bethymouse]

Been there during a tornado warning! Last summer was the worst ever for thunderstorms! They were pretty bad, the lightning and thunder crashed. It was dangerous. We had to hang out at Pete's Silly Side Show for what seemed like an hour! We decided to brave the lightning, and got on the bus back to the resort. It rained the rest of the evening!

 

[The Magical Genie 123]

Hollywood Studios is probably the best park to go to during a storm. I mean, all its attractions are indoors except for Indiana Jones, BATB, and LMA. MK also has many indoor attractions, but during a storm, a lot of big name attractions get shut down like Splash, BTMR, etc.