And then the rain rain rain came down down down...

[BellaBelle27]

I was wondering if anyone had any interesting weather stories from their trips to Disney World...Did weather ever force you to do something you hadn't planned to do? Any strange cast member responses to weather? Has anyone missed rides or shows (maybe even for their entire trip) because they were shut down or cancelled because Florida's infamous "inclement weather"?

I can start with some of my own experiences...

Once we waited for an 8:30 showing of "Fantasmic" since whatever time the gates had opened for seating that night. Right around 8:00 the sky turned a funny color, that greenish gray of an impending storm. A warning came on the loudspeakers that the show's performance depended on the weather. At about 8:15 after only one previous announcement, another voice over announced that "Fantasmic" was cancelled due to "severe electric activity in the area." The scary part was that the voiceover told everyone to "evacuate" the theater immediately. Lots of cast members came out, quickly guiding everyone out. This "evacuation" continued the whole way out of the park. It was kind of surreal and surprising. Lightning kept flashing at an almost continuous rate. Cast members lined the streets out of MGM, waving their hands to keep the flow of people moving quickly out. Few people were stopping to shop on the way. Lots of people even skipped the parking lot trams and sort of ran to their cars to make their way home on the evening cut short.

We heard another impending thunder storm warning while on line once for "Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road." The queue was packed (the ride had just reopened from a refurbishment stint). An announcement came out saying that the WDW Weather tower was reporting an approaching storm and there was a chance the ride would be shut down. Of course, no body left the line. It stared to rain (no lightning) and the the ride stayed open. It was fun to make BTMRR a water ride :animwink:

It started to rain heavily once when we were walking by the International Gateway in World Showcase. We tried to walk as far as possible without having to duck for cover and made it to the American pavilion. Huddled inside the gift shop with many other drenched park-goers, it was odd to see the entire World Showcase lagoon area completely emptied out. It was raining so heavily it was hard to even see. Workers inside said that there were reports of lightening strikes within Epcot (thank goodness for all those lightning rods).

Okay last one...In Magic Kingdom once the sky started getting dark early one evening. We were walking down Main Street to catch our reservations in Tony's and jet-black storm clouds seemed to literally be following us down the street. They were creeping up from behind the castle in the most ominous way. We happened to be seated in the glass room of the restaurant and witnessed the large flow of people suddenly heading out of the park as the wind picked up. Once it started to rain it continued all night. We still camped out for "SpectroMagic" and luckily the rain tapered to a drizzle and the show went on...with one additional performer! Seated in front of the train station, we saw silhouetted by the light of on the oncoming floats and small hopping shape. I guess all the rain had brought a frog out of the vegetation. It was funny to watch as people along the line noticed the little guy and jumped up to get away. :ROFLOL:


Okay, so there are my stories...does anyone have any of their own?

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Great thread idea. I love being in the parks when it rains, as long as I don't have to be out in it.

I can remember riding the train either to or from Rafiki's Planet Watch with only a mother and her little boy as the other passengers one day. It was raining pretty hard, and I guess everybody else was taking cover. It was kinda weird, but neat at the same time.

I also remember watching a couple of little kids skip through puddles in Fantasyland after a rain one day and hearing their dad say something like "all the money we spent to come here and they want to play in the water." :lol:

 

[DizneyPryncess]

A few years ago, I got in line for RnRC at MGM and it was beautiful outside. Nobody had poncho's, nobody expected rain. It was a long wait, and on our way down the the corridor after the ride we heard what sounded like thunder. Then we stepped outside and it was pouring. I mean, absolutely pouring, thunder & lightening storm.

We had no choice but to go out in it, and run to find poncho's. By the time we found them it didn't matter, we were soaked. So we ran through the park in the rain and it was a blast. So many things were closed, and Fantasmic was cancelled (which was a shame because that's the reason we went to that park that day). All in all though, it was a day I'll remember.

Jamie

 

[lebeau]

Okay, this one is maybe PG-13 and my wife will kill me for sharing. But, here goes. (You've been warned.)

We were on our honeymoon and it was our first real trip to WDW. Neither of us had any idea about the sudden torential downpours. We just finished lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and we were shocked to find that the sunny day we left had turned into a monsoon while we ate.

Fortunately for us, the gift shop sold over-prices golf umbrellas (which I still have and use regularly). But someone else we encountered wasn't so lucky. When we entered the next shop, an elderly couple ran in behind us. I held open the door to see that the woman was wearing a white T-shirt and nothing underneath.

