Just a Glimpse

I know at least my mom is wondering how Disneyland went in the rain. It didn't start raining until around 4pm. Here's a quick peek:

For those of you who stumbled on this blog after searching Disneyland and rain, here's some information. First, unless you are on vacation and have no other day you can go, reschedule. We got lucky that it didn't rain until around 4pm. It wasn't a hard rain when it did start raining, but it was steady. And it wasn't much fun navigating the park with toddlers in ponchos, trying to keep the stroller and the kids and myself dry. If I had teenagers, I'd still go-- the park is empty, and there's plenty to do. And teens don't get as needy and aren't as hard to wrangle in the rain. But for those of you with little ones, stay home. Say Disneyland has closed (even though it never does for the rain). Take a rain check-- that's what they're for.

That said, if there's some reason you have to go (like we had reservations at Club 33 and were going to pay whether or not we went), here's how we prepared for the rain:

• We purchased cheap rain boots for the kids from Target, and I even got some pretty darn ugly ones for myself. The kids wore them all day. I kept mine in a locker in case I needed them if my feet got wet. We tucked the kids' pants into their socks, so their feet would stay dry and tucked in.
• We purchased cheap rain ponchos and carried them with us. They sell them at Disneyland, of course, but for a premium price. We were able to try ours on early, and cut the bottoms on the kids' so they wouldn't trip. Unfortunately, Jason and his dad's tore straight open. Of course a rain coat will keep you dry, too-- just not as much of you. Some people had rain suits on; that's an option.
• We brought umbrellas and used them. It's hard to see what's going on with a hood up. Plus our golf umbrella was huge, so we left it covering the stroller any time we went on a ride, to keep things dry in our absence.
• We lined the bottom of our backpack with a trash bag, and we packed everything in one and two gallon zip lock bags inside the backpack. This way we didn't have to worry about diapers getting soaked accidentally. It also allowed us to carry a couple changes of clothes for the kids with us, just in case.
• We brought extra trash bags with us in case we needed them as emergency ponchos or stroller covers, but we didn't need them.
• We brought a fitted stroller cover for the double stroller. It worked well, but the kids felt pretty claustrophobic in it. If you don't have one, try to get a clear poncho to put on the stroller.
• We had contingency rain plans. That is, we'd scoped out exactly what rides we'd go to in the rain so that we could keep moving and stay indoors as much as possible. Many, many rides are indoors-- like Star Tours and Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. The train is covered, Buzz Lightyear is indoors. So is Space Mountain and Indiana Jones. You get the idea. Just knowing a route to take relieved me of some stress.
• We talked with the kids about the potential for rain and what it would mean in advance, just so they'd understand if we had to leave early or anything.

So those are some things to do in the rain at the Disneyland Park. We had contingencies for California Adventure, too, but we just never made it over there. Maybe next time. Hopefully not in the rain.