Our very first family trip to Disney World was in September 2007 and it was HOT! For 2008, we decided to go in October since it would be cooler and on that trip we got a lot of rain. So then we decided to try the Spring in 2009. May sounded great! I researched the weather and found that May was typically very dry with the average high being 88 and the average low being 66.
I became obsessed with the weather the week before we were headed south. I stalked all the online weather forecasts. It was going to be perfect! Nice temps and no rain, just as we had hoped! Orlando had been in somewhat of a drought with no rain for awhile (yippee for us)! I packed all of our summer clothes: shorts, short sleeve shirts, tanks, skirts and flip flops.
We arrived in Orlando May 15th 2009 for our 8 day stay and were welcomed to sunny blue skies…ahhhh. Little did we know a strange (and did I mention total surprise) storm was about to hit Orlando. More details on this storm can be viewed here. This particular storm would stall out in the central Florida area for DAYS which was completely unexpected, bringing non-stop record breaking rain, the wettest May on record in 75 years. Total rainfall amounts for Central Florida can be viewed here.
Not only would we have rain but we would also have wind gusts and the highs would barely reach 70 degrees. Let me reiterate, I packed ALL summer clothes. We were in Orlando for 8 days and of these 8 days we would continue to get drenched constantly for 6 of them. At one point, rain was literally almost up to my knees when we were walking to the bus station. It was at this point when it was so bad, I literally had to crack up laughing. When we arrived to our hotel, water was rising and inches away from our door. The weather forecasts mentioned NOTHING about any of this until we arrived in Orlando. So what’s one to do when something like this happens?
Not only would we have rain but we would also have wind gusts and the highs would barely reach 70 degrees. Let me reiterate, I packed ALL summer clothes. We were in Orlando for 8 days and of these 8 days we would continue to get drenched constantly for 6 of them. At one point, rain was literally almost up to my knees when we were walking to the bus station. It was at this point when it was so bad, I literally had to crack up laughing. When we arrived to our hotel, water was rising and inches away from our door. The weather forecasts mentioned NOTHING about any of this until we arrived in Orlando. So what’s one to do when something like this happens?
Here are a few pointers:
*ALWAYS bring a poncho and umbrella no matter what! We learned this after our first trip when we had to buy the expensive Disney ponchos for each of us unexpectedly. Florida has pop-up thunderstorms. You will see the dark clouds moving in and they usually arrive and leave as quickly as they came in but you need to be prepared.
*Buy your ponchos BEFORE you leave home. You will pay a fraction of the price that you would pay for one in the park. However, don‘t go too cheap because I’ve learned from experience they don‘t hold up well.
*Carry a poncho/umbrella at ALL times! For example, my son and I went in to the American Idol Experience with blue skies. I left the poncho/umbrellas in the stroller. We came out to torrential rain and Disney has a policy that doesn’t allow guests to wait under cover at the exits so out to into the rain we had to go. Oh, how I wish I didn’t leave my poncho in the stroller! We got drenched! TIP: I now prefer to carry a backpack to WDW and I always have a rolled up poncho in case of emergency in my bag.
*Bring an extra layer of clothing just in case. A sweatshirt or jacket would be great and won’t take up much room in the suitcase.
*Bring an extra pair of shoes. I brought various shoes but all were flip flops which don’t stay on when sopping wet. I ended up kicking them off and barefooting it at times…gross, I know, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
*Bring a towel. This would have been great for drying off. A towel would have also been nice to sit on after all the other wet people riding rides before us.
*Research purchasing weather (travel) insurance ahead of time. We always go on a budget and have never paid the extra cost but if you can, this could be a wise investment.
*Do some research before your trip and have an alternate indoor plan if needed. You may want to spend some time at Disney Quest, hopping on the monorail to check out some of the resorts, or go to Cirque du Soleil.
Contributed by Corby C. of Atlanta, Georgia. She is a proud wife and mom to Banks and Henley, a Disney Destination Planner with Travel with the Magic and one of our Minnie Moms.
Good advice seeing that we are considering buying an ark for the 8 inches of rain here this week. We did the poncho thing but you brought up some other good points. All fingers crossed for NO rain in 23 days!!!
ReplyDeleteWe were there in may 2009 too! We may have seen you at the parks lol! We got drenched! Our worst Orlando day was at seaworld and our 'rest days' at st petes beach were mainly spent sat in the hotel! We were prepared with warmer clothes and prebought $1 ponchos from walmart but it was still rubbish to be that wet! We always take the ponchos to the parks and a sweater, DH takes a huge backpack. Great article :)
ReplyDeleteHeather, I heard about the NC rain this morning and thought of you. So sorry!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nine! Were you there that same week?! I've NEVER seen rain like that in my life and I'm from FL! It was non-stop. I think Orlando received 12" while we were there. Crazy!
I'm so prepared for Nov, just in case! But hopefully, we'll get the same gorgeous weather we received last Nov and I hope you will too in Oct, Heather!!! And Nine, I hope you'll be able to get back to the park soon! :)
The rain in Orlando is always soaking rain, too (no little drizzle). Sometimes it just comes out of no where when you least expect it. I have several umbrellas in my car for this very reason. :)
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