Tell me about the water parks

[jenluvswdw]

I am so excited to begin some planning for our next trip end of August next year. In all my trips I never got to the water parks. We are a family of 5 spread out in age. Three kids will be 16, 7 and 2 at time of the trip. Need some pointers on the water parks. My family seems to be more interested in Blizzard Beach. We will be staying at AOA. Thanks!!!!

 

[CheshireCat12]

Get there when it opens at 9:00 AM. DO rent a locker for your phones/cameras, etc. Be sure to do Summit Plummet early before the line increases. Eat the mini-donuts (I recommend getting the raspberry dipping sauce too)- so yummy! Bring your own towels if you have them but if not, you can rent towels for $2 each, not a big deal. Wear your flipflops when you walk around, the ground gets really hot.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

Above post is pretty on point. Get there early, everyone goes straight for the chairs at the wave pool which will be straight ahead to the left. I normally go right, quieter chair area, chair lift, stairs, kiddy pool area, bathrooms, food stands and lazy river entrances. Def take the chair lift if possible, the stairs up the mountain get really hot! Do the major slides early if possible. Lines usually arrant to bad. The chair lift is usually the worst one haha

 

[KCheatle]

Find a place and stake a claim early. You will want some shade, so if you can find a table that's shaded, grab it and hold on. You will get plenty of sun throughout the day, so shade will be much appreciated come lunch time. Since you have a little one, you may to set up shop in the little kiddo area. Last time we were there there was a nice little shaded area in the corner that we called "home."

If you have any question about your 7-year-old's swimming abilities, put a life jacket on. There are some slides in that "tween" area that spit you out at a pretty good clip and you're 7-year-old will go pretty deep in the water. My 6-year-old (now 9-year-old) was/ is a pretty solid swimmer and doesn't normally wear a life jacket, but I'm thankful we went down that slide together because she wasn't expecting to go that deep and I had to push her up to the surface. After that, we put a life jacket on her for the rest of the time at the water park.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

There seems to be a lot of water leakage there. Especially Typhoon Lagoon, where the main tanning area attracts quite a puddle, mainly because the water tanks from the slides seems to overflow or something causing a huge spill every fifteen minutes. The kids and tour groups enjoy splashing around in it, but me I stand there decrying the poor maintenance standards of modern Disney.

Stil beats Blizzard where they haven't fixed the leaking ski jump since the nineties. Nowadays they just sort of direct the guests to slide under it in like a make-shift normal waterslide instead of jumping.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Oh, and over at Typhoon they also have a 'Snorkle with Sharks and Colourful Coral Reef Fish' attraction.

Well 'Snorkle with the Dastardly Sharks Who Apparantly Ate All The Other Fish'.

 

[zurgandfriend]

Another vote for Typhoon lagoon, which we prefer. However both are fun. My DS loves the wave pool and slides, I'm a lazy river person I love to grab an inner tube and float.

 

[Foltzy]

You need to be there so you're one of the first in the park.
If you have someone in your party who doesn't like the slides then have them get the chair otherwise all of you go get it.
Go straight for the slides (in my experience, summit plummet should be done first at BB, not sure about TL)
I prefer BB because it does have be better slides ( I love Summit Plummet) but also really like Typhoon Lagoon
Most important though, Have Fun!

 

[pumpkin7]

I prefer Typhoon Lagoon over Blizzard Beach to be honest, but that's just me. Both parks have lazy rivers so just give me a tube and I'm done for the day.

 

[popcenturylover]

We LOVED BB! Our DD6 & DGS2 loved the kids area more than at TL. The frozen hot chocolate is soooo YUMMY! TL might speak more to teens but, I think that BB is the place to be for little ones. We also played mini-golf at Winter Summerland & had a blast.

 

[DManRightHere]

I am so excited to begin some planning for our next trip end of August next year. In all my trips I never got to the water parks. We are a family of 5 spread out in age. Three kids will be 16, 7 and 2 at time of the trip. Need some pointers on the water parks. My family seems to be more interested in Blizzard Beach. We will be staying at AOA. Thanks!!!!

You can bring refillable resort mugs to the water park too (if they still do this).

For a first water park, I agree with Blizzard Beach. It is more unique. They have a chair lift and have the racing bob sled mats that could be fun for the whole family (except the 2 year old I guess). Have fun!

 

[Bairstow]

Like everyone's saying, at either park the key is to get there as soon as they open and have your adventurous people do the biggest slides first. Otherwise they're going to have to spend a huge chunk of time waiting around in very long, very boring, very hot queues to ride the things.

