If you’ve been to Disney World even once, you probably know that rain can literally happen at any given moment.

It can rain frequently in Central Florida. And when that happens, you’ll want to know what to do. There are some places that are better than others to ride out the rain storm. Here’s a list of the places you don’t want to be caught in Disney World during a rain storm.

Parking Lot

You just pulled into the parking lot of a Disney Park, and you hop out of your vehicle excited to hit some rides. You start to walk and BAM! — it starts raining. When you’re in the parking lot, you’ll either have to turn back to your car or keep heading toward the park entrance. You won’t find any places to take shelter during the storm in the parking lot.

You can try to catch the tram if you’re close, but we don’t recommend waiting for the tram if it’s not there. It could start to lightning, so you don’t want to be stuck out in the middle of the parking lot. Just quickly head for the entrance and try to duck into a store to wait it out.

Main Street, U.S.A.

In Magic Kingdom, Main Street, U.S.A. is not where you want to be during a storm. While Main Street does have stores on both sides, these get crowded and quickly fill up with people waiting out the storm. Guests head into stores to try to purchase ponchos, and crowds of people gather in the stores with strollers, EVC, and large groups blocking walkways.

Once you’re in a store, the crowds can get overwhelming for some people and you might end up wishing you were just outside in the rain. If you are caught on Main Street during a storm, try to head to a lesser known area like the Fire Station or even Tomorrowland Terrace to stay dry.

Toy Story Land

Over in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land is known for having little covering. Most of the land is outside and does not offer too many indoor options to take shelter in. The only indoor store you’ll find here is at the exit of Toy Story Mania, and unless you are coming off that ride, it can be difficult to get to quickly as it sits at the back of the main path.

Woody’s Lunchbox is all outside with little covering and you won’t be able to get inside Roundup Rodeo BBQ without a reservation. As far as shelter options you could find, your best bet is hiding under an umbrella or inside the restrooms.

Pandora

Similarly to Toy Story Land, Pandora in Disney’s Animal Kingdom does not offer a lot of shelter options. You could head into Satu’li Canteen, but we recommend you have a mobile order here. You could just order a soda to help you wait out the storm.

There is only one inside store here in the Valley of Moara, Windertraders. This store is often crowded, even without bad weather, because it is at the end of Flight of Passage. Don’t be surprised, if you are caught in here during a storm, that you will have people on all sides of you.

Flooding Areas

There are a few locations around the Disney World parks that are prone to flooding. In EPCOT, we have seen some parts of the World Showcase flood during a storm, creating large puddles. What’s worse than walking around in wet socks? YUCK.

Hollywood Studios also floods when there is a lot of rain at once. In 2022, we even saw stores flooding during a big storm. If you are in an area that is flooding, you’ll want to move. This allows Cast Members to have the room to help clean up the water quickly.

Outdoor Queue 

Finally, outdoor queues. Not every ride at Disney World has a covered queue. For example, Rise of the Resistance has an outdoor portion of the queue before you head inside. If it does begin to rain, you’ll have to either wait outside in the line until you reach the inside portion or step out of line.

This is also true for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom. There is a large portion of the queue that is outside without cover, so if it starts to rain, plan on getting wet.

This ride also could temporarily close due to bad weather. The ride would stop running and they could even clear out the queue depending on how inclement the weather is. If you are getting in line for this ride, keep an eye on the weather because you won’t want to have to wait and not be able to ride.

That’s a wrap on the places you don’t want to be in Disney World during a rain storm. For more Disney tips, keep following us at DFB!

Where is your go-to spot in the parks when it rains? Let us know below.