Tips about Magic Kingdom and Rain

For those busy moms who need to keep track of strollers and children during a rainy park day I suggest a great invention.....the umbrella hat! You can find them at various novelty stores on line and they simply are worn as a hat but are actually small umbrellas. They will not keep your entire body dry but they keep the rain out of your face so you can see and you have both hands free to use on the strollers and kids. I have actually worn them and they are pretty comfortable and yet snug enough that they won't blow off unless there is a huge gust of wind.

Disney Springs is a great spot to visit on rainy days. You can go from shop to shop many times without evening going out into the weather. While you are there shopping you might consider taking in a game of bowling or a movie at the AMC theaters.

Take a Disney Vacation Club Tour. That's what we did and we are so glad we did. The DVC has been a wonderful purchase for our family. It is an opportunity to explore the DVC and be in out of the rain at the same time! - Steve & Susan Beck

Take advantage of the exercise rooms in most of the Disney hotels, a nice meal and maybe even a nap... the sun will come back soon enough. And, you will be refueled and energized, ready to go. - Mary Parker

One day it rained the entire day and we were lucky enough to have planned the tea with Alice that day. We took the monorail to the Grand Floridian where my daughter spent a wonderful hour with Alice and the Mad Hatter and my husband and I had a quiet hour together listening to the piano player in the lobby and watching the rain. We took the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge where she spent the rest of the afternoon at the Cub's Den making crafts. After dinner at the hotel where she rode in a hobby horse race, we sat and watched her have her character portrait drawn by the lobby artist. It was a wonderful day and we discovered many wonderful new things to do that we might not have done had it not rained. - Lisa Bliss

A great way to spend a potentially not-so-magical day is to visit Disney Springs. The shops are fantastic and are each beautifully themed. The Once Upon a Toy Store will keep the younger set busy with its interactive toy displays -- be sure to design your own Mr. Potato Head postcard for a fun and cheap (free!) souvenir. The outdoor LEGO play area is also sure to be a hit. As far as dining goes, there are plenty of options to please all members of your group. Disney Springs is also home to a huge movie theater and DisneyQuest -- an indoor interactive theme park good for a few hours of fun when the weather isn't wonderful. My family and I could easily spend an entire day wandering around Disney Springs. Regardless of the weather it's a great place to relax a bit after storming the parks. Enjoy! - Amanda Downs, Whitney Point, NY

Last time we were in Disney on a rainy day we took a bus to Disney Springs to the shops and bought a scrapbook and supplies. We then went back to the hotel and I started working on it while my husband plotted out the next day's itinerary. I even included a rainy day section with pictures of us stuck in the hotel room. I was able to do most of the scrapbook before we left Disney and I had something fun to show my coworkers when we came home. - Danielle Mahoney

My husband and I like to drive over to Disney Springs and do a movie marathon at the AMC24 theater. If we are at the BoardWalk Villas as DVC members when it is pouring, we try to grab a rocking chair on the deck outside the main lobby, curl up with a book and we have a great view of the lagoon and BoardWalk. - Shelley Bordo-Bracken

Take your Hidden Mickey book and head over to a hotel on an adventure looking for them. We were on one of the floors by a room looking for one when a family came out. They were very surprised when we showed them that a Hidden Mickey was right by them. - Sharon Petrow

We bring "Disney games" with us. There is the Disney version of Guess Who, Disney Trivial Pursuit, Uno, Memory and many other board games. We order in room service, play Disney board games and watch Disney movies/TV. We also eat Disney "snacks." Walmart has Disney microwave popcorn, and local dollar stores and Walgreens have Disney candy and fruit snacks. - Christine Mercier

Don't forget to check out activities that might be going on at your resort! One rainy afternoon our extended group of nine gathered at tables in the food court area of the Port Orleans Riverside Resort. We had found tables by the windows and out of the way of people eating a late lunch to enjoy some card playing. We noticed that some Disney staff were setting up tables with an activity and had also brought out a dozen or so chef coats. One of the Cast Members approached our group and invited the kids (all four of them) to come don a chef's coat and join in the activity at the table. Each child got a large Mickey shaped sugar cookie and frosting and decorations to create their own MICKEY! It was a fun activity for the kids and a tasty treat as well! In case you were wondering, it was a free activity! - C. Hesse

Discover the beauty of the resort you are staying in, take a closer look at the lobby decorations, walk around and look out the public viewing areas. Or take a tour of a resort. If your resort has no tours, call the Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge and see if a tour is available. - Wendy from NY

I go resort hopping and go shopping. Each of the gift shops at the different resorts has the standard merchandise; then, as an added bonus, they have merchandise specific to that resort. So far, what I am trying to do is either collect a different beach towel or shirt with the resort's logo on them, or I stop by their snack bars and pick up a soda cup with the resort logo for about 11 dollars. With the mugs, I even have the ones that say Fall 2000, which I got at Epcot. - Debbie Jeffers

If it is after lunch and it looks like it will be a few hours of rain, the best thing to do is head back to the hotel and take a nap! Or, mom gets to do laundry while everyone else naps -- not so fun, but you get to chat with all the other moms in the laundry room about where they are from, what restaurants they ate at and enjoyed, etc. - Mary Ann Devine

Hop on the monorail and head to the Contemporary Resort! Riding the monorail in the rain is an experience in itself. We head to Chef Mickey's for a nice dinner or to The Wave for a quick bite. We always finish the trip with a stroll through the stores and admire the inside of the hotel. My family has enjoyed our "trip to the Contemporary". Cheryl Fer