Well, we landed Monday, Aug. 18 and proceeded to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the day. It was a beautiful day and the last one weather wise. Thereafter, the weather was raining AND windy with breaks in the rain. Actually, the parks were opened and we parked as close to the entrance as possible and walked in. Many people waited until 12:00 to make a decision or not to attend. We arrived each day no later the 9:00a and had the run of each park. No waiting-just walked in a enjoy. With poncho's on our backs off we went and had a ball. Although it was wet with occasional down bursts, this did not diminish our fun. The ONLY downer was having Illuminations canceled Thursday night due to windy conditions. Over all, the lack of crowds during the mornings and only moderate crowds later on the day, we had our usual great time visiting the WORLD.:sohappy: My wife and I now look forward to late November into Dec. for our next visit to enjoy Christmas holiday decorations and festivities. :xmas:
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Tropical Storm Fay
- Thread starter majorrfb
- Start date
ajrwdwgirl
Premium Member
We had a similar experience....we arrived on Sunday the 17th and enjoyed great weather all of Monday. The parks all opened at 8 am on Tuesday the 19th so we took advantage of that. The rain didn't stop us at all, we had our ponchos and had fun splashing in puddles. I just wish I could have enjoyed some more sunshine at the pool, only got to have sun at the pool on Monday. Oh well!
coltow
Well-Known Member
Ditto, We left on 20th. We took full advantage of the 19th. We spent the day at MK and had our best day of the week. Sure it was very cloudy and rained a bit here and there. We had tons of fun and even got to hit a few attractions (like Stitch) that we hadn't planned on because there was no one there. We didn't need break our ponchos out until after dinner, by then it was raining! MK was a ghost town by then nothing had a wait and even the tip board was blank.
On the 20th we went to DHS for the morning before we needed to catch ME to airport. It rained the whole time we were there and besides TSM (which broke while we were waiting) there were virtually no lines longer than 15 minutes.
On the 20th we went to DHS for the morning before we needed to catch ME to airport. It rained the whole time we were there and besides TSM (which broke while we were waiting) there were virtually no lines longer than 15 minutes.
Crazy4WDW1
Active Member
Had a great time during Fay as well! I was originally supposed to fly down Tuesday evening. I changed my flight and flew down Monday afternoon. Had a great time for a fews hours at Epcot late Monday after noon through evening. Our group didn't let Fay stand in our way! We went to the parks and had a blast!
The excitement of the trip was when we were stuck on Pirates! We had a cast member in waders named "Patrick" push our boat to the exit area. Nothing like being backstage!!
The excitement of the trip was when we were stuck on Pirates! We had a cast member in waders named "Patrick" push our boat to the exit area. Nothing like being backstage!!
Jessie&Buzz
Active Member
Glad to hear you all didn't let Fay ruin your vacation. I bet it was fun not having to wait.
Crazy4WDW1
Active Member
I did feel bad for all the families with little ones. We did have a couple of days where we had a few hours of sunshine!
a2grafix
Well-Known Member
I visited Central Florida Aug. 18-23 and yes, can attest, the best days (hardly any rain) were Monday and Saturday -- the day I arrived and the day I left.
In addition to visiting the parks, I also visited Universal and SeaWorld. I was a little learly on visiting Universal or SeaWorld, but as the week went on, I made the correct choices.
Just like my trip last October, the Hulk, Spider-man and Mummy rides were no wait, well, every other train wait. I mean, it took longer to walk through the queque -- there was about a 5 minute wait for the rides. The Hulk did open about 30-45 minutes late, but still, everything was open until the winds got stronger as Fay made her pass toward Daytona Beach. The Simpsons Ride had the same wait-time feel as Toy Story Mania, since both interactive rides opened earlier this spring.
The same thing can be said for the Kraken -- I rode it 10 times for a solid hour last Thursday. It was pouring all morning long, but the rains were trimmed back to a light drizzle at times, but later on Thursday the winds picked up to close to 50 mph and the rains turns sideways.
The Hulk and Kraken both closed after the winds picked up dramatically as rain bands moved through.
I wanted to catch Wishes on Wednesday and Thursday from the Polynesian beach, but both nights Disney canceled the display. I also heard Fantasmic one of the nights I was there (Thursday I believe) was a wash out. Either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon was closed and guests were forced to the other water park. I heard cast members were overwhelmed with the extra guest load. As well, Aquatica was forced to close one day during Fay's unwelcomed and slow-moving visit.
Basically I made good logical choices to visit WDW, Universal and SeaWorld. I heard the same day I went to Universal a family went to Downtown Disney and went to DisneyQuest. Wrong idea for them -- everyone was there and all the virtual experiences were 5-to-6 deep and about 60-90 minute in wait time.
Friday I did all four Disney parks (Animal Kingdom, MGM, Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and then the Adventurer's Club), ending with the Magic Kingdom. At times, yes, it did rain Friday, sometimes good and hard (look at Cinderella Castle below and a deserted Main Street about 7 p.m.), but at around 10 p.m. the rains cleared out, the stars and the moon came out and it seemed all was well.
I was soaked to the bone Friday -- even with my windbreaker -- after the ugly downpour and saw a lot of guests in ponchos just living it up, splashing in puddles and saying this will be a vacation to remember. But at the same time I saw numerous guest in ponchos just waiting out the downpour under archways.
I stayed at Shades of Green and the Shades staff sent out a news release about trimming room service and housekeeping for about 24-36 hours as Fay moved through Central Florida. As well, the Shades staff took down ALL flags -- US, POW, USAF, USMC, Army, Navy, Coast Guard -- from its entrance and kept them off the flag poles until at least Saturday morning.
