On Thursday, February 13, 2025, it was a very rainy day in Southern California. As the rain poured throughout Orange County, I made my way up to the Disneyland Resort to go for a walk through the parks and enjoy a rainy day in the parks.
I arrived at Disneyland shortly after noon and the rain was coming down. People could be seen in ponchos and with their umbrellas, a lot making their way toward the main entrance of the park as I was walking in. In general, it was not a busy day at all at The Happiest Place on Earth!
I made my way up Main Street, U.S.A., and soon found myself enjoying a fairly quiet Hub with several opportunities for some empty photos. Knowing that Mickey’s Rainy Day Cavalcade would be arriving soon, I enjoyed wandering around taking different photos of the entrances to the worlds “Yesterday, Tomorrow And Fantasy.”
After Mickey’s Rainy Day Cavalcade, I began to make my way around the park. I started by entering through Frontierland and then veered into Adventureland. Soon I found myself walking around the Rivers of America as the rain came down. I was quite thankful I had grabbed an umbrella on the way. The Haunted Mansion and the Mark Twain were particularly beautiful as they stood out proudly in the rain.
The next stop was Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In general, this is always one of my favorite places. This is even more true on a rainy day that scares away the crowds. Batuu was very quiet. I could have taken many more photos but I had some restraint. Instead, I enjoyed the views as I listened to the rain hit my umbrella. I also was delighted to see that there was NOBODY around the Millennium Falcon. For this, all restraint was lost as I took pictures of Han Solo’s ship.
The next destination was Fantasyland. I will admit, in my wanderings, I ended up here more than once. Fantasyland can be very busy during the day. Today, this was not the case. As with the rest of the park, everything was rather quiet. Instead of hearing shouts of children’s excitement and the chatter of crowds, I just head the pitter-patter of rain on the umbrella and the music of Fantasyland in the air.
The next stop was Mickey’s Toontown. This might have been the busiest land I visited during my walk around the park. It still was not very busy. In fact, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway had a standby line of only 5 minutes!
After my stroll through Mickey’s Toontown, I made my way towards Tomorrowland. Along the way I marveled at how empty the main pathways were along the Small World promenade and then the walkway around the Matterhorn. Tomorrowland itself was also quite quiet. The entrance walkway was probably one of the other busier places I encountered at Disneyland but the lines of the attractions around indicated that the park was not packed.
At this point, the shiny object that is Sleeping Beauty Castle caught my attention. I started taking more pictures of the castle as I exited Tomorrowland. It really was beautiful as it stood as a beacon of beauty in the rain. The rain was also starting to get stronger at this point. I made my way behind the castle and then along Matterhorn Way as the rain continued to gather strength.
As the rain grew stronger, I made my way down Main Street, U.S.A. to make my way to Disney California Adventure. The light crowds that were left in the park could be seen scattering either down the street to exit or to find cover and get out of the weather. As I reached Town Square, the rain began to let up.
The next stop was Disney California Adventure to see what I could see in this park during the rain. Entering the park I was immediately struck by the thought that there was no Red Car Trolley and when it did return, it wouldn’t be moving. I was also struck by the continued lack of crowds. Since the pandemic, rain has not really deterred guests from visiting the Disneyland Resort. However, this rainstorm seemed to have been different for some reason. Or perhaps the crowds have changed. I’m not sure.
After walking through Carthay Circle, I made my way down Hollywood Boulevard. Eventually, I passed by Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! as I made my way in the general direction of Avengers Campus.
I always enjoy Avengers Campus in the rain. I love how Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! looks as it towers above the area. Seeing the Quinjet sitting on top of Avengers HQ is a great view as well. On top of that, the Ancient Sanctum also looks really cool with the weather. It was blocked off to presumably keep guests from slipping.
The next stop was Cars Land. This is another great place to visit on a rainy day. I bumped into a friend there and chatted for a few minutes. I also enjoyed seeing how the new sign for Red’s Community Garden stood out in the rain. Once again, I marveled at how quiet the area was. It really was enjoyable and led to some fun photo opportunities!
My stroll continued and I soon found myself in San Fransokyo. With its feel like San Francisco, this area seems to almost feel the most natural in the area. I moved over to the bridge that overlooks the area and took pictures of Paradise Bay with Pixar Pal-A-Round and the Incredicoaster as well.
The next stop was Grizzly Peak Airfield. Along the way, I enjoyed seeing some of the Lunar New Year decorations along with the entrance to The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure. The path to Grizzly Peak Airfield was very quiet and it reminded me of going camping in Oregon as a kid in the rain. Grizzly Peak Airfield was somewhat busy but not insane. Presumably, guests were making their way to and from Soarin’ Around the World. As for me, I was more interested in getting pictures of the plane and car that are in the area.
At this point, I was planning on heading out. However, I decided to wander up the parade corridor and get a few more photos as the rain came down. I wanted to get the Lunar New Year sign, the outside of San Fransokyo, and whatever else happened along. This was a quick trip up to basically where Sonoma Terrace is and back. I liked the photos that came out of this little detour.
Finally, I made my way back into Carthay Circle and Buena Vista Street for a few more photos before leaving. I of course had to stop by and see Walt and Mickey at the Storytellers Statue. I then made my way to the front of the park and out into the Esplanade. There, I decided to take a picture of the compass that was surrounded by temporary chains. This is something that anyone who goes to the parks in the rain frequently has undoubtedly seen before but not something I generally think to take a picture of.
Having parked in the Pixar Pals parking structure, I decided I didn’t want to ride on the tram to return. Odds are, you are going to end up either sitting on a wet bench on a rainy day aboard the tram or you are going to end up getting dripped on. With that in mind, along with quite the line for the tram, I made my way through the Downtown Disney District. There were guests wandering through the area but even the brand new stores in Downtown Disney weren’t packed. This was a great day to stop by the new Disney Storyland Boutique as there wasn’t a line to get into it as has been the case recently.
Further down, the former Tortilla Jo’s building was surrounded by walls ahead of its demolition. The LEGO Store, Parkside Market, and other businesses in the area all had lots of room for shoppers and diners. The yard and stage area was completely empty. The only place that had a line (a very short one) was Din Tai Fung.
Having explored a little bit of the happenings of Downtown Disney District, or lack of happenings, I began the trek to the parking structure. Work continues on the former ESPN Zone building and Star Wars Outpost looked cool in the rain. It really made me wish there was some sort of experience in the back half of the building where guests could go on an adventure in a Rebel Base and fight against the Empire (with lightsabers and perhaps laser tag blasters?) After taking a couple of pictures of the Downtown Disney District sign (ya never know what might change!), I made my way along the walkway and back to my car.
I ended up timing things right as once I began my drive home the rain really started to come down! Walking to the local market about an hour later, I found myself more drenched from a three-minute walk than from my multi-hour stroll through the parks! Later as I looked through the photos of the day and relived the moments, I found myself thankful for a somewhat return to what used to be normal. It’s nice to see the parks empty out when it rains. I’m sure this isn’t great for Disney’s business model but as a long-time Annual Passholder/Magic Key holder, I appreciate these days and moments!
What do you think of my rainy day adventures at the Disneyland Resort? Do you like going to Disneyland when it rains? What is your favorite thing to do? Obviously, I enjoy taking photos! About half of these photos were taken on a Canon G7X and the rest on my iPhone after my battery died on the camera (be sure to check that you actually charge things before heading to the parks!). I was happy with how pictures came out from both devices. I hope you enjoyed this photo adventure! Make it a great day! Keep kind.
