Only 2 park days - thunderstorms predicted this Friday. WWYD?

[NashvilleMama]

I'm surprising my two girls for a quick 2-day visit this weekend - waking them up for a 5am flight on Friday morning, going straight to MK (should be in park by 10:30am if all goes well. Have done this before.)

Then Saturday 1 day in DHS.

I know enough to not freak out about rain forecasts in Orlando, but it's rare that I see thunderstoms predicted solidly for most of the day like this on Friday.

The girls' favorite ride is Splash Mountain - I feel like I should go ahead and ditch that FP and get something more practical right now. Those aren't impossible to get same day anyways. Yes?

Main question: Should I consider adding on a park hopper for Saturday, so if we don't get to do much on Friday due to weather we can do a bit at DHS in the morning and then back to MK? I've never done park hopper so not sure how simple the process is to add it on at the last minute.

Advice welcomed! I'm in semi-panic mode which I know is a waste of time.

 

[FCDub]

You're too far away for an accurate forecast for Friday. Keep monitoring the weather, but don't let it upend your plans.

And it's easy to add park hopper. You can do it at any ticket window.

 

[Mome Rath]

I would do the park hopper IF MK is open later and your girls can stay up later, you can wait to add it though to see what the weather does. With the refresh strategy there are only a few FP's that you can't get same day (SDMT in MK and SDD in HS are the 2 most relevant to your trip if doing MK and HS only), everything else you have a chance at same day, esp. if you start looking earlier in the day.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I also arrive Friday. I've looked at the weather but it changes often. Friday has consistently shown rain but it goes from rain to thunderstorms every few hours and the days surrounding it change from rain, to no rain, to thunderstorms. We are sticking with our plans and rolling with it. It's way too early to do anything about it. I wouldn't change anything yet.

 

[theone74733]

Like others have mentioned, don't worry about the weather this far out. I remember for my trip in January there was an all day thunderstorm event that was foretasted 5 days out with people on these boards freaking out. When we got to that day, it turned out to be mostly cloudy with a light sprinkle for 20 minutes in the afternoon. The major rain occurred in the overnight hours. Even the 2 day forecast was wrong as it was predicting rain from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Just continue to proceed with your Friday plans, but be prepared for spot up thunderstorms as they could last anywhere from a 30 minute to 2 hour period.

 

[NashvilleMama]

thanks, all - I'll take a chill pill for now.

 

[jina]

We had thunderstorms on the forecast for one of our MK day- I was stressing over it as we also had the HEA dessert party booked for that night. It ended up pouring for about 15 minutes (we all ducked into Tomorrowland terrace), then rain off and on for a couple of hours - I'm pretty sure the parade still ran (but we were gone during it). We went back to BLT for an hour to rest then back to MK and most rides were walk on or close to it. one of the best parts of our trip. After that first storm 80% of the park emptied. Bring some ponchos, travel light, and enjoy the experience.

 

[Princess Katelet]

You've woken your girls up for surprise Disney trips before, but you've never had park hoppers? That's interesting! I won't go without park hoppers, they're awesome!

 

[Wish Upon A Starbucks]

I would keep the splash FP. If it rains enough that they close the ride your FP will become an any experience fastpass that you can use later or for another ride so that gives you lots of flexibility.

 

[LMO429]

ALl last week it was an 80% chance it was going to rain on 10/26 it rained for 1 hour in the morning that was it. no need to cancel any plans

 

[10CJ]

I would keep the splash FP. If it rains enough that they close the ride your FP will become an any experience fastpass that you can use later or for another ride so that gives you lots of flexibility.

This is what I was going to say.

I would wait on the park hoppers. You can always decide while you are there.

 

[bkfamilyof5]

When I was 9 my family went to DL in the middle of a huge, unprecedented rainstorm. We rode Splash, which was new then and thought we were already soaked, couldn’t get any wetter - but we did! It was still super fun and a trip
I have fond memories of 24 years later! Don’t stress, rain may make
Your plans a little different but it won’t necessarily make them worse!

 

[NashvilleMama]

When I was 9 my family went to DL in the middle of a huge, unprecedented rainstorm. We rode Splash, which was new then and thought we were already soaked, couldn’t get any wetter - but we did! It was still super fun and a trip
I have fond memories of 24 years later! Don’t stress, rain may make
Your plans a little different but it won’t necessarily make them worse!

Update on this: It *poured* during our trip last Friday....and it was our favorite part! The park cleared out, we rode the People Mover in the rain two times in a row, got 3 FP for Space Mtn, and had a blast in our ponchos. Thanks for the fun advice because my instinct would have been to bail out along with everyone else!!

 

[Satchmo128]

Update on this: It *poured* during our trip last Friday....and it was our favorite part! The park cleared out, we rode the People Mover in the rain two times in a row, got 3 FP for Space Mtn, and had a blast in our ponchos. Thanks for the fun advice because my instinct would have been to bail out along with everyone else!!

Love to hear that you had a great time! We've had multiple rides on POTC during rain storms. Those unplanned moments are fun!