Also, of the two parks I'd peg Typhoon Lagoon as the better.
Blizzard Beach arguably has better slides, but Typhoon Lagoon is a better total package, with much better themeing, landscaping, and a bigger variety of things to do that aren't slides.

 

[popcenturylover]

You can bring refillable resort mugs to the water park too (if they still do this).

For a first water park, I agree with Blizzard Beach. It is more unique. They have a chair lift and have the racing bob sled mats that could be fun for the whole family (except the 2 year old I guess). Have fun!

Can't bring resort refillable mug but, they have a Water park refillable mug you can purchase while there. We didn't, just brought a small cooler of full of water.

 

[Matt_Black]

It's been a long time since I was at Typhoon Lagoon. My two recent trips? The first it was too cold for either park, regardless of whichever one was open at the time. Second time, it was Blizzard Beach, which is fun.

 

[TB4244]

The real comparison between TL and BB is that TL is quite sandy, whereas BB isn't. So if you're a beach loving family then TL will suit you better. I'm not a fan so we tend to opt for BB, plus it has Winter Summerland mini golf which is always great fun.

 

[boilerpicc]

It depends on what you are looking for in a water park. Blizzard Beach has better slides overall, most of which your 2 year old will not be able to go on, but Typhoon Lagoon has a water coaster. They both have lazy rivers, but Typhoon Lagoon's is slightly deeper and shadier. Typhoon Lagoon's wave pool is much deeper (> 6 feet) and puts out a single 6 ft wave every few minutes. Blizzard Beach's wave pool does continuous bobbing waves. Both have great kiddie areas. Personally, I like Typhoon Lagoon better. I'm a lazy river/wave pool kind of person, and Typhoon Lagoon is just better in both of those areas. For your littlest one, there are shallow areas in the wave pool that are good for toddlers. The wave dies down by the time it gets there and just splashes them a little bit. My non-walking 15 month old loved sitting in that section.

 

[Kit83]

When we were there we arrived at 10.30 am and there was no space for our family of four after a while we were able to find a spot when a family left . Wish we had booked the Cabanas or the Beach chair space, details below are for Blizzard Beach.

Polar Patios - Cabanas: There are 15 premium spaces available for rental daily. This includes an attendant and waiter service, private lockers, all-day drink mugs, cooler stocked with ice and bottled water, lounge furniture, tables and rental towels for 6. The Premium spaces accommodate up to 6 guests. Cost as of Summer 2012 is $213 during off-season dates ($226.85 with tax) and $300 ($319.50 with tax) during peak season dates. Additional guests can be added for $25 each. Guests will be given a bracelet that allows access to the private area.

Lodge Picnic Umbrellas - Premium Beach Chair Space - includes 2 lounge chairs, umbrella, cocktail table and 2 towels. Limit is up to four people. If you have more, a second reservation is needed. Reserve in advance by calling 407-WDW-PLAY (407-939-7529). Cancellation without penalty must be no later than 9:00 am the day prior to reservation. You can check at High n Dry Rentals to see if any same-day rentals are available. Cost as of Summer 2012 is $40 plus tax ($42.60) in low season and $50 plus tax ($53.25) during high season and must be paid at time of reservation.

 

[WDWVolFan]

We did both when we were out there last month and while some of the slides at Blizzard Beach were fun, Typhoon Lagoon's wave pool is so worth it.
If you can, do both. We did both in one day and had a blast.

 

[Marco226]

Since you're staying at AoA, then I would suggest checking in first and making sure you can use your magic band to make charges so you can buy refreshments and food at the water park. Using your magic band at the water parks is one of the positive things about the system that I personally enjoy the most. I don't need my wallet, or credit/debit cards, or cash in my pockets, and I don't have to worry about someone breaking into my locker; I just leave all that in the hotel room or in my car.

Also, if you can, have someone wearing a bathing suit with pockets. Some slides have a cast member who takes photos of you and your group as you arrive at the bottom. Instead of scanning your magic band, they just give you a little plastic card with a rubber band attached, and it might get a little annoying having to hold them.

 

[Bluewaves]

Like all good theme park plans, get to the back of the back do the big atractions first thing in the morning so you can hit them all at least once, then you either redo favorites or just spend the afternoon at the wave pool, lazy river, Kiddie area at Typhoon may be better for the little one, and the slides are a bit more intense at Blizzard, exception being Crush N Gusher at Typhoon.

I personally prefer Typhoon just due to the layout and sand everywhere and shade but that's just me