Disney World is in Central Florida, which means that there’s an inevitable rain shower that will come out of nowhere. You can be prepared with all the best rain gear, but there are times that you’ll just need to find cover.
With that premise, the goal is to share a few lessons that we’ve learned over the years from running to get out of a torrential downpour that makes you feel like you’re in a shower.
The Magic Kingdom
From the Google Maps view, there’s actually only a couple of large-format spots to escape the rain.
- Stores (like The Emporium, Confectionary, Big Top Souvenirs, Pirates of the Carribbean)
- Attractions (like Space Mountain, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion)
- Restaurants (like Cosmic Rays, Pecos Bills and Pinnochio Village Haus)
The worst places?
- The Emporium & Main Street USA
- Cosmic Rays
- Breezeway at Adventureland
At the end of the day, the Magic Kingdom can provide a great number of indoor attractions that can shelter you from the classic storms – but don’t be surprised if you have to hunker down in a random alcove as you think about how much $$ you’re spending to be standing in a single spot outside of a set of washrooms and the Sunglass Hut.
Main Street USA and Cosmic Rays can be bad because others have the exact same thought, which means that you may be surrounded by families in the midst of serious meltdowns because a rain storm is getting in their way of schedules.
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EPCOT
There are definite lessons to learn about where to be when the storms hit at EPCOT.
The best places are easy:
- The Land Pavilion
- The Seas with Nemo Pavilion
- Creations Shop, Club Cool and Connections Cafe
The worst places?
- The World Showcase – there’s too many shops that can become busy with guests
- World Discovery – Test Track shuts during rain, Mission Space is lacklustre and Guardians can get busy.
- Spaceship Earth – Iconic, but it’s a massive wind tunnel and you can’t just ride it over and over because the entrance is outside.
EPCOT can be a difficult location because of the size of the park, but the big thing to keep in mind is that you can always duck in and grab a good meal (Le Creperie, Sunshine Seasons, Regal Eagle) as they are all covered and indoors.
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Disney’s Animal Kingdom
The golden rule is that the absolute worst place to deal with “weather” is at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. From the scorching heat to the downpours, you’re basically left to your own devices when it comes to sheltering as most of the park is outdoors and not covered.
The Best place to hide from Rain:
- Creature Comforts and Discovery Island
- Avatar: Flight of Passage
- Dinosaur
- Finding Nemo Musical
The worst places?
- Pandora: The World of Avatar (when you’re not at Satuli Canteen or in line at an attraction.
- Africa and Asia (All outdoor experiences and the shops can get cramped)
- Bus Transportation (Infrequent and unpredictable)
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Disney’s Hollywood Studios
This is an easy one, as there are very few places in the park that you would be getting “caught” in the rain. Lots of indoor experiences and not a lot of trouble to find a good spot to shelter in place.
The Best place to hide from Rain:
- 5 & 10 and most shops in the hub of the park
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railroad, Star Tours, Tower of Terror
- Frozen Sing-a-Long, MuppetVision3D and all of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge attractions.
The worst places?
- Toy Story Land (minus Toy Story Mania) due to the outdoor experiences
- Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage
- The hub in front of the Little Mermaid and Star Wars Launch Bay (It get’s flooded quickly)
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Disney World is full of great places to hide from the rain, but you don’t want to be caught under the awning of Cosmic Ray’s for 90 minutes if you can help it.
Hope this was helpful!