I dropped my eyes to the floor as fast as physically possible, but the image was still burned into my brain. I was staring intently at the floor when I feel my wife elbow me.

"Check that out," she whispered.

I looked in the direction she was pointing. Yes, it was the old woman who had been caught completely unprepared for the weather. With the subtlety of a brick to the head, my wife was standing there pointing at her while I got another unwanted eyeful.

I will say this, the woman did not seem phased by this at all. I was the only one uncomfortable with the situation.

 

[wdwmomof3]

When we were there this past Sept, it rained every night. Not just rain but major storms lasting most of the night. We got caught at Epcot behind SSE and with all of tall pole things back there we got a little nervous to say the least. The lighting looked like it was hitting the ground all around Epcot.

When we got back to our hotel there was a fire truck parked out front. We went to our room and the power was out in half of our room. My DH went down to report it but a fireman got on the elevator with him and said that the hotel had been struck by lightning and that they were trying to restore the power to the rooms effected. That was nice to hear as we were watching it storm. :lol:

 

[jsdratm]

When I was there in October I luckily had good weather most of the time. The only time it really rained was when I was at MGM. After the Beauty and the Beast show, it started pouring, so I donned my poncho and went over to Sounds Dangerous to escape the rain. After the boring show, the rain had ended and fog had formed over the ground even though it was really hot out. A lot of people were totally soaked and I saw many walking towards the exit.

The best thing to do is buy cheap ponchos at target or walmart and carry them in your pocket while at WDW or Universal. Then you don't have to waste money on their ponchos and umbrellas or get soaked when it rains. You never know when its going to rain so it is best to be prepared. Plus, you will have more mobility so you can continue touring while others are stuck waiting out the rain or leaving the park.

 

[N234MM]

This is a great thread. I love the rain and bad weather. Anyone ever been there in a hurricane? What do they do for the guests?

 

[wdwmomof3]

When I was there in October I luckily had good weather most of the time. The only time it really rained was when I was at MGM. After the Beauty and the Beast show, it started pouring, so I donned my poncho and went over to Sounds Dangerous to escape the rain. After the boring show, the rain had ended and fog had formed over the ground even though it was really hot out. A lot of people were totally soaked and I saw many walking towards the exit.

The best thing to do is buy cheap ponchos at target or walmart and carry them in your pocket while at WDW or Universal. Then you don't have to waste money on their ponchos and umbrellas or get soaked when it rains. You never know when its going to rain so it is best to be prepared. Plus, you will have more mobility so you can continue touring while others are stuck waiting out the rain or leaving the park.

Would you believe that I took them from home but left them in the room? I had ours from Disney. A lot of good that did me, but it is a great idea.:wave:

 

[Kamikaze]

During one of my trips (August 2003 I believe) I was at MGM and it started to rain like crazy. Absolutely nuts, and this wasn't one of those 15 minute FL downpours. They opened the seating area for Indy just for people to avoid the rain in, and they let people go up on the stage to take pictures.

 

[shawn]

We Were Waiting At The Boat Launch At Mgm To Go Back To The Boardwalk, They Finally Told Us To Leave Because We Were Huddling Under A Metal Building. That Was The Most Scared I Had Ever Been During A Storm

 

[Dream Theater]

My wife & I play a little game when it starts pouring. We try to count how many people run to buy ponchos when it starts pouring and yell K-Ching (imitating a cash register sound). Man, Disney must love when it rains. Think of the $$$ they make on those ponchos:ROFLOL:

 

[Cynderella]

We've been stuck in the rain several times but nothing as bad as last September. We were on our honeymoon and we went to the first MNSSHP. We had never done this one before only MVMCP so I was super excited to see what this one was all about. The evening started out fine and we got our wristbands and everything. We went on Pooh and by the time we got out it was downpouring. This was near the end of the trip and it rained just about every night for an hour or so so we learned to just get a locker and bring out ponchos with us. Thank goodness we did. My DH ran to the locker and got the ponchos. We decided to make the best of it and try to get on some other rides in tomorrowland. It rained so hard that near the TTA we literally walked through puddles that were about 4 inches deep. Our shoes were soaked (and I wear Vans and let me tell you when they get wet they get heavy!) and the water was starting to work its way up my capris! Needless to say it s*cked big time because I was so excited to meet villians and trick or treat and pretty much everything was just washed out.

 

[MickeyFan77]

This is a great thread. I love the rain and bad weather. Anyone ever been there in a hurricane? What do they do for the guests?

Was there in 2004 for Hurricane Jeanne and they DID NOTHING FOR US!!! Now I will say that we flew in knowing the hurricane was coming but wanted to get before in case for some reason we could not get in afterwards. Figured waiting out there for a day was better than getting bump back a couple of days. So we spent 21 hrs in a Value resort with a 4 yr old and 15mn old. We were prepared with stuff to do TG and truthrully we got to go outside a while when it was still pretty windy.

This past Sept we were there and Waiting for Fanstasmic when they Said that it was cancelled. So we all headed back to the bus stop which for PO was SO LONG!!! WAITED 45 mins for a bus and when we finally got on the bus I look over and saw fireworks, they actually ran the show. I WAS so mad:fork:

 

[dcessna]

huricanes

WDW does absolutely nothing. We were stuck in our resort room for 2 full days with no refrig. at the time. At least they told us it was coming and to buy non-perisible food. Huricane coverage was the only thing on TV because it was during Katina. BTW, still got charged rack rate for the two extra days that we extended our stay by.

 

[eroyee]

We were at MVMCP in Dec. 06 and it just started downpouring like crazy. we were closest to Cosmic Rays so we ran in there and I have never seen so many people ever in that place. You couldnt even move!!! No tables left. wet, soaking people everywhere. It stopped long enough later for the parade but we got sucked into the expensive ponchos and our shoes and socks were totally soaked and most of our pants. never seen such huge puddles!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I've been to WDW several times in the rain...It's not something you want but it's not that bad either.

It's never ruined the magic,just the pictures!

 

[Princess Clayre]

We went late October '97. One afternoon it started raining while at Epcot so we thought we would just hang out in the shops in world showcase and hopefully it would stop soon but it just kept raining and raining. We tried to make it back to the bigger pavilions in future world and got soaked. There's a point somewhere just before world showcase where the path dips and we wadded through water just below the knee!! We decide then to give up and get back to hotel. We vowed never to go back at that time of year again and reading this thread I think that was a wise decision :ROFLOL:

On a nicer note one May there may a light thunder storm while we were staying at the AKL. Once the rain stopped the birds started singing and it was wonderful.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Was there in 2004 for Hurricane Jeanne and they DID NOTHING FOR US!!!

We were there for Hurricane Charlie and were given torches. That said it got a bit windy, but was no wetter than a Scottish summers day. They had the cheek to close the parks so they could tie things down, never offered a refund. Luckily we stocked up on beer and other such pap as they cleared the lobby of the WL something to do with all the glass. Just an excuse to such the resturants early I mean these CMs I know they have families and homes to worry about but Ive paid for this holiday.

It was even worse next day, because of all the damage to homes etc they couldnt man all 4 parks and clear the debris so AK was closed, and I had scheduled that day to visit, talk about messing up my plan.

No a little bit of wind and rain and theyre scunnered.

 

[AnimalMagnetism]

I have found a very reliable way of predicting thunderstorms over the years. All I have to do is stand in line for Test Track, and the storm will come. The certainty increases, the longer the period I've been standing in line.

In all seriousness, I always seem to get the worst weather when at Epcot. World Showcase is not a bad place to be during downpours - you can usually spend a lot of time just looking round the shops in whichever country you happen to be in.

Once at AK it started raining while I was watching Nemo Musical. It rained HARD. So hard, in fact, that rain started leaking through the ceiling onto the stage - via all the electricals for the lighting. They quickly cancelled the show, but fortunately did not make us evacuate (it was raining far too hard for venturing outside!) Stood there for an hour or so.

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

While my mom and I were riding TTA (of course ) it started raining. By the time we were unloading at Rockettower Plaza, it was a torrential downpour.

As we exited the ride and stepped onto the walkway heading down to TL, we quickly noticed the backup of people standing in the entrance/exit area to avoid the rain (which is a very small area, at least the part that's covered). Unfortunately, my mom and I, not to mention a dozen other people, were on a moving walkway heading toward a completely packed area.

I heard a poor CM screaming, "You have to move. People are coming down" over and over, but these idiots wouldn't move. I was ahead of my mom, so I literally had to start jogging backwards or risk plunging into the backup of people that was spilling up on the walkway. I was also worrying about my mom, who has physical problems and wouldn't be able to jog backwards once she got to the pile...I didn't want her getting hurt.

The CM continued screaming and started pointing at us, a fairly large group of people piling up with nowhere to go (literally). Finally, they started to disperse just as it seemed the situation was about to get dangerous.