Jump To:
Show Summary
It is always dissapointing when you see rain in the forecast for your Disneyland trip. In this episode, we give tips for the rain and even when you might consider canceling your trip. Rainy days can mean minimal crowds, short lines for rides, and a unique adventure around every rain-slicked corner—that's what we're unpacking in this episode.
Deciding whether to brave the weather forecast or to reschedule your Disneyland trip is no small feat, and in this discussion, we dive into the complexities of making that call.
Chapters and Time Stamps
0:00 Intro
2:52 Rain Can Be Good!
20:15 Poncho vs. Umbrellas
Show Transcript
Welcome to the Park Magic podcast, your place for insider tips for your next Disneyland Adventure. Whether you're a first-timer or a first-time-in-a-while visitor, we're here to unwrap the secrets to creating and simplifying your dream Disneyland vacation.
Robyn:
Disneyland in the Rain
Sometimes the world just rains on your parade. Today, we're going to be talking about what to do if you see rain in the forecast for your Disneyland vacation. Don't panic; it can be a good thing. And I got one of my favorite people in the whole world, like if you ever get a chance to go to Disney with George, you should drop whatever to do, quit your job, sell your house. I'm just kidding. But you know, really, George is an expert at Disneyland. He grew up in California, spent pretty much all of his life in California, except for the last couple of years. And now he lives in Florida. And so he has a lot of experience with rain. You had three kids that you took to the parks all the time. And we've been to Disneyland in the rain, I think like four or five times, just with me even.
George:
Oh, yes! And it was a blast the entire time.
Robyn:
And you can have a good time in the rain. I think, you know, Jennifer says there's no bad weather, only bad clothes.
George:
Right, yeah! I'd like to add a little bit of that and that is there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad attitudes about the weather. If you don't have the right clothes, you can still have the right attitude. But we'll talk about all that.
Robyn:
Let's talk about, you know, because anytime it's going to rain, I see in the Facebook groups, we have people who are panicking because on the weather app, it looks like it's gonna rain all day. Let's start by talking a little bit about how rain usually plays out in California around Disneyland.
George:
I got a bunch of things to say about that. And really, the thing you should remember most of all is, you know, the old saying, ‘Knowledge is power.’ We want to empower you to kind of understand all that there is to understand about rain in California, specifically in Disneyland, and we want you to make the best choice for yourself. Not everybody's going to choose the same thing. So what's good for one person might be different for another person, but we want you to be empowered with the knowledge to know what the right thing is for you. And like we were alluding to earlier, sometimes maybe you don't want to avoid the rain. Let's just go play it.
But the one thing I want to say about California is if you're familiar with rain in any other part of the country, it might not be the same for you. So like Robyn said, I live in Florida now, although I still travel to California several times a year, so I'm familiar with the differences. And if you're used to, like, the warm summer rain that happens along the south, you might be a little bit surprised to know that in California, often the rain is cold. So, like, 'Oh look, it's raining outside. Let's step out into the nice warm rain.' Oh no, no, no, it can be kind of cold in California.
Rain Can Be Good!
But that said, water is still just water anywhere you go, and it's not going to kill you. It might make you feel a little different, but it's definitely not going to kill you.
But the thing about California is typically when it rains there, it's like an unusual event, and so people will freak out on the freeways, people will run and seek shelter because something that's not typical. But don't freak out, relax, enjoy, and in fact, lean in a little bit to the enjoyment part of it. Some of my fondest memories, both as an adult and as a younger kid, are stomping around in the puddles, either myself doing it just for fun or with my kids, you know, stomping around with your little kids can be fun. Think about the Winnie the Pooh, you know, in the rain, ‘Rain, rain, came down, down’, they had a great time, you know, playing in the rain, right? Why should you be any different? You're in the happiest place on earth, enjoy the rain. Sure, you might be a little cool, you might be a little cold, you're gonna be a little wet. But enjoy it. That's my advice.
Robyn:
And you know, rain can be a good thing because a lot of people will not be able to hang with the cold. Because the things that we're going to talk about in a little bit can make or break your day. So it's all about being prepared. So the people who get caught off guard, these, those are the ones that end up usually not making it.
What Rides Close in the Rain?
Now, as more and more people have started to learn that rain can be good, there are more people sticking around on rainy days than there had been in the past. George and I were there earlier this year; it was pouring rain, and it felt like nobody left, but we still had a really good time. As long as you keep your expectations realistic and you have a good attitude, then it can be a really fun day, even when it's cold and rainy.
Did you want to talk a little bit about rides and why some of the rides might still run outside with rain and why some of them will be canceled, even if it looks cloudy and there maybe isn't rain?
George:
For sure, now that the thing about outdoor attraction and well, the thing about rain in general or anything with park operations is Disney's primary concern is your safety. And even if you're annoyed by something like, ‘Oh, I totally wanted to see the whatever, and the whatever got canceled,’ or ‘I have to walk all the way from here to over there because they moved the whatever,’ you know, relax. They're not doing it just to be mad at you. And maybe you're having a bad day already, and this is just making it worse. But take a deep breath, calm down. The reason Disney is doing these things is for your safety. So you’re acctually, you should be glad that they're doing these things for you.
But the reason that rides specifically will close down is, number one, if there's lightning in the area, they do not want these big metal tracks or some of the other aspects of this attraction to attract any kind of lightning that's going to hurt you. And just out of an abundance of caution, if there's lightning anywhere near or there could be lightning developing nearby, they'll shut down the ride.
Now, the other interesting thing about this is, even if it's not lightning, even if it's just rain without any fear of lightning, and like I said, it's just water, right? What's the big deal? There is a safety concern about just the rain. And that is if the ride continues to operate, and then people get off their ride vehicle and walk towards the exit where it's outside, and they see the rain, they might want to stay inside the exit of the ride and not go out. And if that happens, then just kind of like the bottom of an escalator, you know, people are still getting off the ride, but nobody's leaving the ride building, it's just gonna pile up and create a dangerous situation.
So often they will shut down a ride if people congregate at the exit and aren't willing to step out into the rain. So that's another reason that the rides can shut down. And you know, if you kind of like close your eyes and picture all these folks crowded in, you know, cowering under the little overhang there and not willing to step out into the rain, it can be frustrating, it can be dangerous, it can be people are cranky and angry, that's just a bad situation. So Disney does not want those crowds to appear. That's another reason.
Robyn:
You know, so an example of that is Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters; you exit into this really tiny gift shop, and then people will hide in that gift shop. And it might seem like they just have the world's crankiest cast member because they're basically saying if you're not going to buy something, get out. And that's because they're trying to keep that flow of people.