Oh, and the Friday morning opening ceremony at Animal Kindom was a washout because it was raining quite steadily and Disney didn't want its cast members getting wet or injured. As well, I saw some cast members (street actors) doing mime inside the Tower of Terror shop lobby.
Saturday morning, about 13 hours before I left for home, I hit the extra magic hour at MGM and there was not a dark cloud in the sky, well, until about 3 p.m. when the heavens opened up and Orlando seemed to return to its afternoon gullywasher and thundershow.
And like those above me ^ ^ ^ ^ ^, I can attest that I vacationed during a tropical storm, a weak one that still packed a punch, and I enjoyed it and made the most of it.
In addition to visiting the parks, I also visited Universal and SeaWorld. I was a little learly on visiting Universal or SeaWorld, but as the week went on, I made the correct choices.
Just like my trip last October, the Hulk, Spider-man and Mummy rides were no wait, well, every other train wait. I mean, it took longer to walk through the queque -- there was about a 5 minute wait for the rides. The Hulk did open about 30-45 minutes late, but still, everything was open until the winds got stronger as Fay made her pass toward Daytona Beach. The Simpsons Ride had the same wait-time feel as Toy Story Mania, since both interactive rides opened earlier this spring.
The same thing can be said for the Kraken -- I rode it 10 times for a solid hour last Thursday. It was pouring all morning long, but the rains were trimmed back to a light drizzle at times, but later on Thursday the winds picked up to close to 50 mph and the rains turns sideways.
The Hulk and Kraken both closed after the winds picked up dramatically as rain bands moved through.
I wanted to catch Wishes on Wednesday and Thursday from the Polynesian beach, but both nights Disney canceled the display. I also heard Fantasmic one of the nights I was there (Thursday I believe) was a wash out. Either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon was closed and guests were forced to the other water park. I heard cast members were overwhelmed with the extra guest load. As well, Aquatica was forced to close one day during Fay's unwelcomed and slow-moving visit.
Basically I made good logical choices to visit WDW, Universal and SeaWorld. I heard the same day I went to Universal a family went to Downtown Disney and went to DisneyQuest. Wrong idea for them -- everyone was there and all the virtual experiences were 5-to-6 deep and about 60-90 minute in wait time.
Friday I did all four Disney parks (Animal Kingdom, MGM, Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and then the Adventurer's Club), ending with the Magic Kingdom. At times, yes, it did rain Friday, sometimes good and hard (look at Cinderella Castle below and a deserted Main Street about 7 p.m.), but at around 10 p.m. the rains cleared out, the stars and the moon came out and it seemed all was well.
I was soaked to the bone Friday -- even with my windbreaker -- after the ugly downpour and saw a lot of guests in ponchos just living it up, splashing in puddles and saying this will be a vacation to remember. But at the same time I saw numerous guest in ponchos just waiting out the downpour under archways.
I stayed at Shades of Green and the Shades staff sent out a news release about trimming room service and housekeeping for about 24-36 hours as Fay moved through Central Florida. As well, the Shades staff took down ALL flags -- US, POW, USAF, USMC, Army, Navy, Coast Guard -- from its entrance and kept them off the flag poles until at least Saturday morning.
Oh, and the Friday morning opening ceremony at Animal Kindom was a washout because it was raining quite steadily and Disney didn't want its cast members getting wet or injured. As well, I saw some cast members (street actors) doing mime inside the Tower of Terror shop lobby.
Saturday morning, about 13 hours before I left for home, I hit the extra magic hour at MGM and there was not a dark cloud in the sky, well, until about 3 p.m. when the heavens opened up and Orlando seemed to return to its afternoon gullywasher and thundershow.
And like those above me ^ ^ ^ ^ ^, I can attest that I vacationed during a tropical storm, a weak one that still packed a punch, and I enjoyed it and made the most of it.
ajrwdwgirl
Premium Member
Wishes wasn't cancelled last Wednesday (20th), I watched it that night from in front of the castle.
Beccone
New Member
We were enjoying our trip during Fay last week as well. Definately the best 2 days we were there were Sunday the 17th and Monday the 18th but even with the wind and rain my kids, husband and I still had a blast. I was bummed about not seeing Fastasmic the night we were at DHS but there's always next time and I didn't think my kids would last one more hour in the rain so we left early which was a good thing I guess since they canceled it that night. At the end of the day the kids were soaked even though they all wore ponchos but couldn't resist jumping in every puddle that came their way, it was all part of the Disney fun for us all.
Here's a pic of my kids waiting for the Wishes parade to start...in the rain of course
Here's a pic of my kids waiting for the Wishes parade to start...in the rain of course
RedFoxRunner
Member
Ha ha, it's funny to hear how the storm made it fun for some. I personally thought it put a huge damper on my trip. I was there from August 18 to 26th. 5 out of 8 days had terrible rain (related to Fay) at some point. Yes, the waits were shorter and we get to ride alot, but having a peaceful walk around the parks was not very likely.
I would have personally waited longer for rides and enjoyed a nice comfortable day going from ride to ride and enjoying the weather. It's also the first time I've seen "The Land" at a 30 minute wait. A day or two of constant rain didn't bother me, but I couldn't stand wearing that stupid poncho by day 4..5. I threw it away before I left, couldn't even take it home with me :lol:
I would have personally waited longer for rides and enjoyed a nice comfortable day going from ride to ride and enjoying the weather. It's also the first time I've seen "The Land" at a 30 minute wait. A day or two of constant rain didn't bother me, but I couldn't stand wearing that stupid poncho by day 4..5. I threw it away before I left, couldn't even take it home with me :lol: