Rain can really ruin a day, or even a whole vacation. Luckily, when you’re vacationing in Walt Disney World, there are plenty of things to keep you occupied when the Florida weather doesn’t want to cooperate.
Here are some great things to do on a rainy (or any!) day at WDW:
Catch a movie (and a meal!): at AMC Downtown Disney 24, you can catch that movie you forgot to go see (probably because you were so excited and busy getting ready for your WDW trip!). Not only that, but the theater’s new “Dine-In Theater” option allows you to order and enjoy appetizers, entrees, desserts and drinks from the comfort of your movie seat!
Take in the Hoop De Doo Review dinner show: put on twice nightly, this wild west themed show serves up all you can eat ribs and fried chicken….and all you can drink beer and wine! A perfect place to unwind, have some laughs and some good food, and escape the bad weather!
Disney Quest: a one-of-a-kind indoor interactive Theme Park bursting with five floors of games that give “state-of-the-art” new meaning….aka the place to get the perfect “indoor” Disney experience.
Go for the royal (spa) treatment: Get a massage/manicure/pedicure at one of Walt Disney World’s award winning spas (because hey, doesn’t everyone deserve a little me time on vacation?)
Monorail Tour: The monorail travels between the Magic Kingdom and the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary resorts – all beautiful and fun places to explore, shop, and grab a meal or a snack (we plan on doing this one our next trip, the hotels are gorgeous and we can pretend we are staying there if only for a short time ha!)
Everyone’s Gotta Eat: Try a new restaurant or two, if you’re willing to brave a few minutes of rain, the park restaurants are a good choice as they will be less crowded on a rainy day.
Shop til you drop: Again, you have to be slightly willing to dodge a few raindrops for this one, but there are tons of stores (including the HUGE “World of Disney”) in Downtown Disney, and I can think of no better way to while away a rainy afternoon than picking up some souvenirs for me and my loved ones (ok, mostly me!)
Take a nap: Ok, this one may seem lame, but after days of walking around at WDW, it never hurts to catch up on sleep!
Brave the rain: of course if none of the above appeal to you and you’re feeling adventurous, throw on a poncho and head to the parks. It will be much quieter and you will see shorter lines, plus there are plenty of amazing indoor attractions…Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Rock n roller coaster … Just to name a few!!
Above all, be realistic….it’s probably going to rain at some point during your trip, so be prepared.
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The last two times that I have been at Epcot it has poured rain! On a positive note, it certainly wasn’t crowded! We had a wonderful time-Rain or shine-you can’t go wrong with Disney!
Great suggestions. We’ve been at the parks before when the afternoon showers roll through the area and have our Mickey rain ponchos as souvenirs. We’ve braved the rain and stayed at the parks. Spaceship Earth is a good rainy day ride. We’ve also spent a rainy day at Disney Quest.
If you are in Epcot, like we were when it was raining on our trip..ducking into shops or riding Maelstrom or other inner rides like that made the time pass and the weather brightened up soon after.
Epcot is great park to be in on a rainy day if you choose to stay in the park because pretty much all of the attractions are inside and so many shops to choose from
Great article! I always tell my friends not to fret over the rain because in Florida it normally rains every day at least once and then clears up. We always just stay in the park because so many other people leave and like you said it makes the lines shorter!
I highly recommend Disney Quest if you have a gamer in the family. We stopped by after dinner at T-rex just on a whim and decided to splurge. My boys (10&3) both lover it so much that we will add the water parks and more option on our next trip!
We have only been to WDW for one night before our last cruise and it was a monsoon…we still charged through till midnight going on everything that was open…it was a blast!
We totally braved the rain on our last trip! Fun fun fun!
We were at Disney two weeks ago and got caught in one of the little 15-minute downpours. We were at EPCOT. We went to China and my best friend and I browsed around the store while my husband took the kids to play at the Kidcot station. Then, we heard Mulan was coming over to the theater, so we went over to meet her. By then, the rain was gone (and so were a lot of people) so we resumed our stroll. I have seen the crowds thin considerably every time it rains, so it is worth finding a place to go. Last year, we were in Magic Kingdom when it rained, and we went on the People Mover until it stopped.