Disneyland in the rain is still magical

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When we booked our Disneyland trip for mid-February, we weren't worried about the weather. Jamie and I had gone over the same weekend in 2007, and the weather was glorious. About 75° with nary a line in sight.
As a side note, how cute were we? Practically newlyweds, just 3 months after our wedding.

IMG_4855 | More Than Thursdays — Valentines Day 2007

But anyway.
We had been at Disneyland over these same few days, years ago, and remembered the glorious weather and lack of lines, so it seemed the perfect time for another trip! We booked through Get Away Today, like we always do, and chose to stay across the street at the Fairfield Inn, for easy access to Panera for breakfast and the parks for the fun.
As our trip got closer and closer, the weather looked less and less promising. Rain for most of our three days in the park, but we weren't going to let that slow us down! We prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.

Luckily, we only ended up having one really bad rainy day, and then about a half day of off and on rain, and gorgeous skies for the rest of the trip.

From this on day one…

To this on day three…

Overall, we would have had a very different experience if hadn't done our research and gone in prepared! Here, we're sharing some of our best tips to make the most of a rainy day at Disney.

Rainy Day at Disney Survival

Pack a change of clothes, or at least fresh socks. It's much easier to deal with wet pants, or maybe a damp sweatshirt, when your feet are dry. Stash an extra pair (or three) in your backpack and change when your socks get too wet. It only takes one surprisingly deep puddle to wreck an otherwise wonderful day.
Head straight for the lockers first thing in the morning. The lockers tend to fill faster than usual on rainy days, because people bring more stuff with them. Send one person from your group to snag a locker as quickly as possible. You can go in and out of them throughout the day, so it's nice to have a spot to stash your excess stuff. And if the weather clears? Ditch as much as you can!
Bring ponchos from home. Buy ponchos ahead of time, on Amazon or at a local store. One suggestion, though, spend a little more for the heavier weight vinyl ones, instead of the light (cheaper) plastic. The vinyl is much more comfortable to wear and won't have you sweating as badly as you do when you're wearing a glorified trash bag over your body.
Skip the umbrellas. Please, for the love of Mickey and Minnie, don't bring an umbrella to the park! Crowds of people plus umbrellas is just a mess, and they're just one more thing to deal with. A hood and a poncho will do wonders to keep you dry. Also, speaking as a tall person, PLEASE leave the umbrellas at home.
Borrow some washcloths and hand towels from hotel. Toss a couple of hand towels in your backpack! They come in handy for drying off benches and seats, as well as hands and faces if the rain gets really bad.
Ziploc bags. Something else to bring from home, some large and small Ziplocs are a lifesaver. You can put your phone in them, or the damp towels that you borrowed from the hotel. Keep your wet socks away from everything else in your backpack, and keep everyone happier at the end of the day.
Handwarmers: Our friend brought these out towards the end of a very wet day, and they were wonderful to have. Not something I would have thought of, but I sure was happy when she cracked those little packets of magic and handed them out!
Meal reservations: We made dinner reservations purely so that we knew we'd have a dry spot to sit. It's nice to know that that's something that's available at a certain point in the afternoon, when you're just cold and wet and want something warm to drink and a place to hang out.
Baseball cap to keep poncho hood out of face. As great as those ponchos are, they are not the most perfectly engineered things, so wearing a hat with a good brim on the front makes it far less annoying to wear a sheet of plastic. It helps keep the poncho out of your face, and the rain out of your eyes.