Shows and Parades that Get Cancelled in the Rain
And it's the same reason why the parades can get canceled. While, you know, you might be fine standing in the rain; we've got people that are dancing there in costumes with limited visibility. So it's important that they don't slip and fall. So they're trying to keep the cast members safe as well. I think those are the big things that get canceled: fireworks, parades, some meeting like the, especially like the spontaneous meet and greets like the Alice in Wonderland and Aladdin walking around Fantasyland. And then like the outdoor rides like Dumbo. You know, those ones that get shut down first, usually, right?
George:
Yep, anything with exposure to the outside, you know, that's a lightning concern. So they'll shut that down. And then anything with an exit that, you know, could create a safety hazard if it rains, and people aren't stepping out into the rain to clear the exit area. That's a concern; it'll shut down.
But the thing I wanted to mention is, even though it's good to know to have the expectation that parades and fireworks and meet and greets and rides have the potential of all getting shut down because of the weather, we don't really know exactly what operational changes the park's gonna have to do as a result of the weather. So it could be that they have different walkway paths; it could be they need to shut down certain other areas of the park; you really don't know. But the important thing, the takeaway here, the thing to remember is, please just be flexible. Remember, this is the happiest place on earth. Everybody is there; their job is to make sure you're safe and you have a good time. They're not trying to make you miserable. So please just have a good attitude about it, be flexible, enjoy the weather as best you can. And you'll have a good time; they're not out to get you, I promise.
Robyn:
Lines Can Be Shorter in the Rain
Well, and you know, rain can be a good thing. Sometimes they'll have a lot of people leave, especially if it's really cold rain. If you can stay dry, keep your feet warm, which we're going to talk a little bit later, then you might be able to enjoy a lot of things with a lot lower levels of crowds. And a lot of people do cancel their vacations. I think on an average day at Disneyland, like half of the attendance there is Annual Passholders, so people who can come all the time. So when it's raining, a lot of those folks might choose not to come.
So you might end up with lighter crowds, shorter lines, especially if, you know, if you see in the weather forecast it's only expected to rain for a couple of hours, then it can be a really great day. And the park is so pretty when it's wet. I mean, there are some big puddles, for sure, but I just find it kind of pretty. And you can get these really great shots sometimes if not a lot of people when it's raining. And I really like that too.
George:
Dressing and Prepping for the Rain
I agree. You know, our fondest memories, both as a large family with kids and just as a smaller family when it's just my wife and my kids, are when things are different. You know, like in the rain, that's kind of unusual. And so my fondest memories, ‘Oh, remember that time it rained,’ you know, and then we'll share fun stories about that. And like the time we had to go off and get some hot cocoa or buy a new change of clothes or whatever those are. Those are fond core memories, you know, as you call it. We never sit around and say, ‘Remember that time we went to Disneyland, and everything went absolutely like normal and nothing out of the ordinary happened.’ Yeah, boy, that was a great time. The one thing I do want to say about clothing, and we should probably dig into this if you're ready to kind of talk about that.
Robyn:
Let’s get in it!
George:
Yeah. There's a lot to unpack here. And so a lot of people will wear the kind of clothing that just isn't really the best for rain. And what I mean by that is like, you know, a cotton pair of Levi's with, you know, socks, and shoes, and like maybe a heavy shirt with a sweatshirt. You know, that stuff gets wet and stays wet. Now, if it doesn't rain, that’s great as comfortable clothing, I want you to be comfortable, I want you to wear what you normally wear. But in the rain, that stuff can be miserable. The two ways I look at it is wear clothes that you love, and then have a contingency plan of what am I going to do if it rains. And for a lot of people, that's, ‘Oh, my clothes need to go, they need to come off of me, and I need to put on some new clean, dry, warm clothes.’ And if that's your opinion, if that's what you want to do, that's the best. If that's living your best life, by all means, live that best life, and we got a couple of great ideas for you if that's how you live your life.
And that is keep your change of clothes nearby; that could be in your backpack that you carry around. A lot of folks carry a big backpack when they tour the parks. That's not really my style, but a lot of people love it. Another thing is bring the big backpack but stash it in a locker; that's a great idea because you're only a few steps away, depending on where you are in the park. The thing I like to do is I carry all my contingency stuff, just-in-case stuff, and then leave it either in the hotel room if I'm staying in a hotel or leave it in the car if I'm, you know, a day guest driving in from nearby. That way, my plan B, and it's a little further away, but it's still accessible.
And then kind of the last step beyond that would be, you know what, throw your hands up and say, ‘I didn't bring anything because I didn't think I'd need it,’ and my plan B is actually not to go to the car for my supplies. My plan B is to drive down to Target; there's a wonderful Target right off Harbor Boulevard just close to the parks. Just drive down; either way would not be the first time you see soaking wet people walking in and then buying a whole outfit of clothes and walking out. And I mean, that's a perfectly fine plan B if that's your style. And I'm sure, Robyn, you got a lot of things to say about that too. But I want to come to the alternative of that.
And that is if you wear clothing that is kind of rain-compatible, it dries quickly. You know, it kind of wicks its moisture away. That's another option. Because if you get wet, if you're wearing the kind of clothes that can handle that, okay, and I don't mean handle it by none of it soaks in, what I mean is if it gets wet and actually gets wet, it'll dry quickly. That's another option. Of course, if you're visiting the parks in Florida, that's almost a must-have. But if you're visiting the parks in California, it's kind of a nice to have. But if that's not your style, I don't want to like encourage you to go out of your normal clothing patterns. But that's another approach.
Robyn:
January last year, I went to the parks with my family. And a lot of them, it was kind of like more of an extended family trip, a bigger family trip. So not just my core family. And you know, it looked like it was going to rain. So I was like, ‘Hey, don't wear jeans; you know, make sure you bring,’ like I packed for my kids a lot of the same clothes that we packed for Costa Rica for the rainforest. You know, things that, you know, like athletic, quick-dry kind of stuff. But my parents and my sister, I was like, ‘Hey, make sure you bring an extra pair of shoes; make sure you bring extra socks, and we want to bring them to the park each day.’ And they were like, ‘Ah, Robyn, she's a little A type. She's a little overly stressed about everything.’ And then me and my son hung out all day, had such a great time in the rain.
Why Dry Feet Are Top Priority!
Well, my husband and my sister and a couple of other people had to, you know, take my mom to go get new shoes, and, you know, she only ended up spending like three or four hours in the park that day because they had to go try to find things or change or dry off, warm up, all of those things. So like Skaar said, you want to be prepared. So I think we should talk about feet first because I agree with your wife, Jen, that says like keeping your feet warm is like the most important thing, especially and like it's true in Florida too. But especially in California because the rain is so much colder. I don't know if you disagree there.
George:
No, I don't disagree at all. I agree 100%. In fact, speaking of my wife, Jennifer, she's got a pair of Ugg boots, you know, the big, lined boots. She's got a pair of Ugg boots in the car at all times. And that's definitely her plan B. So she may wear flip-flops; that's our daily wear, even to formal occasions, it's always flip-flops, which works great in the rain, you know, they dry out pretty fast, and then off you go, but that's our style. If that's not yours, that's okay. But in addition to the flip-flops that we're always wearing, she's got those Ugg boots in the car, so when it's for whatever reason, it's wet or cold or whatever, it's time to flip into the better shoes. She's got them nearby. So that's brilliant, but let's talk about the feet. And let's kind of unpack that a little bit. Because if your feet aren't happy, you're not happy.
So there's a lot of ways to keep your feet happy. My personal opinion, as you've heard me say, is I've just acclimated to flip-flops. I wore tennis shoes and socks for my entire life. And then I'd come to Florida, and my feet get wet, I'd be miserable, and I would just sort of suffer through. And then I'd look around and see some of the local Floridians always wearing flip-flops. And then when I finally moved here and I was here frequently, and I'm like, wow, okay, let's just try this Florida thing, and I converted to flip-flops. It took a bit of a transition, but I converted to flip-flops. Now I'm a flip-flops guy, so if you're a flip-flops person, you're probably already set for the rain; your feet will get a little cool, but they'll dry off, you'll be fine. If you're not a flip-flop person, we're not trying to change your mind about anything else. And then please, please, please don't give up a lifetime of shoes, put on flip-flops as you're walking into Disney on the first day of your vacation and expect to have a wonderful Disneyland day wearing flip-flops for the first time. And this is something you need to kind of transition over to, but depending on what strategy you adopt, if you're flip-flops and let them get wet, or if you're shoes and socks and they need to stay dry, you can have a good time if you're prepared. But my advice is bring the extra pairs of socks, bring the extra pairs of shoes because your shoe itself is gonna get soaking wet. And the last thing I want to say about this before I hear Robin your take on it is remember that ponchos, umbrellas, no matter what else you have, and we'll talk about all the things, but no matter what else you have, they're not going to help your shoes. Your shoes are going to get wet no matter what else is going on on your body. So plan on getting your feet wet if it's gonna rain.
Robyn:
You know, I love flip-flops in the summer, but I don't like my feet getting cold. So normally, in Florida, I'm all about flip-flops. And if it's not too cold, if it's not like January rain, then I'm on Team flip-flop. But I'm a person that like loves socks. I mean, I will put socks on to go to bed, even if I wore flip-flops during the day, which I know is blasphemy to many people, but I love socks, I love shoes. So what I do is I bring a couple of extra pairs of socks, and then I bring shoes that are meant for hiking, that you can kind of get wet. So they're designed to get wet and quickly dry. I have a pair of Merrell shoes that I bought for hiking; they're very lightweight and kind of have holes in them, so everything dries really, really quickly.
So what I'll do is when I see the rain coming, or it starts to fall down, I'll take a little break, I'll take my shoes off, take my socks off, put them in my bag. If they've already gotten wet, I have a Ziploc bag that's ready to go. Once the rain has completely stopped, maybe put my socks back on. There are some socks that are really good about keeping your feet dry, even if your shoes are really wet. But especially for little kids, if their feet get wet and if those socks get wet, even if the rest of the day dries out, their feet are so cold. They also have these little foot warmer things, kind of like hand warmers that you can put in your shoes if you've already passed that point of no return. Sometimes that can help. But I will tell you trying to get shoes to dry out in a hotel room is not usually possible unless you sit there with a hairdryer. It can be really, really difficult.
So I think that you know, if nothing else, bring lots of different pairs of shoes or switch, bring something like Keens to change into when the rain starts, and then put your shoes in a locker and switch them out is something that I can do. And I know, George, I don't know if you've seen this, but on the Facebook groups, a lot of people will talk about these plastic booties that go over. I've seen a lot of other people complain that they become basically buckets, and the rain kind of falls into the booties, or it makes it really slippery. Have you ever tried those? Or do you know anybody that really loves them?
George:
I know nobody who loves them. I personally wouldn't ever try them because, and I know we're not talking about ponchos in a second, for me, I think about the fact that sometimes I'm more wet underneath a poncho than before I put the poncho on. Especially if you have a bad poncho; a bad poncho is worse than no poncho. So I kind of look at the plastic booties as like a bad poncho for my feet. I'd rather not trap everything in there. I'd rather kind of deal with plan B if I have to deal with a plan B.
And, you know, Robyn, you said something a second ago that triggered me; you said the point of no return. Let's talk about your contingency plans. I don't mean like your normal plan B, like let me run to the car and get my other pair. If you're stuck, if it’s in a wet shoe emergency and you don't have any plan B and you don't have any contingencies, what I recommend you do as a last-ditch resort is go someplace where they have some kind of paper towel or toilet paper or anything like that, you know, a bathroom or anything. If you can find something absorbent, what I've done before when I've got stuck with no other options and I'm wearing shoes and socks is I take off my socks, I pull out the liner of my shoes if it has one, you know, often there's an insert there in the bottom, and I'm left with just the shell of my shoe. Then I take whatever I've got, the paper towels or toilet paper, and I'm sure Disney would not be happy to hear me say or suggest you do this, but I will wrap my feet up in the toilet paper or the paper towel or whatever I've got, sort of like one of those Arctic explorers we find buried in ice from 1000 years ago. I kind of shove that big ball of paper back inside the shell of my shoe, lace it up, and that'll give me some warmth and dryness for a while. That's my emergency plan if all else fails. But to answer your question, I'm not a fan of the plastic booties.
Robyn:
And, you know, my kids saw George do this or they think they helped one of the kids do it, and they thought it was so fun, and it is something that they will remember. And there are other options too. There's a target not far; there are shoes that are available to purchase in the park. They can be a little pricey, so you want to try to do that.
Poncho vs. Umbrellas
Let's talk about Team poncho versus Team umbrella because I think I'm more on Team poncho, with some caveats. And you, I think, are much more like Team umbrella.
George:
Yeah, given the choice, I would be umbrella all day long. But remember, sometimes I'm like, ‘You know what, it's just water.’ I'm gonna get wet and enjoy my crazy day. And then hopefully the sun will come out and dry me off. I might be cool, but because I travel light, you know, I know a lot of people love to pack up a big fanny pack or backpack of essentials for the day, and that's great. Please do if that's your vibe. My vibe is to go as light as I can. I just have my phone and my wallet, and that's it. I don't have anything else. So often, I'll just leave the umbrella in the car. It's like man, I'll be fine. And then if I have to plan B and run out and get it I do but between the two to answer your question I am umbrella all day long, poncho is not my vibe, but I love that other people love it. It's good for them.
Robyn:
I like umbrellas, but you know, I'm not really good at making sure that I don't have good luck staying dry under umbrellas. I'm so easily distracted that I end up, you know, dumping the rain on me or somebody that I love. You know, I just, for some reason, I just can't get my act together on umbrellas.
What Makes a Good Park Poncho
I like ponchos, and they sell ponchos in the park. I ended up having to buy one recently because we got caught in the rain. Used to be like five or six years ago, they had these awesome ponchos; now they're like made of tissue paper. And they're like 10 bucks. When you're looking at ponchos, I recommend that you bring ponchos to the park with you, you know, on your trip with you. Even in the summer. If it's not gonna rain, if you're gonna do something like Tiana's Bayou Adventure when it opens up or Grizzly River Rapids then, but with the ponchos, here are some things that I look for in the poncho.
I wanted to have sleeves, and not just the gaping holes, because what happens is, especially when the rain's coming in sideways, that rain gets into the pants. And so the sleeves make it so that as you're kind of reaching in for things, it keeps the rest of you dry. I like the little drawstrings on the end of those sleeves to make sure that I can kind of tuck my cloth clothing a little bit back so it doesn't get hit by that rain, and a little kind of like a drawstring around the hood. So I can keep it from flopping off. And then I really want the length, you know, ideally to go just a little bit past my knees. So, you know, in, we'll have some links to a page with some recommendations that I have for the rain.
The reason is, is that when you have a really short one, then sometimes your pants will still get pretty wet. Just because, you know, the rain doesn't always fall straight down, down, down. So when I'm looking for a poncho, that's what I recommend. Sometimes you'll think like, I can just do like a winter jacket. Once that rain gets down into your clothes, it's kind of no return. You know, it's hard to get warm again.
So what I like to do is like, you know, we put on the, you know, wear the winter coats, but make sure you put your poncho on maybe a little bit sooner than you think you might need it if you're concerned. Or before you get to the parks, you know, put, you know, pour a cup of water on the sleeve, the sleeve of that jacket and see how actual water-resistant it is. Just because it says it's water-resistant on the Amazon page doesn't mean it's actually water-resistant. And then with jackets, do you usually do, like, more like rain jackets? Or do you usually do kind of like windbreakers because the wind is what can sometimes get you the most?
George:
Yeah, when the wind picks up, boy, you're gonna be uncomfortable even if there's not a hint of rain in the air. But let me go back just for one second. There's one thing I wanted to say about ponchos, you know, we were saying a minute ago that our fondest core memories are the kind where something unusual happens that we don't normally do. And you mentioned dump a cup of water and see, I love that idea. And, in fact, if your kids want to have a little goofy fun and do something they probably never done before, go get your ponchos for your upcoming trip, go put them on, go stand outside, and have somebody grab the hose and give it a try. I guarantee your kids will probably be delighted in the fact that you're doing something they couldn't expect their parents to actually ever want to do. You know, spray each other with the hose in the backyard with ponchos on. But it'll be a fun little family bonding core memory, but you also give your poncho as a trial run, and you'd be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I got so much water pouring in here.’ Better you know now when you're standing in your own house for a fun afternoon activity. Then when you're in Disneyland, the clock's ticking on your vacation, you're stressed for a bunch of other reasons.
But to answer your question about jackets, it's absolutely critical that you have something warm against the wind or just, you know, like a chilly California night. If you're not familiar with, you know, how the weather can turn cool in California, yeah, we don't want you to be caught by surprise. We want you to be prepared, you know. Knowledge is power. If you want to just jam a light jacket into your park bag, great. And like I said, if you want to leave it as a Plan B back at the hotel or back in your car, that's great too.
Taking A Break from the Rain
And that advice about the plan B in your car or the hotel, that dovetails nicely into advice that I hear a lot of other people share. And that is, don't necessarily commit yourself to an all-day Death March, especially with your little ones. It works out great when you kind of divide it up into shifts, hit the park early, especially if you're going to do rope drop, hit the park early and have that be your first shift. Go through and enjoy your first shift riding the rides and doing all the fun things you're going to do. But then the middle of the day, take a break, go back to the hotel, go swimming, take a nap, you know that that's that's common advice. And I hear that a lot. It's great advice. A reason it's so common is because it's so smart.
Layers, Layers, Layers for California Weather
But if you've got your plan B stuff, your jacket for the evening, and all these other things, or the inclement weather clothing back at the hotel, that dovetails perfectly, so do the first shift, if you get through without any rain, great, you're gonna go home, take a nap, go swimming, or whatever you're gonna do anyway, then go back. And if the cool weather jackets need to come out for your second shift, you've got them at the hotel ready to go.
Robyn:
When it comes to California, I always think layers, layers, layers because the temperature even on a bright, beautiful sunny day, it can go from cold to hot to cold. So I usually will always bring lots of layers which does help if things get in, something gets wet, it kind of gives you a little bit more protection. But, you know, so like if I knew it's gonna rain, I will have a T-shirt and then I might have a Spirit Jersey which is basically a long-sleeve shirt that goes over it, then I might have like a light jacket and then something that's more like a light windbreaker and then something like a little puffer jacket or something that we could put on if it gets really cold and keep those in the locker. So, you know, but I'm an overprepared person. So you don't need all of that.
George:
Well, I like to think about it this way. Often, I'll pack a jacket just in case or, you know, a Spirit Jersey just in case like you mentioned. Love Spirit Jerseys. But the way I pack it is I put a $100 bill in my wallet. And that's my Spirit Jersey. I don't have to carry around my Spirit Jersey. But I know if I need one, I get out that $100, certificate Spirit Jersey, and then I just go buy one. And, you know, with tax and everything, they're about $100.
Robyn:
They're there, they're really expensive.
Strollers and Scooters (ECVs) in the Rain
And then with little ones, you want to think about the stroller. You can put them in ponchos as much as you want. The stroller can get pretty wet and pretty cold. And then again, it might not dry out overnight. So there are lots of covers that are available for your stroller, but just kind of be thinking that through. And then if you have somebody that has an ECV, an electric wheelchair scooter, it's important to keep the little kind of command center where you, you know where you turn it off and on and keep that dry. So if they usually, if you rent one, they'll give you a shower cap to put on it and keep that dry. If not, you know in some cases, maybe I'll just go into one of the stores that Disney and ask for a bag and use that over it. There are a couple of rental places that will hold you responsible if it gets damaged in the rain. So make sure you check that. I purposely don't check. Like once that mobility makes you kind of take responsibility so I don't rent from them anymore. I rent from some of the other really great companies that are out there, not because they're a bad company, not because they're bad people. Just because, you know, the other ones had a little bit more allowance for that. I can't control when it rains and how I need to get back but they don't really like them being driven a lot during the rain. So if you've got some any ECV just kind of keep that in mind. I think those are the big things. And before we'd go talk about like, where can you hide from the rain, which is always a fun topic.
