Rain Rain Rain

Well we just got back Tuesday night from our final Disneyland trip...at least for now as our annual pass has officially expired. And we didn't renew this time (though I'm planning on going back in March and will get a new one then...) Never have I seen so much rain in Disneyland! It rained from the time we arrived on Saturday till the time we left on Tuesday. There was only two breaks in the rain...from 9pm-10pm Sunday night and from 9am-10am Monday morning. The first one was actually perfectly timed, as I had reserved a dinner package at Ariel's Grotto which included fastpasses to see World of Color from the 'premium' standing area. We had seen the show only once before, and that from the side as we did not have those special passes. 

 Boy, I tell you, the show is leaps and bounds better from the front. You can't see any of the projections from the side, and without that the show is just a bunch of random lights and bursts of water. It fortunately stopped raining just in time for the show, though by then the rains had driven crowds away to the point where the standing area was less than half full. In any case, we had a great viewpoint. The rains got so intense at some point that even with a rain jacket and umbrella it was impossible to stay dry. We found that we had to got back to the hotel for a few hours in the afternoon just to dry off and change out pants and socks. Many of the public sidewalks were starting to flood at one point, and even Main Street in Disneyland was taking on more water than the poor workers could shove down the drains with their push brooms. But hey, it was Disneyland after all, and you can't beat a trip to the Magic Kingdom. I was actually worried about crowds, being that it is after all the week leading into Christmas. The only time is was really crowded was that one hour on Monday morning where it stopped raining. Most of the time, waits on rides were negligible at best. I think I saw Space Mountain get up to 45 minutes once, which is a far cry from the 100 minutes you often see in the summer. 

The downside of the trip - at it was quite a downer! - was that the rains prompted cancellations and closures of many shows and attractions, including all parades, Fantasmic, Electronica (whatever that is!), and unfortunately the evening fireworks and snow. That was a disappointment certainly; no white Christmas in Disneyland! 

World of Color seemed to go on the whole time despite the weather; I guess that makes sense as it's a water-based show with no live actors. One cast member actually told us that it's BETTER in the rain. Something to do, I think, with extra light refraction from the falling water. You'll have to ask a scientist for a better explanation. But now we're home, dry for the moment, and enjoying some time off from work for the holidays. Which reminds me, now that it's two days till Christmas, time to do some last minute shopping!