Preparing for inclement weather is a necessity at Walt Disney World, especially during the rainy months from May through October. At the very least, a brief afternoon thunderstorm is a given during this time of year, so it’s best to have a plan in mind for when it happens. During a recent trip, I thought I was ready for rain, but I overlooked some critical information and made a mistake in my plans that led to the longest wait time for a ride of my whole trip.
In this article, I’ll share what not to do when storm clouds arrive at Disney World, and how to avoid the mistake I made. Mickey Visit brings you the latest Disney news and planning resources, including a timestamped report of what we accomplished at Disney After Hours and a food brand integration changing Disney theme parks.
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The Basics of Being Prepared for Storms at Disney World
First things first: always pack rain gear. Even if the sky looks sunny and blue, expect it to rain at some point during your day. Bring a raincoat or a small umbrella from home. Disney sells clear, plastic ponchos for $13 in the parks for those who are caught by surprise by the rain.
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It’s important to distinguish the difference between rain and storms, as Disney has very different protocols for each. Most of this article refers to a situation that occurred in stormy weather with lightning and thunder.
It rains a lot in Orlando, and most outdoor rides at Disney World theme parks continue to operate in the rain, as long as there’s no lightning or thunder. Disney even has a backup parade, the Rainy Day Cavalcade, complete with its own costumes and soundtrack, for when it’s raining, but not storming.
It’s when lightning and thunder are present that Disney closes outdoor rides for guests’ safety and cancels all outdoor entertainment.
It’s a given that it’s not safe to be walking around outside during a lightning storm. Given how storms in Orlando often seem to appear out of nowhere, being outside during a storm at Disney World is sometimes unavoidable. Within all of our tips today, consider your own safety. When there’s lightning, a raincoat or poncho is safer than an umbrella.
When the weather turns rougher, and the rain gives way to thunder and lightning, Disney implements a protocol I completely forgot about, and it wound up teaching me a lesson.
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Avoid This Mistake When It Storms in the Parks
On a recent visit to Magic Kingdom, a sunny day quickly turned overcast. Within minutes, dark clouds appeared in the distance and seemed to be headed toward the park fast. I knew it was only a matter of time before the park would be swept in a typical Orlando downpour, and I needed to make a plan or risk being caught in it.
I decided to head toward Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. In my head, this was a perfect solution to avoiding the storm. The attraction is indoors, so it wouldn’t close for the storm. Plus, its indoor queue (I thought) would keep me dry from the rain even if the wait was long. I also hadn’t ridden the updated version of the ride yet, so I was excited to see the changes. See our tips for reaching the highest score.
I entered the standby queue for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at 11:54 AM, when the ride had a posted 40-minute wait. I ended up boarding the ride at 1:12 PM, 72 minutes later.
I had overlooked a few crucial procedures that affected my wait time and my experience while waiting, which ultimately made Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin a poor choice as an escape from the storm.
Firstly, I’d forgotten about storm-related substitute Lightning Lanes. (I realize the verbiage here may get confusing, but just a reminder that the proper noun of Lightning Lanes has nothing to do with lightning in the sky. It’s just Disney’s name for the parks’ purchasable skip-the-line service.)
When storms happen at Disney World, Disney closes outdoor rides. Many of those outdoor rides participate in Lightning Lane reservations. At Magic Kingdom, this includes Jungle Cruise, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, The Barnstormer, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and Tomorrowland Speedway.
For any guest who purchased a Lightning Lane reservation to use on a ride that closes for a storm during their reservation period, Disney automatically loads their account with a Multiple Experience Lightning Lane reservation. This can be used at the guests’ choice of one attraction, from an eligible list of select rides, at any point during the rest of the day. That list of eligible rides may depend on the tier of Lightning Lane your closed ride belonged to.
You might see where this is headed. When lightning and thunder led to Disney closing several attractions during my Magic Kingdom visit, many guests instantly received substitute Multiple Experience Lightning Lane reservations that they could use on indoor attractions, including Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, right away.
Buzz’s Lightning Lane queue quickly surged with guests, making the standby line move 32 minutes slower than the originally posted 40-minute pace as Disney prioritized Lightning Lane guests’ admittance on the ride.
I’d made a big mistake in choosing to escape a storm on a ride that utilizes Lightning Lane. I’d have been better off with a longer indoor experience that doesn’t use the service, like Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Country Bear Musical Jamboree, or The Hall of Presidents.
The other factor I hadn’t considered was that even though Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is an indoor ride, much of its queue is outdoors and uncovered. Everyone in line got soaked and was exposed to the elements. This was not the safest decision on my part. All of the attractions mentioned in the previous paragraph have waiting areas entirely indoors or sheltered, which would’ve been better options.
Since I didn’t really mind waiting in a line, but did care about staying out of the rain, Pirates of the Caribbean may have been a good in-between option now that I’m reflecting on the situation. It still would’ve had a surge in Lightning Lane guests, therefore making the standby line longer, but no portion of the queue is fully outside, and it’s easy to get back in line when it’s over, if it was still raining and I wanting to bide my time even more.
In summary, my two key takeaways from this experience are:
- When it storms, avoid standby queues for attractions that offer a Lightning Lane, as your wait will end up being much longer thanks to an influx of guests in the Lightning Lane.
- When deciding which attraction to take cover in, consider a ride’s queue space and whether it’s outdoors.
As a storm settles down, you may see “unofficial lines” start to form outside of the queues for the outdoor attractions that were temporarily closed. When lightning and thunder arrive, Disney makes all guests leave the queues for the rides being closed. Guests are not allowed to stay in the queue and wait out the storm. Due to this, guests may take it upon themselves to form a line for whenever the ride gets back up and running, something that Disney inevitably may not have much control over. I saw this happening outside of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train toward the end of the storm on my day at Magic Kingdom.
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