George:
Two quick things I wanted to mention: please, please, if you're an ECV driver, remember that everybody needs a little bit of extra courtesy and distance and space. So slow down, be careful because I see some of these folks on ECVs like it's the Daytona 500. You know, they're just zooming in and out on a rainy day, especially if the sun goes down, just give everybody a little extra space, go a little slower. But the other thing I wanted to say is if you're in a push wheelchair, not the fanciest ECV in LA, you know that's the creme de la creme right, have the motor drive around. But if you're in a push wheelchair, remember that often where you park your wheelchair to go into a ride might not be covered and so your chair's gonna get wet. Now, it's made out of good material that dries quickly, but still, you don't want to come back from a ride and then sit down on a soggy seat. So Robyn's advice about giving yourself a little baggie or a bag or something to kind of hide, cover the ECV, great idea, also even if you're in a push wheelchair.
Robyn:
Yeah, so you might even want to get your chair a little poncho.
George:
Exactly.
Robyn:
And so I think that, you know, those things can really help and he's exactly right about the seat getting really wet. And the same thing for the strollers, all of the stroller parking is pretty much uncovered. So even if you don't want to have your kids kind of encased in plastic, you know, you kind of see the little plastic fortresses floating around when it rains. Even if you didn't want to have that for your kids because of concerns, then you know, at least covering it while you're out so that they don't sit in a nice little puddle in their cute little clothes, then that can help as well.
George:
Yeah, if you're going to do the family activity of the poncho rain activity in the backyard as a trial, get one of those little ponchos for your stroller, put a teddy bear inside there because I don't think your little one's going to understand what's happening. But put a little teddy bear in there, put the thing over the stroller, and give it a go and see how dry the teddy bear comes out. You want to make sure you kind of give it a road test before you actually give it a park test.
Robyn:
And the reason we say you want to do this road test is the same reason that you never like the carnal sin, the one that you never do is you never bring brand new shoes to Disneyland. You want to test these things so you know where the fail points are. But also, if you're going to need to purchase something different, we want to make sure that there's not going to be something that's going to give you a blister, it's not going to cause chafing, you know. So if you can kind of do this little silly test run, plus, if you're an anxious person like me, you will feel like you have a plan, you will feel like you have everything set up. You know, George is much better about just taking things as it comes and not worrying about things. And that's why I aspire to be more like George. But for me, knowing what's going to work and having my backup plan makes me a little less worried. Because I know you're spending a lot of money coming on this Disney trip. And you really want to make sure it's really great. So you don't have to do it, but it's just an idea.
George:
Well, here's a fun idea. And that is if having a little trial run, a test in your backyard sounds silly. Why don't you book two Disneyland vacations, about a week apart or so and then have the first one be your trial run for the second one. If you don't want to try the backyard test, I think it'd be a lot cheaper for you.
Robyn:
Places to Hide from the Rain at Disneyland
Well, let's talk about places to hide. Because, you know, it's funny, there's some places that everybody goes to hide. And so they're super crowded, everybody's pushing and shoving and it's just not comfortable. There's no place to sit. And there's some places that you would think that would just be super busy in the rain that are really great places to hide from the rain that nobody goes to. And hopefully, I'm not ruining things. But you know, George, what are your favorite places to hide in the rain?
George:
Well, like everything, and let me just remind everyone again, that for me, number one is all about the attitude. If you see something you think is gonna be a great place to duck in and it's too crowded, relax. Don't think that that's a bad thing. Make a new friend, get to know somebody who's cowering in the rain in there with you. You know, and I know people want to spend a day in Disney free of crowds. I know that people think Disneyland is going to be a delightful park just for them. And then they're kind of mad that there's so many other people there. Just when you're jamming into a place to get out of the rain and you're trying to find a good place to hide and you're jockeying for position and elbowing for room, it can be a real ‘us versus them.’ Please let's all get on the same page, make a friend instead of ‘us versus them.’ Have it be all of us versus the weather. That's my advice on the mental attitude. But to answer your question, though, I'll give you my favorite place. But I can't guarantee it's going to be empty if you try because sometimes it's full, but my favorite place is the kind of foyer and entrance of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Now, I love Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln as an attraction anyway because when I'm in the attraction, I think back and like, you know, the World's Fair even before Disneyland where this animatronic was first revealed to the world, and I'm like, ‘Wow, this must have blown people's minds.’ And so I can appreciate the historical context, and of course, it's very patriotic, and it always swells with emotion. So I love the attraction anyway. But the foyer leading into it, you know, the entrance area is large. It has a lot of room inside there. Where you can kind of browse around and look at exhibits and historical facts and things. I love that area. That space is nice, but it's large and it's inside. And that, for me, is my personal number one go-to if I'm trying to get out of the weather.
Robyn:
Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln – if you actually go into the attraction, there are really nice, beautiful theater seats that you can sit down for a while. It's a nice, the length of the show is a nice length; it’s a great place to go in, have a break, sit down, even on a hot day – like really like it. There are a couple of other kind of like indoor show places. So, the Tiki Room, I know some people were like, ‘Oh, the Tiki Room is so lame.’ Let me tell you, I see more astonished, joyful little toddler faces in the Tiki Room. I love the Tiki Room just to watch other toddlers look at the birds. One of my core memories is taking my son there. We were doing baby sign, and he was just signing ‘bird.’ I thought his fingers were gonna fall off. He was so excited. He's just like, ‘Bird, bird, bird, bird, bird.’ But it is indoor even though there's a little rain on the outside of it. You're gonna be nice and dry. You're gonna get a little chance to sit down. The Tiki Room gets the busiest, of course, when it's raining. You know there are lots of stores that you can go into as well. Note that the stores are going to be a little extra crowded. So, like George said, make a friend, chat somebody up, that's a good thing to do. And then in ParkMagic, if you go to parkmagic.com and then go to Picky Mickey, we have a way to sort what restaurants have indoor seating. So you can do that, you know, last time we got caught in the rain, George and I, we went had a really wonderful meal, apple pie Sunday. I cannot stop thinking about it. It was so good. We had a really nice meal, and that took us out of the rain for a while. So you can either walk up to a restaurant and get on a walk-up list through the app or go to a quick-service place that has indoor dining. In California in Disneyland, you know, Hungry Bear is covered, the Pizza Planet, even though I normally don't recommend going there, that is covered. There are a lot of different places that have that covered experience that you can go to and kind of hide in the rain. So, you know, kind of look for those locations. And then, you know, if the rain, if there's not a lot of wind with the rain, I kind of like being on the train, you know, kind of sitting on the train. I might get a little wet as the things go back and forth, but just getting a nice little tour of the park because most of those are covered. I think, is there any, I have some in California Adventure? Did I miss any of the good ones in Disneyland?
