Things to Do on a Rainy Day at Disney World
Though Walt Disney World resides in the sunshine state of Florida, rainy days do occur. No worries though, there are plenty of inside activities to enjoy avoiding the rain at Disney! It just takes some simple planning to stay dry!
Resort Hopping
If you are staying on property and have a free day, this would be best used on a rainy day. With the many resorts located on Disney property, one of the best rainy-day activities is resort hopping! Depending on where you are staying, the best way to begin resort hopping is jumping on a monorail. Take the monorail around and explore the Contemporary, Polynesian Village, and the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. With shopping, food, and the most beautiful lobbies around, this is a great way to stay dry and still have fun. From here, jump on the monorail to Epcot and enjoy the ride! Taking a ride through the beautiful land of the future and seeing Epcot from the sky. With the many resort busses located at the bus station, possibilities are endless with resort hopping.
Disney Springs
With Disney releasing so many movies, what better place to watch them than at Disney itself! Head over to Disney Springs and buy a ticket to a movie in the AMC Fork & Screen Theater! Here you can enjoy a nice dinner while watching the latest movies. Not interested in watching a movie while on vacation? Head next door to Splitsville and enjoy a nice game of bowling! Here you can eat, drink, and play while the rain continues to pour. Creating a nice quality time experience for everyone in the family.
After the movie or bowling, enjoy the shopping at Disney Springs. Many of the stores have awnings making it easier to maneuver during rainy-days. Head over to the World of Disney and buy those souvenirs you’ve been avoiding purchasing. Across from World of Disney contains more shops that are connected inside! No need to venture outside once you cross the path. Enjoy this downtime from the parks.
Indoor Attractions
Though it may be impossible to avoid a rainy-day in a theme park, remember that many of the parks have indoor attractions making the journey out in the rain very short if planned accordingly. Depending on the theme park itself, if you have a park hopper ticket, today would be the day to avoid Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and even Animal Kingdom. The best park for the rain is Magic Kingdom. If lightning is not in the area, the Rainy-Day Cavalcade will take place instead of the normally running Festival of Fantasy Parade (though with a light rain, this parade will still operate). Castle shows and Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It! will be cancelled for the day (unless that sun decides to shine at the perfect moments). No worries though! Most guests will leave the park not wanting to spend the day getting wet, other guests will cave and buy a poncho leaving the park a lot less crowded!
Magic Kingdom is the best park for rainy-days. Taking it one land at a time will reduce the time spent in the rain! Here is the perfect way to map out a rainy-day at Magic Kingdom:
Main Street U.S.A.
Once you are through the entrance of the Magic Kingdom, meet Mickey Mouse! While there, might as well pop over next door and meet Tinker Bell too! If you’re feeling in the mood to shop, go into the emporium, but exit on Main Street U.S.A. to make these next steps a lot drier.
Tomorrowland
Race across the street and make your way to the Tomorrowland Terrace! From here, take the hidden pathway to Tomorrowland and begin by going to Monstropolis while doing the Laugh Floor. Once you exit, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is just a few paces next door and will keep you dry! The exit points you in the direction of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. This 21-minute show will give you the downtime to recover. Once the show concludes, there will be a straight shot the Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover. This sky-view of Tomorrowland can help you map out your next moves throughout Tomorrowland toward Space Mountain. While walking underneath the People Mover to avoid ran, head over to the Mad Tea Party! (Speedway would more than likely be closed and not the best option for a rainy-day).
Fantasyland
Once Mad Tea Party ends, you may find yourself a little dizzy, but The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is not too far off! Take a ride in a hunny pot through the Hundred Acre Woods then loop around the corned and meet many of the Disney Princesses at Princess Fairytale Hall! Usually invited to the hall are Cinderella, Elena, Rapunzel, and Tiana! Once you have completed these royal greetings. Mickey’s PhilharMagic is a perfect next spot! From there Peter Pan’s Flight is much closer than the second star to the right… it will actually be to your left! Fly in a pirate ship throughout the story and then find yourself making the walk across the way to “it’s a small world”®.
Liberty Square/Frontierland/Adventureland
Make it past Rapunzel’s tower and find yourself in a ghost story while riding the Haunted Mansion. Zigzag your way through the awnings and find yourself at the Country Bear Jamboree! Sing, dance, and clap along with these musically inclined bears. Once this has concluded, you can sneak over to Adventureland (if it is a light rain and not storming) to ride the Jungle Cruise. Though outside, the boat is covered and can operate in a light rain. After this ride, make your way over to the Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room and find yourself singing along with birds! Just down the road from there lies a Walt Disney World favorite, Pirates of the Caribbean®. After enjoying this ride, there is a short walk to the train station on the opposite side of Splash Mountain. But if you are already there and a little wet, might as well hop on the ride and enjoy it! Once on the train, take it to the next stop, Storybook Circus.
Storybook Circus/Fantasyland
Here you can meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy! If the rain is not too heavy, trek on over to meet Princess Ariel in her Grotto! After you meet her, go under the sea and follow her journey! There is a short walk over to Enchanted Tales with Belle where guests are waiting to surprise Belle and tell the story of her ending up in the enchanted castle! From here you can walk back over to the train station located at Storybook Circus and take it to the front of the park and head back to the resort after a fun-filled day at the Magic Kingdom!
Invest in a Poncho
Though not ideal, rain is sometimes unavoidable. If you can take the day off from the parks and enjoy all that your resort has to offer, use your rainy-day! If you have a park ticket and zero downtime from the park, buy a poncho! With the directions above for Magic Kingdom, you’ll avoid the bulk of the rain and can stay dry for the most part! If you plan on walking in the rain remember to wear the right shoes! No one wants their socks soaking wet all day. Prepare for a rainy-day before you arrive to be better prepared if one does occur. Disney is huge and there are tons of things to do to stay dry!
Special thanks to Ashley Dion for writing this article! Former cast member turned annual pass holder, I am a native Michigander who moved her entire life to Orlando, FL to be surrounded by all things Disney. I met my fellow Disney-lover husband while working for the Mouse and now we frequent the Walt Disney World theme parks and resorts as pass holders as often as possible!