Best Disney Attractions for a Rainy or Cold Day
The weather outside isn’t frightful, at least not yet.
Still, we’ve entered the holiday season at Walt Disney World.
As part of the changes, the temperature will drop, and the impending Daylight Savings change will only accentuate the colder weather.
Friends, you need to stay inside as much as possible for the next four months!
Yes, this statement applies even in Florida, where sudden rainfall can make you feel much colder than the current temperature.
So, here are the best 11 indoor attractions at Walt Disney World!
11) Toy Story Mania!
I’ve only got one rule for these suggestions. No part of the main attraction can take place outside.
Sadly, this decision wipes out Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, which makes you wait outside for a bit. Otherwise, it would have won.
So, the first selection becomes Toy Story Mania!, formerly the most popular attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The arrival of more Toy Story attractions plus Star Wars and a Mickey Mouse ride has diminished the demand for this one.
Still, you’ll love every moment that you’re participating in this series of carnival games disguised as a theme park attraction.
Bragging rights matter and mercy is for the weak. Crush your opponents, my friends! Toy Story Mania! victories mean bringing rights until your next visit.
10) Peter Pan’s Flight
I’d rank this one higher based on overall attraction quality. But, alas, the drawback here comes from the waiting line.
Most of the attraction queue for Peter Pan’s Flight requires you to stand outside for a while.
For this reason, I strongly suggest that people purchase Disney Genie+ at Magic Kingdom.
A reservation here can make a world of difference on sub-60-degree days. Fortunately, Orlando doesn’t have many of those.
The other problem with Peter Pan’s Flight is the short length of each ride. If you’re cold, you’ll be on it so briefly that you won’t have time to get warm.
Still, you get to fly through London and into Neverland! Ergo, it’s one of the best indoor attractions!
9) Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
The deluxe version of Star Tours – The Adventures Continue, Smugglers Run allows guests to enter the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
In fact, you’ll do more than that. You’ll have a hand in determining the success of your mission!
Whether you’re a gunner, engineer, or pilot, you’re the guiding hand that saves Chewbacca’s ship during this less-than-legal mission.
While the outdoor queue for Smugglers Run takes place outside, you can skip the lines with Single Rider or a Disney Genie+ reservation.
Most of the fun stuff here takes place indoors.
8) Spaceship Earth
Waiting in line here can be a problem, depending on the time of day that you visit.
Spaceship Earth’s crowds form the instant the park opens, as it’s the first attraction people encounter.
Later in the day, as people leave, it’s also their last chance to ride something.
Otherwise, you won’t often find the lines problematic during cold weather. However, once you’re inside, it’s one of the longest rides at Walt Disney World.
So, you’ll stay warm for 16 minutes. And you’ll get to plan your future, too!
7) Pirates of the Caribbean
This one comes with the same problem as the last two. Much of the wait in line happens outdoors, albeit in a covered area. That’s better than an open-air space.
Once you reach the waters of Pirates of the Caribbean, the experience will improve significantly.
You’re now ready to set sail on a grand adventure through a world of pillage and plunder.
You’ll get a good eight minutes of ride time to relax and enjoy the show. Plus, Disney updated Pirates of the Caribbean just before the pandemic.
This attraction may feature scenes you’ve not yet watched!
6) Haunted Mansion
You’ll spend part of your time waiting in line outdoors here.
However, once you enter the building, the rest of the wait happens in a controlled climate. Also, you get to enter The Stretching Room!
For Disney fans, one of the cruelest parts of a park visit in 2020 and early 2021 was that this section wasn’t open as a show element.
Instead, guests would walk straight through The Stretching Room to get in line for a Doom Buggy. It felt wrong, even by 2020’s brutal standards.
Thankfully, this bit of Ghost Host entertainment has returned. So, you’ll experience the full version of the ride rather than the modified one.
5) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
I would estimate that roughly 70 percent of the line for Tower of Terror requires an outside wait, at least on a busy day.
Once you’re inside the building, you’ll warm up when watching the Rod Serling video in the pre-show area.
Afterward, all that remains is a short wait in an indoor section followed by one of the greatest dark rides of all time.
The quality of Tower of Terror causes me to overlook how much of the wait takes place outside. If you disagree, you might want to drop it a couple of spots.
4) Frozen Ever After
Like Tower of Terror, you’ll spend much of the line outside. However, once you enter the ride building, the situation changes.
You’re now in a serene environment brimming with countless remarkable Imagineering touches.
The world of Arendelle is ostensibly cold. It’s Frozen, after all. Still, your wait in this area should prove distracting due to all the special touches.
Once you’re on the ride, you’ll treasure every second. I’m honestly not sure whether I’ve ranked this one right, though.
Out of everything listed here, Frozen Ever After qualifies as the only “wet ride” where you’re all but certain to get splashed.
Yes, that could happen on Pirates of the Caribbean, but it’s much less likely. So, if you don’t want to get wet, you should also lower Frozen Ever After in the rankings.
3) Soarin’
Everything of note at The Land pavilion takes place indoors. So, Soarin’ represents a terrific opportunity to escape inclement weather.
Once you’re in the line queue, you’ll eventually come to a stopping point. There, you’ll watch an introductory video about the Soarin’ ride experience.
For this reason, you’ll have plenty of time to compose yourself during a hectic park day.
I’m always telling friends that Soarin’s one of the best rainy-day rides in Orlando. Of course, that statement applies to cold weather, too.
2) Avatar Flight of Passage
Ranking this one requires some debate. On the one hand, part of the line queue takes place outdoors.
However, the sheer length of the line means that you’ll spend more time inside than outside.
Also, you’re likely to get warm long before you ever board your Banshee.
Plus, once we factor in the pre-show, Avatar Flight of Passage lasts about 15 minutes. Oh, and it’s spectacular, too.
1) Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Here’s the beauty of Boarding Groups. When you get one, you won’t have to worry about long lines.
The only people waiting with you are others with Boarding Groups, reducing the crowds.
If not for Boarding Groups, the lines for Ratatouille would stretch out across the France pavilion, just as happened during the early days of Frozen Ever After.
Thanks to Disney using Boarding Groups, you’ll enter the indoor part of the line queue as soon as you arrive.
Sure, you may wait 30 minutes or so, but you’ll be rewarded for the effort.
Ratatouille embodies the best of Imagineering. It’s already in the conversation for the best overall attraction at Walt Disney World!
Even better, since everything you do takes place inside, it’s the perfect escape from lousy winter weather.
Right now, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is unquestionably the best indoor ride on the East Coast.