George:
Well, you know, like I said, there is no one guaranteed always good one. Couple of ones we mentioned are great any indoor attraction, you know, will help a little bit. But the one thing I wanted to say coming back to your, you know, to having a good positive attitude again, and that is if you duck into an attraction just for the purpose of getting out of the weather, don't be surprised if you actually start enjoying the attraction. Like Robyn said, Tiki Room, you might think is dumb, and then you find yourself liking it. Nothing wrong with that. If you want to sit and look at some ridiculous old animatronic of Abraham Lincoln, you might think, ‘Great, I'm here just to take a nap or just to get out of the way.’ You might find yourself really enjoying it. So delight in that little surprise.
Robyn:
Places to Hide from the Rain at California Adventure
And then in California Adventure, there's—I think there's actually more places to hide in California Adventure. So, in the one that you would, so there’s, for those, there's the whole area between, like, Turtle Talk with Crush and the Animator's Workshop. There's this big indoor area that has these beautiful big screens, and they show clips. It's really cool. That place does get pretty crowded. A lot of people do duck into those, and lines can start to get a little bit longer for those attractions. But they are still a really great place to go. Right across the street is Mickey's PhilharMagic and Mickey's PhilharMagic you get to see little clips of the shows, It's like kind of woven together into this cute little story about, you know, Donald trying to conduct a symphony. And it's indoors, theater seats. And I have never seen the waiting area—I've never seen the theater full. Have you seen the theater full since they changed?
George:
But that’s not say. That’s not say it’s not adorable. It's an adorable show. And it's one of those things where you might like look.
Robyn:
It’s a sleep, people sleep on it. I think it's great.
George:
Uh-huh, and people are like, ‘It's just a movie,’ but I'll duck into stay dry, you might actually wind up really enjoying the movie. Don't sell yourself short. It's fun.
Robyn:
I really liked that there's the bakery tour that's over in San Fransokyo. You can get out of the rain for a short, short bit in the rain there. There are some really great indoor places to eat like Flo's. They have some good indoor sit-down restaurant. The pier area is a little bit harder to hide from the rain. But you know, Avengers Campus can be a little bit more difficult to hide in the rain as well. But there are still some stores over there. And then you can always, you know, decide to go to downtown Disney and head into Storytellers Cafe, get a nice meal. The Grand Californian lobby has some really beautiful things. If you're in California Adventure, you could peek over there, take a look at the lobby. Those are some of the things that you can do. But you can always go back to the hotel, especially if you know it's going to rain for two or three hours. Plan on leaving a little bit before the rain starts and come back after the rain's done. And that can be a great strategy as well.
George:
Yeah, but leaving before the rain starts if you're gonna go back to the hotel for a Plan B clothes change or rest, that's a great idea. But in the event that you did not leave before the rain starts to rain, the rain has gotcha now, my advice would be since you're going to get wet anyway. And since you're on your way back to the hotel to change into dry clothes or take a shower in a warm-up, whatever you're going to do. May as well just enjoy the fun of getting caught in the rain. And you know, I hate to say it again, but it might be a core memory to have you and your kids just get drenched. That sounds actually pretty fun. So you'll look around and you'll see people like trying to dive under for cover, trying to hide under a tree then you'll know that stuff really works perfectly anyway. Just enjoy it, stroll down the middle of the road like you own the place and say, ‘Yeah, I'm getting wet. What about it?’
Robyn:
And jumping in the puddles with your kids.
George:
Right, exactly.
Robyn:
You know if you have to go, but, especially if you know you're going to have to go back and change anyway, just embrace the wet, you know, just as long as you can keep warm, then you'll dry unless you're with the Wicked Witch of the West, in which case you probably should cancel, you know, unless somebody is going to actually melt because of the rain, or you know, embrace it, have fun, and just kind of get your team psyched up. Okay, we're gonna get wet, we might have a little cold, but we're gonna see how much fun we can have in the rain. And we're going to make this as playful and joyful as possible.
George:
Yes, and just one thing I want to say, let me lean in on the playful thing. Absolutely. I love it when kids play and have a good time. When parents kind of corral them in and try to like, make them not be hoodlum kids, it kind of hurts my heart inside because Disneyland is the one place where I think kids ought to be able to just be kids for a while. But what I want to mention is set your expectations accordingly, the employees in the parks for your own safety will not want your kids running and that's like the thing I want to do the most when even as an adult when I see it's raining, I'm gonna go out and get wet in the rain. I want to just run around and like, you know, kick my feet as big as I can through the puddles and things. For your and everyone else's safety, they won't want you to run, and they won't want you to stomp in puddles so loudly or so vigorously that you're now splashing other guests. So, as long as you can kind of rein that in a little bit, enjoy the rain. If you can, on the way back to change into dry clothes, just do it in a way that's not going to attract, like safety-related attention.
Robyn:
Finding the Best Hot Cocoa to Warm Up
You know, the other thing that I love to do in the rain is I love to get hot cocoa in the rain. You know, my kids, when it rains and we're in the parks, they're like, okay, when are we going to get our hot cocoa? I want to take a quick moment to mention that the hot cocoa that they sell at the Starbucks locations, Market House, Fiddler Pfeiffer Impractical is a little bit more bitter. So my kids actually prefer the hot cocoa that's available in some of the other locations. If you go to ParkMagic, go to that Picky Mickey thing, and then you just, from that drop-down, pick hot cocoa, hot chocolate or whatever is listed there. It will show you all of the locations where they serve hot chocolate around the parks. And if you are familiar with ‘I will eat that hot chocolate,’ that's what they serve at Jolly Holiday. It's just a warm and cozy. Red Rose Tavern has it. There's a lot of hot chocolate, there's a lot of coffee that's available, I kind of said that a little Bosnian coffee, you know, around that was, I apologize to anybody from Boston. That was not a good Boston accent. I don't know what I was thinking there. There are lots of places to get something delicious, tea and warm up, and you know, warm up your soul, get ready for another round.
George:
Yeah, if you know, the accent that comes to mind is I love to hear folks in Metrotown call it coffee. But no matter what kind of hot drink is your go-to, if you want to kind of lean into the shishi fufu Los Angeles vibe, you could order yourself a chai tea latte, whoo.
Robyn:
So there's lots of options.
When Should You Cancel Because of the Rain?
And so, you know, there are times when we've gone to Disneyland, you know, and we either, you know, it was really, really cold and rainy. And you know, maybe it wasn't as fun. So I do get a lot of questions that like it's going to rain, should we cancel? So, George, is there a time when you would say, you know, if it's going to rain like this or you this is the kind of people that are you're going with, then you might want to think about canceling or rescheduling your trip?
