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Universal Orlando Rain Policy? Visiting Tues-Thurs

Universal Orlando: Looking for rain info for Universal Orlando... such as early park closing, ride closures, etc?

From Jeff Lockhart
Posted May 18, 2009 at 7:07 PM
So, my usual travel karma has struck again...

I'm visiting Orlando Tues AM-Thurs night and of course, I see that I am bringing the Portland rain with me.

My two friends and I have already purchased two-day, two-park passes to both Universal Orlando parks. No refunds, etc..
Were a bit concerned about the forecast. I know the locals need the rain, but we dont!

My questions: Does Universal Orlando have a rain policy? More specifically, am I going to be disappointed when I arrived to Islands of Adventure and they've shut the Hulk, etc... down due to incliment weather? Or do they keep right on plugging along...

Any advice (besides bringing our own ponchos - Ive got plenty here!) you could extend our way would be awesome.

Thanks in advance!


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted May 18, 2009 at 8:24 PM
As far as I know there is no raincheck, but a majority of the rides at USO and IOA are indoors so you should be fine either way. I will be down and around there too so damm you and your Portland Rain :)

Its likely not to rain the WHOLE day either.

From Rob P
Posted May 19, 2009 at 12:46 AM
Jeff -I remember being there one June ( 2000 ) when it was torrential rain all day every day.
You know what ? Because of the rain everyone donned their plastic rain gear ( from Disney, Universal, Seaworld or wherever ) and the bad weather just seemed to make everyone that bit friendlier.
The " we're all in this together" spirit was great. All of the rides stayed open until the lightning but re-opened when it was safe again. Everyone seemed to enjoy it BECAUSE of the downpours.
I have to say that we had the best time at Universal on those days.
So I wouldn't worry.......as they say : There's no such thing as bad weather..........just the wrong clothes.

From William Clark
Posted May 19, 2009 at 7:23 AM
It rained all day yesterday here in Orlando and it is raining again today as well. Lightning shuts down the coasters as you well know but they run in just rain, if you don't mind riding them during rainstorms feel free to hop on. All of the rides at Universal Studios are indoors though. At Islands you just have to wait it out if they shut down due to lightning.

From William Clark
Posted May 20, 2009 at 7:34 AM
It's a tough week to be in Orlando on vacation. We have been getting heavy, almost nonstop, rain since Monday and heavy rain is forecast for today. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting today that according to the National Weather Service nearly 5 inches of rain fell at Orlando International Airport as of 11 pm last night

At Busch Gardens Tampa if rain interrupts your visit they used to give you a coupon for another day's admission to the park, good for the next 7 days. Don't know if InBev cut that. Doesn't do much good if you're a passholder but it's a nice gesture to those on vacation. At Islands, well.. you just have to hang in there and hope for a break in the weather.

From Don Neal
Posted May 20, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Just over two weeks until we head to Disney. Hope all the rain is caught up by then. :)

But just in case we went ahead and picked up ponchos here at home. May as well since they were $3-4 a piece here as opposed to probably $10-20 down there. If we don't use them, we can always take them back! :D

From Anthony Murphy
Posted May 20, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Excactly one week for me!!!

From hannah caller
Posted May 20, 2009 at 2:32 PM
10 weeks for me!!

From First Timer
Posted May 21, 2009 at 8:39 AM
Just came back from Orlando and it rained whole day, everyday for the time that I was there! The only ride that was cancelled while I was at Universal was the Jaws -- all other rides stayed open.

On the plus side, the rain helped keeping the crowd light and reduced the waiting time at the rides.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted May 21, 2009 at 9:08 AM
The nice thing about alot of stuff in the FL parks are they are indoors and there is very little actually outside.

From William Clark
Posted May 21, 2009 at 10:07 AM
That's mostly true for the Orlando parks, except for the coasters at Islands, Anthony but Busch Gardens in Tampa is mostly an "outside" park. Lightning shuts down almost everything, that's why they used to give you a free coupon for another day in the park if the weather interrupts your visit. They may still do that, I'll check this weekend and find out.

From Jeff Lockhart
Posted May 22, 2009 at 8:58 PM
Well Im back, and yes... it rained... and rained.. and rained. There was a 4-5 hour break Wednesday morning when the rain stopped and the sun actually came out... thats when we hit up most of the rides at IOA. Ride times Tues/Weds never exceeded 20-25 minutes other than the Hulk... which was 45. That was prior to adding more coasters though.

We got tix to Blue Man... but were unprepared for the long walk from the parking area to the Blue Man theater in the rain. We didnt think it was going to be that bad, but it was. Absoltely soaked.

And yes, we brought our own ponchos too. Not sure how much the parks were selling them at, but I purchased them here in Portland for $1.99 a piece.

Overall, minus the weather, it was a good time. Without the long waits, you can hit up all of the major rides in a park a couple of times and be done by 1 or so.

Thanks for all of your input!

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