George:
Right. Well, only you know your comfort level about if you think you could be compatible in the rain. And honestly, I don't want you to have a bad time. If it's raining on you and you tried to stomp around in the middle of the rain through the puddles and you're just miserable. Please don't make yourself miserable just because I think it's fun. But if you would prefer to cancel then by all means, you know Knowledge is power. Let's talk about what that looks like to cancel. But what I would say is free your mind just a tad and see if you might be willing to book a trip even though the forecast calls for rain. By the way, you know, say what you will about climate change we can all pretty much agree that the climate is changing and it used to be I think we had a better time predicting the weather than we do now. It seems like now no matter how much we try to exactly and accurately predict the weather we don't do a really good job I've been even though I check the forecast everywhere I travel anywhere whenever I'm switching parks between you know Disney World and Disneyland or just no matter where I go I'll of course I'll check the forecast. But it seems now there's a better chance of them getting it completely wrong by the time I've packed and you know traveled or by the time I'm within the cancellation window where I can't cancel. It seems like the only the last minute weather forecast is going to work anyway. So I've just adopted this attitude and it's kind of compatible with my attitude in life and that is just take it as it comes. But if that's not your if that's not your vibe we don't want to push you into outside of your comfort zone. Of course canceling is always an option and with a couple of things we're going to talk about now you can be empowered to know the right way the right how to do it and when you should be thinking about canceling.
Robyn:
So the first thing is that just because it says 10 days from now it's going to rain doesn't mean it's actually going to rain in 10 days. And it could be that it only rains for 10 minutes. So when you're looking at your trip, kind of keep that in mind, it would be, it would be a bummer if you cancel your trip, you know, told your kids we weren't going after all, and then it ended up not raining that day. Now, I wouldn't tell the kids that it’s not raining. But you know, something to consider is that, like George said, those are not accurate. If this is your once in a lifetime trip, you've been saving up for five years, you were only going to get do this once and seeing the fireworks seeing the parades, you know Dumbo, the things that are outside, those are the things that you are coming for, and you have a very short window. So maybe you only have one day in each park, then you might decide that you know that you want to cancel or you know reschedule if you buy your tickets from Disneyland, you cannot get a refund on those tickets, you can use them towards a later date, that's not a problem. Even after the expiration, they'll credit kind of the value. So you know, you know losing that money. But rescheduling is gonna be the only option.
George:
For me, the word non-refundable, that kind of triggers me, I want to be able to refund and I'm triggered anytime I hear the word non-refundable, but I just want to emphasize and you said it, but I just want to emphasize what you said. And that is you will never lose the value of your purchase. Yeah, they're not going to hand you the money back. And so okay, that's kind of a bummer. But you will never lose the value of it, they will let you reschedule, they will let you apply that value to something else you buy, you've got all kinds of flexibility, just the one thing you can't choose is you can't choose to just hand them the your stack of cash back so you haven't lost anything.
Robyn:
Now on our ticket tool, if you go to parkmagic.com/tickets, there's a tool, you can look, you kind of compare prices, in there, there's one vendor that does allow refunds; they charge a 5% restocking fee. So, you know, we use our friends at Undercover Tourist quite a bit, just because I'm one of those people that likes to cause chaos and change travel plans quite often. So that is an option. And that's one of the reasons why in our course on how to do and plan Disneyland, I talk about the importance of booking refundable plane tickets, refundable hotels; if somebody gets sick or you have a big weather incident, that gives you that flexibility. So those are some of the things that you know you need to consider about when can you reschedule?
If the other thing is, like, if you're trying to decide to cancel, you know, you think about who's going to be in the group and how do they handle adversity. So I have some family members that are like, you know, adventurers out there, you know, their wilderness explorers; they're happy to go brave things, try new things. And then I have some people that are a little bit more "Eeyore.” I actually have somebody in my family that prides herself on being an Eeyore, and that's okay. I love her exactly the way she is and exactly the way she isn't. But, you know, Eeyore kind of personality, when you put the rain on top of all the other things that, you know, there's lots of things to find to complain about in the parks, it maybe you're not going to have very much fun in the rain with an Eeyore. So thinking about that, think about how your kids react to being cold if you guys are used to doing things outdoors.
And then the other thing I like to think about is there anybody with a physical disability or medical issue that being out in the cold and the rain could aggravate, you know, this includes things like arthritis or, you know, some asthma is triggered by different things. So, if you have a special need, or you have somebody that maybe is immune-compromised, and you're worried about the rain, I mean, the rain doesn't give you diseases, but you know, sometimes it can stress your immune system, then that might be something you want to consider.
The one time that I went to Disneyland, I was like this was a bad choice, we should have canceled. I had a, it was me by myself. And I had my two-year-old and my five-year-old. And it was freezing, it was freezing before the rain started. And then the rain started on top of it. And I, you know, we did the ponchos, we did all of that. But they just they were soaked. And they were cold. And we went home after only about two hours. And that was when, you know, we didn't have a pass. So we had paid for a single-day ticket. And we didn't have a lot of money. And I remember being really, really sad about that. So, you know, this was, you know, earlier on before I had taken kids to the parks a lot and had a lot of experience. But I just I want to make sure that if you have kids that hate being cold, hate being wet, you don't think they'll wear the poncho because maybe it's a sensory thing for them or you're gonna have some other trouble then that's when if you have people like that in your group then you want to especially focus on booking in a way that gives you that flexibility of refunds and changing.
George:
I couldn't agree more. And just let me emphasize again: "non-refundable" triggers me but in all those other circumstances, even if you're wrapped up in a non-refundable situation when it comes to flights and hotels, there's usually a rescheduling option or somehow applying the value. Don't let it trigger you like it triggers me. No one's gonna steal your money, and you're left empty-handed with nothing to show for it. You can with a little finagling, you can usually reschedule or somehow get the value of that back out another way.
Robyn:
What other tips do you have for people who are going in the rain?
George:
Well, let me just recap stuff we've talked about already. And the biggest, the biggest number one is I would challenge you or encourage you to consider adjusting how you experience it. What I mean by that is, you might feel powerless against the weather coming down. And you know, in a way you are; there's really nothing you can do about rain falling out of the sky. But you have the power and the power is how you perceive it, how you experience it, your own mental attitude, and I would encourage you to be optimistic about the fact that hey, rain is the natural thing. No one's punishing you; no one's trying to come down on you, right? I know that the phrases "Don't Rain on My Parade," I get it. Rain is typically associated with a negative thing. But I would like to give you the permission to let yourself enjoy the rain. Sure, it might not be ideal. It might not be what you're expecting. But my biggest number one advice is if you get caught in the rain, try if you can to enjoy it, because you might be surprised at how fun it actually is to create a core memory in the rain. Very unusual, your vacation didn't go as you planned, but you can still have a fun memory out of it. Anyway, that's my number one advice; my number two advice is, you will feel much better, even if all you are powered with is the knowledge—you know, knowledge is power, but you know all you're empowered with is the knowledge of what your plan B or your emergency contingency might be. You might not have to do toilet paper shoes, what we’ve talked about. But you might have to run down to Target or out to your car or back to your hotel or whatever it is. But having that plan B to fall back on or just knowing what your options are, I think that will make you feel a lot more comfortable. At least it certainly makes me feel more comfortable because I travel light, but I kind of know what all my options are if I have an emergency and need to go solve a problem. So having all those kinds of tips in your mind or in your back pocket, not literally, but just mentally in your back pocket. I think that's super important. And then the other thing I want to stress: if you're only going to remember a few tips from our conversation today, the other thing I'd like to stress is it sounds silly, and it sounds like we're joking. But if you want to give everything a trial run, I think that's fun. Get the garden hose out, put it on spray mode pointed up in the air, and create a rainstorm in your backyard and see how everybody gets along with their ponchos or the stroller cover or whatever it is. It'll be a fun family activity anyway. And if it happens to in the park, you've been through it once already, so you kind of know what you're getting at. So those are my top three. Robyn, what do you got?
Robyn:
You know, it really is about making sure that you have, with small kids especially, that you have something for them to change into, you have a backup plan, and then keeping the feet dry is the most important thing. So if you can only do one thing, then yes, jackets, ponchos, all of that is important, but making sure that your feet will not be cold and wet is the most important thing. Because it gets cold, I usually will always bring hand and feet warmers.
Magic Can Still Happen at Disneyland in the Rain!
In the show notes for this, I have a blog that is on ParkMagic site that has links to different products that I know will work, and products that even if I don't usually use them, friends that usually use these products that work in the park, you know you can still have a great day in the rain. And if you're going for thrill rides, then it can be a really great day because sometimes the lines will fan out quite a bit. So, you know, know that there is a lot of magic that's still available in the parks. Just it's not like the day will be over. We just need to make sure we plan accordingly and know that your pictures will be a little cloudy or you know your experience might be a little different than somebody else who went on a different day, but they can still be magical.
George:
Yeah, we want you to enjoy the magic of a perfectly sunny, beautiful Southern California day. We also want you to enjoy the different magic of a rainy day in California. Either way, it's magical, just different magic.
Robyn:
Lightning Questions with George
So, George, let's go through these quick lightning questions with our guests.
George:
Oh, no, I should have prepared. I'll give you my unvarnished, and this is not reharsed. So you're gonna get the without-thinking-top-ahead-responses from me.
Robyn:
What is your favorite hotel to stay at when you go to Disneyland?
George:
Okay, if I can splurge and I can afford it, if it's in the budget, I love the Grand Californian. It's just, even if I'm not staying there, I just walk through the lobby and sit down and pretend that like I'm, you know, soaking it all in. I just love everything about that space, the architecture of the whole thing, and so when I can splurge because it's really expensive but when I can splurge, and I'm able to stay there, I just thrill. So that's, that's by far my favorite but typically when I'm doing a Disneyland visit and I'm staying in a hotel I don't really have a specific recommendation except, well, I'm lying, actually do but I love the Harbor Boulevard. I love the Harbor Boulevard hotels because they're just so easy to walk to, and you know, they're very similar one from another, you know, they're kind of like a sort of a discount or an economy option, and it's great, you know, if basically if you want to spend, you want to blow your budget somewhere else, you know, on the snacks inside the park and economy hotel there on Harbor Boulevard is a wonderful idea. But there's one of them I think it's, I don't know the name. It's part of the Marriott brand, a family of brands, but they've got a waterpark on Harbor Boulevard, just close to the.
Robyn:
Courtyard!
George:
Courtyard yes! That's the one. They've got. They've got a waterpark, and so you know, you have a long day in the parks and your feet are tired, go sit in the hot tub. Are you going to take a break and not do a park day or you got a few hours before you head back to your home or airport? Jump in and do the waterslide, I mean, how fun is that to go to a waterpark in your hotel. So that's, that's my, those are my two, my go-to as if I'm splurging, Grand Californian. And if I'm not splurging, I see if I can get a room at the waterpark Hotel on Harbor.
Robyn:
What's the most important tip you give your friends when they plan a trip to Disneyland?
George:
Oh my god, I've said this once. I'll say it again. And that is your positive mental attitude. We could talk, I could talk about this for hours. And that is, you know, bad stuff's gonna happen even on a perfect day. But it's up to you to decide how you're going to experience it. And so if something bad happens to you, look at the bright side, it's probably a silver lining, or even if it's not a silver lining, it's a unique, interesting experience you didn't anticipate to have, enjoy it. So that's, that's my advice. Number one is, look, bad stuff's gonna happen or stuff you would prefer not to happen is going to happen. And no matter what happens, see if you can find a way to find the magic in everything that occurs to you because the world is a pretty magical place. Even if we're inclined to be grumpy about it. Find the magic. That's my advice.
Robyn:
Last one, favorite quick serve menu item?
George:
Oh, well, my favorite go-to is Bengal Barbecue. In fact, sometimes when I was living in Southern California, it was about an hour away. And so, you know, being an hour away from the parks, sometimes, gentlemen, I would look at each other and he'd say, ‘Hey, you want to grab dinner tonight, out somewhere?’ It's like, ‘Yeah, sure. Would you want to go to Bengal Barbecue?’ And he's like, ‘No, I don't want to drive down to Disney.’ Well, I want to drive down to Disneyland for Bengal Barbecue. I love the fact it's easy to get; it's easy to walk around and kind of not on while you're walking. And, you know, for those who may not know, Bengal Barbecue is like a skewers place. And so you can get, you know, chicken or steak or a asparagus of the bacon-wrapped asparagus is divine. But I'm a big fan of the skewers. And so I love to dip them in the sauce and walk around, having my Bengal Barbecue experience. That's me.
Robyn:
Well, that is the show for today. You know, if it's going to rain when you're going into the park, you probably might have listened to this podcast just because it looks like it's gonna rain. But if you see that it looks like rain, know that you can still have a great day; you have lots of options. And we're providing you with a link for some things that we've seen have really worked well in the parks. And, you know, just be willing to kind of change and go with the flow. It'll be a great day, and you'll have a great trip to Disney.
George:
Yes, even if the weather is the worst it could possibly be. It's happening in the best place it can.
Robyn:
Thanks for joining us today.
George:
It was my pleasure to be here, Robyn, and thanks to everyone for listening. I hope you picked up a few tips, but most importantly, I hope you have a wonderful time at Disneyland.
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Park Magic podcast. For more tips and planning tools designed to help simplify your Disneyland adventure, visit ParkMagic.com. If you enjoyed today's episode and want to hear more tips, be sure to subscribe to the Park Magic podcast. And don't forget to leave us a review. Your feedback helps us spread the magic even further. Leaving a review could also help you; each month, we will be selecting one reviewer to win a one-hour planning session with Robyn. Winners will be announced at the end of the first episode of every month. Thanks for tuning in, and remember that we are here to help you have a less stressful and more magical trip to Disneyland.
Show Resources